Erica Wheeler won two state championships at Miramar Parkway Academy, traveled thousands of miles across the country and played on numerous basketball courts with the nation's elite in front of the watchful eyes of some of the top coaches in women's college basketball.

As part of the reward for her long journey, Wheeler, a Rutgers signee, will be South Florida's lone girls' representative in the McDonald's All-America Classic on Wednesday at BankUnited Center.

Wheeler, a 5-8 point guard who is rated No. 5 nationally at her position by ESPN Hoopgurlz, and Plantation American Heritage's Kenny Boynton are the only players from South Florida who will appear in the games.

And like Boynton, Wheeler's McDonald's selection would have been nearly impossible without excelling at the national level.

''It is very important that you look at all the past things a travel program has done,'' Parkway Academy coach Adam Hopkins said. ``A lot of kids say they want to play for Tennessee and Duke and things like that, but if they are not playing in the big-time events and playing in the right circuits and around the right people at the right time, to me it's a waste of time.''

MAKING HER MARK

Wheeler follows Chelsey Lee, a center for Rutgers, as the second Parkway player selected for the McDonald's game in as many years. Wheeler and Lee played with April Sykes and Tiffany Hayes, who joined Lee on the 2008 McDonald's All-American team, on the Florida Essence AAU travel team that won the Nike Nationals title in 2007.

Wheeler also impressed those in attendance, including McDonald's selection member Kelvin Powell, at the Boo Williams Tournament in Virginia last spring, and then hit the McDonald's jackpot by grading out in the top five of the major categories at the Nike Regionals in Atlanta last summer.

Like the boys' circuit, tournaments such as the Boo Williams are attended by some of the nation's top coaches.

South Broward girls' coach Richard Walker, who won five state titles as an assistant to McDonald's East coach Abby Ward and a sixth as head coach in 2008, has operated and coached the Hollywood Eagles since 1997.

Before the year is out, Walker expects to take his travel team to at least five major tournaments.

''[Connecticut] coach Geno [Auriemma], and all the big coaches, will be at the Deep South Classic [in North Carolina],'' Walker said. ``Travel ball or AAU will always give you a cutting edge. You get the opinions of hundreds of college scouts. That counts for a lot.''

Walker claims 98 percent of his club players, including former collegiate All-Americans Tamara James (UM), Sylvia Fowles (LSU) and Erlana Larkins (North Carolina), were able to get full scholarships in large part because of playing on the circuit.

MOUNTING EXPENSES

But as one might expect, shuffling players from tournament to tournament gets costly. Even though Walker's teams usually get invited and have their entrance fee waived, Walker said travel, food and lodging expenses could run upward of $40,000 during the spring and summer. To offset expenses, Walker holds fundraisers throughout the year and gets some financial assistance from the city of Hollywood.

Walker said it is a worthy venture for players such as Wheeler, the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 3A Player of the Year who also has been featured on ESPN Hoopgurlz and made the cover of ESPN RISE magazine.

Wheeler earned an invitation to the Nike National Skills Academy, an instructional program for the nation's top 20 players, in Portland, Ore., after her performance at Nike Regionals.

At the academy, working out alongside the likes of 6-8 dunking sensation Britney Griner, the nation's top recruit who is headed to Baylor, and Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, Wheeler realized the past three years of travel has paid dividends.

''Maybe all but three girls that played in Portland are playing McDonald's,'' Wheeler said. ``Really, down here in Florida it's not that much talent. It wasn't going to do me any good. By me traveling and playing against top talent, it built my game up.''

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