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For most of Brene Moseley's life, basketball has ruled. Opponents have rarely stopped Paint Branch's silky-smooth guard.

On April 17, she nearly stopped herself.

At an AAU tournament in Hampton, Va., the rising senior stole the ball — like she has hundreds of times — and went up for a layup. But this time, something was different.

The two-time All-Gazette first-teamer tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, also suffering partial tears in her medial collateral ligament and meniscus.

"I just went up weird," Moseley said. "I don't really remember. I got up all right and sat back down. When I got back up, I was like, ‘Whoa. Not good.' ...

"I cried, then I didn't say anything for like an hour. Then I asked my grandma, ‘Why do bad things happen to good people?' She just kept saying I'd be stronger spiritually, emotionally, physically and I'd be better for it.'"

After the shock wore off, Moseley's first thoughts were of her future. Several of the country's best college basketball programs have long pursued Moseley, ESPNU's 48th-ranked player in the class of 2011.

She led the Panthers in every major statistical category last season, including a county-high 26.3 points per game. The team went 22-2 and reached the Class 4A West Region semifinals.

"[Recruiting] was the first thing that went through my head, with a big summer for me coming up," Moseley said. "Fortunately, I had a good summer last year and a great season, so people know what I can do. ... All of [the colleges] have stood by me."

Moseley says she hopes to make a verbal commitment to a school "before the season or maybe before school starts." She says she has narrowed her selections to the University of Maryland, Georgetown University, James Madison (Va.) University, University of Virginia, Temple (Pa.) University, University of Pittsburgh (Pa.) and Penn State University.

"Man. Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and phone are blowing up," Moseley said. "This whole recruiting was fun, but it's all too much now."

Her distant future notwithstanding, Moseley's summer has been devoted to rehabilitating her knee. Following surgery June 4, she has been, to all intents and purposes living at the Physical Therapy and Sports Assessment Center in Silver Spring.

At 7 a.m. each day, she arrives at PTSAC with physical therapist, former Detroit Lions wide receiver and family friend Edward Lee. Lee has provided her with several exercises designed to rebuild strength and range of motion in the knee and surrounding muscles.

Throughout the day, Moseley rides exercise bikes, lifts weights and stretches. Occassionaly, she retreats to a small room to nap or text her friends.

"I can understand the fear and initial shock she had," said Lee, whose NFL career ended because of an ACL injury. "An ACL was a death sentence in the 1980s when I got it. Now, surgery has greatly improved and you can come back stronger, and she will be. ... It won't be until her freshman year in college when she's fully recovered mentally."

It typically takes six months for an ACL injury to heal, but Moseley is taking her time and has not set a target date to return. She will be able to walk without crutches in a few weeks. Two months from now, she can start running, and in 4 to 5 months, cutting.

"I just don't want to rush back," Moseley said. "Whether that be December, January, February or March ... I mean, I have season goals I still want to accomplish, like winning a state title, but I'm not going to do anything crazy."

Former Paint Branch head coach Heather Podosek, who stepped down to become the school's athletic director, has been one of Moseley's most trusted confidantes.

"You can see the joy in Bones' face when she has a basketball in her hands," Podosek said. "To have it taken away is devastating, especially for someone facing their first hurdle. ... I've talked to her about keeping an eye on the prize when she's doing her leg lifts. I tell her to close her eyes and visualize making a layup for the state championship."

While Moseley's return to the court is uncertain, one thing is set in stone: Come November, she will be around the Paint Branch program all the time, likely as a spectator at first.

With a ball in her hands, as always.

"Oh, I'll be around," Moseley said. "PB just had summer camp. I just sat in a chair and shot all day."