bluesooner17
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NORMAN — Shaina Pellington admits her senior year at Dunbarton High School in Ontario, Canada, felt a little strange.
After years of juggling classwork, basketball and soccer practice, Pellington knew it was time to cut one of her extracurriculars and specialize in the other.
Even though she picked up soccer first— and was asked to play on the national level — Pellington came to the tough conclusion that she needed to quit the sport after her junior year.
“My dad told me, ‘What sport can you not live without? What can’t you stop thinking about?’ For me, that was basketball,” she said.
Though Pellington left her first love behind, Oklahoma’s three-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week uses her soccer skills to give her a leg up on competition, and coach Sherri Coale believes they’re a major reason for the point guard’s success.
“I’ve always felt like soccer was basketball with your feet,” Coale said. “The angles are the same, the spacing is imperative. I’ve never really had a thorough understand of soccer, but I can see the pass they should make and who’s going to be open next.
“I’ve always felt the two sports complement each other tremendously.”
Pellington attributes her footwork, endurance and ability to box out on defense to her history with soccer.
Entering Wednesday morning’s game against Kansas State, Pellington is averaging 26.3 minutes per game, but in the last four games, she’s averaged nearly 35 minutes a game. Against Oklahoma State and Kansas State, Pellington put her endurance on display and played in all 40 minutes.
She’s also showed off her footwork and aggression with an increase in her scoring.
In that same four-game stretch, Pellington is averaging 19.5 points per game. Her output has earned her back-to-back Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors.
Though Pellington has turned in a streak of topnotch performances, Coale knows she’s barely scratched the surface of the point guard’s potential.
“Everyone is playing her to prevent her from getting to the rim,” Coale said. “And she’s still getting to the rim and scoring. As she develops confidence in her perimeter shot and knowing when to and when not to, as she becomes an even more astute distributor, she’s going to get even more opportunities to score because it’s going to be easier for her.
“She is doing crazy kinds of things. It’s the tip of the iceberg. She hasn’t even figured this thing out yet.”
After years of juggling classwork, basketball and soccer practice, Pellington knew it was time to cut one of her extracurriculars and specialize in the other.
Even though she picked up soccer first— and was asked to play on the national level — Pellington came to the tough conclusion that she needed to quit the sport after her junior year.
“My dad told me, ‘What sport can you not live without? What can’t you stop thinking about?’ For me, that was basketball,” she said.
Though Pellington left her first love behind, Oklahoma’s three-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week uses her soccer skills to give her a leg up on competition, and coach Sherri Coale believes they’re a major reason for the point guard’s success.
“I’ve always felt like soccer was basketball with your feet,” Coale said. “The angles are the same, the spacing is imperative. I’ve never really had a thorough understand of soccer, but I can see the pass they should make and who’s going to be open next.
“I’ve always felt the two sports complement each other tremendously.”
Pellington attributes her footwork, endurance and ability to box out on defense to her history with soccer.
Entering Wednesday morning’s game against Kansas State, Pellington is averaging 26.3 minutes per game, but in the last four games, she’s averaged nearly 35 minutes a game. Against Oklahoma State and Kansas State, Pellington put her endurance on display and played in all 40 minutes.
She’s also showed off her footwork and aggression with an increase in her scoring.
In that same four-game stretch, Pellington is averaging 19.5 points per game. Her output has earned her back-to-back Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors.
Though Pellington has turned in a streak of topnotch performances, Coale knows she’s barely scratched the surface of the point guard’s potential.
“Everyone is playing her to prevent her from getting to the rim,” Coale said. “And she’s still getting to the rim and scoring. As she develops confidence in her perimeter shot and knowing when to and when not to, as she becomes an even more astute distributor, she’s going to get even more opportunities to score because it’s going to be easier for her.
“She is doing crazy kinds of things. It’s the tip of the iceberg. She hasn’t even figured this thing out yet.”