Lauren had a great year as a freshman. She played regularly for Coach Barshinger on the freshman team, and practiced with the varsity. We had just started to rotate her in with the first team in practice, and hoped to start bringing her off the bench in varsity games. Unfortunately, just as this was taking place, she tore her ACL in a freshmen game and was out for the season.
As a sophomore, Lauren was the first off the bench for the varsity. She had a good year but it was up and down season for her. The work and the experience of playing and practicing with the varsity as a role player paid off for her as a senior. Lauren had a great year. She started out slow but worked herself into basketball shape, and was a force for us.
Lauren has always been a scorer. She is quick enough to play outside and just big enough to go inside. Her shot and her tremendous range have really separated her as a player. She has a lot of different ways to score. She has big goals for next season.
She had big plans for this spring- AAU basketball, going back to Jordan Delp for skill training, and weights and open gym at GHS. All of that has been put on hold, but working on basketball has not been on hold!
It is tough times, what has your average day looked like? What kind of things have you done?
I wake up around 8:30 and do some homework to start the day. Then I grab my basketball and if it’s nice outside I do my ball handling routine and shoot for about 1 1/2-2 hours and if it’s raining I rewatch film from my sophomore year and last season.
I bet you would never had said it, but what do you miss about school?
I miss being around people in general, not just my friends. I miss eating at the lunch table and having an actual face to face conversation. Next year we are supposed to be in “pods”, so I just want to really make memories with the limited time class of ‘21 left, because we really aren’t going to be together much next year.
What are examples of the kinds of things you are being asked to do in your eLearning?
It really all depends on your teacher, I haven’t had many required Video chats with teachers but to me this way is almost easier. They assign a reading or instructions on what you are supposed to do. You do it like normal homework. Although the thing I don’t like is that I am a person who likes hard paper copies to read from and work with. It makes learning a lot easier for me when I write stuff down. So I find myself rewriting all of the notes just to make sure I understand the material.
As you look back on this past season, what about your individual game do you feel pride in what you were able to do?
I take a lot of pride in being aggressive. I am always wanting to be a part of every play even if It was just a deflection, pass, or even a rebound. From the beginning of last season I really struggled with shooting, which was frustrating because it took a lot of my confidence away from me offensively. I put in some extra time and my shot started to feel normal again. Seeing results from set backs is something I also take pride in, because it shows I can move through obstacles.
As you look back on this past season, what is one thing about your game that you hope to be able to change or improve on? If you can, be specific.
I am hoping to really improve my ball handling so I can help Riley out more with breaking the press. I am also working on my ability to pass because we are going to have Abby and Audree to feed into the posts. Not letting my frustrations be shown is another thing I’m working on. Also yes coach massey .... I’m working on conditioning 🤣
When people watch you play, what do you hope they would say about you?
When people watch me play, I would hope they say that I’m a hard worker. That I hustle and am not afraid of competition. I see myself as someone who knows my weaknesses but I cover it up with hustle. I know I’m small but I also know I’m strong. Hopefully people notice that even if the person I’m guarding is a whole foot taller than me that I don’t back down and I’m not afraid to challenge myself. Guarding quicker, taller, and stronger people only make me a better player.
Last fall you had an opportunity to go to Jordan Delp's Pure Sweat for basketball training. How did those workouts help you?
He helped point out things I never noticed about myself with my footwork and my balance on my bad leg. During his training it also made me more confident driving to the basket. He gave some tips about defense and offense that really Improved my basketball IQ. Sometimes it’s best to go back to the basics and really focus on the little things.
If you could get one person to come to your house and shoot basketball with you- who would you pick to shoot with? Why?
Chennedy Carter for sure. Only being 5’7 she knows the struggle of everyone else being taller she found a way to still dominate at every court she stepped on. She was #4 pick in the WNBA draft this year and was drafted to the Atlanta dream. If you watch 60 seconds of her play you would understand exactly why. I would take notes about everything she does. Hopefully she would give me pointers on things I can do weather it’s quicker release or creating space between me and the defender. She would be someone I could relate to yet inspire to be.
If you could say anything about basketball to your teammates?
Each one of them are hard workers. They are all pieces to what a great team looks like. Everyone has such different personality’s that you never get tired of being around them. Personally, when I am struggling in a game and it’s hard to pick my own head up, Armani is always there consistently saying “you got this”. Everyone pushes each other to become better. We all have each other’s backs. That’s why especially with this being our last year together every minute of practice counts. Make the most of every minute we are together because we won’t get it back.
How can you and your teammates be better leaders?
We all have certain qualities that are very different from everyone else. We all are unique in our own way which makes us a great team. We can become better leaders by learning from each other. It’s important we set an example of what should be expected. While showing the underclassman to be a silver streak you have to be disciplined on and off the court, we also will show them the meaning of having fun, team work, and unity. The more you work together the more you lead together which results in a great team.
What do you hope to be able to do after high school? In terms of both basketball and what you study?
Hopefully with upcoming campus tours after quarantine is over I can start to figure out where I wanna go. I either want to study business or law. Hopefully come my senior year I get more of an idea of what I want to do.
Last question- if you could pick three people (living or dead) to come to supper, who would you choose?
I would only pick my grandma Livingston. My grandma was really sick my 7th grade year. She was in the hospital during the Lombard vs Churchill game, right after the game she passed away. It was hard because she would always motivate me to do better, even when I couldn’t find it in myself. She was very ornery and most times didn’t have a filter, so that’s probably why I wouldn’t invite anyone else to come to supper because she wouldn’t be afraid to speak her mind. But I loved that about her. She always wanted me to excel and find something I loved and she knew it was basketball. So hopefully she would be proud of me now.
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