Friday, 10 March 2017 11:10

Kelsey Plum: Basketball Players are Made, Not Born

By Damian Fantauzzi | Sports

No one has scored more points in women’s Division I NCAA basketball history than Kelsey Plum. She is just behind “Pistol Pete” Maravich (LSU 1967-1970), who still ranks as the all-time point producer in the history of NCAA basketball.

Kelsey Plum plays women’s basketball for the University of Washington Huskies in Seattle, Washington.  In the final regular-season game of her college career on Washington’s senior night, she rewrote the history books of Women’s NCAA Basketball. Plum scored a career high of 57 points, surpassing Jackie Stiles’ historical career, with an astronomical 3,393 collegiate career points.

Interesting story about this young lady: her cousin, Marty Canavan, is a former high school teammate at Mechanicville High School, and former all-time scorer at Siena College. Canavan is a retired Skidmore College professor. He gave me a little of his genetic connection to Plum. “My Aunt Margaret Canavan (oldest sister of my dad Marty Canavan) is Kelsey’s great-grandmother. Aunt Margaret and her husband moved from N.Y. to San Diego area in 1949. She was the only one of nine Canavan siblings to live her life out of the Capital District region. Aunt Margaret’s daughter Mary Ann Plum (my cousin) had a son Jim Plum (Kelsey’s dad). So, Marty’s cousin Mary Ann is Kelsey’s grandmother.” A small note of interest on the Canavan connection, Marty and Kelsey are both left-handed.

In an article in USA Today, writer Dan Uthman interviewed Utah’s coach Lynne Roberts as Plum carried No. 12 Washington to an 84-77 victory over Utah on Feb. 26, with a dazzling performance. She needed what might have been considered a long shot of 54 points entering the day to break Stiles’ record and did so with a second-half barrage where Plum couldn’t be stopped.

“We tried everything. And she just kind of took over. ... It was almost like she became possessed,” Roberts said. “Even as the opposing coach you stand there like, ‘Holy cow. This kid.’ “

Plum hit 19-of-28 shots and was 13-of-16 at the free-throw line. She scored 38 points through three quarters and took over in the fourth after teammate Chantel Osahor, UDUB’s top rebounder, fouled out early in the quarter.

Unfortunately, on March 3, No. 6 Pac-12 Tournament seed Oregon eliminated the No. 3 seed University of Washington women’s basketball team 70-69 in the quarterfinals. Kelsey Plum netted 34 points. The Huskies were squeezed out of the Pac-12 tournament of champions. UDUB now has to wait to see where they will go in the “Big Dance” on the women’s side; they are currently ranked 11th nationally in A.P.’s college basketball poll.

As a basketball coach for more than 40 years, I am awed by this young woman’s athleticism and especially her ability as a player. She grooved her shot, especially from outside the 3-point arc, as well as her ability with ball-handling.  

Plum worked at a summer basketball camp near her hometown with one of the top boys’ high school programs in the country. She competed against boys and men and was able to play pickup basketball with some professional basketball players from the NBA.

Competing against men is not a new idea, it was a philosophy that the late and legendary Pat Summit practiced at Tennessee. I know the importance this has for girls who want to excel at their game. When I coached girls at Saratoga I encouraged them to play against quality male basketball players.

Plum was focused to raise her game to an even higher level.  Through her determination to be the best she could be along with her internal drive to succeed, she became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Women’s Basketball history. Congratulations to Plum on her accomplishments through her hard work and dedication. I always have said that basketball players are made and not born, and here’s the proof:  Kelsey Plum.

Read 2669 times

Blotter

  • New York State Police The New York State Police announced that it issued 5,576 tickets during this year’s St. Patrick’s Day enforcement initiative. The campaign began on Friday, March 15, and continued until Sunday, March 17. During the campaign, funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, State Police utilized sobriety checkpoints, additional DWI patrols, and underage drinking and sales to minors detail. State Police also ticketed distracted drivers who use handheld electronic devices. State Troopers arrested 132 people for DWI and investigated 199 crashes, which resulted in 25 people being injured and no fatalities. As part of the enforcement, Troopers also…

Property Transactions

  • BALLSTON Heather DiCaprio sold property at 473 Garrett Rd to Justine Levine for $288,000 Sharon Willman sold property at 99 Jenkins Rd to Charles Lemley for $165,000 CORINTH George Montena sold property at 422 Oak St to Stephen James for $142,250 Mark Makler sold property at 313 Oak St to Sabrina Sinagra for $195,000 GREENFIELD Landlord Services of Upstate New York sold property at 1935 NYS Rt 9N to Cochise Properties LLC for $210,000 MALTA  Linda LaBarge sold property at 35 Snowberry Rd to Qu Haozheng for $270,000 Dennis Mitchell sold property at 60 Village Circle North to BGRS Relocation…
  • NYPA
  • Saratoga County Chamber
  • BBB Accredited Business
  • Discover Saratoga
  • Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association