As a rookie, Gray put the country on notice early with a 30 point performance in UNC's victory on the road at UCLA. It was just her third game. What we read about Allisha's proficiency with the 3-point shot was on display. She hit six long balls during the game and shot over 40% from distance over her entire freshman season. (photo from www.goheels.com)
The three point shot isn't the entirety of her game. Powering through the ups and downs of being a freshman, Gray showed a variety of moves close to and away from the basket. (photo from www.goheels.com)
She showed her athletic ability on the defensive end and at 6 feet tall, used her size well on the perimeter and on the glass averaging almost six rebounds per game from the guard position. Her footwork and quickness was impressive considering the knee injury she had suffered during the summer after her junior year in high school. She has a great handle for her size and a spin move that can get her past multiple defenders. (video from www.theacc.com)
Last year I called her "The Quiet Assassin". She went about things at times in a way that left you reading the box score and thinking, "when did that happen?" if you weren't at the game. If you were at the game you might have heard my daughter say, "Wow, Allisha is killing them!" And there it was. Some of us donned her "The Quiet Assassin". She entered a lot of games with both barrels firing. She scored over 500 points in her first year, averaging nearly 14 points per game and scoring over 20 points on multiple occasions. But that's not all.
The rest of the country took notice and Gray collected multiple awards including but not limited to a spot on the All-ACC freshman team and Full-Court All-American team. She's one of North Carolina's three players voted All-ACC in the preseason along with junior Xylina McDaniel and fellow sophomore Stephanie Mavunga. (photo from www.goheels.com)
I have a feeling the "Quiet Assassin" won't be so quiet this year. With a year of experience, especially since she spent that year doing big things in spite of the spotlight, I think she's going to be a player to watch and ESPN agrees. She was ranked 15th among players for the 2014-15 season. The link below is ESPN's article on all 25 players.
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/preview2014/story/_/id/11793962/counting-top-25-women-college-basketball-players-2014-15
It's exciting to think of the freshman to sophomore jump for a player like Gray, who accomplished so much among everything that was going on during her freshman campaign. It says a lot for her as a basketball player and a person.
But don't let that smile fool you. She scored 22 points in 25 minutes in North Carolina's first exhibition game. I think she's ready to "kill it" again this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment