Lady Tiger newcomer prepares for USA Basketball experience
When Shanece McKinney unfurls her 6-foot-4 frame and trots onto the basketball court, everybody notices.
Yet, the LSU signee — and soon-to-be LeFlore graduate — has never grown accustomed to her leading role in the hoops hierarchy. She has consistently voiced surprise, even shock, over the last two seasons at being selected as the Press-Register player of the year.
She was all smiles, and bashful about hobnobbing with the state’s best, at the Miss Basketball banquet earlier this spring when she finished fifth in voting for the statewide award.
So when a letter addressed to her from USA Basketball arrived recently, she didn’t expect much when she ripped it open.
To hear her tell it, her jaw dropped to the floor cartoon-style as she read she had been invited to the under-18 national team tryouts in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“I read it and I said, ‘I think they’re kidding,’” McKinney said. “I was shocked.”
She shouldn’t be.
McKinney emerged from the high school and AAU ranks as one of the most sought-after recruits in the country, thanks in large part to her 6-foot-4 frame and calm demeanor on the court. And it doesn’t hurt that she oozes humility.
She may not have the killer instinct of Baylor’s Brittney Griner, but McKinney possesses a quiet confidence that played a huge role in the Rattlers’ back-to-back appearances in the AHSAA state semifinals.
McKinney said she’s not heading to Colorado Springs expecting to secure a national team spot, not when 30 or so invitees will work for a dozen or so slots. In reality, she’s probably fighting for one of two or three spots at center.
“I’m not going up there thinking I’ve got this,” she said. “I’m going to do my best.”
From By Josh Bean of AL.com. Read the entire article at: http://bit.ly/bbVUxn