Imagine a basketball player blessed with such innate talent that they don't need to exert much effort to stand out. Now imagine a player who grew into a very good player through pure hard work and determination. Now imagine those two players blended into one. That's Central Florida sophomore Markeshia Grant.
The first time I watched Grant play for the Lady Patriots, I knew I needed to talk to her and find out how she became the player she is. I finally did that, and I was not disappointed. Here are a few highlights of our conversation:
A couple of years ago, then-Ohio State center Greg Oden broke his right hand - the shooting one - and was forced to use his left hand if he wanted to play any meaningful basketball at all. H fought through to salvage a strong freshman season, and went on to become the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. Grant saw this play out and took it not as a mere anecdote, but as a potential lesson for her own game. She wondered what would happen if she broke her shooting hand. So she began practicing as if she had lost the use of her right hand. The payoff is evident - one of the first things I noticed about her game is her ability to finish in traffic with either hand. It's an extremely rare ability for a player at this level, and the story of how it came to be makes it even more impressive.
Grant has always wanted to play for the University of Tennessee. They're not currently recruiting her, but she doesn't seem to doubt in the least that they eventually will. The great thing is that Grant has perspective on her situation. She won't be devastated if she turns out not to be the rare player that ends up a Lady Volunteer. She'll simply give her all for the team she does eventually sign with. In fact, she said that even if Tennessee does come after her, she won't be a pushover. "I'll make them recruit me just like everybody else," she said. By the way, there's a huge list of schools interested in Grant, such as UCF, Memphis, Miami, Mississippi State, Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Stetson, Jacksonville, and Louisiana-Lafayette. She'll take visits in the spring, and said she's looking for a "family-oriented" and "caring" program that also wins a lot of games.
I got that same kind of well-adjusted vibe when I asked her my favorite trap question: what's the first thing you look at on the box score after the game? (That's a great question for a stat-stuffer like Grant, who averaged 32 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals over two games last week.) Some players just blurt out "points," as if everything else on a stat sheet is wasted ink. Others recognize the trap I'm setting and manufacture an insincere answer, like "final score." Markeshia did neither. She thought about it, then said "points," but kind of sheepishly. Of course that's the answer - everybody likes to score, and it is pretty important. I was impressed by the fact that she was well-rounded enough to consider other alternatives, but also didn't insult me with a fabricated answer. It got even better when I asked her what else she looked at on the sheet: assists, then turnovers, because she likes to keep her assist-to-turnover ratio as high as possible. I always love it when athletes use their stats to really pick apart their game, and for a point guard, that's a great stat to use for that purpose. She's also a little self-concious about scoring so much: "If I have to, then I will," she said.
Finally, Grant is diplomatic. When I asked her the general question of how well the Lady Patriots would do this year, she talked about team chemistry, being "on the same page" and supporting each other. She also said this: "I think we'll be very successful, because of our coach." Now that's a smart player.
