Ready for liftoff

Amanda Schwengel - aschwengel@nwherald.com Cary-Grove High School's Paige Lincicum dribbles during summer basketball league play Monday afternoon at the school. Lincicum will be a junior in the fall. (Amanda Schwengel ())

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

CARY – Paige Lincicum pulled at the bottom of her reversible Cary-Grove basketball practice penny, cocked her head and thought for a moment.

All around the junior guard, Trojans varsity girls basketball players ran through drills during the second week of summer camp. Lincicum could point to at least four or five players on the court as the reason for her development last season.

The rest of the evolution Lincicum has done on her own, out of both desire and necessity.

“Mostly just from working with the people on varsity, I’ve gotten more confident,” Lincicum said, “but I had to step up.”

Senior point guard Megan Straumann, whose ACL tear last year sent C-G scrambling to fill voids, forced Lincicum to take on more responsibility than most sophomores.

If it overwhelmed Lincicum at all, it never showed, but her maturation certainly does.

“When she walked into camp this year, she was a whole new player,” Straumann said. “When I was on the bench I got to connect with her on a different level, and she had to step up; she didn’t have a choice. It showed by the end of the year. You could tell how much she had grown up.”

Part of C-G coach Rod Saffert’s master plan for this season is to involve his junior as much as he can, alternating her from shooting guard to point guard depending on where she’s needed. Lincicum’s strengths – a strong outside shot and solid ball-handling skills – give her the versatility to freelance as needed.

Lincicum has worked hard for that opportunity, though. She quietly worked on the outside and eventually come through with clutch shots in big games. By the end of the season, Lincicum had earned a starting slot in the Trojans’ lineup.

Saffert, over the years, has watched players develop after being promoted to varsity, but few have had to take on the same responsibilities as Lincicum.

“We had a long talk after the season about her potential, and since then she’s just been working her tail off,” Saffert said. “Paige is a natural athlete, but above all she is a true basketball player. She can do so many things because she understands the game.”

During Monday’s workout, Lincicum was an obvious student of the game. She made the adjustments Saffert asked; the repetitions seemed to flow instead of run into one another.

Lincicum is too modest to acknowledge any of that, though, which is why she found herself clutching her penny for a few moments in self-effacement.

“I got faster, but it was because I played with these girls, and we connected more as a team as the year went on,” Lincicum said. “I drove more and started to relax, but it was from working with everyone and having them push me to do more stuff than I thought I could.”

Saffert is certain all his players push one another, but they’re dedicated to their own development too – Lincicum included.

“She works hard and she understands what we’re doing,” said Saffert,” and I don’t want to put a lot of pressure on her, but she’s going to be big for us this year.”