Westfield All-Star heads to college after nearly making Olympic team
By RICHIE HALL
Over the past 30 days, Alyssa Crockett has been across the country and back again, made a big basket in Kentucky and will soon be traveling up to Michigan to begin her college career.
It’s been quite the adventure for the recent Westfield High School graduate, who was a star for the Shamrocks girls basketball team since her very first game as a freshman. She got a chance to reap some of the rewards from her years of hard work by participating in two big basketball-related events over the past month.
First, Crockett was invited to try out for the USA Basketball U18 Olympic Team. This was a very big honor, as only 30 young women were invited to the tryout, which took place May 31 to June 3 at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Then on June 10 and 11, Crockett played in the annual Indiana-Kentucky All-Stars series, making a game-winning shot in the first contest and taking home MVP honors.
GETTING THE INVITE
Crockett found out when she was on a car ride home from vacation.
“I got the invitation on the way home from Spring Break,” said Crockett. “I think it was March 10, around that time.”
Crockett was contacted by Briana Weiss and Liz Podominick, the USA Women’s National team program assistant directors. She received an email asking if she was interested in trying out for the team.
Crockett was interested and made her way to Colorado a couple months later. She was joined by another Hamilton County player, Noblesville’s Ashlynn Shade, giving Indiana two players at the tryout.
Crockett enjoyed Colorado Springs – “It was really, really pretty,” she said – but she noted that the trip was all basketball, all the time.
“Two of the nights I went out with Ashlynn Shade’s family, and the other night I went out with my dad,” said Crockett.
The tryouts were run by the USA Basketball team coaches, with a committee selecting the 12 players for the team. The committee included head coaches from DePaul, Minnesota, Clemson and Washington State. Joni Taylor, the U18 team’s head coach, had just been appointed as the Texas A&M head coach after several years as the Georgia head coach.
The 30 players participated in morning and evening trials throughout their three days in Colorado.
“They mainly consisted of doing drills, incorporating things that we would be doing if we were on the team,” said Crockett. “Seeing how well we flowed with each other and how we gelled. We just did a lot of playing, a lot of up and down, half court. Shooting drills to get everyone flowing and see who communicates the best.”
The committee picked the 12 players for the team on June 3. Crockett and Shade were not on the final team, but it was still a great experience.
“It was super exciting, especially getting to know Ashlynn a lot more in Colorado,” said Crockett. “She’s an awesome player and awesome human being, so I think it was very special to play against her one last time,” she said.
The U18 team played in the 2022 FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The US team won the gold medal, beating Canada 82-77 in the championship game this past Sunday.
Once the tryouts were done, Crockett headed right back to Westfield. “My flight was changed that day and it was a whole ordeal,” she said. Once she got off the plane, she went right to her graduation party.
After a few days off, it was time to prepare for the Indiana All-Star games. Crockett made the much shorter trip to Marian College in Indianapolis for the first practice on June 7. The team then headed to Owensboro, Ky. on June 10 for the first of Indiana’s two games with the Kentucky All-Stars.
(Joshua Herd)
BIG SHOT
That first game was a memorable one for Crockett. Overcoming a rough shooting night, Crockett found herself with the ball, and Indiana down 66-65 with under 10 seconds to go.
“I drove and I was off-balance outside of the box,” said Crockett. “I just threw it off the backboard and hoped it went in or got fouled.”
The shot went in, and it gave Indiana a 67-66 victory.
“It was definitely exciting to make the winning basket,” said Crockett. “It would’ve been sweeter to make it at home, but it was definitely exciting, having the confidence to go in there and make the winning shot.”
The series moved to Southport for the second game on June 11. Kentucky won that contest 101-76, but Crockett said the team had a better shooting night than the previous game. Indiana also had to contend with two tough Kentucky players – Amiya Jenkins had 31 points to lead Kentucky, with Bellarmine commit Gracie Merkle adding 29 points. Crockett led Indiana with 22 points.
“Overall, we played very hard with the atmosphere we were given, which was very exciting,” said Crockett. Adding to the excitement was the Crockett received the MVP award after the game. “I think it was definitely unexpected,” she said. But after her heroics in both games, it was also well-deserved.
NEW EXPERIENCES
On Friday, Crockett will be traveling up to Ann Arbor, Mich., to begin her journey as a Wolverine. The players move in on Saturday, and there are quite a few emotions involved. Crockett said she’s “very excited for all the new experiences,” nervous for all the unknowns, and she has to leave her family, including her three younger siblings.
“But it’s good that I’m not too far away from home,” said Crockett. Since Michigan plays in the Big Ten, her family will be able to attend several games, which Crockett said “is going to make it more special.”
Crockett will have some friends up there as well. Carmel’s Kate Clarke, another Indiana All-Star, will begin her freshman season at Michigan at the same time. Noblesville’s Emily Kiser will be coming back as a fifth-year senior. Zionsville’s Maddie Nolan will be a senior, and Heritage Christian’s Ari Wiggins will be a sophomore. Amy Dilk, the 2018 Miss Basketball from Carmel, played for the Wolverines all four years. She graduated this past spring.
“I wanted to stay in the Big Ten, and Michigan has been growing exponentially,” said Crockett. The Wolverines were at one point ranked as high as No. 4 in the country last season and made their way to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
“Coach (Kim Barnes) Arrico is just really drawing up all the Hamilton County girls,” said Crockett. “It just made sense for me to go there. I’m really happy – super excited to get going.”