Photo by Unsplash
Photo by Unsplash
March Madness is about to hit big time in the Chicago area, as one of our country’s most popular and most famous sporting events is about to commence.
As Chicago Cubs baseball PA announcers used to say, “Get your pencils and scorecards ready,” because we are going to tell you about a must-watch player in this year’s tournament—and she is a born-and-bred Chicagoan.
If you are not yet familiar, let me introduce you to Vanderbilt freshman guard Aubrey Galvan—by way of Deerfield High School, Loyola Academy in Wilmette, and the Full Package Athletics travel program.
Her game is hard to describe in writing. You have to see it to really appreciate it. But…we shall try.
“Oh my!” “Wow!” “Did you see that?” and “Aubrey Galvan does it again!” are just a few of the superlatives that have been thrown out by announcers doing her games this year. That might be a good start to describing her game.
Truly a spectacular player, Galvan plays the game with an almost unmatched flair. She has charisma, creativity, and a uniqueness to her game that simply demands you keep watching.
She runs the floor as if she has a 30-mile-an-hour gale wind behind her; she is a deadly three-point shooter; can hit the off-balance shot with remarkable efficiency; weaves her way through traffic on the way to the basket, making defenders look like stationary orange pylons; she has handles that makes it seem like the ball is attached to her fingertips—and, drum roll please as we save the best for last… is maybe the best and most creative passer we have seen at the college level since that certain player that played a couple of years ago at Iowa.
In addition to all of the above noted skills, maybe what Galvan does best is she makes all her teammates better. The ultimate compliment, really, to any basketball player at any level.
As stated, Galvan is absolutely must-watch basketball. She has that “can’t take your eyes off her, what will she do next” style of play that simply can’t be taught, but comes only from hard work, total dedication to the game and, of course, some God-given talent to go with it.
Galvan was a grade-school and junior-high legend growing up in Deerfield, IL, and it was no surprise to many that she was an instant starter and star as a freshman on the Deerfield varsity.
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She then transferred to Loyola Academy, the number-one girls’ basketball program in the state, and with remarkable ease found her way into that star-studded program and became an instant success.
Her two-year career with the Ramblers included leading the team to a state championship and being named the Max Preps Illinois Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
It should be mentioned that throughout her youth and high school career, she fine-tuned her game playing spring, summer and fall for one of the top basketball programs in Chicago, Full Package Athletics. No question, a major contributor to her development.
The college recruiting process offered many possibilities for Galvan, but after much soul-searching and investigating of different programs, she chose to head to the Southeast Conference (the SEC) and play for the up-and-coming Vanderbilt Commodore program.
Many said that was a mistake. Many said that conference is too strong, she won’t get playing time there. Many said she was too short to play at that level, and that she wouldn’t be able to stay with the athleticism and speed of the other SEC guards.
“Many” were wrong—dead wrong.
Aubrey Galvan was an instant hit with the Commodores. She acclimated herself to the college game (the SEC being at the absolute highest level in women’s hoops) with remarkable ease.
Vanderbilt quickly became a top ten team in the nation this year, and Galvan as their lead point guard was a big part of it. She played Robin to the Batman that was Mikayla Blakes—one of the top players in the country—and she played that role to perfection.
Her 13 points per game and 6 assists per game only partially tell the story. Galvan’s value goes far beyond anything that statistics might show.
So, basketball fans and March Madness fanatics, there will no doubt be a lot of basketball to watch over the next few weeks. A lot of choices for viewing.
But let me suggest, find out when and where Vanderbilt is playing and make sure to catch their games.
Chicago’s very own Aubrey Galvan will be right there for you and guaranteed to entertain.
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