Shaina Pellington was talking about her experience on the Canadian national team when someone noted the jersey she was wearing.
Pellington looked down and began laughing. Team USA.
Make no mistake, however: Pellington, an Oklahoma transfer who is sitting out this season with the Arizona Wildcats, is Canadian through and through.
“I’ve worked my entire life to be able to put on that jersey and to call myself a national team member,” she said. “To represent your country — you represent a whole diverse group of different individuals who share the same values and grew up in the same place. I’m honored.”
Pellington, the Big 12 Conference freshman of the year two seasons ago, is sitting out this season because of NCAA transfer rules. She plays for the Wildcats’ scout team in practice, helping make her teammates better.
The Wildcats are much better, undefeated and ranked No. 24 nationally heading into Friday’s home game against UC Riverside.
Pellington is the first player in the Adia Barnes era to play for a national team. If Canada makes the Olympics — the next round of qualifiers come in February — she’ll become the first player in program history to play in the Summer Games.
“I think it’s awesome to be the only UA player to play with a national team and have a chance to make an Olympic team as a college athlete,” Barnes said. “That’s really incredible. In basketball, it’s unheard of.”
Pellington was the only non-professional player on Canada’s roster when it took part in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Americas Tournament in Edmonton, Alberta, earlier this month. She came off the bench in the first quarter of all three games — wins over Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic — to move on to the next round of qualifiers.
Pellington also played with the team this summer, so she was familiar with the coaches and some of her teammates before heading into this competition. She was so comfortable that she averaged 10 points and 2.7 rebounds per game while shooting 57%. She also tied with Sami Hill, who played at Virginia Tech and now plays professionally in Germany, for the team lead with 3.7 assists per game. Pellington played a total of 50 minutes across all three games.
“Just getting the opportunity to play surpassed my expectations,” Pellington said. “Training here with Coach Adia and all the things that I work on in practice — I’m confident in my abilities when I step on the floor, no matter what time I step on the floor. I know I’ve worked on those things. I know I’ve put the time in. It’s kind of like the saying, ‘Be ready so you don’t have to get ready.’ I am confident that I’ve put in the time to master these skills and I can go on the floor and be able to execute whenever I want to, because I know I’ve worked for it.”
That work includes shooting and extra time lifting and conditioning. She spent most of her time focusing on a few key areas to get prepped for the tournament.
“When you go to things like this you want to be better at everything, you know what I mean? My key thing was 3-point shooting,” she said. “I want to be more of a consistent shooter. … I’m getting a lot of shots up in practice and even after practice, before practice and on off days.
“For a little while, I was working on my technique as well. I had to spruce up on some technique issues with my shooting. And once I got that down, it was just all about repetition, muscle memory.”
Pellington’s Canadian teammates include WNBA players Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton and Natalie Achonwa. Former Oregon State standout Ruth Hamblin, who plays professionally overseas, is also a teammate.
Pellington said she has learned a lot from them. She’s noticed that the game slows down for her when she returns to Tucson after international competition.
Barnes has seen a change in Pellington since she’s returned from the tournament.
“I think that she brings back more of a sense of urgency, knowing that she has to get better at certain things,” Barnes said. “She’s a lot more confident; I think she’s a lot more focused. I think it’s helped her narrow her focus, and see where she wants to be and the things she wants to work on. Because as soon as she got back we talked about a few things that she needs to expand. … It’s not for sure yet, but in February, she’ll have a chance to go play with the team again, then hopefully, she’ll make the Olympic team. I think that’s amazing, and it’s great for our program.”
Rim shots
- Arizona is holding opponents to 31.2% shooting and is 14th in the nation in scoring defense, giving up an average of 48.7 points per game.
- The Wildcats’ 101 assists rank 16th in the nation.
- In the first three weeks of the season, three Pac-12 players have been named ESPNW’s player of the week — Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu
- Aari McDonald
- Jaelyn Brown
