From LBPOSTSports.com: Monique Oliver is in a weird spot. Last season, she was a key part of the Poly girls’ basketball team’s state title run, but you might have missed the tallest player on the court, who had just transferred to Poly after her sophomore year of high school in Las Vegas. “Last year, honestly,” she says, “I just didn’t want to get in the way—I was kind of the outsider.” Her coach, Carl Buggs, agrees. “Last year this was Jasmine Dixon’s team,” he says. “Monique was in a new environment, and you know, kids will be kids. Nobody really knew who she was, they were like, ‘Who’s this girl, is she going to take my spot or what?'”
Cut to: tonight. Monique Oliver, who has been profiled on ESPN and committed to USC in the offseason, who has been named an All-American, leads her team into the CIF championship game. All eyes are now on the soft-spoken girl in the middle—need proof? The Post isn’t the only news outlet running a feature on Oliver today, as she’s the top story at the Press-Telegram as well.
It isn’t hard to see what’s happened in the intervening year—Oliver has gone from crucial role player to a bona fide leader. On the court, in practice, she’s more vocal, and more focused. It’s rare that fans (or sportswriters, for that matter) get to watch a player grow up in front of them, but watching Oliver come into her element has been one of those rare treats. Now, she talks confidently about her dreams, not just for this season, but for her life.
There’s USC in the Fall, a school she’s thought about attending for much of her life. And then, beyond that, a professional sports career, a relatively new aspiration for prep girls’ athletes. “I definitely want to play in the WNBA,” says Oliver. “That’s my dream, to play against Candace Parker one day. I want to stuff her,” she says, smiling sheepishly.
Click here for the rest of the article by Mike Guardabascio…