A Wednesday morning visit from a rising Tulsa Shock star came as, well, a bit of a shock to McLain High School’s girls basketball team.
Skylar Diggins’ surprise appearance to donate 14 pairs of brand new pairs of basketball shoes left 15-year-old Ariel Shelton-Brown in a puddle of happy tears.
“I started crying when she said she had been in our position before,” said the sophomore varsity player, choking back sobs, “and now I can’t stop.”
None of McLain’s players, nor their coach, knew the WNBA star was coming.
Junior Laja Jefferson said Diggins is her idol — and meeting her was all she asked for Christmas last year.
“When I told my dad all I wanted was her, he said, ‘Whatever,’?” said the 16-year-old. “It is unreal. Shaking her hand, my hands started shaking before I could even say anything. I already posted the picture on Facebook!”
Earlier this year, the Tulsa Shock got Diggins with the third pick of the WNBA draft’s first round. The Indiana native played college basketball at the University of Notre Dame, where she holds the school record for all-time scoring leader.
Bobby Nealy, McLain’s brand-new girls basketball coach, called the surprise donation of shoes a “big blessing” to the team, which numbers 30 girls across, freshman, junior varsity and varsity.
“I’m brand new here, and this is my first head coaching job and we really don’t have much. It’s a great group of young women, but we’ve just been working from fundraisers. We still need more shoes, travelling suits, warm-up pants and shooting shirts.”
Watching Diggins whisked out of the practice gym, calling out “Good luck, Coach!” to Nealy as she left, senior Jackie Offor said the whole scene seemed “surreal.”
“It was crazy,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m going to brag about this to everyone.”
Education
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