The Rafu Shimpo - L.A. Japanese Daily News

Well Balanced
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
Rafu Sports Editor
Saturday, Feb. 3, 2007

La Verne’s Lindsey Shiomi is an all-around player, with leadership abilities that make a coach’s job easy.

Shiomi
MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS /Rafu Shimpo
Lindsey Shiomi isn’t trying out for the Harlem Globetrotters just yet; she’s doing very well as the current starting point guard for the University of LaVerne.

PASADENA.–She said that she’s never been terribly good at spinning a basketball on her finger for more than a few seconds. But that’s not part of the game.

University of La Verne point guard Lindsey Shiomi has just about every other facet of her game honed quite nicely, however. The junior from Cerritos wasted no time in showing skills when she first joined the Leopards, and head coach Julie Kline immediately recognized the value of such a player.

“Lindsey’s just a complete player,” Kline said. “She runs the floor, she’s a leader on the floor, she can shoot, she can penetrate, she can pass. Why would you not put her on the floor? I’d be a crazy coach if I didn’t.”

Not one to be given to bouts of lunacy, Kline has been nothing short of liberal in putting Shiomi on the floor. She has started all 18 games this season for La Verne (13-4, 6-0 in the SCIAC), averaging 38.1 minutes per contest. Last Thursday, she went wire-to-wire, playing all 40 minutes in La Verne’s 61-49 win at Caltech.

“She’s earned every minute she’s played,” Kline added.

Shiomi said that she had no expectations before joining the program of which she has taken on a heavy portion of responsibility.

“I just came ready to play,” she said. “Basketball is my life right now. It always has been, but even more so now, at the college level. In high school, after practice, I’d leave school then go out and play some more. Right now, this is my dream.”

Since her first dribble at the age of four, Shiomi has taken a familiar route; she has played for teams in the Orange Coast Optimist League, Anaheim OCBC as well as several others, before making a name for herself in high school at Whittier Christian. She said that storied coach Bruce Noda was the first one to put her at point guard.

The daughter of William and Stacey Shiomi of Cerritos said that she isn’t at all surprised by how well several of her contemporaries who played for Asian league teams are doing at colleges across the country. She said emphasis on the basics has made them invaluable players for any team.

“I think it’s because we start at such a young age—most of us started when we were four,” the 5-foot-3 guard explained. “We play together and the organizations get us involved with a lot of community activities and they really teach you how to play. It’s not just parks and recreation ball, they teach you the fundamentals. That’s what we have, the fundamentals. We might not be the tallest, we might not be the quickest, we might not be the strongest, but we’re solid in fundamentals and most of us are pretty good shooters.

“You wouldn’t know by the way I shot tonight, though...” she added with a scowl.

Shiomi finished Thursday’s game with six points and three assists, not far off her season average of 9.4 points and 3.6 assists per match.

Beyond the scorebook, however, it is instantly apparent why she means a greatdeal to the team. On the offensive side of the ball, Shiomi truly runs the show, calling and setting plays and evaluating the defense as her teammates get into position. At Caltech, most of the shouting and instruction from the coaches’ bench came when the Leopards were on defense.

Academically, Shiomi is in control as well. She grinned and took to quoting another well-known cat, telling me her grades are “Grrrreat!” She is holding a 3.6 grade point average as a sociology major at La Verne, a school noted–some have said notorious–for it rigorous standards.

“If I want to play, I have to do well in school,” she reasoned. “That’s just something anyone who plays a sport has to realize and take to heart.”

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