Freshman Aaliyah Stanton makes quick splash for UTEP women's basketball
Keitha Adams has an eye for point guards.
Her first time through UTEP she built the program with a succession of them who stepped right in as freshmen and created eras for themselves, including two who are on her current staff (Jareica Hughes and Lulu McKinney) and one who was on her previous staff at Wichita State (Kelly Willingham).
That's going to be the path to building UTEP, and now it's happening again with Aaliyah Stanton. In the Miners' last game against Portland Stanton went from sixth player to her first college start, and as UTEP heads to its Wednesday opener in the West Palm Beach Classic against Illinois-Chicago, Stanton has become a linchpin for the future.
None of this surprises Adams.
"If you think back on the point guards we've had, we've had a lot of point guards who've played for us as freshmen," Adams said. "Kelly (Willingham) played as a freshman, (Jareica Hughes) played as a freshman, Lulu (McKinney) did. We've done a good job of identifying good point guards."
Stanton is making it look that easy, though she admits there has been an adjustment. The way she's handled that speaks to her bright future.
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"The hardest part, I would say, is coming off the bench," Stanton said. "In high school I was used to starting. Here it made me hungrier. It encouraged me to work harder to get more playing time."
There's a reason she didn't come off the floor much at Rancho Christian High in Southern California. She averaged 30.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 4.0 steals while becoming her conference's player of the year, though that didn't open as many doors as one might think.
Her only Division I offers were Wagner College in New York and UTEP, making this one of the rare cases the Miners grabbed someone from Southern California who wanted to stay closer to home.
"This was my opportunity to play Division I basketball," Stanton said. "And it's a great community, great fans and I love the coaches and my teammates."
On the floor, the 5-foot-5 Stanton has the most important attributes to be a star.
"The things she can do, she can defend she can score, she's a good passer," Adams said. "She's having to adjust high school to Division I, but she has the ability to score and play-make and then guard. She has a good basketball IQ.
"The big thing is, she comes in and works hard every day. She's really coachable, she has good listening skills. The thing I like about her in games, she definitely plays with an aggressive attitude, she makes good plays, she does good things for us."
When asked what she does best, Stanton began with something most freshman wouldn't list.
"Leadership," she said. "I can play defense, I can put the ball in the basket and I can look for my teammates, create open shots for them."
How does a freshman lead a veteran team?
"I make sure I talk to my teammates, direct them on the floor, I echo my coach," Stanton said. "I feel like it doesn't matter about your age, being the youngest. If you can play, you can play."
There's a bill Stanton fits perfectly.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
UTEP women's basketball at West Palm Beach Classic
What: A Division I women's college basketball event
When, where: Wednesday and Thursday, West Palm Beach, Florida
Schedule: vs. Illinois-Chicago, 9 a.m. Mountain time Wednesday; vs. Illinois, 11:15 a.m. Mountain time Thursday
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Freshman Aaliyah Stanton makes quick splash for UTEP women's basketball
