Kelsey Plum held the all-time NCAA women’s scoring record before it was broken by Caitlin Clark this year. Therefore, it’s not surprising that she was a top player during her college basketball days and had a lot of influence on her University of Washington team. On that note, Trae Young recently tipped his hat to the Las Vegas Aces guard after sharing a clip of Plum from her Washington Huskies days.
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In the clip shared by Young, we can see a huge role reversal. Instead of her coach Mike Neighbors drawing up a play for the team, Plum is seen commanding the clipboard to explain to her coach what plays she would like her squad to run.
Since her early hooping days, Plum’s basketball IQ has earned a ton of laurels. But the way she was seen drawing up and explaining a play to her coach surprised many, including Young.
An X handle “Hoop Herald” posted the clip of the unique instance with the caption, “Trust your players and they will trust you”. The Atlanta Hawks star then shared the clip on his X timeline, clearly amused with what he just saw. He wrote, “Nahh this a different level of trust… don’t try this kids at home kids K Plum 1 of 1 [laughing emoji]”
Nahh this a different level of trust..
don’t try this kids at home kids K Plum 1 of 1🤣 https://t.co/ESsRyOGMvf— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) July 22, 2024
Plum was indeed endowed with unusual privileges during her college career. Coach Neighbors named her Team captain in her freshman year, something which is unheard of. She delivered on the tag immediately, putting up 20.9 points per game in her first NCAA year.
From there on, she only kept getting better, finishing her final year with 31.7 points, 5.2 assists, and 1.48 steals per game on 52.9% shooting from the floor.
She finished her college career with 3,527 points, finishing just 270 points short of Pete Maravich’s All-Time NCAA scoring record, which was also broken by Caitlin Clark this year. Her phenomenal basketball acumen was one of the reasons why Coach Neighbors didn’t hesitate to give her a chance to play Coach Plum.
In the NBA, such instances are common. Veterans like Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Rajon Rondo have often drawn up plays for their teams. It indicates that these players have high basketball-IQ, which makes their coach trust them with such a responsibility.
Kelsey Plum also belongs on the list of such athletes.
