When former UCLA All-American Maylana Martin came back to UCLA
as an assistant coach this past summer, she was hired for one
reason.
“My job is the post,” Martin said. “These
girls have the skills, but it’s my job to turn them into
basketball players.”
The one player who could benefit most from Martin’s
deftness as a low-post threat is freshman Lindsey Pluimer.
A 6-foot-3 forward from San Clemente, Pluimer was predominantly
a perimeter player in high school but is hoped to be a presence on
the inside for a Bruin team brimming with guards.
“She has all the skills,” Martin said. “She
has size, a good outside game and a competitive
demeanor.”
“It’s just a matter of using those skills that will
separate herself from the rest.”
The biggest change Pluimer will have to make is adjusting to the
college game.
In high school, Pluimer was part of a basketball program that
won four consecutive CIF-Southern Section I-A titles that was a
perennial contender for championships.
“Lindsey can’t just settle for being a good
player,” Martin said. “In high school, she dominated,
but it will take her time to get used to the speed of the college
game.”
A major part of Pluimer’s growing process will be
establishing a close relationship with the coaches and the
team.
“It’s one of the major reasons I chose UCLA,”
Pluimer said. “The players are a very close-knit group and
the coaches only contribute to that.”
Martin, in her first year as an assistant, has been seen as a
mentor for Pluimer and a model for her to emulate.
“Maylana had that competitive fire as a player that
separated her from the rest,” said coach Kathy Olivier, who
coached Martin at UCLA (1996-1999). “Hopefully, she will able
to translate to Lindsey.”
Martin was voted the Pac-10 freshman of the year in 1997 and
came in with the same high expectations that Pluimer is facing
now.
“It’s been awesome having Maylana around,”
Pluimer said.
“She’s been here and experienced a lot of things,
and I think I can learn a lot from her.”
With the focus of the Bruin offense to revolve around Noelle
Quinn, Nikki Blue and Lisa Willis, Pluimer will be asked to do
other things than just score.
But what Pluimer has learned from the Triple Threat is the value
in establishing a close rapport between teammates and coaches.
“The coaches bring such energy to the court,”
Pluimer said. “And I think the team just feeds off
that.”
The addition of Martin to the coaching staff only adds to the
closeness of the team and will be one of the big factors in the
success of the Bruins this year.
“Having a close relationship with the players is very
important,” Martin said.
“The girls should know I have confidence in them and that
we are together as a team.”