From Brooklyn, New York to St. Petersburg, Florida to Indiana University, Sasha Chaplin has been all throughout the East Coast. Sasha is now experiencing for the first time of her life the absence of her Mother’s presence on a daily basis due to her being far away from home, however, one thing I can say, despite all of the relocating, it has definitely paid off for the 6’4 Hoosiers Forward.
Indiana is a HUGE basketball state with a lot of tradition. I had no choice but to ask Sasha how she ended up choosing Indiana versus all of the other schools that were recruiting her. She told me the reason why she chose Indiana University was because of the beautiful atmosphere, the school’s academics, her teammates and coaches.
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I automatically knew that Sasha was a very diverse and well rounded lady. Rarely do you hear someone say that their personality is what separates them from everyone else. Sasha told me “I hold myself to high standards, and I don’t stop until I reach them, no matter how hard they may be”. That mindset describes not only her personality, but also her work ethic and drive to accomplish things in life! Normally, one might say their talents or a specific ability, but in Sasha’s case, there’s a lot more to it than just basketball Sasha is majoring in Informatics, which is a major dealing with computers.
She chose that specific major because of her love for computers and technology, and her interest in how it applies to our daily lives. From music to cell phones to gadgets, Sasha is always up-to-date when it comes to the latest technology! That is how she has always been and is something she sees herself doing in the future as well.
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But don’t get it twisted; Back to basketball!! I asked Sasha where she saw herself in 5 years, and she told me “Playing basketball professionally”. She shared a brief story with me saying she remembers when she was in 6th grade, she was being interview by a local newspaper and was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, and she said be in the WNBA. So this life that she has planned isn’t something that just came along the way, her goal ever since she was a little girl has always been to make it to the WNBA and she’s going right down that path!
The most impressive part about Sasha is what she’s gone through thus far, and the attitude she’s been able to maintain through it all. She stated “I’ve been injured a couple of times, but staying positive and focusing on my goals is what I’m trying to do. And also get through the hard times while keeping my goal in mind and continue pushing through and eventually I’ll reach it. Even though it may be hard, I have to do it at some point!”
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I usually never say anything is “perfect”, but I can say, with that mentality, you can’t get any better; it is definitely as good as it gets!
