Ready for the big time

By Justin A. Rice
Globe Correspondent / November 19, 2009

The Catholic Central Conference is not exactly a beacon for “bigs’’ banging down low in the post, which is precisely why Archbishop Williams senior Valerie Driscoll, a 6-foot-4 center, can’t wait to step onto a court in the Big Ten.
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“Some teams we play against, I’m the tallest girl by eight inches,’’ said Driscoll, who signed a letter of intent with the University of Michigan on the first day of the early signing period.

“It would be good to play someone my size and bang around with her.’’

That is quite a leap for a player, who by her own assessment was awful back whe she was playing middle-school ball.

“I was afraid of the ball, timid,’’ said the Stoughton teen. “I didn’t like playing, but I was tall. The more I practiced, the better I got, and the more I started to like it.’’

In the seventh grade, she was cut from a town travel team. But Archies coach Jim Bancroft saw a player of promise for his Bay State Magic Elite AAU squad. Driscoll lacked toughness but had a soft touch, an ability to run the floor, and a willingness to be coached.

“She was a big girl who hadn’t played a lot of basketball,’’ he said. “In the AAU season we looked for tough opponents, girls with more skill. She took her lumps, got beaten down and knocked down and outplayed many times. She very easily could have thrown up her hands, quit, and walked away. Luckily, she kept on working, and it all paid off for her.’’

In an AAU game in Rhode Island prior to Driscoll’s freshman season, Bancroft recalled, a coaching colleague turned to him on the bench and said, “ ‘Can you believe you got her at Archie for the next four years?’ I said, ‘I know, isn’t that cool?’ because she was doing everything we worked on the last two years. Her confidence grew, and that just helped it explode.’’

Her first two seasons at ABW, teaming up with Megan Black along with the backcourt duo of Casey Capello and Christine Duffy, Driscoll helped the Bishops to back-to-back state titles.

“I knew this was for me, I really am meant to play basketball,’’ said Driscoll, who until that point was unsure of her basketball future.

A year ago, with Black (Suffolk University), Duffy (Southern New Hampshire), and Capello (St. Lawrence) all playing at the collegiate level, Driscoll averaged 19.4 points and 17 rebounds per game and led the Bishops to the state semifinals, despite often facing double- and triple-teams in the paint.

Now she is believed to be the first player from her high school program to play for a Division 1 school. Driscoll visited the Ann Arbor campus during the summer and “just fell in love’’ with the school, she said. Her family subscribed to the Big Ten Network; last Friday, she watched the Wolverines’ opener, a win against Ball State.

“They run the floor really well, they run a lot and have a very high-tempo game, which I like,’’ Driscoll said. There was “a lot of banging around.’’

Coach Kevin Borseth, whose team finished 10-20 last season, is ecstatic to land Driscoll.

“Val is a big, strong presence around the basket, and really demands attention down low,’’ he said in statement. “It is something that we haven’t had, and we are excited to get her into our program. Val is an extremely hard worker and an all-around good person who I believe is going to be a major contributor to our program’s success.’’

First, though, Driscoll is determined to propel Archies to a third state title. “That would be very exciting.’’
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.