Destiny chooses Brock
Destiny Paquin had a small reason for wanting to pursue a university basketball career with the Brock Badgers.
“My mom just had a baby and why would I want to go away when I can reach out to Brock and see if I can play basketball there?” she said. “They have a great team, they have a great program and everything seemed to fit perfectly.”
Her newest sibling, two-week old brother Memphis, is the latest addition to a close-knit family.
“I love my family so much and I always get so homesick when I am away,” Paquin said. “It’s a super feeling to stay at home and I am not going to live in res (residence). I am going to live at home.”
The 17-year-old Welland resident feels getting stronger is the most important thing to address as she prepares for her rookie season of Ontario University Athletics play.
“I do have speed which helps, because most tall girls are kind of slow,” she said. “But I need to get bigger somehow and be able to take the heat in the post.”
Frank Keltos, who coaches Paquin on the Niagara JUEL team, agrees with that assessment.
“The work required at that level will be a big eye-opener, but it will be the same for every girl moving up from the high school level,” he said. “I think she will embrace it and strive to be a really good university athlete.”
He sees a bright future for her at Brock.
“She has tons of talent, this is what she has been working towards and I think she is going to be a very good CIS (Canadian university) player.”
Keltos likes a lot of things about the 5-foot-11 forward’s game.
“She does everything really well. She drives well and shoots the ball well, but the biggest thing we have been working on with her is her confidence and staying confident.”
Confidence is an issue many players face.
“She has probably the fastest first step on the team but, for some reason, on the second step she loses her confidence and slows herself down,” Keltos said. “And it’s the same thing when she has a wide-open shot. She tends to not take it because of what’s going on.”
The Grade 12 student at Centennial knows confidence is an issue for her.
“That has always been my struggle and I always get super nervous and I don’t know where it comes from,” she said. “I get so nervous about every little thing and when it comes to basketball, it gets so much more intense.”
She and Keltos have seen progress in that area but both are hoping for more. One thing Paquin doesn’t need to worry about is work ethic.
“She works hard and she just thrives on that,” Keltos said. “She is one of those kids that eats it up and she is ready to take any good or any bad criticism and try to improve.”
Keltos also loves Paquin’s personality.
“She’s probably the most positive kid that I have ever coached,” he said. “She always has something good to say about the team and she comes up with funny jokes as well.”
Paquin admits to being happy and a little goofy at times.
“I love being happy and it really brings me joy to make other people laugh too,” she said. “I use sports and my hobbies to make me feel better about life in general.
“If I come to practice happy and it rubs off on other people, we have a way better time.”
The former Welland Warriors travel player, who started playing basketball when she was eight, is looking forward to bonding with the other women on the Brock team.
“I absolutely love being part of a team and they all seem so nice already,” she said. “The few times I have gone to see them they have been so welcoming.”
She’s also looking forward to improving as a basketball player.
“Every practice I went to with them, I could feel myself change in some way and that was just a few practices,” she said.
Brock head coach Mike Rao said Paquin landed solidly on his radar after one of his coaches saw her play in the high school all-star game at Niagara College.
“I looked at her, I liked her athleticism and what really caught my eye was the way that she handled the ball,” he said. “We decided to talk to her, we brought her in for a couple of workouts and we love her.
“I think she is going to be a good addition.”
