Honored for scoring more than 1,700 career points
Paton-Churdan senior Carleigh Paup was honored earlier this month for scoring her 1,500th career point, and according to coach Chris Petersen, she finished January with more than 1,700 points.
Paup leads all girl players in Class 1A with a 25.5 point per game average, with #2 being senior Regan Shockley of Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn with 21.9 points.
In her senior season Paup is shooting field goals at 48.2 percent and 3-point baskets at 29.2 percent, and she shoots at 73.3 percent from the free throw line.
She was inducted in P-C’s 1,000 Point Club as a junior. She shot at 41.3 percent (field goals) as a junior and at 41 percent as a sophomore. She is a four-year starter and shot at 32 percent her freshman year.
Petersen and Paup both had their “freshman” years at P-C for the 2012-13 season, as that was the year Petersen joined the P-C teaching staff and became girls basketball coach.
“It has been a four-year learning process for the both of us together, but the one thing that has remained constant has been Carleigh’s work ethic,” the coach said.
Paup has spent numerous hours practicing skills and learning the game, playing in summer and fall leagues, taking advantage of open gym time, and spending time in the gym in the mornings before school in the fall. “It wasn’t difficult for me to understand I had a special player on my hands even as a freshman,” Petersen said. “It has been fun to watch her grow as a player and see her become the complete play that she is today.
“Often times her scoring overshadows some of the other aspects of her game. I think what a lot of people don’t realize is that not only will she end up fairly high on the career scoring list, she will end up even higher on the career steals list. These two things really go hand in hand, as her quickness has allowed her to pile up over 100 steals in each of her four seasons, which has led to numerous transition lay-ups.”
Petersen had high praise for Paup outside the gym as well. “All of her basketball accolades are well-deserved, and she has worked tremendously hard for them,” he said. “However, the most enjoyable part of this journey for me has been watching her develop and grow into the fantastic person she is today.
“There are so many lessons off the court that basketball can offer, and she has transitioned all of those into the way she carries herself. The hard work she puts in on the court is the same hard work she puts into the classroom. She is not only dedicated to the game, but she is dedicated to her academics as she is planning on going into the medical field after graduation.”
Petersen has focused the team, which includes three other seniors – Sydney Koch, Kasey Lane and Reilly Niles – on attitude, effort and focus rather than on limiting turnovers or rebounding or shooting percentages. “Over the course of this season, and the past four years, I have gotten the opportunity to watch her transform into a player and person who has begun to master those three concepts. I have seen her develop into the great leader she has become for our team this year.
“She has really adopted a positive attitude, even when things are not necessarily going the way we would like. She has made a conscious effort to support and pick up her teammates when they make a mistake and not hang her head when the mistake is hers. Her effort day in and day out in practice and games is always extremely high. This has become contagious, especially for some of our younger players. She has always been a very focused player with high expectations for herself and for our team. She pushes her teammates to focus whether it be during a game or drill work in practice.
“More importantly, she has transferred those same things off the court, both academically and otherwise. She is a very positive individual, who is extremely focused and works hard for everything she achieves. Although it is hard to believe that her time on the court is almost up, I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach an amazing basketball player but more importantly a great person,” Petersen said.
Paup also plays volleyball and was on the Greene County softball team that was third in Class 3A in 2014 and second in 3A in 2015. She also ran on the track and field team when Paton-Churdan had a girls team.
