Blake Embraces Major Milestone, Even Though She Didn’t Foresee It
Kim North Trending
WHEELING - When Kaitlyn Blake took to the basketball court, whether as a student at John Marshall or Wheeling Central, she always had one goal in mind. She not only achieved that accomplishment, but went far beyond even her wildest dreams.
The 5-10 forward recently finished her high school career - which covered two seasons at each of the aforementioned institutions - with 2,005 points and 900 rebounds.
"I never expected to do anything like this throughout my career," she admitted. "I used to set a goal for myself every game. I had to get a rebound and a putback. That was my goal every single game. I thought maybe that was all I was going to accomplish, but I surpassed that.
"It still hasn't sunk in yet."
An amazing fact about her scoring 2,000-plus points is that she never attempted a three-point field goal.
"Sometimes at the end of practice we'll have three-point or half-court shooting contests," she said. "I can make them, but I'm a lot better on the inside."
Blake scored 1,279 points and pulled down 466 rebounds in her two elongated seasons with the Maroon Knights. They advanced to the state semifinals during her junior season and made it to the championship game this year before falling short of their goal.
Inside Success
"I have really great footwork, which allows me to make the moves that I do," she explained. "During practice I go against girls that are taller than me. That helps a lot, especially against two or three girls."
Rebound and Go
"Whenever I get a rebound on the defensive end it usually leads to fast breaks, which was a major part of our offense," Blake described. "Our guards knew that when I got a rebound to head up the floor."
Wheeling Central head coach Roberta Olejasz praised Blake's play.
"She runs the floor like nobody else. She gets a rebound and it's up the floor immediately for a layup at the other end," Olejasz said. "She's a tremendous athlete."
Future Plans
Despite all of her high school accolades and accomplishments, Blake is going to hang up her basketball jersey for an opportunity she couldn't pass up.
"I don't think I'm going to play basketball in college, but I'm happy and sad at the same time with that decision," she said. "I've been accepted into Duquesne University's physician assistant program. That program has a 5% acceptance rate. It's a very competitive program, and (the opportunity) was hard to turn down.
"I'm super happy about that, but at the same time, I'm sad that I have to leave the sport of basketball behind. I think it's for the best, though."
When asked about trying to walk-on with the Dukes, she replied, "I don't know if I'd try that. It is recommended, but not forbidden, that you don't even get a job during your first year in the program. It would probably be too much to take on."
Blake has compiled a 4.7 grade point average throughout high school.
Giving Thanks
"I want to thank all of my teammates at John Marshall, Coach (Brock) Melko, Coach (Curt) Mele, my mom, Beth Blake, all my teammates at Wheeling Central the last two years because they've truly been amazing and have been the best of my life. I'd also like to thank Coach Maddie (Seavy), Coach Jim (Robinson), Coach (Kevin) Heller and Coach Roberta (Olejasz).
"I want to also thank the entire Wheeling Central school community because I've had people come up to me that I didn't even know telling me they were glad I was here. It was definitely a warm welcome."
Double-Double Machine
During her senior campaign, Blake averaged 26.3 points and 10 rebounds. Her overtall game didn't stop there, as she handed out 2.8 assists and recorded 1.8 steals a game. She blocked 21 shots, shot 57.6 percent from the floor and 85.7 from the foul line.
With those eye-popping numbers, she was selected as the captain of the W.Va. Class AA All-state first team.
Generational Player
Olejasz said Blake was a pleasure to coach.
"Kaitlyn is a super star. She does pretty much anything you asked her to do. She'll run through a wall for you," Olejasz said. "She's a great leader on the floor, and she's very good at adapting to different situations. If you ask her to change something, she will. She's one of the most coachable players I've ever been around.
"When she came to (Wheeling) Central, she embraced everything we asked her to do with open arms."
She and the school were a perfect match.