SHEA LANE: FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL GOT A “REAL ONE”

Sometimes the talent is sitting right there in front of your eyes—and you don’t see it. Sometimes the talent is there, but most people miss it.And then there is always someone who sees it. Someone who recognizes the magic. Someone who knows they have found lost gold.Franklin & Marshall knows a good thing when they see it. Shea Lane is a good thing. And now she is committed to Franklin & Marshall.

Trust me—big things are about to happen. I have some regrets as a coach and trainer. One of my biggest in recent years is not having the opportunity to work with Shea Lane.

Why?

Because I take pride in recognizing talent. I love players with that “IT” factor that so many others overlook. Shea Lane has it. I have watched Shea play and found myself asking questions that I believe every good trainer should ask:

Did anyone notice that?

Did anyone notice the quickness?

The ability to stop and start?

The ability to see the next pass before it develops?

The ability to read second-level defenders?

The ability to make the game easier for everyone around her?

I watch Shea Lane play and I see something that can’t always be measured by a box score. She understands the game. Maybe some of that comes from being a coach’s daughter. Her father, Mike Lane, is the head coach at NJIT. I don’t know for sure.

But I do know this:

She can shoot the basketball.

She has Division I quickness.

She is skilled.

She sees the floor.

And most importantly, I would want Shea Lane on my roster. That’s the ultimate compliment I can give a player. SHE’S THE TYPE OF KID PEOPLE WANT TO BE AROUND. I don’t know but I believe that starts in the home. If you have met her mother Jill, I believe you would understand why I say this.

SHEA IS DIFFERENT.

Shea is unselfish. I watched her play many times and wondered: Why isn’t her team running more of its offense through her? Why isn’t the ball in her hands more? Because I knew she had the ability to elevate everyone around her. That’s what people sometimes miss about Shea. She doesn’t play like someone trying to prove how good she is. She plays like someone trying to make her team better. And that’s rare. I sometimes felt like her talent was being hidden in the dark. But maybe that was never the story. Maybe Shea simply wasn’t interested in making the game about herself. And that’s the secret sauce.

She plays the game the right way.

That’s why if you weren’t paying attention, you may not fully understand what Franklin & Marshall just picked up. Four years from now, people will talk about how Franklin & Marshall found a hidden gem. But here’s the truth: Shea Lane isn’t a hidden gem. She’s only hidden to people who weren’t paying attention. I knew she was special years ago. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to train her.

I wanted to see that talent every day.

I wanted to help develop it.

I wanted to watch it grow.

And, yes, I wanted to brag about it a little bit too. But none of that matters now. Because Shea Lane has found a home. A place that saw what I saw. A place that understands what she brings to a basketball program. FRANKLIN & MARSHALL GOT A REAL ONE.

They got a baller.

They got a player.

They got a program kid.

And they got one heck of a person.

Shea is the type of player who will elevate a team’s culture.

She will lift the spirit of a program.

She will make teammates better.

She will compete.

She will sacrifice.

And she will understand that the game is bigger than any one individual. That’s what makes her special. And that’s what makes her perfect for Franklin & Marshall.

ONE MORE THING.

Shea Lane is not an NBS kid. But I hope that changes for one day. On Senior Day, we’re going to invite Shea to NBS. Why? Because Shea Lane represents what NBS is about. NBS is about kids realizing that their team is bigger than them. That the game is bigger than them. That being a great teammate matters. That making somebody else better matters. That competing matters.T hat doing things the right way matters. And that the best players aren’t always the ones screaming, “Look at me.”Sometimes they’re the ones quietly making everybody around them better.That’s Shea Lane. She has always been special. Franklin & Marshall just recognized it. Now it’s time for everybody else to see it.

THEY GOT A REAL ONE.

SHEA LANE.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL.

IT JUST SOUNDS RIGHT

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