‘Grandma’ fights way back to the court

No one knows who created the nickname, but it has certainly stuck.

“I think it was a team effort because you just look at her, and she’s been here forever, and everything she’s gone through — it’s like you’re the mother of this team – just like ‘grandma,’” junior forward Simone Deloach said.

Some time in October, or maybe even before that, IU women’s basketball players dubbed fifth-year senior center Sasha Chaplin “grandma” because of her experience and presence as a wise student athlete always willing to lend a hand.

“I came in with absolutely no knowledge of college or being a student athlete,” Deloach said. “I looked to her, and she came to be as the big sister role, and she taught me the ropes.
“I have become a better student athlete because of her.”

Chaplin has been around for so long due, in large part, to a myriad of lower leg injuries that cut two of her seasons short. During her freshman year in 2008, she tore her ACL eight games in and missed the rest of the season.

Two years later, she tore it again while recovering from a stress fracture and missed virtually the entire 2010-11 season.

Chaplin said the injuries changed her outlook for the better.

“Being a freshman...I would just go out there and just play kind of blowing it off a little bit,” she said. “Then, once my injury happened, the game could have truly gotten taken away from me.
“And this is a time for myself to change my outlook about basketball, about life, because you can have something one day, and the next day it can be gone from you in just an instant.”

Deloach rehabbed alongside Chaplin before the 2011-12 season and got to see Chaplin’s determination to get back on the court firsthand.

“It sucks being injured,” Deloach said. “Being in that experience with her, I got to know her on a different level because you see her fight and her drive to get back and help the team. It’s amazing. She’s really strong.”

Finally healthy, Chaplin’s presence in the program has never been felt this strongly. IU Coach Curt Miller said Chaplin rarely practiced last year because the team had to manage her health. Now, she’s fully immersed on the court.

“Former teams have gotten Sasha’s leadership because she’s a veteran, but they didn’t get it on a day-in and day-out basis,” Miller said. “She’s always had respect, but now it’s even better because she has been as healthy, knock on wood, as she’s been most of her career.”

Miller continues to manage Chaplin’s minutes to keep her fresh down the stretch. In 14 games, Chaplin has averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game. Chaplin said she has accepted her limited role.

“I’m fortunate, after two ACL injuries, to still be here playing basketball, doing something I love and being able to help a whole bunch of my teammates out,” she said.

As the season progresses, Miller said he anticipates playing her 20-plus minutes when the situation calls for it.

“We still can’t play Sasha the amount of sustained or back-to-back minutes as we’d like, but we can’t ask for much more in the burst of minutes that she plays,” he said.

Miller lauded Chaplin as the team’s best post-finisher, a good rebounder and an on-court leader. More importantly, he said, she sets an example for younger players.

Chaplin received her bachelor’s degree in informatics last May and is currently pursuing a master’s in human computer interaction and design.

“She’s got a really good balance, and younger players can look at her, where you can still be really driven and passionate about basketball outside of it, and have a successful collegiate career both on the court and off the court,” Miller said.

When Chaplin does finally move on from IU, she won’t have gaudy numbers and or make the IU Hall of Fame. She will still leave behind a legacy.

“When we got here, more people asked about Sasha than any other player on the team in terms of the fans and the season-ticket holders,” Miller said. “She’s left her legacy as much off the court as she has on the court.
“The fans really love her and identify with her.”