Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Gaels star on way to Old Dominion

Nicole Bellinghausen is prepared to wipe out the perception that Las Vegas is a wasteland for girls' high school basketball talent.

The 6-foot standout from Bishop Gorman signed a letter of intent to attend women's basketball power Old Dominion next season. The Norfolk, Va., school was ranked as high as No. 6 in the country before it was knocked out of the NCAA tournament by Virginia, an eventual Final Four team.

"Those big schools don't come down here to recruit no matter what they hear," said Bellinghausen, who as a senior averaged 18.3 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. "I hope that changes soon. There are a lot of girls who are just as good as me. We're underrated.

"Nobody believes I can do it, but my job is to prove everybody wrong and I'm going to prove them wrong."

Other top players from the area such as Cimarron-Memorial's Georgette Brewer and Rancho's Venetia Graham and Demetria Miller will most likely play at the junior college level, if anywhere.

But for Bellinghausen, the decision was hard. She also was recruited heavily by Oregon State and Tulsa.

"Oregon State came to my house Saturday and Old Dominion came Sunday, so I was listening to what they both had to say," she said. "Coach (Wendy) Larry at Old Dominion had a very good point when she asked 'If you ever got injured or weren't able to play at whichever school you chose, could you live in that place without basketball?'"

That was the clincher for Bellinghausen, who will study vocal performance.

"I really liked its location," she said. "There are a lot of music opportunities on the East Coast."

Although she played center for the Gaels, Bellinghausen will be moved to power forward immediately with the intention of breaking her in at small forward down the road.

"They've been very honest with Nicole about the work she has to do to play at that level," Gorman coach Tom Robinson said. "The first thing is conditioning. She's going to be required to work on her conditioning far beyond what she's been required before. Second, she needs direction. She'll get that from the coaches as well as the veteran players.

"The great thing about Nicole is that not only is she one of the most coachable athletes I've ever encountered, but she wants to learn, and she wants to learn correctly."

Recruiting notes

* ALLEN TO GEORGETOWN: Green Valley High track star Carron Allen accepted a full-scholarship from Georgetown University. Allen, a 4.0 student, placed second in the 200-meter dash last year in 25.89 seconds. So far this season, she has recorded the fastest time in the state in the 200 and the second-fastest in the 100-meter dash.

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