Freshman Giuffre in the fray for Toreros
Former Aptos star guard is seeing action for USD
Gabby Giuffre has found playing college basketball during the COVID-19 pandemic challenging, to put it mildly.
Now a freshman guard for the University of San Diego, the Aptos High graduate has experienced a season of fits and starts. San Diego has had eight of its games canceled or postponed for COVID-related reasons, including six straight from Jan. 7 through last Saturday.
USD had to pause all team activities during that span due to a positive test within its program. The Toreros (5-4, 2-2 West Coast Conference) couldn’t even practice as the entire team was under quarantine.
“It’s really hard to prep for a game all week, only to have it postponed,” Giuffre said. “It’s happened quite a bit — more times than I’d like. But sadly, that’s part of playing basketball during these times.”
The Toreros returned to action on Tuesday, hosting St. Mary’s College of Moraga. Giuffre played just eight minutes in USD’s 6356 loss.
Barring more rescheduling,
Giuffre will return to the Bay Area twice in the coming month: USD is scheduled to play at St. Mary’s on Feb. 11, then cap the regular season with games at San Francisco on Feb. 25 and Santa Clara on Feb. 27. However, having to play before virtually empty arenas due to COVID makes the prospect of a homecoming bittersweet.
Early in the season, Giuffre showed flashes of being the impact player that USD coach Cindy Fisher believes she will one day become. Giuffre scored four points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field in her collegiate debut against San Diego State on Dec. 5, then dished out two assists in the Toreros’ next game at Cal State Fullerton.
It was against Arizona State on Dec. 13, however, that Giuffre had her biggest game thus far. Giuffre scored 11 points, grabbed three rebounds and made three steals in 26 minutes — all career highs — in San Diego’s 64-55 loss to the Sun Devils.
“My teammates just put me in a really good position to do what I can do,” Giuffre said. “They gave me great looks, and that enabled me to put up double digits.”
It helped that Giuffre exudes a level of confidence
that is rare for a college freshman, according to Fisher.
“She got into a good kind of groove in that game,” the San Diego coach said. “For her to come in and shoot the ball with confidence is really a positive.”
Confidence isn’t all Giuffre brings to the USD program. She also brings a coach’s perspective, having coached elementary schoolers for three years in a local rec league.
“It helps me think about the game differently,” Giuffre said of her coaching experience. “As a player, your focus is on what needs to be done in the immediate moment. As a coach, you still care about what happens in the immediate moment, but you have to look at bigger-picture things. You have to come in with a plan and think more critically.”
Fisher believes coaching has helped make Giuffre a better player.
“She understands the Xs and Os well,” the USD coach said. “That’s easier when you have that experience. She has a really good feel for the game.”
A business major, Giuffre eventually hopes to open her own sports facility and one day coach at the high school level, perhaps beyond. For now, though, her focus is on continuing to develop into the player Fisher believes she can be.
“Her future is very bright here,” Fisher said.