Princeton’s Littlefield making strides at point guard
PRINCETON » Carlie Littlefield spent her summer practicing the precise pocket passes that point guards have to make in order to be successful at the college level.
Then she arrived on campus at Princeton and met Bella Alarie — the 6-foot-4 soon to be Ivy League Player of the Year and potential All-American.
“She kept bouncing it to Bella, and we’re like, ‘no, no, no!” coach Courtney Banghart said. “The poor kid did all this practice and how many pocket passes did she make to get ready for college basketball? She got here and we told her to throw it up in the air.”
Oh, the things you learn as a freshman.
“She’s a matchup nightmare, so anytime I can get her the ball I try to because she’s a really special player,” Littlefield said. “I can throw it way above the basket and I know she’ll go get it. That makes my job easy.”
The Tigers (13-3, 3-0) pulled away from Cornell on Saturday to extend their winning streak to seven before pausing for exams. Littlefield has posted 10.2 points and 3.8 assists per game during this run as she continues on-the-job training.
“The biggest challenges have probably been just the speed of the game, and what coach has been teaching me a lot is putting other people in positions where they’re best,” Littlefield said. “I’ve learned a lot about putting people in the right positions, which is also really important as a point guard.”
Banghart said Littlefield reads the game really well, but her next step is to pick her spots when to be a facilitator and when to be a scorer.
Littlefield, for example, gave Princeton a jolt in the second half against Cornell when she scored all eight of her points and dished out three assists to secure what ended up a comfortable victory after leading by two at halftime.
“She is coming into a really good team and she’s your starting point guard and second leading minute getter,” Banghart said. “Part of it is she’s wanting everybody else to thrive. As she continues to get better, she’s going to be really aggressive and still get others involved.”
“It’s mostly just a feel thing that I’ve kind of developed,” said Littlefield, who scored over 1,300 points prior to Princeton at Waukee High in Iowa. “It’s really important to the position of point guard. I found that I’m definitely more of a pass-first (player), but there are times, like the start of the half where I need to become more of a scorer first.”
Banghart said there are some similarities between this group and the one that went 30-0 in the regular season in 2014-15, pointing to the chemistry and levelheadedness it has displayed
against a challenging schedule to date.
Littliefield, the coach added, has some qualities that remind of her of Blake Dietrich, that team’s best player.
“They always stated int he moment (and) part of that was Blake’s fire and leadership,” Banghart said. “Carlie, ironically, has a little bit of that, too, at a young age. She has this competitiveness that’s consistent.”
High praise for sure, but Littlefield is focusing on the task in front of her.
“I’m getting very comfortable, especially with this team,” Littlefield said. “This team is so fun to play with. Everybody brings a special piece. They make me look good.”