Season recap: Laurin Mincy
After tearing her ACL and meniscus in September, Laurin Mincy was resigned to the fact that she would spend her entire senior season at University High in Newark, N.J., relegated to the bench in street clothes.
Mincy, however, wasn’t satisfied with that grim prognosis. The Maryland-bound shooting guard powered through the rehabilitation process and rejoined the active roster midway through the season.
“She had a big, big smile on her face,” University coach Felicia Oliver said of Mincy’s first game back. “Her eyes lit up. She was just so happy and she was having fun. ... I was going to support Laurin whether she played or she didn’t play. My take on it is, I do what makes my players happy. I just support them in any possible endeavor that they would want to do. It wasn’t that our season was based on that. It was just that Laurin was ready to play.”
Oliver says Mincy, a 5-foot-11 senior, is doing well and her leg is back to full strength. Still, the McDonald’s All-American -- who scored 1,843 points in her previous three varsity seasons -- wasn’t completely ready to pick up where she left off. Mincy played the setup role this season for Oliver’s University squad, which finished 18-11 and made it to the championship game of the North Jersey Section 2 Group 1 tournament.
“We didn’t look for her to score. She was a passer and [we relied on her for] just setting up things,” Oliver said. “Anytime she steps on the court, anytime you call her number to go out there, she’s a player and she’s always ready to go. So there was nothing tentative about her as a player.”
Even before she made her unexpected return to the court, Mincy was making contributions to University. Oliver said Mincy never missed a practice and looked right at home on the sidelines, instructing her teammates and pumping the team up.
“She was always at practice and motivated [our team] on the sidelines,” Oliver said. “She would demonstrate drills and just come in with a lot of enthusiasm. She sat on the bench and was the team’s biggest supporter. She was like another coach on the sidelines.”
Mincy’s next significant on-court appearance comes March 31 at the McDonald’s Game in Columbus, Ohio. After that, she’ll start preparing for her arrival in College Park. Oliver said the Maryland coaches are counting on Mincy to be a scorer for the Terps from Day 1. After the early return from a serious injury, Oliver said Mincy will be able to handle anything that comes her way in college.
“Well for Laurin, she’s a competitor. I think [coming back early from the injury] shows that she has good, sound character and she’s tough,” Oliver said. “She dealt with her adversity and she overcame it. A lot of times, how far you go in life is based on how well you deal with adversity and the trials and tribulations. I think she overcame that and she’ll be more mentally prepared when she goes down to the University of Maryland. She won’t have to deal with wondering if she’ll get through it, because all of that has been put to rest.”
