Sellers has high hopes for senior season and beyond
Basketball has been in senior Shayla Sellers’ blood since before she was born. Her father, Brad, played collegiately at the Ohio State University and was then drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the eighth pick of the 1986 NBA Draft. He played professionally from 1986 to 1999 both in the United States and overseas in Spain, Israel, Greece, and France.
“My dad played all his life and I watched my sisters play when they were growing up so I decided I wanted to play too,” said Sellers.
In the Sellers family, all four girls played basketball from a young age. Sydney, the oldest, had a respectable high school career and was a 2014 graduate of Aurora. Syarra, the second oldest sister and 2017 graduate of AHS, is currently playing college basketball at Thomas More College. Shayla is currently verbally committed to Purdue Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Finally, Shyanne is currently talking to numerous Power Five division one schools and has a bright future in the game of basketball.
For the senior captain, getting to play with her sister for one more year is something she looks to fully embrace, “I love playing with my sister, it is super fun. We both enjoy winning together and helping each other get better.”
The most powerful duo in the Suburban League will look to dominate teams again following an undefeated conference record in 2017. This is Sellers’ first goal for 2018, “To win conference again for a third year in a row and to make it farther in the postseason.”
Following a school-record 21 win season, the Lady Greenmen were upset by Cleveland John Hay on a last second buzzer-beater. Sellers was forced to miss the game due to a concussion.
She has redemption on her mind in 2018 in what is her final season as a member of the Lady Greenmen.
Sellers, a captain as a junior, is more than ready to provide whatever leadership is needed this year, “I was captain last year as a junior so I think I will able to have the same mentality and continue to lead by example.”
Although her high school career will end this season, Sellers committed to Purdue Fort Wayne a few days after Christmas and has much to look forward to. She talked to many schools throughout the recruiting process which started in eighth grade as she began to receive letters. These schools included Minnesota, Valparaiso, IUPUI, William and Mary, Duquesne, West Point, and Canisius.
Ultimately, she decided on PFW for three main reasons. “I was looking for a school with a nice coaching staff, one that was not too far from home, and a school that had what I wanted to study.”
Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne also took the time to get to personally know Sellers and her whole family, this had a major impact on her final decision. She says her parents are her biggest influences and thanks them for all of the opportunities they have provided her with.
As Sellers becomes more and more anxious for her senior season to begin, one thing is clear, “We know every team in the conference is aiming for us this year, so it just makes us want to win more and work harder.”
Ultimately, Sellers’ number one goal is to leave it all on the court and to have no doubts once she leaves Aurora High School to continue her academic and basketball careers. There is no doubt she is one of the best to ever suit up in the green and white.
