Item Athlete of the Week – Ava Thurman

You know what I’ve been thinking? A player doesn’t need to have the most points to make the biggest impact. This week’s example of that: Ava Thurman of Classical girls basketball. Rewind back to Thursday night at English High. The Rams and Bulldogs were battling to the very end in an inner-city showdown, and fearless Thurman stepped up. Host English held the lead late, but the guard connected on a short jumper before finishing a steal-and-score to cut the deficit to one. She also buried two clutch free throws in the final minute to pad the Rams’ eventual lead. Her highlight-reel plays completely tilted the momentum, putting Classical back in a game that it ended up winning 44-42. Also, in the first half, she set the tone with her poise and playmaking – never forcing the ball into tight areas and limiting her team’s turnovers. Thurman also reached double-digits (10 points) in the game, even though one could have argued her biggest weapon on Thursday was her passing. To the multi-sport, unselfish student-athlete that is Ava Thurman, good week.