Is junior guard Danyella Mporokoso trying to chase perfection for Waubonsie Valley?
Well, she’s already off to a stellar start in her career with the Warriors, but that’s not good enough for her or coach Brett Love. They know even more can be unlocked with minor improvements.
It’s how superstars are.
“I’m particular,” Love said about Mporokoso. “We have a lot to work on, but that’s definitely something we’ve been talking about — her coming out and being aggressive, taking over games and being able to put the defense at a disadvantage with her skill set.”
Mporokoso took that feedback and put her response on display Monday during a game in Coach Kipp’s Hoopsfest at Benet, pouring in a career-high 40 points and showcasing her entire repertoire in a 69-46 victory over Hersey.
Delivering in every facet, Mporokoso shot 13 of 19 from the floor for Waubonsie (19-1), including a top-notch 6 of 10 from 3-point range. She also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds and added four assists and four steals.
Arie Garcia-Evans chipped in with 14 points for the Warriors. Kate Donovan scored 14 points and Sadie Marks added 13 for Hersey (14-9).
Mporokoso, an all-state player, has scored over 1,600 career points but even she knows there are small ways she can improve her performances.
“You can always get better,” Mporokoso said. “It’s obviously not big categories, but I have to figure out the things that aren’t good enough and aren’t perfect, which they’re never going to be.
“I’ll just continue to get better.”
Mporokoso has the ideal coach to keep her on task. Love has coached her since she was a youngster, and even after career games like Monday, he’ll find plenty to keep her on task.
And it’s something she welcomes.
“He just never lets me get comfortable and think this is good enough,” Mporokoso said of Love. “It’s never good enough. I just continue to get better.”
Consistency is another theme of Love’s talks with Mporokoso.
She always gets to 20 points, even if it’s just hustle plays and going to the basket. When you add in dominant 3-point shooting like she displayed Monday, it takes her game to a whole other level.
“That offensive game, when it starts flowing, it starts to generate effortlessly,” Love said. “That’s when she’s most dangerous.”
Mporokoso wasted little time Monday in Benet’s old Alumni Gym.
As the Warriors took a 21-8 lead, she scored 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting. By halftime, she had a stat line most players could only dream of for an entire game with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
“When she’s hot, we can get the ball to any of our teammates,” Garcia-Evans said. “It’s nice to see that. It helps tremendously for me. That’s amazing. That’s what we need.”
It could be easy for her teammates to sit back and watch the show when Mporokoso is on a heater. Garcia-Evans tries to keep everybody focused while No. 10 does her thing.
“Most of us try doing the little things like rebound, play good defense,” Garcia-Evans said. “That’s what we all try to do when she’s shooting like that.”
Not all games are created equally in Mporokoso’s eyes. Hersey is a quality team, and the two-day weekend event brings several of the best teams together from the Midwest.
That means plenty of eyes are on the outcomes, and that wasn’t lost on Mporokoso.
“I knew I had to start off really strong, not be intimidated,” she said. “It definitely shows me stepping out, scoring and getting rebounds, how much it can affect the game for the whole team.”
Love is all about sending messages throughout the season. Mporokoso and the Warriors delivered one of those messages Monday.
“You pick out games in your schedule that you’re looking forward to, to face better competition,” Mporokoso said. “Not only did we come out here and face better competition, we also dominated.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
