File photo by Paul Burdick
Malia Tate-DeFreitas had an anticlimactic entrance into the 1,000-point club. She made the jump into the 2,000-point club with much more excitement.
A basketball player usually only reaches a major scoring milestone once in a high school career; and it's usually very exciting. That wasn't the case for
Malia Tate-DeFreitas of
Steelton-Highspire (Steelton, Pa.).
"I didn't like the way it happened because it was on a ‘plus-one' from the foul line," she said with a laugh looking back at the moment she scored her 1,000th point. "Not very exciting at all."
File photo by Paul Burdick
Malia Tate-DeFreitas
More than a year later, she got a second chance. And this time around, it was a lot more exciting.
The junior point guard recently nailed a 3-pointer from the corner for her 2,000th career point.
"It was much better because it was a 3-pointer," she said of her milestone shot, which contributed to her 45 points in the win over Bishop McDevitt on Feb. 1.
Ironically, she admitted that as a young girl she never expected to score even one point in the sport of basketball.
"I was a cheerleader and played tennis," she explained. "All the girly stuff. I really had no interest in the game."
Tate-DeFreitas said her father convinced her to play basketball because she was taller than everyone else her age. So in sixth grade she did just that.
Since then, the 5-foot-7 prolific scorer has developed into an extremely talented all-around player. Unlike a lot of leading scorers — she averages just less than 32 points per game — the 2011 girls basketball Class A Player of the Year can do more than shoot the rock, as evinced by her 14 rebounds, eight assists and six steals against McDevitt.
"She is a very unselfish player," fourth-year coach Jeffrey Chisholm said. "She makes all the players around her better."
Tate-DeFreitas led the Steamrollers to the PIAA Class A state title last year, a far cry from where the program was before her arrival.
"We only won a few games each year without her," Chisholm said. "But once she stepped on board we went 25-4 and 27-4. She made the difference. We used to barely have the players' parents in the stands. Now the gym is packed. She has the winning attitude."
Tate-DeFreitas' next milestone will be if she breaks the school scoring record of 2,409 points, set by Rod Brookin (1982-86). Barring injury, breaking the record is a given. But it's something the unselfish young lady refuses to take for granted, and in fact, isn't even thinking about.
"I need to try not to let all that [record talk] mess me up," she said. "I just try to play my game and take it one game at a time."
Tate-DeFreitas is averaging eight assists — "I'd much rather make a great pass than shoot," she insisted — five steals and 12 rebounds this season. She said that playing on the Lady Gauchos (Bronx, NYC) AAU team last summer not only improved her game tremendously, but pointed out her flaws.
"I was playing with such great players, so I could trust my teammates more and there was a lot of good competition because there were always five very good players on the floor," she said. "It made me a much better player, but it also showed me I have a lot more work to do on my own game."
The Steamrollers (21-1) are working toward defending their state title. But Tate-DeFreitas is quick to point out that there are more immediate goals to be accomplished first.
"My teammates and I need to focus on districts first and then worry about states," she firmly stated. "I don't want last year's state championship to go to their heads."
File photo by Paul Burdick
Malia Tate-DeFreitas
When the playoffs do arrive, Chisholm is confident his star player will shine.
"She's pretty focused right now," he said. "But she turns it up another level at playoff time."
The modest Tate-DeFreitas is also a star off the court.
"Malia is the ideal student to represent our school," principal Willie Slade Jr. said. "She is very unselfish and always carries herself with class and dignity. She truly does not want attention or awards thrown her way, but only towards her team. She has worked hard to become the player she is and works equally hard to be just as good a person."
During the rare moments when she's not playing basketball, Tate-DeFreitas volunteers at a shelter feeding the homeless, and this summer plans to volunteer at a nursing home where her mother works. She does all this in between studying and working as a salesperson at a local sneaker store.
Chisholm said that when people see her interact with others off the court, they can't believe she's the same tenacious player that they've watched on it.
"Off the court she's a quiet leader," he explained. "She has a very soft, gentle voice. People don't believe she's a ball player when they look at her and hear her speak. But she's a ball player. When you see her play, you're like, ‘Wow.'
"She's exciting to watch."
Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and on the broadcast team for the 1290AM The Ticket High School Football and Basketball Games of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com and follow him on Twitter @jonbuzby.