UCF athletics has a new star athlete.
Thanks to a video that went viral about a week ago, UCF women’s basketball point guard Ashley Polacek is now an Internet sensation.
She posted a video on Instagram of her doing a dribbling drill during a workout in the Knights’ practice gym on June 15. Polacek is training this summer for the upcoming season under new head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson.
As days went by, more and more people found out about the video and were so amazed at the UCF point guard’s skills that they kept watching it repeatedly on numerous outlets around social media.
The video of Polacek showcasing her dribbling and handling skills on Instagram has reached over 127,500 views with about 7,500 likes.
Here’s a brief look at some of the numbers from social media, courtesy of UCF’s athletic department:
•Bleacher Report (Instagram): 766K+ views, 70K+ likes, 5K+ comments
•Whistle Sports (Facebook): 9.7+ million views, 120K shares, 92K reactions, 20K comments
•Basketball Vines (Instagram): 537K views, 95.1K likes
This was a surprise to Polacek, who never thought her video would make her famous.
“I didn’t know that other people would find out about it and actually share it. It wasn’t intended to be viral,” said Polacek in an interview with UCFKnights.com. “To be honest, it still hasn’t sunk in.”
“I imagined this for years — I knew this was going to happen one day, eventually, because hard work won’t go unnoticed forever.”
If you did not know who Ashley Polacek was before, you certainly know her now.
The sophomore point guard originally from Ottawa, Canada went to high school at SPIRE Academy in Ohio. She is listed at 5-foot-5. As a freshman last season, Polacek averaged 6.0 points, 2.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per game and started in 23 of 28 appearances.
As people were curious to know more about Polacek after watching her video, about 1,202 people viewed Polacek’s official UCFKnights.com player bio, with about 958 viewers from people who had never seen the bio before she became popular.
Polacek is using her newfound fame as a platform to help others after they watch her video.
“I noticed that people love it,” Polacek said. “It inspires people and that’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I wanted to help people succeed because I graduated high school with no offers. I want to be there to help people. I’m just there to inspire through work ethic and dedication.
“A lot of people have reached out to me. I try to reply to most of them with a simple thank you or just show that I saw their message and I appreciate them.”
Doing dribbling drills, is not anything out of the ordinary for Polacek. It is part of her workout routine.
She said she does different dribbling drills at the end of her workout to test herself and challenge her mind. She said she hopes these kind of drills help instinct take over when it comes to game time. The drill in the video specifically focuses on hand-eye coordination.
Now that she has gained some Internet fame, Polacek will not allow her fame to change who she is on and off the court.
“I’m still doing this for me. At the end of the day it’s not to impress people,” said Polacek. “It’s just I’m more aware of the influence I have and I want to keep that going while still being me. Nothing has changed. The only thing that’s changed is I make sure that when I work out, it’s on camera (she smiles).”
Even after her team and coaches found out about the video, she hasn’t been given any special treatment, which she embraces.
Polacek may be an Internet sensation, but she is staying humble under the spotlight.
Tim Tebow, Shaquille O’Neal visit victims from Pulse shooting
By Philip Rossman-Reich
Survivors of last week’s mass shooting at Pulse night club continue to recover at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Monday, they received a major surprise.
Tim Tebow, Shaquille O’Neal, Kaka and Johnny Damon, along with Florida governor Rick Scott, visited the patients still recovering at the hospital. It was an emotional day for the athletes and something that brought a smile to the faces of those still fighting to get better after last week’s tragic events.
TMZ Sports chronicled the visit:
Former Orlando Magic coach Matt Guokas back in school
By Philip Rossman-Reich
Bishop Moore High School freshman probably have no idea who their coach is.
The former NBA veteran and Orlando Magic coach Matt Guokas has accepted a position coaching the freshman team after coaching a middle school team at Lake Highland Prep, Buddy Collings of the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Guokas has been helping the school out with its camps and with the coaching staff at the school since joining up in the summer. It was something he wanted to do.
The basketball lifer has spent time as a player, coach and broadcaster. After the Magic and him decided to part ways mutually following the 2013 season, he remained in Orlando but largely out of the spotlight.
It appears he has resurfaced and is working at the grassroots level of basketball. Those young players certainly should benefit from his vast experience.
