Elli Malinoski is not the first freshman phenom girls’ basketball player to grace the court at Cedar Crest or, for that matter, in Lebanon County.
And more than likely, she won’t be the last, either. But there is no doubt that the Falcons’ poised and skilled freshman 2 guard is the latest.
She’s already proven that through the first half of her debut season on the varsity hardwood, helping the Falcons to a solid start that has them nipping at the heels of Lebanon High School in the Section 1 title race.
Malinoski, a versatile 5′ 10″ guard, has been the catalyst for Cedar Crest thus far, which stands at 9-7 overall and 5-2 in Section 1 heading into an important week that culminates with Friday’s battle with the first-place Cedars at Cedar Crest’s Falcon Cage.
Averaging just north of 11 points a game, Malinoski is impacting each game in one way or another as she continues her maturation at a rapid rate, even landing on the radar of Division 1 college programs like Navy at this very early stage of her career.
“I think I started off my freshman year strong,” she said in a recent phone interview. “I have a lot of confidence in myself when I have the ball. And I have a lot of confidence that my teammates will get me the ball when I’m open and I’ll get them the ball when they’re open.”
“Obviously, she has really good size for a freshman, for a guard,” Ashli Shay, Cedar Crest’s head coach, said. “She’s in that 5′ 10″, 5′ 11″ range already, she’s got a strong, physical build. She is a shooter, no doubt about it, but she has definitely started to expand her game. She is able to get to the rim and has become a much better passer this season. She just has a really good understanding of the game for a freshman.”
And as her father Michael Malinoski tells it, what his daughter is showing she can do on the court at an early age has not changed much.
“When Elli stepped onto the field as a child, her natural athleticism was undeniable. Her mother (Nicole) and I were amazed when we saw her,” Michael said. “It was almost like she understood basketball like a high school girl in a first-grader body. Anticipating steals, being able to handle the ball, and making a jump shot while other kids struggled early on. Whether basketball, snow skiing, water skiing, running, softball, or even football, Elli excelled in every challenge.”
She certainly hasn’t fallen off, as evidenced by the 22 points she put up in Friday’s win against McCaskey and the 14 she totaled in a non-league loss to traditional power Downingtown West a day later.
In Shay, Malinoski not only has a supportive head coach but also someone who has a unique understanding of her situation. Shay was a freshman phenom herself at ELCO back in the late ’90s, when she helped the Raiders to a berth in the 2A state title game.
“I think it’s helpful for me, remembering how hard my freshman season was,” Shay said. “When our freshmen take their lumps and go through their ups and downs, I can kind of remind myself this is how freshman year goes. You’re trying to find your way. You’re trying to get the game to slow down for yourself. You’re learning so much. I try to just remind them that every day isn’t going to feel easy, some days are going to be difficult, but you got to keep coming back for more. That’s the great thing with Elli, she is really a competitor. Definitely some similarities there between the two of us. It’s a pretty cool experience coaching her.”
“She has confidence in me that when I get the ball, I can make a play,” Malinoski said of her coach.
And even if she wasn’t completely confident in her standout freshman, Shay likely would have seen the light after watching her nail a pressure-packed 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Cedar Crest a dramatic win over host Lower Dauphin in the title game of LD’s holiday tournament.
“We see Elli as a relentless worker, always striving to improve and eager to learn from every opportunity,” her dad said. “She loves the game of basketball and works relentlessly to set herself apart as a true competitor. It isn’t unusual for me to take her to the gym and shoot basketball later in the evening. It usually is 100 makes a day for her.”
“The Lower Dauphin tournament, that was the highlight for me,” Malinoski said.
“It was amazing,” Shay said, looking back on the big shot. “You know, she had gone through a couple tough games leading up to that, where shots weren’t falling or whatever, but she does a great job of keeping the same attitude, keeping focused, and doing what we need.”
It was no doubt a big moment for her support system: dad Michael, a former Penn State football player; mom Nicole, a former basketball player and coach who now serves as the superintendent of the Lebanon School District; and younger brother Jed, as well.
“They take me to all my training, and they just give me a lot of support,” Malinoski said of her parents. “They have a lot of confidence in me. It helps me a lot.”
“Personally, I’ve done well in my athletic career, having played football at Penn State in the early 1990s,” her dad said. “However, I feel Elli’s athleticism is far above anything I ever had. She sometimes amazes me with some of the things I see her do on the court. But she gets her smarts from her mom, who is the superintendent of schools for the Lebanon School District. So, that rivalry should be exciting for the next few years. She also has a younger brother, Jedrek, who we might learn more about in the coming years.”
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