Ariel Massengale: Bolingbrook's other shining star

Ariel Massengale scores a basket in her driveway in Bolingbrook. Massengale is preparing for competition with Team USA. Jon Cunningham / For The Sun

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Off the basketball court, Ariel Massengale is a girl that might get lost in the crowd. On the floor and under the lights, Massengale is hard to take your eyes off of.

Standing just a couple of inches over five feet, Massengale has been the floor general for Bolingbrook's girls basketball team for the last two years, playing shooting guard her freshman year and point guard her sophomore year. Averaging around 14 points and five assists per night for Raiders coach Tony Smith last season, she helped the Raiders to their second state championship in five years.

Despite being a consistent leader statistically on the team, her name doesn't always appear in the papers, nor does she receive the appropriate accolades for her work. Often a high five to her teammates and a hug by her parents is all the recognition she really gets after a win. After that she makes her way to the team bus.

The reason for the lack of attention is simple. She plays on the same team as good friend Morgan Tuck.

Tuck, a 14-year-old sophomore who has been scouted since junior high, has turned many heads in the area and around the nation. Since her arrival as a freshman last season, attention has increased, leaving great players like Massengale in her shadow.

"Not getting attention doesn't bother me. The press is usually for the fans and people around town. We know as a team that Morgan is our go-to person," Massengale said. "Every game our team goes out to win, and it doesn't matter who scores the most points in a game. What matters is if Bolingbrook has the most points at the end of the game."

That personality and view on basketball is exactly what's led to all of Massengale's accomplishments alongside Tuck. Both girls recently made the Team USA under-16 women's national team.

"Ariel is all about winning. She doesn't get caught up on who is No. 1 or No. 2 on the team. I look at Morgan and Ariel as 1-A and 1-A instead of Morgan 1, Ariel 2," said Carvel Massengale, Ariel's father, who coached both Tuck and Massengale's younger club teams. "If Morgan wasn't there, getting that state championship would be a struggle for Ariel, if Ariel wasn't there, it would be a struggle for Morgan. They play two different positions so it is hard to judge who should get what attention."

Throughout her two seasons at Bolingbrook, Massengale has inserted herself into a leadership role that has helped the team, which is mostly together all year round. Much like what her dad taught her from an early age, Massengale has learned to never play favorites and understand situations.

"I try to talk to everybody equally. I try to get around to everyone so that when we step on the court we are all coming out at the same level and trusting each other and having each other's back," Massengale said.

"I'm the point guard. I get my teammates in position to make them look good. Girls sometimes come to me with questions and I answer them as best as I can. I like to run the team."

It is her running of the team that caught the eye of Team USA's under-16 head coach, Barbara Nelson. After making the team, Massengale awaits international competition to start in August to qualify for the under-17 world championships.

"Ariel is a very steady guard who values the possession of the ball.

She's a very good 3-point threat and does a very good job in feeding the post," Nelson said. "Most of all she is a girl that has great character."

However, Massengale will be missing something big when she plays at the international level. Morgan's recovering from knee surgery and will not travel with the team.

"After we came back from Colorado I told Ariel that she had to play for both me and her and also Bolingbrook," Tuck said. "I make sure she keeps me updated and I constantly get pictures of herself and the team."

While success was brought along by hard work, it was key for her parents to keep Massengale grounded and make basketball a fun sport instead of a job. At home, just like in basketball, Massengale isn't your average teenager.

"She really loves to be at home, she's a homebody. She loves our house and she's not one to be out and about. She loves to be around her parents unlike many 16-year-olds who want to get as far away from their parents as possible," Carvel Massengale said with a laugh.

"That's one thing her mom and I are thankful for -- we don't have to worry about her driving all around town."

Everyday a call to her grandma is made by Massengale, and before every game she looks up into the stands and tries to find the mom and dad who have come to almost every one of her games.

"Once I find out where my parents are I settle down and play good,"

Massengale said. "If I don't see them, I get a little panicked and I need to settle myself down."

Right now Massengale is still playing with her club team. However on Aug. 3, Massengale heads for Colorado to train for the qualifying tournament, which begins in Mexico on Aug. 10.

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