Playing a college sport has always been on the to-do list of Tucson High's Carly Trueman. But after exploding onto the club volleyball scene, she had to make a slight change to those plans.
"I'd originally gone into high school thinking I'd play basketball in college," said Trueman, who verbally committed in May to play volleyball at Utah.
But then Trueman - a freshman at the time - met with her school counselor, who talked her into staying on the volleyball court instead of quitting to focus on basketball.
Trueman got talked into playing club volleyball, where she realized she had a chance to be special - thanks to some pushing from various coaches.
"I started seeing some of the potential I had," Trueman said. "That helped me realize how far I could go with it and get to the point where I could get to college."
Trueman was highly recruited by a number of Pac-12 schools and said she originally wanted to go to the Air Force Academy. But once she started to see her own potential, Trueman turned her focus to finding a school that could eventually prepare her to play professionally.
Her ultra-diverse skill set will help with that.
Trueman has showcased her wide range of skills even more during her senior season. The 6-foot-1-inch do-everything player has been needed to do, well, everything for the injury-plagued Badgers.
She leads Tucson in kills while playing both outside - where she said Utah coach Beth Launiere will likely use her in college - and in the middle.
"I can put her anywhere on the court, and she'll perform because she's so athletic," Tucson coach Wendy Parra said.
Tucson, which currently sits at 5-1 in nontournament matches, is on pace for its first winning season in both Parra and Trueman's tenures at the school.
Trueman wouldn't take credit for the Badgers' recent success, but said, "I guess it helps that I'm there."
Parra said Trueman has started taking younger players under her wing - one of the biggest reasons for the Badgers' turnaround.
The coach cited Trueman's mentoring of 6-3 freshman Mia Sokolowski, saying the senior is almost like having an extra coach on the court.
"She's a huge help," Parra said. "She needs to be on the court. … She's just been trained so well by some coaches."
Trueman said she "just tries to pass on what she's learned" and welcomes playing as many positions as she can.
"It's pretty awesome; I like playing everywhere," Trueman said. "It's fun as long as I'm on the court."
Tucson's Trueman alters focus from hoops and thrives
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