On Tuesday, November 13, 2013, Pennsbury senior Sajanna Bethea was recognized at a special news conference for signing a letter of intent to play basketball at St. Peter’s University. To view photos of the signing, please visit the Photo Gallery.
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Sajanna Bethea – St. Peter’s University (Basketball)
Major: Undecided
Final list of colleges: St. Peter’s, Siena, Delaware State
Reasons for choosing St. Peter’s: “They came in late for the recruiting process, but I was keeping my options open, so I gave them a shot. I went out and saw the school. I liked the location of the school, and I liked the feel. I was able to see some of the kids on campus, and I just liked the diversity of the school. The coaching staff is really nice. They’re helpful with any questions, and that really helped me make my decision.”
What was the progression that led you to playing basketball at the collegiate level? “I’ve been playing basketball since I was five, and in middle school is when I thought, ‘This could take me somewhere.’ To be able to go to college for free is what pushed me to put in that hard work to make something of myself.
“At the end of the day, you just feel like your hard work paid off. Especially playing at such a young age and all the years of working hard, everything paid off, but the work just starts right here. There’s still so much more to do.”
Pennsbury coach Keith Gabor says: “I think we’re extremely lucky to have her. This is my third year with the program, my first as the head coach, and she’s been the most coachable kid I’ve ever been around. It’s just like she gets it. When we try and break something down and we talk about it, she’s right there with me, she understands what we’re looking for, and we don’t have to go over something six or seven times. She gets it right away, and what we ask of her, she does. She’s been very successful in her AAU program, so that was just a huge benefit for us when she came in because they did a real nice job with her in her AAU program, and we just tried to build on that. Between the AAU program and the high school program, she’s turned out to be a really, really good basketball player. I always say she’s our utility player. She’s our one through five, and when we need something, we’re going to her. When we need someone to bring the ball up, she brings the ball up. When we need a basket, she gives us a basket. Last year we had a little bit of a run in districts, and she put us on her back, and that was it. Everyone fell in line and followed her, and we played as a team.”
Philly Freedom Stars coach Urian Garner: “The thing that stands out most is - even though she’s very talented, she’s so steady. She’s emotional, but she never gets too high or too low. She’s just totally focused. When you combine that with her other talents, which is her ability to just fill every need of a basketball team – she can rebound, she can shoot, she can defend bigger players, she can defend smaller player – basically, she can do everything on the court, and she does anything on the court without ever complaining or questioning it. She’s like a sponge – always looking to learn and get better and takes something from each situation, each practice, each game, each challenge. It’s just incredible. I’ve coached a lot of players – some players in the NBA that were lottery picks, and I’ve never coached a player – boys or girls – that is as stoic as she is and as steady. She was huge for us because you always knew what you were going to get. Coaching kids, you don’t know, but with her, you always knew what you were going to get, which is good when you can count on that kind of production game in and game out.”
About Sajanna:
Favorite food: Chicken Alfredo
Favorite movie: Madea Goes to Jail
Favorite music: Outcast
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