Shew heading to Chico State

Chico State was always Alex Shew’s first choice and the advantages of playing basketball at the Division II program were just too attractive to pass up.

Shew has verbally committed to Chico State and will sign with the school in the next couple of weeks. Shew received her share of attractive offers, but in the end Chico State won out for the Porterville College sophomore.

“I had a lot of great offers from different schools,” Shew said. “I’m happy with where I’m going.”

Shew received a full-ride offer of $17,500 a year from Division II Missouri Valley and also received an offer from Division II Sonoma State. But in the end, Chico State was able to make her an attractive enough offer to convince her to come there.

The offer is effective a full-ride offer as Chico State offered her $5,000 to cover her tuition, which is basically all she needed from the school. Her books will be covered by a scholarship from PC and the rest of her expenses will be taken care of by living with her sister, Chelsea. “That’s a big plus,” Shew said.

“It’s always been pretty much the first pick,” said Shew about Chico State. “I was definitely open to other options. But when it came down to it, I’m happy where I’m going.”

She was an all-Central Valley Conference first team choice during both of her years with the PC women’s basketball team. This past season, Shew led the conference in scoring at 20.4 points a game.

At Porterville High, Shew was needed as a low post player, but with her size, moving on to the four-year level as a low post player wasn’t feasible. So Shew credits PC coach Dave Kavern with turning her into a more versatile player who can be a swingman-type of player who can be used as a shooting guard or small forward at the collegiate level.

Actually, Shew said, “I give him full credit,” about Kavern turning her into a player who could play at the four-year level. “He definitely made me a well-rounded player,” Shew said.

“I’m glad she came here,” said Kavern, adding that Shew had the option to play at other junior colleges. Kavern said Shew is one of the top four players he’s ever coached.

But Kavern said what he’s most pleased with is Shew’s growth as a student. Admittedly, Kavern said, it would have been difficult to see Shew as the Scholar-Athlete of the Year when she first arrived at PC. But Shew has maintained nearly a 4.0 grade point average and at Friday’s Athletic Awards Dinner, not only was Shew honored as the Female Sophomore Athlete of the Year, she was honored as the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Again, Shew gave much of the credit to Kavern. “Outside of basketball, he helped me with academics,” she said.

At Chico State, Shew said she’s leaning toward studying to enter a nutrition-related field.