The 21-year-old was named Division 2 MVP in Montreal
The Covid-19 pandemic provided Austin MacLellan with ample practice time; now, the Fredericton, N.B. native is learning where his game is, following a pair of tournaments.
MacLellan was a member of Team Canada’s squad that competed at the Under-23 Americas Zone Qualifier in Mexico. The 21-year-old also participated at the CWBL Nationals as part of the team of athletes representing both Manitoba and New Brunswick.
As he prepares to head to Charlottetown, PEI, for the Junior Nationals (June 10-12), MacLellan is working on having more patience in his game.
“I know that I can knock down shots, but if I take my time and I can if I wait and attack it, I proper times it’s more advantageous for me – it’s just a mental game,” he said. “I feel what’s helping me get better and make better physical gains is the mental side.”
MacLellan, and the team of athletes from Manitoba and New Brunswick, won both of their round-robin games at the CWBL Nationals in Montreal. They then defeated Les Glaciers in the semi-finals before beating the Vikings in the Division 2 gold medal game.
“It was a lot of fun playing with players that you don’t necessarily play with all the time,” MacLellan said. “We did a good job of getting used to playing with each other; we built upon it throughout the tournament and won gold. We did a good job that way – just kept building from game to game.”
At the conclusion of the tournament, MacLellan was named the Division 2 MVP.
“That was huge. I feel as though an MVP award is not always just the individual person, it’s through their teammates,” he said. “My teammates helped me set up to get to the spots where I can execute on the court, and I kind of owe that all to them.”
While Canada didn’t leave the U23 Qualifier in Mexico with the desired result, the tournament was a learning experience for MacLellan.
“It was a great tournament, honestly,” he said. “Real eye-opening to the level of competition that is out there in the world. For me, it was my first international competition, so I’m hungry to get back on that stage and hopefully have a better result.”
Growing up, MacLellan was an avid baseball player playing right field and pitching. However, at the age of 12, he was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease – a group of inherited disorders that cause nerve damage.
Unable to play baseball, MacLellan was introduced to Wheelchair Basketball by Dave and Sabrina Durepos while he was at the Stan Cassidy Rehabilitation Center in Fredericton.
While his focus is entirely on the court with basketball, MacLellan is hoping Wheelchair Basketball will eventually land him playing opportunities at a U.S. university.
With a little over a month before the Junior Nationals, MacLellan is fine-tuning his game for PEI.
“I’m working on my patience, just knowing that I can execute on like a high level so maybe just slowing down a couple times. Take my time,” he said.