Josie Gilvin can do a lot of things well on the basketball court but enjoys playing defense more than anything else. (Les Nicholson Photo)
She’s played on two state championship basketball teams and was MVP of the 2021 state tournament. She was a Miss Basketball finalist and will be playing next year at Western Kentucky. She was third in the Class AAA state cross country championship last November and has also been a state track qualifier.
However, Sacred Heart standout Josie Gilvin says playing in the upcoming Kentucky-Indiana All-Star series is the perfect way to end her high school athletics career.
“I think it is going to be so much fun,” said Gilvin. “We (all-star team members) have played against each other and now we get to play together to beat Indiana in our final high school games. It’s such a good way to end my whole high school career.”
Gilvin played on the Kentucky junior all-star team last year coached by Judie Mason, the head coach at Danville. Mason is the all-star head coach this season and that suits Gilvin just fine.
“We are going to play a very fast offensive style. We are going to be a transition playing team,” Gilvin said. “That’s the way she (Mason) loves to play. She was great coaching our junior team last year. How could you not like her and the style she plays.”
Mason is just as complimentary of Gilvin.
“She is full of personality. You can tell she is a leader,” Mason said. “She will make cuts to get others open. She just makes everybody better like a great leader does.”
Gilvin is a jack-of-all-trades. In this year’s state championship game win over Bullitt East, Gilvin had 15 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals, and two blocks while also helping defend current all-star teammate Grace Merkle, a 6-6 inside scoring whiz.
In the 2020 state final win over Marshall County, she had four points, eight rebounds, five assists, five blocks and five steals after posting a triple-double in an earlier tourney game against Knott County Central. In four state tourney wins, she had 42 points, 40 rebounds, 27 steals, 16 assists and eight blocks. She was 15-for-17 at the foul line.
This season she averaged 7.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 3.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. As a junior, she averaged 9.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
Gilvin doesn’t expect her all-around role to change against Indiana.
“I just roll with it and try to fit in where I can. I do the little things first and will just roll with (Miss Basketball) Amiya (Jenkins) and Gracie and all of them. I like playing defense a lot. I can always go back to rebounding and easy stuff to help the team but I love defense,” Gilvin said.
She said to play at Sacred Heart as a freshman and sophomore she had to learn the value of “little things” and playing defense was a way to make her mark.
Gilvin admits being state tourney MVP as a junior was a “cool experience” she will not forget.
“We were the underdog coming in, or at least we were from our perspective,” Gilvin said. “Some people also doubted us. This year it was harder. My junior year we had no pressure, or I didn’t feel it. No one expected us to win and we just had fun.
“This season was really special. We knew we were going to do something good. We had so much good chemistry. I could not have asked for anything better.”
Gilvin believes participating in three sports helped her in basketball.
“You do a lot of running in cross country and I could use that endurance for basketball. My agility got better playing three sports. To me, it’s just fun to go out and play,” Gilvin said.
Gilvin wrapped up her track season early so she could focus on making the all-star games a priority. Indiana has a talented roster, including a Connecticut signee, but Gilvin is not worried.
“I think they should be worried about us. I feel good about our team,” Gilvin said. “She (Mason) will have a good game plan and we can adjust to what they throw at us. They have to adjust to us, too.”
