Madison Buckley didn’t believe coach Pam Arthur when she told her that she could be a good basketball player going into her seventh grade year.
She didn’t want to try out, but Arthur gave her a nudge to give basketball a shot.
“And she was like, if you don’t try out, I’m going to get you out of class (to try out),” Buckley said. “So I just went down there. I made the team, but I had a lot of work to do. And (former) Coach (Matt) Wilbanks, he helped me a lot. He got me out of my shell and taught me a bunch of things. And then I started applying it to the court.”
All of the lessons have paid off, as Buckley signed a college scholarship with East Central Community College. Current Union girls basketball coach Kelcia Bufkin didn’t want to just highlight her achievement on the court, but also in the classroom and socially in school..
“She’s very intelligent. She’s very smart,” Bufkin said. “She has made over 20 something on her ACT. So she’s really, really, really smart and intelligent. So academically there’ll be a big pickup for them.
“She’s a people person. She gets along well with others. Basketball wise she’ll contribute inside their inside game.”
Buckley said the reason why she chose ECCC over Northeast Community College is due to a coaching change at Northeast and ECCC’s proximity to home.
“Essentially, it’s just closer to home, and I don’t really like being away from home. Also their head coach resigned. So it’s kind of like, it, wasn’t a meant for me to go there,” Buckley said.
Many of Buckley’s teammates have also planned to go to ECCC, which was also a plus.
“That’s comforting to me,” Buckley said “So now I have somebody there for me and have my back and someone I already know.”
One of the biggest assets the 5-foot-9 senior has is her mid-range jumper and her ability to play in the post. But Bufkin has been most impressed with the growth she’s seen in her leadership skills.
“At first when I took over, I didn’t think she was as vocal,” Bufkin said. “Once we finished our season, I think she was the most talkative one out of all five of our seniors. You know, she was always motivating the next teammate and pushing the next teammate to go beyond or reach that next level. And she was a leader for it.”
Buckley said the thing she will remember the most is making history at Union by making it to the Big House in back-to-back seasons.
“It was very exciting, and I was proud of us,” she said. “I feel like I contributed to something that was bigger than myself, and we made history. That was great.”
Buckley, the daughter of Maurice English and Dana Buckley, plans to study nursing at ECCC to become a traveling registered nurse.
