Two graduating Cochrane High School Cobras basketball players are bringing their venom to another viper den in our province.
Kristen McNab and Chace Nielson are both joining the Medicine Hat College Rattlers of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference in the fall.
McNab, the do-it-all senior who led the Cobras varsity girls to their second-straight Rocky View Sports Association title, and Nielson, the senior point guard on the varsity boys squad, have both made the grade for post-secondary hoops.
“Very, very competitive nature,” Cobras athletic director and varsity girls basketball co-coach Rob McNab said of Nielson.
“Loves the sport of basketball. I think the kid sleeps with his basketball at night. He’s that kind of kid. He’s always in the gym. He had a few offers here and there and he chose Medicine Hat College.”
As for his eldest daughter, coach McNab has watched Kristen’s game grow over the years.
She’s won three-straight division titles; one at junior-varsity, and two at varsity with her dad co-coaching alongside Randy Peron.
“She’s been playing basketball a long time,” coach McNab related. “She puts a lot of pressure on herself. We put a little pressure on her to be the leader this year.”
With the departure of field-goal shooter Bailey Serhyenko last year, Kristen McNab was asked to increase her scoring range to include more three-pointers. She answered the call.
“She’s developed, this year, into that three-point shooter,” coach McNab said. “She actually shot a higher percentage from three-point range than from the floor. She’s worked harder at the three-pointers.”
It’s a skill that will fit nicely with Medicine Hat College’s needs.
“She’s become a fairly decent shooter. And I think that’s what Medicine Hat recognizes - that she has the potential to shoot the ball as well as anybody else in the league.”
And he’s also glad his eldest isn’t headed to Alberta’s southeast corner on her own.
“I’m fairly excited, too, because now Kristen knows someone,” he said of Nielson.
