Check 1, check 2, check 3

Toward the end of her first college basketball season this spring, Truman State freshman Hannah Belanger was asked to report to her coach’s office.

The leading scorer in Grafton High School history took a seat on the couch.

“When your coach calls you in, you kind of get a little big nervous, regardless of what it’s about,” Belanger said. “But I didn’t think I did anything too wrong.”

But she did do something.

“‘Hey, HB, look at this,’” Coach Theo Dean told Belanger, and showed her what he was going to post on Instagram later that night.

It was an announcement that Belanger was named Freshman of the Year in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

That was one of Belanger’s three goals she told Dean she set for herself during individual meetings he held with each player last September. The other two were to be a starter and make the all-conference team.

Dean, who was promoted to head coach just before the season started after the former one found a new job, was plenty familiar with Belanger. He was the team’s recruiting coordinator the last three years.

Dean told Belanger everything she got she would have to earn. Those accolades would take hard work in the gym every day.

“She did exactly that,” Dean said.

Belanger started the entire season and was voted to the Great Lakes Valley Conference third team.

“I just wanted to work as hard as I could” to reach those goals, Belanger said.

“I was very blessed and proud of what I accomplished this year.”

Belanger averaged 12.7 points per game and tied a freshman school record with 67 three-pointers. She hit at least five in six different games, led all Great Lakes Valley Conference freshmen with 340 points and was fourth in three-point shooting percentage at 42.7%, going 67-for-157.

Belanger had to adjust to a three-point line that is one foot farther back than in high school. Belanger said that wasn’t a problem.

“My dad says I never shoot close to the line anyway,” she said.

Driving the lane, however, required some alterations. Belanger, at 5 feet, 8 inches tall, regularly faced opponents eclipsing 6 feet, which wasn’t as common in high school.

“I had to think about my layups and what shots I want to take in the paint,” Belanger said.

College itself is a new level of competition.

“The game is a lot faster, stronger and you’re playing with people whose basketball IQ is so much higher than it was in high school,” Belanger said.

In the first game of the season, Belanger said she had “freshman jitters” and  traveled on a fast break layup. Dean took her out of the game and asked, “‘Are you done playing like a freshman now?’”

Belanger didn’t play like one for long. She shot 45.6% on the season, going 119-for-261, made 50 of 61 free throws, an 82% clip. She grabbed 85 rebounds and had 69 assists.

Belanger played point guard and shooting guard. She said shooting guard is her more natural position but she is comfortable playing both.

Belanger began helping the team quickly. In one buzzer-beater, Belanger set the screen to get a Bulldog teammate open for the winning shot.

“That’s as good as an assist,” Dean said.

On Jan. 16, the first game back after winter break, all the Bulldogs came out flat, except for one.

“I was the only spark that night,” Belanger said. “I didn’t play any differently. Somehow I was on that night.”

Belanger scored a game-high 29 points. She went 5-for-8 on three-pointers, 4-for-4 on two-pointers and 6-for-6 on free throws. She also had six rebounds and three steals.

“We won the game pretty much because of her,” Dean said.

One element that sets Belanger apart, Dean said, is her confidence. Like everyone does, Belanger went through shooting slumps but came out of them.

“She stayed confident in her shooting ability,” Dean said. “She stayed true to what she has always done. She kept shooting. That’s what you want out of a shooter.”

Belanger said while scoring is nice, she is just as happy to net five points and have her teammates light it up, as long as the Bulldogs win.

They did plenty of that this season. The Bulldogs, despite losing a Division 1 transfer, their top guard and post players off the bench and others to injuries, went 20-8, won the most conference games in school history and finished second in the league. The Bulldogs went 16-4 in the Great Lakes Valley, behind Drury’s 20-0 and ahead of three 14-6 teams.

Belanger said one of her favorite parts of college basketball is the camaraderie. Teammates spend more time together than they do in high school.

“They’re more than a team. They’re your family,” Belanger said.

Belanger’s real family made the seven-hour drive to Kirksville, Mo., to nearly every home game and road games that were near Wisconsin.

Now, Belanger is back home attending school online.

The adjustment to college academics has been as challenging as athletics, she said.

“Everyone always says it’s a lot harder academically. They’re not lying to you,” Belanger said.

She is training on her own following a postseason and summer booklet of workouts from Truman State. Belanger has a treadmill and a basketball hoop outside, and her parents got her some weights.

Dean said this would have been the third week of offseason workouts. They are missing out on four hours in the weight room and four more working on skill development on the court per week.

Dean was going to use the time to make the changes he couldn’t implement during the year since he got the job so close to the start of the season.

Come fall, he said, a new type of defense will be taught.

Belanger will be thrilled to get back to the school she chose to attend.

“I’m happy with my decision,” she said.