Sask. basketball player hoping to dribble her way to 2024 Olympics

A Saskatchewan basketball player is hoping her dream of making the Olympics will become a reality next spring.

Humboldt’s Paige Crozon is currently a member of Canada’s 3×3 women’s basketball team, which is ranked as the top team in the world following the most recent international 3×3 season.

Crozon explained she got into the sport after spending the last decade playing within the Canadian national team’s basketball program.

“I’ve been playing with the national team since I was in high school, and the national 3×3 team since 2019,” she said.

“We represent Canada and play on a professional circuit, so we travel around the world playing in different stops throughout the year. This year we ended up playing in 10 stops total, and our team won five of the 10 stops competing against the best teams in the world.”

The team won at stops in France, the Czech Republic, Edmonton, Quebec City and Montreal.

Because of her time spent in the national program, Crozon said she was able to get some friends to help create a professional 3×3 team. She ended up teaming up with Michelle and Katherine Plouffe, better known as the “Plouffe sisters,” and she said their goal is to get to the Olympics.

“Michelle and Katherine Plouffe are twins based out of Edmonton. Them and myself were on the original 3×3 team that started competing, and we started to play to try and earn Canada a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” Crozon explained.

“Due to the way the qualification worked, we missed our window (in 2020), but we all agreed to sign back on and make the push for the 2024 Olympics.”

The rules for 3×3 aren’t like the NBA. The game is closer to the pickup games many people play outside with friends.

The score goes up to 21 and there are only three players for each team on the court, though a sub is allowed during the 10-minute games.

“I love the culture around 3×3. It kind of has a street-ball feel even though we’re playing on the international stage,” Crozon stated.

“It requires all athletes on the court to read the game very well, because it’s so individual. I think that’s a strength of our team – our ability to make reads on what the defenders are giving us.”

While Crozon and her team are ranked as the best in the world right now, the commitment for them to compete at the highest level year round is a lot.

In years past, players had to do a lot of fundraising, as the federation couldn’t afford to foot their travel to tournaments.

“In 2019, we were self-funded, but made that commitment to try and earn Canada that Olympic spot,” Crozon said.

“Fortunately, with the success we had that year and the years that followed, we’ve received some financial support. But it is a commitment time and energy wise. All summer we’ve flown around the world and back. We’ve been to I think eight countries in the last four months alone.”

On top of all the travel, Crozon is also a single mom and an assistant coach at the University of Lethbridge. She also serves as a league manager for the Living Skies Indigenous Basketball League.

The 3×3 season is over for now, but Crozon and her team will be eyeing a spot at the 2024 Olympics.

A qualifying tournament is expected to be held in April or May, but no date or destination has yet been confirmed.

“We don’t really know what that structure is going to look like. It could be the first tournament to start our season next year,” Crozon said.

“We’re going to do a lot of preparation next year.”