Bellport's Arella Guirantes wants to show she can compete at WNBA level
Arella Guirantes of Bellport, who is playing at Rutgers and is one of the best players in the Big Ten. Credit: Rutgers Athletics/Ben Solomon
Arella Guirantes knows what she wants.
The Bellport native wants to ride that Rutgers pipeline into the WNBA. The Scarlet Knights have sent 24 players to the women’s professional league, including some incredible big-time guards. Guirantes wants to join the ranks of Cappie Pondexter, Epiphany Prince and Essence Carson.
And the way she has been playing for the Scarlet Knights heading into the postseason, it looks as if she has a good chance of achieving her dream.
“I think she’s going to be in the image and mind of all the outstanding players we’ve had play in the WNBA,” Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said in a telephone news conference. “If you look at Rutgers players and guards, they are held in high regard.”
Guirantes, a 5-11 redshirt junior, was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection after leading the conference in scoring with an average of 20.6 points through 30 games. Rutgers (22-9, 11-8) was eliminated in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament with a 78-60 loss to Indiana on Friday, but Guirantes scored 30 points, powered by a school-record 15 made free throws in 16 attempts.
It likely won’t be her last game of the season. Rutgers is projected by most bracketologists to make the NCCAA Tournament.
“I wouldn’t say it’s been a dream year, but I think I’m finally coming into my own,” said Guirantes, who averaged 12.1 points last season after transferring from Texas Tech. “I feel I’m doing more. It’s nice to see the work you put in translate.”
Bellport's Arella Guirantes brings the ball upcourt against Deer Park in a game on Jan. 14, 2014. Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
Guirantes learned about hard work growing up in a basketball family.
Her mother, Demetria, played high school basketball with Sue Wicks at Center Moriches and played college basketball at Stony Brook. She is the coach of the Bellport Middle School team.
Her father, Robert, used to help coach the junior varsity and varsity boys teams at Bellport before taking over the training of his daughter.
“It was just natural for me to pick up a basketball. I was always in a gym,” Guirantes said in a phone interview as her team prepared for the Big Ten Tournament.
Arella Guirantes of Bellport poses for a portrait during Newsday's All-Long Island varsity girls' basketball photo shoot at company headquarters on Wednesday, March 25, 2015. Credit: James Escher
The family just didn’t play the game, they were passionate about it. Guirantes, whose favorite player was Kobe Bryant and favorite team is the Lakers, said she and her father, a Celtics fan, are so devoted to their teams that they can’t even be in the same room when they are playing, though they did go to see Bryant’s final game in Boston.
The Guirantes had three athletic daughters, but her mother said that Arella was by far the most competitive one in the family.
“Arella is competitive with everybody about everything,” Demetria said. “Who could jump the highest, who could run the fastest. We used to call her the shine-stealer because we couldn’t compliment anybody on anything. She would say, ‘Mine was better. I am faster. I am quicker.’ She is extremely competitive.”
Guirantes was heavily recruited out of Bellport High School, where she led Long Island in scoring as both a junior and senior. She was Newsday’s Suffolk Player of the Year in 2015 after averaging 34.8 points, 16.2 rebounds and 4.3 blocks her senior year. She finished her five-year career at Bellport with 2,251 points, which at the time ranked ninth in Long Island girls basketball history.
Guirantes, who could have played almost anywhere, picked Texas Tech and said she quickly realized she had made a mistake. She missed her family and found the transition from New York to Texas daunting.
Arella Guirantes of Bellport, who is playing at Rutgers and is one of the best players in the Big Ten. Credit: Rutgers Athletics/Ben Solomon
“It definitely was a culture shock to me,” Guirantes said.
Her father convinced her to finish the year and she ended up starting 27 of her 29 games and averaging 9.9 points per game. She had to sit out a year after transferring to Rutgers but believes the whole experience has made her a stronger person and smarter player.
Now she is riding an impressive season, which she will follow with an appearance in the Tokyo Olympics. Guirantes, whose paternal grandfather was born in Puerto Rico, will represent Puerto Rico, which qualified for the Olympics for the first time.
She said she has learned a lot from her journey from Bellport to this season.
“Coach Stringer, she definitely tests your limits,” Guirantes said. “It’s to prepare you for life after basketball. It’s been an amazing experience. Tough at times. It’s part of the process of growing. I’ve wanted to play in the WNBA since I can remember. There’s so many people who came before us at Rutgers. It’s really great to be a part of it.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
