Columbus North graduate and Marian senior Imani Guy takes a shot during a game this season.
Submitted photo
At this time last year, Imani Guy was weighing her options of going overseas to begin a professional basketball career or return for another season at Marian University.
As it turned out, Guy ended up coming back to Marian for an extra year to try to refine her game and position herself for an opportunity to continue playing.
“I think it was a great decision to come back for my fifth year,” Guy said. “I think me and my teammates got even closer, and the program got closer, and we did a lot of wonderful things this year.”
Last week, the 2017 Columbus North graduate was selected by the Women’s Basketball Coaches of America as an NAIA All-American for the third consecutive year, her second straight year on the first team. Sophomore teammate Ella Collier was named to the second team.
“I was just extremely honored when I saw my name on my list,” Guy said. “I was happy I got to see another one of my teammates made the second team, as well.”
This season, Guy and Collier led Marian to a 30-5 record and a Crossroads League regular-season title. Guy led the Knights with 16.0 points and 8.5 rebounds a game, as well as 58 blocked shots, ranking in the top 100 in NAIA in all three of those categories.
Marian made it to the Elite Eight of the NAIA Tournament before falling to Central Methodist.
“It stung a little, but we had a great year, and this was our first time making it to the Elite Eight in a few years, so I’m really proud of that,” Guy said.
Imani Guy
Despite playing only three years at Marian after transferring from Southern Indiana, the 6-foot-4 Guy finished as Marian’s No. 7 all-time leading scorer with 1,288 points and ranks No. 3 in points per game with 15.2 and in field goal percentage at 56.7. She ranks fourth in total rebounds (698) and second in rebounds per game (8.2) and blocked shots (161).
Since the season has ended, Guy has been getting highlights together to send to teams and has been talking with her family and to make sure playing overseas is what she wants to do.
“I lean toward playing overseas and continuing my career,” Guy said. “I’ve been giving a lot of thought to that more and more each day. There’s not a specific country. I just want to be on a team that values their players and is safe for me.”
Guy said she has had a few people that had been watching her play the past couple of years that have reached out to her. She plans to graduate in May with a degree in communications and a minor in writing.
“I’ve just been lifting more and staying in the gym and maintaining,” Guy said. “I think basketball will always be a part of my life, whether it’s playing overseas or coaching in the future.”
