Faulkner: UCI’s unlikely floor leader, Cheung-Sutton

Raelyn Cheung-Sutton can identify with Woody Allen, the noted film director and humorist who is famously credited for saying “90% of life is just showing up.”

Cheung-Sutton, the UC Irvine women’s basketball team’s senior point guard, also looks up to the 5-foot-5 Allen physically, as a circumstance of her being two inches shorter.

But Cheung-Sutton has beaten long odds to rise from an unheralded walk-on to a catalytic and productive leader for the Anteaters (3-6), for whom she now shows out more than she merely shows up.

“I can’t ask any more of her,” UCI Coach Doug Oliver said of his pass-first, smile-second, score-third floor leader, who ranks No. 15 in the country with 6.44 assists per game and is a couple of buckets shy of leading the team in scoring (8.6 per contest).

Oliver, a former Stanford and UCI men’s assistant, granted Cheung-Sutton’s request to walk on based on a recommendation from one of his contacts in the Bay Area, where Cheung-Sutton competed without much fanfare at Washington High in San Francisco.

And her first two seasons, showing up was about the extent of her contribution, as she collected just 10 points (on three-for-18 field-goal shooting), eight assists and 12 rebounds in 24 combined appearances.

Still, Oliver was impressed enough to offer Cheung-Sutton a scholarship before her junior season last year.

“I really didn’t see this kind of [statistical promise],” Oliver recalled. “But Raelyn earned her scholarship by being a no-nonsense player her first two years. Every time I turned around at practice, she was standing there. She was on time and she was in the middle of every drill. She stayed after practice to rebound for starters and she didn’t say a word. She was just part of the team.”

But her place on the team, her confidence, and most notably, her play, improved after getting her scholarship.

“She went from being 5-3 to about 6-3 and it was fun to watch,” Oliver said. “Whether they are walk-ons or not, I treat all the players the same. But there is clearly something of value to being a scholarship player that goes beyond dollars. She has matured and gotten stronger in the weight room. But mostly, I just trust her. I trust her making decisions. When she makes a bad decision, it’s glaring, because she doesn’t commit a lot of turnovers, especially for the amount of time the ball is in her hands.”

Cheung-Sutton said a scholarship was well beyond her dreams when she came to Irvine, where Oliver said she has compiled a 3.8 grade-point average majoring in public health policy.

“I just loved basketball and was happy to have an opportunity to be on the floor and continue playing,” Cheung-Sutton said. “I don’t remember where I was when I heard I had gotten the scholarship. But I remember being in the freshman dorm the day [assistant coach Annie Mai (now Annie Garrett)] called to tell me I had made the team. I called my Mom right away and we were both just screaming over the phone.”

Cheung-Sutton had 159 points and 152 assists as a junior, but has become a much bigger factor this season.

“To see her grow like this in her senior year, where she has gained national recognition in assists, has been great to see,” Oliver said. “And the thing I’ve liked recently is the leadership role she has taken on. She has always led by example, but she is starting to get more vocal. And she’s always having fun. Her personality is fun to watch interact with the kids. And she’s someone you can go to to find out the pulse of the group.”

Cheung-Sutton had 12 assists to match her career-high in a Dec. 6 home win over Nevada, the most by a Big West Conference player this season. And her 77 points heading into Wednesday’s game at UCLA, rank second on the team.

“I come in as a pass-first point guard and I’ve always been like that, but I’ve had to switch up my mentality a bit,” Cheung-Sutton said. “It’s still hard for me to look for shots, but I have teammates telling me all the time to shoot, shoot, shoot. I love assisting, though. When I’m passing, I’m happy and my teammates are happy. It’s a two-for-one.”

Cheung-Sutton, whose mom is Chinese, may get an opportunity to play professionally in Asia next year, Oliver said. And Cheung-Sutton said her love for basketball may prompt her to retain a connection to the game when she enters the work force, citing coaching or administration as possible career paths.

For now, she will continue to show up in the Anteaters’ starting lineup, passing with precision and achieving beyond expectation.

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•Former Newport Harbor High football standout Zach Wade, an all-conference sophomore strong safety at Saddleback Community College, had a team-best 13 tackles in the Gauchos’ 26-14 loss at City College of San Francisco in the state title game Saturday.

Wade finished with a team-best 98 tackles and added two interceptions and three fumble recoveries to help Saddleback win the Southern Division. He will continue at a four-year program to be determined.

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•A handful of Orange Coast College football players will announce their four-year destinations at a signing ceremony in the foyer of the school’s gym on Wednesday at 10 a.m.