Jade Melbourne might have been five or six when she sat down in school and started listing her goals. Going to the Olympic Games was one of them - she just didn't know what for.
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"I thought I was a pretty good 800 metre runner back in the day but I couldn't do that anymore," the Canberra Capitals star laughed.
"Grade one, grade two, I figured out it was basketball. To see it in your sights and to be in contention now to be in the team, it's pretty exciting stuff. Hopefully I can be on that plane come July."
Melbourne has been included in the Opals' 20-woman squad for February's FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament, with a top three finish in their group enough to guarantee Australia's place at the Paris Olympics.
Included in the squad is basketball legend Lauren Jackson, reviving some hope she could feature in Paris despite her past admission it might be a bridge too far.
Melbourne is following in the footsteps of Jackson - who she calls "the greatest female basketball player to ever play the game worldwide" - by making a name for herself in Canberra and being drafted by the Seattle Storm in the WNBA.
Jackson's jersey is retired in Seattle after a stellar career which delivered championships and MVP awards around the globe.
The thing about Melbourne is, at 21, we still don't know how high her ceiling is.
"She's 21, so she is definitely going to get better. That's scary," Capitals coach Kristen Veal said.
"If you're talking about a 25 to 30-year-old, you're like 'yeah, she is probably going to get better'. But how much better? But 21? Her ceiling is so high.
"If it's going to continue to be in the point guard spot, there is so much growth there as well. Credit to her and the people that have been around here and what she has achieved so far, but her ceiling is so high. That's not only a credit to her but also to her potential.
"She checks all the boxes for an amazing international player, an amazing domestic player. She is just a professional, she works hard, she does all the little things, she's talented, she's driven. All the things that make great players, she has.
"The only thing that surprises people is how young she is, but that's cool. It's cool that she's doing it this young. It's an anomaly, but it's really important for our national team, it's really important for the Capitals, that we have players like Jade around."
Because without her, the Capitals would be in a world of hurt. Canberra have endured a winless start to the WNBL season - a trend they want to reverse when they host the Melbourne Boomers in Tuggeranong on Friday.
Melbourne's 7.8 assists per game are the second-highest in the league and she is ranked seventh for points per game with 15.6. Both numbers are career-highs for the Capitals guard.
But she is far from content with the Capitals languishing at the bottom of the ladder.
"I'm competitive as, and we're not winning, so there's always more I can do," Melbourne said.
"Why not make it Friday [to break the losing streak]? We've got every chance to do it. To go back to Tuggeranong and connect with some Canberra Capitals basketball history is going to be pretty exciting.
"I think if we win Tuggeranong, we're going to have to move every game to Tuggeranong. Being a smaller stadium, it provides that hostile kind of environment. Fans are going to be on top of each other and we're going to fill out that stadium."
Opals coach Sandy Brondello will keep a close eye on Melbourne as she prepares to pick her Australian squad with an eye on Olympic gold.
A 12-player team will be picked from the extended squad for the tournament in Belem, Brazil. Australia will play Brazil, Germany and Serbia from February 8-11.
Veal expects a stint in Opals camp will be a huge boost for Melbourne after a "rocky" few seasons in Canberra.
"When she goes to these programs where she is the baby again and she doesn't have to be the leader, she doesn't have to take all the weight and responsibility, it's a refresher," Veal said.
"She gets to basically go back to school and learn and grow without the weight and expectation. That's a really nice balance with what she is doing here.
"Being in the deep end is important and it's why she has developed so quickly, but having that reprieve and a little less expectation balances it out plus reminds her of why she does this and why she loves basketball."
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports journalist for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports journalist for The Canberra Times.
