Born Dec. 5, 2015, Lily Rae Pouncey made her father, power forward Devon Pouncey’s last basketball season the most memorable of his career.
On the weekend of her birth, Pouncey had consecutive games Friday against Willamette University and Saturday against George Fox University. Pouncey said the mother went into labor during the Willamette game.
“I flew out the next morning at 7 a.m., arrived at the hospital at 10:45 a.m. and she was born at 11:23 a.m., it was such an exhilarating moment,” Pouncey said. “That day was emotional all the way around because my teammates won that night as well.”
Pouncey gave credit to his coaches for being very supportive of his situation. He said they helped his transition in becoming a father while still being a full-time student and college athlete a lot easier than he expected.
“It was a lot of pressure being a student, teammate and then becoming a father this season, but I did the best that I could. I think I did well,” Pouncey said. “I am no longer the first priority, she’s my first priority, and she really did make my last season as a college athlete the most memorable.”
This season, Pouncey earned All-NWC (Northwest Conference) Honorable Mention.
Pouncey has been around sports since he was small and has been playing basketball since the third grade. Before fully committing to just playing basketball in the eighth grade, Pouncey said he was a three sport athlete, involved in basketball, football and baseball.
“I was a part of a really good basketball program at Rodriguez High School in California, we won all four league titles and my senior year, I earned First Team All Conference,” Pouncey said.
After high school, Pouncey played basketball for two years at Diablo Valley College (DVC) before transferring to Pacific University. His first year at DVC, he earned an award for “Most Inspirational” and earned All Conference Honorable Mention during his second year.
In his spare time, Pouncey hosts a Boxer radio show “Vibin’ with Pounce” Sunday evenings from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., DJ’s at Ballad Town Billiards and some events in Eugene, Oregon and likes to exercise and eat.
Aside from being a father, student and athlete, an interesting fact about Pouncey is that he is ambidextrous.
“I eat and write with my left hand but I do everything else with my right hand,” Pouncey said.
Since he is right hand dominant in basketball, Pouncey said his ability to dribble and shoot with his left hand was a good decoy against the opposing team.
“I knew all my life that I could use both hands, but it wasn’t until I started getting involved in sports that really helped determine which hand was more able than the other,” Pouncey said. “It’s weird and cool at the same time because I catch and throw a baseball with my right hand, but I can throw a football better with my left.”
Pouncey will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in General Media degree fall 2016. Once he graduates from Pacific, Pouncey hopes to find a job in the media field.
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