In October, she played midfield for the soccer team. In January, she started practicing with the basketball scout team.
By chance, the now dual-sport athlete Pamela Begic joined coach Amanda Butler’s basketball team, deepening Florida’s still shallow roster to nine active players.
“I wasn’t looking for it, that’s for sure,” Begic said.
“The coach actually approached me because she heard I played basketball in high school. So she approached me, and I went to a couple of practices just watching, and then I decided I kind of wanted to do it.”
Coach Becky Burleigh presented the idea of joining the basketball team to Begic a few months ago.
“It was through Coach Burleigh,” Begic said. “They talked and Coach Butler knew I played in high school even before that. Coach Becky actually approached me after practice and she was like, ‘Oh, I have another idea. So, do you want to maybe try out for the basketball team?’”
Sure enough, Begic decided to take the plunge.
“Pam entered an entirely different world,” Butler said. “It was kind of baptism by fire; there was no warm-up, there was no, ‘Let’s take it easy.’ We’re in the middle of our season. If you’re going to be able to join us, even in practice, there’s not a lot of time for us to take her aside and tutor her.
“She’s done it with an amazing amount of flexibility and understanding.”
However, the circumstances that surrounded Begic’s new role were somewhat dire.
The Gators started the season with nine active players after redshirt sophomore Viktorija Dimaite re-tore her ACL. A hand injury to fellow sophomore Antoinette Bannister had the roster down to eight, and Christin Mercer’s arrest depleted Florida’s roster to only seven active players.
“When we were staring down the barrel of us having seven players, even being able to practice effectively was a challenge,” Butler said.
“So we wanted to give it a shot.”
The 6-foot Begic is one of the tallest players on Florida’s soccer team.
With rebounding being a constant issue for the basketball team, the freshman midfielder was brought in for her ability to grab some boards.
“Her rebounding is definitely there,” Butler said. “The thing that makes her unique and makes her even capable besides just on the mental aspect is that she does have good size. She has great instincts, and that’s a big part of rebounding.
“If there’s a game situation that calls for Pam to be in there, I’ve got full confidence in her.”
Having full confidence in playing someone without any collegiate game experience speaks volumes of Begic’s character.
A number of players have said that her presence alone improves team chemistry.
“Pam’s so fun to be around,” senior Lily Svete said. “She really works hard and she just has a good time. She brings a lightened spirit to the whole team.”
Begic has been in uniform for Florida’s past two games against Arkansas and Kentucky. Although she has yet to enter a game, Butler has devised some schemes where Begic could potentially see some minutes.
“We have some spots in the game, that if we need her, she knows these will be the spots that she’ll play in,” Butler said.
“She knows exactly what we expect her to do.”
When asked if Begic thought she’d get to play this season, she seemed optimistic.
“We’ll see,” Begic said. “Hopefully … a couple of minutes.”
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Pamela Begic looks on from the bench during Florida’s 75-67 win against Alabama on Jan. 30 in the O’Connell Center.
