Gazette MVP: Medina's Klanac turns into Liv-ing legend

Medina girls basketball coach Karen Kase played high school hoops with Caroline McCombs, the Bees' all-time leading scorer, and grew up hearing about the exploits of 6-foot-3 center and 1982 graduate Shelly Miller. She's coached 2023-24 Gazette MVP Olivia Klanac, who barring serious injury will break McCombs' school scoring record early next season and last week joined Miller as the only Medina players to earn first-team All-Ohio honors, for three years. "Liv is going to be a Medina girls basketball legend," said Kase, a 1995 graduate who was a junior when McCombs was a senior. "Maybe she already is, but it's hard to think about it that way because we're still in the midst of it. Other people may have shot it better or played better defense or rebounded more, but she is everything. She does it all for us. You don't see that very often." A 5-9 shooting guard who often functions as the point guard, Klanac has put up some remarkable numbers in her three All-Gazette seasons, but the 17-year-old junior is most proud of 23 and 5, which was Medina's record in 2023-24 while reaching the Division I regional finals for the first time since Miller was a senior 42 years ago. "We as a team knew how to get through things," Klanac said. "We just had to figure out how." She and the Bees definitely did that. While totaling 524 points as a junior, Klanac was third in Medina County in scoring average (18.7) — that number would have been higher were it not for a number of blowout wins — a very respectable ninth in field goal percentage while leading the area in shot attempts (.423, 175-of-414), fourth in 3-point percentage (.357, 66-of-185), first in free throw percentage (.831, 108-of-130), fourth in assists (3.3) and first in steals (4.8). For good measure, she was 18th in rebounding (4.9). From a career perspective, Klanac already ranks 16th in county history with 1,244 points. She needs 44 to surpass school leader McCombs (1,287, 1990-94) and 445 to overtake county record holder Tanya Ross (1,688, 1996-2000) of Buckeye. That means if she plays every regular-season game and one tournament contest next season, Klanac would break the county scoring record by averaging 19.4 points. With three tournament games — the Bees played six this season — she would need to average 17.8. It matters to the 2023-24 Northeast Inland District D-I Player of the Year, but it also doesn't. "My biggest goal is to become more of a role model," Klanac said. "I'm already in the record books and that's nice because people will remember that, but I want it to be more of, 'She was doing it to serve the Lord and using the gifts he gave her.'" A member of Grace Church in Medina and deeply devoted to her faith, the home-schooled Klanac is known to work out at 5:30 a.m., then go through shooting drills prior to concentrating on her academics. She curtails some of her physical activities during the high school season to conserve energy, but it's not uncommon for Klanac to return to the gym for a 9 p.m. shooting session. "She's always been willing to work," senior teammate Izzy Kurka said. "Many times, it would be 8 in the morning on a Saturday and most of us would be dragging into practice. She was already in the gym getting up shots. Then she put up more shots after practice." It was clear from the time Klanac stepped on the court as a freshman — actually, it was clear the summer before that school year began — that she was a very good player and ready to be on the varsity, which she proved by starting and earning honorable mention All-Ohio honors. She only got better while earning special mention All-Ohio accolades as a sophomore. There were times, though, when her perfectionist nature got the best of her — "You could say that," she said — with those tough stretches occasionally reaching the point where she cried while on the court. "I have definitely learned to control my emotions better," Klanac said. "Freshman year, I would get so frustrated over everything. It's all a learning lesson and it helped me get to where I am now. "Freshman and sophomore year, that was a key factor I was lacking," she said of her struggles to handle adversity. "I know I was young, but I wasn't a captain until this year and that was the reason. I wasn't able to mentally be there all the time. That comes with preparation and confidence in myself and my team." Klanac's leadership, confidence and mental toughness improved by leaps and bounds throughout her junior year. That helped her go from being a very good high school player to a great one, and it resulted in the Bees matching school records for wins in a season and deepest tournament run. "My main goal this year was to keep her in check," said Kurka, a demonstrative player who learned how to channel her aggression into positive results. "I knew we had to rely on each other and help each other in order to reach our goals, so I kept her in check and she kept me in check. "For her to grow and mature really helped her and us on the court. She became more aware of her emotions and stayed positive rather than breaking down." By her own admission, early in her career Klanac equated playing well with scoring points, regardless of what may have been lacking or shining in other areas of her game. This season, when it wasn't unusual for opponents to face-guard her or use a box-and-one defense — some even held and occasionally tackled — she learned to contribute in many other ways, but way more often than not she also found ways to score. With great defensive instincts, Klanac was able to get open-court steals that led to easy layups. She also improved when it came to moving without the ball, while added strength increased her ability to drive, draw contact and finish. Her 3-point shot remained as reliable as ever but her range increased to well beyond the arc — her 66 makes were a school record for a season — and a new maturity level helped her remain positive while fighting through any cold stretches. "She channeled her energy and emotions in the right way," Kase said. "That takes awhile to figure out. When she got frustrated this year, she would pause and channel it into defense or get more determined. A lot of that is to her credit, because she found a way to do it. "She'd still get frustrated — who wouldn't being face-guarded and chased all over the court? — but she grew up and channeled that into determination. She knew she had to because everybody was looking at her to be a leader." Klanac had some incredible games, including 36 points in a non-league win over North Ridgeville and 28 points, four rebounds, three assists and 11 steals in eighth-seeded Medina's 49-32 district final win over top-seeded Archbishop Hoban, but a great example of how much she grew came in the Bees' 51-36 regional final loss to Magnificat. Face-guarded throughout, Klanac had a streak of 35 double-figure scoring games come to an end when she was held to seven points on 2-for-14 shooting. Still, she never lost focus, stuck to the game plan and finished with four assists and three steals. More impressive, she played under control and encouraged teammates throughout. When Kurka fouled out with the outcome decided, Klanac was there to embrace her. When the final buzzer sounded moments later, it was Kurka, No. 21, who quickly walked onto the court to embrace Klanac, No. 12, her "reverse number twin," as they referred to one another throughout the season. "I realized that was my last time on the court with Liv, so I hugged her," said Kurka, who will continue her career at Marietta College. "It's so crazy to think that I'll probably never get to play with someone as good as her again." Klanac already has offers from D-I Youngstown State, where current George Washington University coach McCombs played, and D-II national power Ashland. She also has heard from Cleveland State, Walsh and Malone, but she still has another high school season to play. It likely will be a record-setting one, but Klanac vows not to be concerned with numbers unless they involve winning or learning, a philosophy she got from parents Mark and Jessica, who own and operate Hyper Health Wellness Center in Medina. "My parents say you never lose; you either win or you learn," Klanac said. "They've played a huge role in who I am. I'm extremely competitive, but they're the ones telling me that in the end it's just a game. You go out and you do your best and you play to win, but in the end it's just basketball." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.