Western Kentucky sophomore guard Josie Gilvin is a bundle of energy on the court.

With her style of play, it is easy to see how it could have been the basis for how the Sacred Heart product has earned the nickname Red Bull by her coaches and teammates. The nickname came about not because of her style of play, but from her pregame ritual of drinking the popular energy drink before the game – a tradition she said she has done for a while.

“I didn’t know it was my nickname for a while until I started to hear coach (Whitney Creech) say it,” Gilvin said. “Once I got to college, coach Whit always saw me with my Red Bull and so that’s how it kinda became my name.”

Red Bulls aren’t the only pregame ritual Gilvin brought to the Hill. Gilvin said she is superstitious so she does a handstand pregame, something she started doing at Sacred Heart.

“The two times I didn’t do it, we lost the games,” Gilvin said. “I said, ‘Acacia (Hayes), that is why we lost. I didn’t do the handstand.’ I always have to do that beforehand, get loose, do my handstand and I am ready to go.”

Gilvin has seemingly been ready to go since arriving at WKU last season. She has quickly become one of the key components – a defensive spark who has worked to improve all aspects of her game. She said that like her favorite player, Dennis Rodman, she wants to be a hard-working player who is willing to do anything asked – but also wants to make it fun for herself and her teammates.

“They are putting me in to be an energizer,” Gilvin said. “I’m just going in, giving it all I can on defense because defense leads to offense. When I come in and give that energy, it gives people energy to do the same. I feel like I’ve seen that happen a lot. I’ve always stuck with that throughout high school until now. It’s something I can always rely on.”

Gilvin arrived at WKU with plenty of outstanding credentials. A three-sport all-state athlete – she also ran cross country and track – Gilvin played a key role in back-to-back state titles by Sacred Heart in her final two years. She broke a KHSAA record with 21 steals in the 2021 Sweet 16 and was the Region 7 player of the year and a Miss Basketball finalist in 2021-22.

“It was such a fun environment, such great coaches, such great chemistry,” Gilvin said. “It was hard to have a bad day there because it was always so fun. You definitely learned how to play within yourself and play with confidence because everyone around you is giving you that confidence.

“It was a fun time. Everyone learned their strengths and weaknesses and we just played off it.”

WKU coach Greg Collins said Gilvin really stood out the first time he saw her play.

“What I loved about Josie from the first time I saw her play ball, I just remember that intensity about her,” Collins said. “Everything she did wasn’t perfect, but it was always passionate. She would just play hard.

“ … I think her stat line was always a reflection of her intensity and how she played the game.”

Gilvin’s style of play wasn’t just developed on the basketball court. She said cross country and track also helped shape her mentality – giving her grit and helping Gilvin learn how to push through no matter what you have to do.

“That’s where that motor comes from,” Gilvin said. “I’ve always got endurance. Coming from cross country season into basketball season, that always gave me some leverage over people. I’ve always used that to help me be a lot faster and have longer durability throughout the game.”

While Gilvin’s game thrived at Sacred Heart, she admitted there was some adjustments when she arrived at WKU last season.

“When I got here, everything was three steps faster,” Gilvin said. “Everyone was good. It was really weird. Everything used to just come to me in high school, so (I had to adjust). You have to work a lot for what you want because there is always going to be someone better than you.

“I came in here probably with a big head from Sacred Heart, so I definitely got humbled a lot but for the better.”

Gilvin appeared in all 33 games last year, with three or more steals in six games. She scored a career high 12 points in her second collegiate game against Miami (Ohio) and pulled down a career-best seven rebounds later in the season against North Texas.

There was one stat that Gilvin immediately wanted to work on in the offseason, her long-range shooting. Gilvin was 4-for-22 last season, but is 8-for-31 this year in 10 games.

“If you saw my shot when I got here, I couldn’t even shoot at the regular high school 3-point line,” Gilvin said. “I think I shot three 3s in high school. That was something I worked on a lot. I would say working on that has made me 95% better now.”

She said she continues to work on her game, determined to be a more complete player.

“I definitely want to be better with my ball handling and drives and becoming a triple threat,” Gilvin said. “I definitely want to be an all-around player.”

While putting in the hard work, Gilvin said she also continues to remember that at the end of the day it’s all for naught if you aren’t enjoying what you are doing.

“We are here to play something that we love,” Gilvin said. “If you’re not going to have fun with it, then you don’t need to be here. Putting the fun in basketball definitely needs to be implicated a lot more in college basketball.”

Collins said Gilvin’s never-quit positive attitude will continue to pay dividends throughout this season and the remainder of her Lady Topper career.

“We are going to benefit, and the fans are going to benefit, from seeing Josie really mature into a more polished player that has that high energy and has that incredible competitiveness,” Collins said. “It’s exciting to see. She’s a better player now than she was just last year and she’s still working at it. It’s going to be fun to see Josie Gilvin for the next two years. It’s going to be fun to see what she does.”