Clayton State Women's Basketball

CLAYTON STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
2007-08 SEASON PREVIEW
Expectatons high for Lakers this season following magical 2006-07 "Final Four" campaign

The Peach Belt Conference regular season and tournament championship.

The NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional championship.

The NCAA Division II “Final Four.”

It’s safe to say the 2006-07 season was a banner one at that for the Clayton State Laker women’s basketball team. All those accomplishments, not to mention a 29-6 record and a final Division II ranking of fourth in the nation made it the best season in the history of women’s basketball at Clayton State.

Now, with all that success and memories still fresh on their minds, the Clayton State Lakers are gearing up for a challenging 2007-08 season in which Laker supporters want to know – “how do you top last season?”

“We try not to talk about it a lot,” said Clayton State head coach Dennis Cox, who is 79-19 enter his fourth season at the Laker helm. “This season reminds me of our second season (2005-06) when we had to replace eight seniors off a team that won its first ever Peach Belt championship and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. There’s a lot of pressure, and it’s hard not to compare teams.

“But the bar has been raised and now we have a standard to follow.”

Cox doesn’t have to replace eight seniors. Instead, six seniors have finished off last season’s squad, and each played a strong role in the success of the Lakers. However, the Lakers return four key ingredients from last season in seniors Shantel Ragin, Roberta Phillips and Lynette Jackson, and junior Marie St. Fort.

On top of that is another stellar recruiting class that Cox hopes will gel and mesh quickly with the returning players. That will be important considering the preseason hype that is surrounding Clayton State entering the season. The Lakers are once again the preseason favorite in the Peach Belt Conference and are ranked as high as seventh in the preseason Division II Top 25 polls.

With that in mind, Cox knows that the chemistry must be established early and often for this season’s team.

“I like the players we have back – they’ve been there in the big games,” Cox said. “The key will be to get these newcomers to mature quickly and meet the expectations in our system. But we have the players that know what it takes to win in the Peach Belt Conference.”

GUARDS

The return of Phillips and St. Fort automatically gives Clayton State a strong backcourt. In fact, Phillips, who was the starting point guard last season, moves back to her normal wing position, while St. Fort takes over for graduated two-time All-Peach Belt performer Sharon Wiles.

Last season, Phillips performed admirably directing the Laker offense. She averaged eight points, three rebounds and three assists a game, while shooting 37 percent from 3-point range. The 5-foot-7 senior is very fundamentally-sound on the perimeter with good instincts for the game.

Toughness is the best way to describe St. Fort. Despite battling knee problems, the 5-7 junior averaged eight points and four rebounds off the bench, while shooting 32 percent from 3-point range. The best example of St. Fort’s sheer determination and force was evident in the NCAA Division II “Final Four” semifinal showdown against Florida Gulf Coast. In the second half, she literally carried the Lakers on her back with 12 points, nearly bringing Clayton State back from a 25-point halftime deficit.

“We got a glimpse of what kind of player we have in Marie in that semifinal game,” Cox said. “She’s never been healthy, but she’s such a strong guard that is a perfect fit in our system.”

The most exciting player in Cox’s recruiting class is the emergence of junior point guard Dominique Jennings, who comes to the Laker fold following a stellar junior college career at Miami-Dade. The 5-6 Jennings gives the Lakers something they haven’t had in the last couple of seasons – a true point guard.

Jennings is a dynamic player who knows only one aspect of the game – full speed ahead. She was a two-time NJCAA Kodak All-American and All-Region 8 selection, and was also selected Southern Florida Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore.

“She is always in attack mode,” Cox said. “If anything, I have to pull the reigns on her just to slow her down some because she plays with such a reckless abandon. However, she’s also proven to very unselfish and coachable.”

This trio gives Clayton State one of the top perimeter backcourts in the Peach Belt Conference. However, the key will be the depth, where Arlanderia Whitlock and Tierra Yates come into play. Whitlock comes to the Lakers from Peach Belt rival Columbus State, while Yates transferred to Clayton State from Tallahassee Community College.

Look for Whitlock to back up Jennings for the minutes at the point, while Yates will need to play some key minutes on the wing.

“Those two are definitely a key for us,” Cox said. “It’s been a slow process for them trying to earn more minutes. Our’s, however, is a unique system, and it’s always an adjustment.”

FORWARDS

Like the perimeter, the forward position is another strong area in the Clayton State arsenal. Ragin is back after getting selected All-Peach Belt Conference last season, and Cox is also very high on newcomers Shanrika Hardeman and Lisa Jackson.

The 5-10 Ragin will no doubt be a go-to player after last season in which she averaged 10 points and seven rebounds a game, while also leading the team in assists with 93. Her versatility gives the Cox the option to play her either at small forward or at power forward.

Perhaps the most surprising addition has been that of Hardeman. Like Whitlock, she also transferred from rival Columbus State, and has quickly fit well into Cox’s system. Last season, Hardeman averaged 10 points and eight rebounds a game at Columbus State, recording eight double-doubles.

Hardeman is undersized at 5-9, but that won’t stop her from being one of the more tenciaious rebounders in the Peach Belt Conference this season.

“It almost gives us another returning player with Shanrika,” Cox said. “I’ve seen her play so much, and she’s a beast, especially on the glass. That aggressive and willingness to sacrifice her body is what we look for in a player.”

Jackson has that same characteristic. The 5-11 junior continues the strong pipeline of solid players from Tallahassee Community College. She was a two-time All-Conference selection at Tallahassee, averaging 13 points and nine rebounds last season.

“We really like how aggressive Lisa has improved her rebounding and taking it to the basket,” Cox said. “She’s had to adjust from a two-post system to one-post system here, but players like her are tough to find. She was really sought-after.”

CENTERS

The Lakers will have virtually a two-headed monster in the middle with the return of Lynette Jackson and addition of Kim Larry.

Coming off the bench last season, Jackson was very effective, averaging eight points and six rebounds a game, while shooting 41 percent from the field. It was on the defensive end, however, where the 6-4 senior made her mark.

Jackson set a Clayton State single-season record for blocked shots with 90. In turn, she led the Peach Belt Conference in blocked shots and ranked ninth in the nation in blocked shots. In one season, she is already tied for second all-time at Clayton State in blocked shots, needing only 54 to set the new Laker career record.

Despite all the success and accomplishments, Cox still believes Jackson’s best basketball are ahead of her.

“The biggest thing with LJ is reaching her potential,” Cox said. “She’s so much better at this point than she was at this time last season, but she’s still tapping into that potential to be a tremendous player.”

Like Hardeman and Lisa Jackson, Larry has a strong nose for the ball as a tremendous rebounder. The 6-2 junior led all three of Florida’s junior college conferences in rebounding both seasons, averaging 13 rebounds a game.

The key for Larry is this is the first time playing in two seasons, so getting back into basketball game shape and form is a must for this season.

“We need her to round back into form,” Cox said. “I know what she’s capable of because I remember seeing her play a lot in junior college. She has the capability of being a tremendous rebounder in the post for us once she gets back to being acclimated to the game and our system.”

SCHEDULE/OUTLOOK

There’s no doubt that Cox has put together a star-studded schedule for the Lakers in 2007-08. In fact it has a “national championship” flavor to it.

Highlighting this season’s schedule will be two consecutive Sundays in December when the Lakers face two of the top programs in Division II. On Dec. 9, Clayton State travels to perennial Division II power Delta State, which has won three Division II championships in its program history. The following Sunday (Dec. 16), the Lakers head north for what could be one of the more highly anticipated match-ups in Division II this season when Clayton State squares off against defending Division II national champion Southern Connecticut State.

"We are excited for the challenges that this year’s schedule presents to our team," said Cox, who is 79-19 entering his fourth season at the Clayton State helm. "We have the opportunity to play two of last year’s top 10 teams in the country on their home courts on consecutive Sunday afternoons in December. That will define where we are before we get into the meat of our conference schedule in January and February."

The strength of the non-conference schedule doesn’t stop with Delta State and Southern Connecticut State. The Lakers open the season at the Eagle Club Classic at Carson-Newman on Nov. 16-17 in Jefferson City, Tenn. Clayton State plays Lincoln Memorial on Nov. 16, followed by Carson-Newman, who Clayton State eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Division II National Tournament last season, on Nov. 17.

The home opener is against Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) contender Tuskegee on Nov. 20, and Clayton State also will host the annual Heritage Bank Holiday Classic on Dec. 29 and 30 against Lenoir-Rhyne from the SAC and Fayetteville State from the CIAA.

The Peach Belt Conference schedule will be a full slate of home-and-home match-ups, and the Lakers will face some tough challenges early. Clayton State opens Peach Belt play on Nov. 24 at home against defending Peach Belt North Division champion USC-Aiken, followed by a big early-season showdown at Georgia College on Nov. 28.

Clayton State defeated Georgia College four times last season, including in the South Atlantic Regional championship to advance to the NCAA Division II "Elite Eight." Clayton State then plays host to UNC-Pembroke on Dec. 1, before re-starting the bulk of the Peach Belt slate in early January.

“This could be one of the best seasons for the Peach Belt Conference,” Cox said. “Everyone has enhanced their rosters, and last season, all the best players in the league were juniors.”

With all that lies ahead for Clayton State and the 2007-08, Cox is keeping it simple and in perspective.

“My expectations are realistic,” Cox said. “I won’t be disappointed if this team doesn’t accomplishes what it did last season. I want this team to reach it’s potential – not someone else’s. If we get back to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight season, it would be a tremendous accomplishment.”