Jackie Welch
Tolliver gets the message
Thursday, January 06, 2011 Sparks News Player Information
Sophomore center is emerging as a top player for Watervliet
By JAMES ALLEN Staff Writer
Published: 03:17 a.m., Thursday, January 6, 2011
WATERVLIET -- Lashana Tolliver has been a vital part of two Section II girls' basketball championship basketball teams at Watervliet, yet the talented 6-foot-1 sophomore center was never as committed to the team as she is this season.
"My first two years, I was immature and I wasn't really focused on basketball. I wanted to hang out with my friends and I didn't want to be in practice," Tolliver said. "Now every day, I'm ready to be in practice. I'm doing all my work in school just thinking about practice."
"It is just maturity. That is all it is," Watervliet coach Gordie Johnson said. "She is still only a sophomore playing on the varsity basketball team. She was a big part of what we did the last two years, but she didn't always understand she needed to work every single minute. Now she does. When she comes in here, she works every single minute."
Hard work first paid off over the summer for Tolliver, who played along with Watervliet sophomore guard Ailayia Demand on the Saratoga Sparks' squad that finished sixth in the country in July at the AAU Nationals in Orlando, Fla.
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By JAMES ALLEN Staff Writer
Published: 03:17 a.m., Thursday, January 6, 2011
"My first two years, I was immature and I wasn't really focused on basketball. I wanted to hang out with my friends and I didn't want to be in practice," Tolliver said. "Now every day, I'm ready to be in practice. I'm doing all my work in school just thinking about practice."
"It is just maturity. That is all it is," Watervliet coach Gordie Johnson said. "She is still only a sophomore playing on the varsity basketball team. She was a big part of what we did the last two years, but she didn't always understand she needed to work every single minute. Now she does. When she comes in here, she works every single minute."
Hard work first paid off over the summer for Tolliver, who played along with Watervliet sophomore guard Ailayia Demand on the Saratoga Sparks' squad that finished sixth in the country in July at the AAU Nationals in Orlando, Fla.
Read More...
Strong Team Play Lifts Sparks To Title
Saturday, June 26, 2010 Tournaments
Gym Ray Challenge Website: The Saratoga Sparks 14-under division team came to Sunday's games at the GymRat Challenge tournament without its head coach as Tony Mingione missed the event for a family function, and without one of its better players, whose opts not to play in Sunday games due to religious reasons.
But those seeming handicaps did nothing to derail the championship run of the Saratoga Sparks, who used strong overall team play and a well-designed strategy to advance to Sunday night's championship contest of the 6th annual GymRat CHALLENGE for girls where it earned a 56-40 victory over the New York Gauchos. Read More...