LeBeauf pulls in impressive recruiting class for PJC Lady Dragons’ 2012-2013 season

Posted on Sep 14, 2012 in Behind the Scenes, PJC Sports, Sports by Charles Richards

By CHARLES RICHARDS

eParisExtra.com

A year ago, Sean LeBeauf coached the Paris Junior College women’s basketball team to 24 victories – a record for a Lady Dragons basketball squad.

He lived up to his assertion at the time that … “This is my best squad. There’s no doubt.”

But for his fourth season as PJC’s women’s basketball coach, LeBeauf appears to have assembled an even better recruiting class for the upcoming 2012-2013 season.

For the first time, he also has a woman for an assistant coach. She is Shakira Nettles, a 5-11 guard who twice was named the Alabama high school girls basketball player of the year (scoring more than 2,000 points).

She was a four-year letterman at the University of South Alabama, where she was the Lady Jags’ leader in 3-point shots, assists and steals.

 

See u-tube video of Nettles (No. 2) playing for s. Alabama:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p10ImCMOPcg

“She’s not as vocal as I am, but she’s just as intense,” LeBeauf said of Nettles. “I always say girls don’t have as much passion for the game as the guys, but she’s not like that. She has that ‘guy’s mentality.’ She always wants to be around the ball.”

There will be many advantages, having Nettles at his side, LeBeauf said.

For one thing, he said, “they can better relate to her. I go to them as the head coach.”

Nettles comes to PJC after having served as an assistant coach last season at Pensacola State College, which was ranked No. 2 among the nation’s junior college women’s teams in pre-season and spent much of the season ranked as high as No. 4. Pensacola State went 26-4 and finished third at the national tournament at Salina, Kan., its only loss coming 71-66 to Trinity Valley in the semifinals. That was undefeated Trinity Valley’s closest game at the national tournament.

Here’s the PJC women’s basketball roster, followed by comments on each player:

No. 2 Shanice Hill – 5-0 sophomore walk-on guard from Paris High School, where she was a four-year starter, point guard, and the conference defensive player of the year her senior season. LeBeauf: “She’s a hard worker, and I like to reward hard work.”

 

No. 5 Kelsei Ewings – 5-3 sophomore guard from West Point, Miss., who committed in high school to North Carolina A&T and played there last season. LeBeauf said: “I like big guards, so she’s got to win me over. But she shoots the ball well and handles it well. She averaged 27 points a game in high school. She’s quick, she’s tough, and she can defend. A good kid, works hard.” She was named to the all-state team and was named the outstanding defensive player in an all-star game. She was on the honor roll all four years in high school, graduating fourth in her class. A scouting service said of her: “An explosive scorer, she has always been a threat to pull the trigger from anywhere on the floor, but she became a complete player as a senior. Though small in statuRe, Ewings is a quality ball-handler. She will use the change-of-pace dribble to create shot opportunities for herself off the bounce. Her pull-up jumper is tough to defend. On the other end, she’s a lock-down defender.”

No. 10 Lea Holt – 5-7 freshman walk-on guard from Fossil Ridge High School at Keller, in the metroplex.

No. 12 De’Ottia Robinson – 5-2 freshman guard out of Mifflin High School in Columbus, Ohio. LeBeauf: “Another small guard, but strong and tough. We got her late, like the week before school started.”

See U-tube video of junior year highlights of De’Ottia Robinson (No. 10):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R2oHXNEIU8

 

No. 14 Rickeya Williams – 5-7 freshman guard out of Agape Christian Academy in Orlando, Fla. LeBeauf: “She’s athletic. Fast and athletic. With the skill level she has, I’m looking for her to become more defensive oriented.” Rickeya (Rick-AY’-uh) averaged 24.3 points a game last season. In the Class 1A regional playoffs earlier this year, she scored 48 points, hitting 17-of-30 field goals and 14-of-15 free throws. Nine times she scored in the 20s, and times she scored in the 30s.

 

 

No. 15 Shanice Vaughan – 5-8 freshman guard from Bishop Ford High School in Brooklyn, N.Y.  fell to PJC after originally committing to Texas-El Paso. LeBeauf: “She’s tough. Tough. She can score. More of a slasher. She’s got that New York toughness.” She was the best player on the girls’ basketball team ranked second in New York City. She came back strong after missing some time with a knee injury.

 

No. 22 Meaghan Scott – 5-8 freshman guard from Pasadena Rayburn High School. LeBeauf: “She can score, but she hasn’t been cleared to play yet, coming off an ACL tear. She’s got about three more weeks of testing, and we’ll have to see how that will affect her.” In a 59-43 victory over Crosby, Meaghan exploded for 43 points, including 6-of-10 three pointers (five of them in the first half). She averaged more than 19 points a game and finished her high school career with more than 1,000 points.

 

 

No. 23 Ashley Johnson – 5-8 freshman guard from Helen Cox High School in Harvey, La. LeBeauf: “She was one of the better guards out of the state of Louisiana, but she kind of fell off the map because she tore her ACL last fall. I think ESPN had her like the 59^th-ranked guard in her class. She is very good, and even though she’s a guard, with her toughness and athleticism, she can play down low. I’ll probably use her similar to the way I did Bianca Hanna, at guard and post. And she’s actually a little more athletic than Bianca, and shoots it better.”

 

 

 

No. 24 Brea Castro-Gambrell – 5-10 sophomore guard/forward from Manhattan Central High School in New York City and Monroe, N.Y. (Junior) College. LeBeauf: “At 5-10, she’s a big guard, and I’ll probably play her some at forward. But she’s skilled like a guard. She shoots it fairly well.” Castro-Gambrell was a preseason selection to the All-Manhattan team before the start of her senior year in high school. During summer league play, after a coach moved her to the wing, a Manhattan sports writer wrote: “the bullish left-handed forward was hard to stop charging to the basket, and she was extremely adept at finishing around the rim.” Another coach who has coached her during summer ball thinks she’s much more suited around the perimeter. “I even let her play the point sometimes if we’re a little bigger (than the opponents),” the second coach said. “She can handle the ball very well, she can shoot the ball. Her problem is that because of her size, they don’t really put her outside to shoot. She can be a match-up problem.” Castro-Gambrell played for Monroe, N.Y., in the national tournament at the end of last summer. The Pensacola State College team for which Nettles was the assistant coach defeated Monroe on the first day at Salina.

 

No. 34 Karmyn Jackson – 6-2 sophomore forward from Irving MacArthur High School. She was No. 55 on a girls basketball rating service’s ranking of Texas’ top 150 girls basketball players for 2010-2011. She signed out of high school with Arkansas-Little Rock and enrolled there in the summer before deciding that wasn’t the best fit for her and came to PJC instead. One of only two returning members of last season’s PJC squad, Karmyn had the team’s best field goal percentage, making 72 of 152 shots (47 percent). She averaged 5.9 points and 4.1 rebounds.

 

 

 

 

No. 40 Adrienne Small– 6-2 freshman forward from Paul VI High School in Blackwood, N.J. LeBeauf: “She has an athletic body, shoots a face-up jumper and is actually fairly skilled. She can put it on the floor. Good footwork.” ESPN commented about her at the Nike Nationals: “Active and strong forward. Utilizes some spin moves down low. Physically, the tools are there, but the skills will have to catch up a bit. Potential is definitely there.”

No. 44 Voche’ Martin – 6-3 sophomore forward from Duncanville High School in the metroplex. During her senior year, a ranking of the state’s top 150 high school girls basketball players in Texas put her at No. 99. She committed out of high school to the University of Houston and played with the Lady Cougars last season. LeBeauf: “UH probably wasn’t the best fit for her, because they struggled as a team last year. She runs well. Good athletic body. Shoots face up. Can put the ball on the floor and can actually play with her back to the basket.”

 

Here is the 2012-2013 basketball schedule for the Lady Dragons:

Asterisk = Preseason scrimmage

Boldface = Region XIV game

DATE	OPPONENT		PLACE		TIME
10/12/2012	*Women’s		Frisco		TBA
10/12/2012	Juco				TBA
10/12/2012	Showcase				TBA
10/13/2012	*SAWBC		Carrollton		TBA
10/13/2012	Super				TBA
10/13/2012	Scrimmage				TBA
	REGULAR SEASON
11/3/2012	Murray State		Paris		4 p.m.
1/5/1900	Ark. Baptist		Little Rock		6 p.m.
11/7/2012	Hill College		Paris		5:30 p.m.
11/9/2012	Murray State		Tishomingo, OK		6 p.m.
11/12/2012	Ark. Baptist		Paris		6 p.m.
11/16/2012	JACKSONVILLE		Jacksonville		TBA
11/17/2012	CLASSIC		Jacksonville		TBA
11/20/2012	Western Texas		Snyder		TBA
11/26/2012	Cisco College		Cisco		4 p.m.
11/29/2012	Hill College		Hillsboro		5:30 p.m.
12/1/2012	Cisco College		Paris		4 p.m.
12/5/2012	Western Texas		Paris		5:30 p.m.
12/8/2012	Blinn		Paris		4 p.m.
1/1/2013	MCLENNAN NEW		Waco		TBA
1/2/2013	BALANCE SHOOTOUT		Waco		TBA
1/5/2013	Angelina		Paris		4 p.m.
1/9/2013	Jacksonville		Jacksonville		5:30 p.m.
1/12/2013	Trinity Valley		Paris		4 p.m.
1/19/2013	Angelina		Lufkin		4 p.m.
1/23/2013	Kilgore		Paris		5:30 p.m.
1/26/2013	Tyler		Tyler		2 p.m.
1/30/2013	TrinityValley		Athens		5:30p.m.
2/2/2013	Panola		Carthage		4 p.m.
2/6/2013	Jacksonville		Paris		5:30 p.m.
2/9/2013	Blinn		Brenham		4 p.m.
2/13/2013	San Jacinto		Paris		5:30 p.m.
2/16/2013	Kilgore		Kilgore		2 p.m.
2/20/2013	Tyler		Paris		5:30 p.m.
2/27/2013	Panola		Paris		5:30  p.m.
3/2/2013	San Jacinto		Houston		4 p.m.
3/7/2013	—		Tyler		TBA
3/8/2013	REGION XIV		Tyler		TBA
3/9/2013	TOURNAMENT		Tyler		TBA
3/10/2013	—		Tyler		TBA

 

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