CLASS 5A GIRLS Adams undergoing makeover on court

By Marty Cook

Posted: November 8, 2009 at 5:44 a.m.

• Print item
• E-mail
• Share
• Tweet

LITTLE ROCK — Everyone has told her the same thing.

Unfortunately for her opponents, Ashley Adams is listening.

Adams, a 6-4 senior center, helped Siloam Springs make the Class 5A state championship game last year. This year she has bigger and better things planned for her team and herself.

Adams was pretty good last season, when she averaged 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 blocks and 5 assists a game, but Siloam Springs Coach Debbie Sharp said she believes Adams has just scratched the surface.

“We’re really challenging her to dominate, to be the best,” Sharp said. “That’s what we want from her: ‘Every game you dominate.’ ”

Adams said she knows the expectations Sharp has for her. She has heard similar admonitions to play more aggressively from colleges such as Arkansas and SouthCarolina, both of which have offered her a scholarship.

“I have heard it not just from her,” Adams said. “I’ve heard it from my AAU coaches, parents. I need to get more aggressive and dominant for us to be where we need to be.”

The Lady Panthers lost just one starter from last year’s team and will be one of the top contenders for the Class 5A state title this year.

“I want to score more points than I’ve been averaging in years past,” Adams said. “I want to getmore aggressive. I know I need to get more aggressive. I know I’m real timid, and that’s a bad thing.”

Sharp said Adams played some of her best basketball down the stretch last season. Adams had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 11 blocks in the Lady Panthers’ semifinal victory against Beebe. She added 14 points and nine rebounds in the title game against Vilonia, which won 51-42 in overtime.

“That loss is going to push a lot of the older girls, the juniors and seniors,” Adams said. “I think we want it way more this year than we did last year.”

Adams’ defensive presence inside allows the Lady Panthers to play more aggressively on the perimeter. If someone makes a mistake, Adams is there to clean up the mess.

“She has a great knack for blocking shots,” Alma Coach Madelyn Flenor. “That’s a luxury a lot of people don’t have.”

Adams’ size and 6-8 wingspan certainly make her stand out on the court - “You can’t coach tall,” Flenor said - she is more than just an intimidator inside. Flenor and Greenwood Coach Clay Reeves said Adams is one of the conference’s best passers.

That comes in handy when Adams finds herself double- or triple-teamed when she gets the ball on the low post.

“She poses a lot of challenges to your team,” Reeves said. “She’s a great passer, a great rebounder, and she can score. She’s a difference-maker. She bothers me a lot more by finding the open player.”

Sharp said Adams is a great passer but passed too much last year. Sharp wants Adams taking more shots even if she is guarded, all part of the make-Adamsmore-aggressive makeover.

“When I was younger and someone said my name, I would automatically pass them the ball,” Adams said. “I would think they could get the score and I’ll get theassist. It was like a program.

“Hopefully this year I can even it up and score as much as I get my assists.”

As if opponents didn’t have enough to worry about already.

At a glance NAME Ashley Adams SCHOOL Siloam Springs CLASS Senior HEIGHT 6-4 POSITION Center NOTEWORTHY Averaged 12 points, 7 rebounds, 6 blocks and 5 assists a game last season. ... Has scholarship offers from Arkansas, South Carolina and Ohio State.

... Had 14 points and nine rebounds in Siloam Springs’ 51-42 loss to Vilonia in last season’s Class 5A state championship game.

Special, Pages 87 on 11/08/2009

Comments

To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers. Please read our comment policy.

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.