Adkins Provides Offensive Lift Off Bench

Bentonville’s Deanna Adkins, left, shown driving past East Newton (Mo.) defender Shelbey Thomlinson during the 58th annual Neosho (Mo.) Holiday Classic, provides the Lady Tigers with instant offense off the bench.

Bentonville’s Deanna Adkins, left, shown driving past East Newton (Mo.) defender Shelbey Thomlinson during the 58th annual Neosho (Mo.) Holiday Classic, provides the Lady Tigers with instant offense off the bench.

Friday, January 11, 2013

— Basketball coaches typically expect their team’s offensive production to decrease when they have to bring in one of their bench players.

That’s not the case when Deanna Adkins enters the picture.

PROFILE

Deanna Adkins

SCHOOL: Bentonville

CLASS: Junior

HEIGHT: 5-4

NOTABLE: Comes off the bench to provide instant offense on a deep Lady Tiger basketball team. ... Averages 5.6 points through Bentonville’s first 15 games. ... Hit six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 20 points against Oklahoma City Douglass in the Vinita (Okla.) Invitational Big Dawg Shootout last month.

Bentonville girls coach Tom Halbmaier expects to see more points on the scoreboard when he puts the junior guard on the floor.

“She’s instant offense,” Halbmaier said. “She’s probably been one of the best shooters I’ve seen consistently, day in and day out.

“She’s done a fantastic job of accepting that role because she works a lot in that area. When she comes off the bench, she knows the expectations. Sometimes it’s good; sometimes she’s not as successful.”

The 5-foot-4 Adkins leads the Lady Tigers in 3-pointers with 23 despite going the past two games without hitting one. She plays around 1 1/2 quarters per game and averages 5.6 points per contest, tops among Bentonville’s reserves.

Her 3-point shooting ability means opponents may have to extend their defenses to keep her in check. She also sports one of the quicker releases with her shot, but she believes her recent problem stems from the fact she’s been shooting the ball too quickly.

“I haven’t been on my game lately,” Adkins said. “I haven’t been squared up. I’m rushing my shots, but it will get there.

“I’m working on it. I just get nervous sometimes, and I need to focus on my shot. If I relax, it will go in.”

Halbmaier isn’t worried about the recent shooting slump. He has witnessed the extra time Adkins has put in on her shooting, and he’s confident enough in her to give her the green light to shoot any time she’s open — a privilege not given to many high school players coming off the bench.

The results are promising when Adkins is totally focused. She hit all five of her 3-point attempts during a Dec. 6 game against Oklahoma City Douglass in the Vinita (Okla.) Big Dawg Shootout and finished with a season-high 20 points, outscoring Douglass by a 17-15 margin by herself in the first half.

“The first three that she hit, I mean, they were dead on,” Halbmaier said. “Then all of a sudden, she hit the fourth one and the fifth one. I mean, she was getting farther and farther out there.

“I think the last one she hit, she was way deep. It caught me by surprise a little bit by how deep she shot that ball, and she didn’t hesitate. When she gets her feet set and gets squared up, she’s not afraid to pull the trigger. It was a fun game to watch.”

Halbmaier said Bentonville’s depth and experience, particularly at guard, is the main reason Adkins isn’t in the starting lineup. It’s only a matter of time for her, especially with so many seniors on the Lady Tigers’ roster this season.

In the meantime, Adkins is comfortable with her “instant offense” role.

“I like offense a lot,” she said. “My defense is getting better. I like defense, but I like offense a lot better.

“I’m comfortable with the role of 3-point shooter. But I’m also working on my ball-handling skills to make my way through people and make layups.”