Smith, Wade lead all-star cast into action
By Kristopher Hanson
Daily Forty-Niner
Towering above opponents with a dominating
presence, 6-foot-8-inch center Rhonda Smith has become not only one of
the nation's premier shot-blockers, but the anchor of the Long Beach State's
women's basketball team.
With her defensive and offensive abilities
on the court already proven, the senior black studies major is looking
to have a standout season and maybe get noticed by professional scouts.
"I would love to play pro," Smith said.
"But my main focus right now is this season."
A soft-spoken Downey native, Smith didn't
become involved in basketball until her junior year at Downey High.
"Volleyball was my favorite sport," Smith
said.
"I also was doing some (fashion) modeling,
but I never was that interested in (basketball until college)."
The humble 22 year old admits, "I never
thought I was good enough to play in college," but coaches at Trinity Valley
Junior College in Athens, Tex. thought differently.
In 1996, she went to Texas and within a
short time was the Lady Cardinals' go-to player.
In her freshman year, the team went 34-2
and won the junior college national championship.
The following year, she averaged 14.3 points,
8.2 rebounds and 6.4 blocks per game.
In 1998, with her father cancer-stricken,
she returned to Long Beach and accepted a full scholarship at LBSU.
"I came back so that my mom and dad could
see me play," Smith said, adding that she and Head Coach Dallas Boychuck-Bolla
also kept in contact throughout her stay in Texas.
After her father died in May 1998, he became
her inspiration and guiding light.
"Now, I play for my dad. He always
encouraged me to continue with it."
This year, Smith hopes to improve on last
year's statistics, which included a team-leading 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds
per game. She set a 49er record with 118 blocks 4.1 points per game, which
ranked second in the nation.
"I think she will have a great year," Boychuck-Bolla
said of the senior southpaw.
"She's fun to watch Ö but teams will be
ready for her this year.
I expect players to double down on her,
but that will open up the guards. We just have to be ready for it."
Simply put, "I'm looking for huge things
in Rhonda this year," Boychuck-Bolla said.
Four WNBA coaches have already come to
see her play, including Los Angeles Sparks head coach Michael Cooper, said
Boychuck-Bolla.
Smith plans on one day returning to Texas
and working in a youth outreach program. "I loved it out there."
Scoring machine
Whether slicing through opposing defenses
with boundless energy or quietly creeping in for another steal, senior
guard Kesha Wade has proven her loyalty to the women's basketball team
through intense dedication and an unbreakable focus.
The 21 year old from Duncanville, Tex.
toiled through the not-so-glorious 1996-1998 seasons without abandoning
hope that there truly was light at the tunnel's end.
Now in her final season at LBSU, Wade wants
to experience some of the glory she knows this year's club is capable of
achieving.
"I've been waiting for this since I've
been here," Wade said about this season.
"I'm very excited because this is the best
team I've been with (at LBSU)."
A natural athlete, Wade has been playing
sports since she was a child growing up in Inglewood.
Since she was 8 years old, when she was
playing basketball and volleyball, Wade has always been one who refuses
to roll over on the court.
"I love the competition of the game," Wade
said about basketball.
"That's what drives me."
Last season, the criminology major and
four-year starter had an especially strong showing, averaging 11.6 points
and 4.9 rebounds per game. Her 56 steals led the 49ers and she is set to
become one of 18 players in school history to score 1,000 career points.
Wade was the first player recruited by
Head Coach Dallas Boychuck-Bolla, who described her as "the heart and soul
of the team."
"She is somebody that coaches love to have,"
she said.
"She comes to compete and is really one
of the quickest players in the conference. This is her last year and she
wants to make a big impression."
A resident of Long Beach, Wade shares an
apartment with teammate and best friend Nicole Legaux.
In her off time, she enjoys visiting with
family and peers, many of whom live in the area.
All-star support
The weight of winning a championship will
not fall solely on the shoulders of Smith and Wade.
Other notable players on the veteran team
include Jackie Moore, Charel Bailey, Chelsea Cooper, Nicole Legaux, Crystal
Hogan and Reta Sula.
Six-foot-1-inch forward Bailey "worked
really hard over the summer and came in this year ready to play," Boychuck-Bolla
said, while 5-foot-9-inch guard Hogan is described as a steadily improving
hard worker who set career highs in rebounding and scoring last season.
The defensive play of Cooper, a 5-foot-4-inch
guard, has improved so much this year that Boychuck-Bolla now says she
is one of the best defensive players on the squad.
Legaux, a five-foot seven guard, is at
her best shooting from the outside, averaging .371 from three-point range
last season.
Moore averaged 7.3 points and 4.2 rebounds
last season.
The six-foot-two forward has scored at
least ten points played in twelve games and came on especially strong at
the end of last year, recording three double-doubles.
Sula, a 1997 Jordan High School graduate,
could become the team's next standout player.
In her freshman year, she was picked to
the Big West Conference All-Freshman Team after averaging 8.7 points, 2.7
rebounds and 3.3 assists in 23 starts.
In 1998-99, she brought those numbers up
to 5.9 assists and 3.4 steals per game, including a .393 three-point shooting
percentage.
The team camaraderie plays a role in the
family-like atmosphere that teammates and coaches describe as being one
of the highlights of playing.
"We're like a family, there's good chemistry
on and off the floor," Boychuck-Bolla said.
"It's cool because away from basketball,
we hang out," Wade said before going into the gym for a workout. |
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