Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 10 No. 2 | October 2017

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20 Inside Hokie Sports
Kendyl averaged 6.3 points per
game, and she ranked second on the
squad with 62 3-pointers. She played
more than 20 minutes per game.
“The most impressive thing to me
was that, in her first game, she made
two [3-pointers], but she also took
10,” Kenny Brooks said. “She was
confident enough to step up, and by
the end of the year, she was playing.
They [Tech’s opponents] were face-
guarding her because they knew she was a threat and could shoot the
3. Just watching her grow … it’s been a unique situation. It’s been fun.”
Magarity, Hicks and Kendyl Brooks represent the nucleus of the
team, but Tech’s head coach admits that he faces uncertainty with the
rest of the roster. He expects to see improvement, and he expects his
first recruiting class to contribute right away. However, he may not
know for certain until this group starts playing under the lights.
His biggest concern centers on his post players. Obviously, Magarity
proved herself a year ago, but she needs some help. That means getting
contributions from6-1Michelle Berry and 6-3 Erin Garner, two transfers
who sat out last season, and two freshmen, 6-2 Celeste Akoro from
O’Fallon, Illinois, and 6-1 Sierra Votaw from Harrells, North Carolina.
“I think depth inside is going to be an issue again,” Brooks said. “We
were hoping to get Erin back [from a back injury] … we’re crossing our
fingers with that. It puts pressure on us to makeshift a lineup. Someone
who plays that two-spot [shooting guard] may have to play the 3 [small
forward], or someone who plays the 3 may have to play the 4 [power
forward].”
Tech is in much better shape with its perimeter depth. For starters,
Brooks gets Rachel Camp back in the fold after she missed all of last
season with an injury. Camp averaged 11.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per
game as a freshman,
but her numbers
dipped to 5.0 and
2.7 as a sophomore.
Hopefully, she returns
to her freshman form.
Also, Diandra
DaRosa, Kaela Kinder
and Erinn Brooks
return. None of the trio
averaged more than 11 minutes per game last season, but hopefully they
take the next step in their development.
The newcomers are the ones generating the most excitement,
including Taylor Emery, a 5-10 guard who earned junior college
player of the year honors last season. Emery, a former a Parade All-
American, averaged 19 points per game in leading Gulf Coast State
College in Panama City, Florida to the National Junior College Athletic
Association Division I title.
“She’s going to have to hit the ground running,” Brooks said. “There
is not going to be an adaptation period. She’s going to have to come
in and be a force. We’re going to look for her to take over some of the
scoring responsibilities left by Sami Hill and Vanessa Panousis. We
know she can score. She’s a really good shooter, but she’s going to have
to take on more responsibility because of our lack of depth.”
Brooks expects another junior college transfer, Alexis Jean, to help,
as well as Aisha Sheppard, who was TheWashington Post’s Player of the
Year in 2016-17. A 6-1 forward, Jean averaged 19.6 points per game at
Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Sheppard, a
5-9 guard, averaged 13.7 points per game her senior season and ranked
as a top-50 prospect by ESPN HoopGurlz.
These young, athletic perimeter players possess talent and fit more
into the style that Brooks wants to play.
Continued from
page 19