Post by Aggie One on Feb 16, 2007 10:33:48 GMT -5
FANTASTIC SAMS: New Castle Senior Simply the Best
Posted by Joshua Funk February 9, 2007 23:28
NEW CASTLE, Pa. - When you think of "Fantastic Sams", you most likely think of the hairstyling franchise.
Not a bad guess.
New Castle though, can claim their own "Fantastic Sams," in the form of 5'11 senior forward Jaleesa Sams.
She won't don a smock or a pair of scissors, but instead chooses the red and white New Castle basketball uniform. Her scissors, well, have you ever seen a player cut through defenses with precision? Jaleesa does, and does so quite well.
Just ask Butler head coach Dorothea Epps about Sams. Epps will tell you how hard it is to stop the Hurricanes' #32.
"No matter what we threw out there, she just took it over," said Epps, after her Golden Tornado fell to New Castle 64-48 Friday night. "She took it over on both ends.
"When she takes it over on both ends, you're in some trouble."
Case in point: Sams took over offensively and scored a career-high 37 points Friday night. Defensively, she was just as much of a force, recording 15 rebounds and 6 steals. If there's such a thing in basketball as a rover, it's Jaleesa Sams.
She's like a Visa card: she's everywhere the ball is.
"She's capable of playing (like that) 90 percent of the time," Hurricane head coach Louanne Grybowski said. "That's just the type of player she is.
"She's a 4-year starter, a very hard worker. She has all the intangibles and does all the little things."
Another thing that is so impressive about the Hurricanes' star is her durability. "She only took one break tonight," Grybowski said. "She played for 30 of the 32 minutes."
"She's just hard to stop," Epps said. "When she (Jaleesa) gets it in her mind that she's going to take a game over, she's even tougher."
Jaleesa was coming off of a less-than-stellar 2-of-14 shooting performance against District 6 AAAA power Altoona, which downed the Hurricanes 49-38, snapping a 21-game winning streak. The "Law of Averages" states after a bad game, a player is usually due for a good one. This time, it worked.
Sams literally took over Friday, scoring 13 of New Castle's 15 first quarter points and 19 of the team's 23 first half points. The only other Hurricane players to score in the first half were Ryenn Micholetti and Abby Allen.
She finished with the aforementioned 37 points on 15 of 26 shooting, while adding a solid 7 out of 10 free throws.
Sams, who is averaging 19.4 points, 3.3 assists, and 4.4 steals per contest, will continue playing basketball at North Carolina A&T.
After the game, a New Castle fan stopped a reporter and asked him if he thought New Castle could beat District 7 perennial power Oakland Catholic. The reporter nodded. "Sure," he said. "They're (New Castle) as good as any team out there. Especially with #32."
Sams is, after all, fantastic.
Posted by Joshua Funk February 9, 2007 23:28
NEW CASTLE, Pa. - When you think of "Fantastic Sams", you most likely think of the hairstyling franchise.
Not a bad guess.
New Castle though, can claim their own "Fantastic Sams," in the form of 5'11 senior forward Jaleesa Sams.
She won't don a smock or a pair of scissors, but instead chooses the red and white New Castle basketball uniform. Her scissors, well, have you ever seen a player cut through defenses with precision? Jaleesa does, and does so quite well.
Just ask Butler head coach Dorothea Epps about Sams. Epps will tell you how hard it is to stop the Hurricanes' #32.
"No matter what we threw out there, she just took it over," said Epps, after her Golden Tornado fell to New Castle 64-48 Friday night. "She took it over on both ends.
"When she takes it over on both ends, you're in some trouble."
Case in point: Sams took over offensively and scored a career-high 37 points Friday night. Defensively, she was just as much of a force, recording 15 rebounds and 6 steals. If there's such a thing in basketball as a rover, it's Jaleesa Sams.
She's like a Visa card: she's everywhere the ball is.
"She's capable of playing (like that) 90 percent of the time," Hurricane head coach Louanne Grybowski said. "That's just the type of player she is.
"She's a 4-year starter, a very hard worker. She has all the intangibles and does all the little things."
Another thing that is so impressive about the Hurricanes' star is her durability. "She only took one break tonight," Grybowski said. "She played for 30 of the 32 minutes."
"She's just hard to stop," Epps said. "When she (Jaleesa) gets it in her mind that she's going to take a game over, she's even tougher."
Jaleesa was coming off of a less-than-stellar 2-of-14 shooting performance against District 6 AAAA power Altoona, which downed the Hurricanes 49-38, snapping a 21-game winning streak. The "Law of Averages" states after a bad game, a player is usually due for a good one. This time, it worked.
Sams literally took over Friday, scoring 13 of New Castle's 15 first quarter points and 19 of the team's 23 first half points. The only other Hurricane players to score in the first half were Ryenn Micholetti and Abby Allen.
She finished with the aforementioned 37 points on 15 of 26 shooting, while adding a solid 7 out of 10 free throws.
Sams, who is averaging 19.4 points, 3.3 assists, and 4.4 steals per contest, will continue playing basketball at North Carolina A&T.
After the game, a New Castle fan stopped a reporter and asked him if he thought New Castle could beat District 7 perennial power Oakland Catholic. The reporter nodded. "Sure," he said. "They're (New Castle) as good as any team out there. Especially with #32."
Sams is, after all, fantastic.
