bluphiiijsu
Creative Director
January 31, 2003
JSU's Williams stands tall as force in middle
Lady Tigers junior, 6-foot-6, is blocking 5.6 shots per game
By Mark Alexander
[email protected]
Next for JSU
Who: JSU Lady Tigers, 12-4, 5-2 SWAC, vs. Miss. Valley Devilettes, 6-9, 2-5
When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Athletics and Assembly Center
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's not many, if any, Division I schools in the country where there's a player on the women's basketball team taller than any player on the men's team.
Jackson State does. Her name: Amie Williams.
Not only is the 6-foot-6 Williams very tall, she's very good. The junior center is averaging a double-double ? 15.8 points, 11.2 rebounds ? and leads the nation in blocked shots at 5.6 per game.
"She can play for me," JSU men's coach Andy Stoglin said.
As bad as Stoglin would like to have Williams, it's highly unlikely that's going to happen. A player of Williams' size and ability come along once a lifetime, if ever, for most coaches.
"She's a dream come true," JSU women's coach Denise Taylor said.
Taylor, like Williams, grew up in Cleveland and played at Cleveland East Side under coach Lucy Seaberry. She knew all about Williams, a former Dandy Dozen and All-State pick who drew national attention from the time she was a 6-4 ninth-grader.
So it's no surprise one of the first things Taylor did when she took the job at JSU was call Williams, who at the time was an All-American at Southwest Tennessee Community College.
"Everywhere I went she was calling me," said Williams, who originally signed with Mississippi State out of high school.
After sitting out last season, Williams ? who is at least a half a foot taller than most players she's matched up against ? has had a more immediate impact in her first season at JSU than she or her coach envisioned. Especially considering Williams was slowed in preseason practice by a torn meniscus in her left knee.
"She has played beyond my expectations," Taylor said. "I didn't expect her to come into her own until February. Anytime you sit out you're going to lose some of your timing. And then she had the knee injury. She's way ahead of where I thought she would be."
Williams has season-highs of 26 points, 17 rebounds and has blocked eight shots on four different occasions. She is coming off arguably her best game, a dominating 23-point, 13-rebound, 6-block performance in a 64-50 win at Grambling that helped her land SWAC player of the week honors.
"We fronted her, we sided her, we played behind her, we did everything we could do and it didn't work," Grambling coach Rusty Ponton said.
Williams, a left-hander, scores most of her points on moves around the basket. But she has displayed a nice shooting touch from 10-12 feet at times, prompting JSU's p.a announcer to nickname her Big Smooth. On the defensive end, her long reach makes her a human fly-swatter.
"It's extremely difficult to prepare for her because there aren't many girls her size," Ponton said. "She looks like she's 7-1. She's a one-man defense, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. If you shoot it near her, you're going to get it blocked back at you."
Williams put up gaudy stats in high school despite playing uninspired at times. That has since changed. She's even displayed a mean streak, although one is likely to see the fun-loving, gentle giant laugh, or even dance, on the court before seeing her throw an elbow.
"I've worked hard to make myself better," said Williams, who hopes to play in the WNBA. "I've lifted weights, I've exercised. And it's paid off. I've improved a lot."
Williams, who has a three-year old son named K.J., experienced a "very scary" moment earlier this season. She collapsed after a game at Alabama A&M and was wisked away via ambulance to a local hospital where tests revealed she suffered a concussion.
"I'm OK now for the most part, but sometimes I have minor headaches and hot flashes," she said.
Fans who haven't gotten a chance to see Williams play can do so Saturday. JSU, 12-4 overall and 5-2 in the SWAC, hosts Mississippi Valley State at the Athletics and Assembly Center.
"The first time I saw her play I was amazed," Stoglin said.
That's the same reaction others have had this season as Williams makes her first stops around the SWAC. She created quite a buzz at Grambling ? something she's well-accustomed to by now.
"I'd hear people talking about (my height), while I was playing, walking in the mall, or whatever," Williams said. "It used to bother me at first, but it doesn't bother me anymore. I kinda like it now."
JSU's Williams stands tall as force in middle
Lady Tigers junior, 6-foot-6, is blocking 5.6 shots per game
By Mark Alexander
[email protected]
Next for JSU
Who: JSU Lady Tigers, 12-4, 5-2 SWAC, vs. Miss. Valley Devilettes, 6-9, 2-5
When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Athletics and Assembly Center
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's not many, if any, Division I schools in the country where there's a player on the women's basketball team taller than any player on the men's team.
Jackson State does. Her name: Amie Williams.
Not only is the 6-foot-6 Williams very tall, she's very good. The junior center is averaging a double-double ? 15.8 points, 11.2 rebounds ? and leads the nation in blocked shots at 5.6 per game.
"She can play for me," JSU men's coach Andy Stoglin said.
As bad as Stoglin would like to have Williams, it's highly unlikely that's going to happen. A player of Williams' size and ability come along once a lifetime, if ever, for most coaches.
"She's a dream come true," JSU women's coach Denise Taylor said.
Taylor, like Williams, grew up in Cleveland and played at Cleveland East Side under coach Lucy Seaberry. She knew all about Williams, a former Dandy Dozen and All-State pick who drew national attention from the time she was a 6-4 ninth-grader.
So it's no surprise one of the first things Taylor did when she took the job at JSU was call Williams, who at the time was an All-American at Southwest Tennessee Community College.
"Everywhere I went she was calling me," said Williams, who originally signed with Mississippi State out of high school.
After sitting out last season, Williams ? who is at least a half a foot taller than most players she's matched up against ? has had a more immediate impact in her first season at JSU than she or her coach envisioned. Especially considering Williams was slowed in preseason practice by a torn meniscus in her left knee.
"She has played beyond my expectations," Taylor said. "I didn't expect her to come into her own until February. Anytime you sit out you're going to lose some of your timing. And then she had the knee injury. She's way ahead of where I thought she would be."
Williams has season-highs of 26 points, 17 rebounds and has blocked eight shots on four different occasions. She is coming off arguably her best game, a dominating 23-point, 13-rebound, 6-block performance in a 64-50 win at Grambling that helped her land SWAC player of the week honors.
"We fronted her, we sided her, we played behind her, we did everything we could do and it didn't work," Grambling coach Rusty Ponton said.
Williams, a left-hander, scores most of her points on moves around the basket. But she has displayed a nice shooting touch from 10-12 feet at times, prompting JSU's p.a announcer to nickname her Big Smooth. On the defensive end, her long reach makes her a human fly-swatter.
"It's extremely difficult to prepare for her because there aren't many girls her size," Ponton said. "She looks like she's 7-1. She's a one-man defense, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. If you shoot it near her, you're going to get it blocked back at you."
Williams put up gaudy stats in high school despite playing uninspired at times. That has since changed. She's even displayed a mean streak, although one is likely to see the fun-loving, gentle giant laugh, or even dance, on the court before seeing her throw an elbow.
"I've worked hard to make myself better," said Williams, who hopes to play in the WNBA. "I've lifted weights, I've exercised. And it's paid off. I've improved a lot."
Williams, who has a three-year old son named K.J., experienced a "very scary" moment earlier this season. She collapsed after a game at Alabama A&M and was wisked away via ambulance to a local hospital where tests revealed she suffered a concussion.
"I'm OK now for the most part, but sometimes I have minor headaches and hot flashes," she said.
Fans who haven't gotten a chance to see Williams play can do so Saturday. JSU, 12-4 overall and 5-2 in the SWAC, hosts Mississippi Valley State at the Athletics and Assembly Center.
"The first time I saw her play I was amazed," Stoglin said.
That's the same reaction others have had this season as Williams makes her first stops around the SWAC. She created quite a buzz at Grambling ? something she's well-accustomed to by now.
"I'd hear people talking about (my height), while I was playing, walking in the mall, or whatever," Williams said. "It used to bother me at first, but it doesn't bother me anymore. I kinda like it now."
