By Robb Fenton
Despite currently being in the off-season, Lakeland Rustlers women's basketball coach Chris King is hard at work.
King has signed four players recently and while there is still work to do, he is pleased with the progress so far.
“Recruiting is a big part of our job and we’re excited with the girls we’ve brought in already. The four girls we solidified are going to help our team immensely and help us take the steps towards the next level,” King said.
King tapped into Saskatchewan as well as the west coast for his four new Rustlers.
Cameo McKerlie and Brittany Shockley are both 5-foot-11 forwards from Saskatoon, Nicole Dubray is a 5-foot-9 guard from Meadow Lake and Ally White is a 5-foot-9 guard from Cranbrook, B.C.
King inked two very skilled and hard working guards that he hope really step up and take on a leadership role on this team.
“Ally was our first signing. She’s played at Mount Baker, we’ve been watching her for two years. She’s a very athletic guard, she’s quick and defends well. She’s very fundamentally sound and just a great kid. I’m really excited for her to come out here,” King said. “Nicole is another guard, she is extremely quick, gets to the ball and handles the ball well and is really intense. I think that’s going to help us in practice and in game, having that,” King added.
To go along with the two guards King signed, he also brought in two forwards, both of which have impressive resumes.
“Cameo probably has one of the higher profiles around. She played for Team Saskatchewan for three years, averaged 13 points per game at the U-17 nationals in 2008, led her team in scoring in high school and is one of the top players in Saskatoon. She can play guard, play under the hoop and can handle the ball. She’s extremely quick,” he explained. “Brittany can handle the ball, is extremely athletic, jumps well, runs well. She led her high school in scoring and was one of the top rebounds in Saskatoon.”
Quickness is something the Rustlers struggled with last season, not having enough and being unable to deal with the opposition’s on a regular basis, but it shouldn’t be an issue this year.
“Quickness is something all these girls have and it’s something we’re trying to add,” King noted.
Signing four skilled players this early into the off-season has King and the Rustlers pointed in the right direction.
Now it’s just a matter of adding some depth and rounding out the roster at the ID camps which will take place April 10.
“It’s extremely exciting and hopefully the rest of the pieces will fit in during ID camp and we can solidify our full roster. What we’ve brought in already, we added a lot of speed, a lot of length and some basketball IQ, which is going to help us,” he said. “You’re going to see a different style of basketball from us this year.”
Student-athletes are what Lakeland looks for and while winning on the court is important, King brought in players that want to suit up for the Rustlers and will give it their all during practices and games.
“All these girls are great kids and come from great families. I’ve either talked with the parents or had them on campus, so we’ve got to know them,” King said, adding it’s key to have good players that are also good students and people. “The common thread is that the girls we have brought in and the girls we’re bringing back, they’re all extremely hard workers.”