Arundel girls? basketball coach Lee Rogers refers to it as “Advanced Placement Basketball.”
“There?s are a lot of distractions and they are young, but basketball here is serious,” he said. “It?s not short practice, It?s three hours a day after school, it?s five hours for Saturday practice. But we are teaching a lot during that time and hopefully they can apply that, and coaching, to me, that?s what it is. It?s AP Basketball: trying to get kids to another level.”
Good thing for Rogers, who has a career record of 370-103 in 19 years as a head coach, the Wildcats are fast learners.
Fourth-ranked Arundel (11-4) has claimed nine of the past 10 county titles, while winning two state titles in six tournament appearances since 2000. This year?s team is looking to build on last season?s 21-5 campaign that ended in a 77-51 loss to Old Mill in the 4A East Region final. The Wildcats are littered with underclassman who have drawn interest from Division I schools like Temple, Syracuse, St. Joseph?s and Rhode Island.
Junior guard Ashley Davis (13.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg), 6-foot-4 sophomore forward Sherrone Vails (12.9 ppg, 8 rpg) and 6-foot-3 junior center Simone Egwu (13.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg) are the latest highly sought recruits to take the place of former stars Alex McGuire, Ana Baker, Jill Marano and Najmah Fauntleroy.
But the players are quick to deflect accolades to teammates when asked about individual accomplishments.
“She can really make shots,” Vails said of Davis. “She knows how to find us.”
Davis replied: “It?s great knowing that [Vails and Egwu] are there. They are always ready for the ball.”
It might be the player not on the court, however, who is just as important to the Wildcats. Senior guard Ayanna Randolph, who averaged 7.9 points, 5.1 assists and three steals per game last year, tore her left anterior cruciate ligament during the summer, and is expected to be out for the season.
But Randolph, who is one of 2,500 McDonald?s All-American nominees from across the country, has acted as a coach on the bench, helping Rogers to teach the younger players.
“She?s still very important to us,” Rogers said. “Her leadership role from the bench is totally different, as she is verbally doing it.”
The learning curve was steepest during the beginning of the season for the Wildcats. Arundel lost, 53-41, to top-ranked Seton Keough prior to a 55-52 setback to No. 2 St. Frances and 50-43 to highly regarded Riverdale Baptist. But Davis said the team realized how good it could be in the second half against St. Frances, and now simply has one goal.
“A state championship.”
