Kingston Big 3: French, Quapaw and Herndon

Lady Redskin seniors Olivia Quapaw, Lanie French andsophomoreJaciHerndon have heard every short joke ever told. “She is vertically challenged”, “How tall are they? O,h five feet nothin”, “Look at how short those girls are”. Thosearethecomments said before the tip off.

After the tip, it’s a different story. One might hear, “someone guard her”, or, “you bring the ball up the court”, “she won’t shoot from there” usually followed by, “I can’t believe she made that shot”. Just to be clear, all three of these girls are north of five foot. Just not very far north.

All three of Coach Chad Rumer’s point guards are experienced and can play the position. He plays them a bit differently than a basketball fan might expect. Most of the time he plays with two in the game at a time.

They are most important on the full court press that teams come to expect from a Rumer team. They cover the girl that brings the ball up the court. This may include a trap involving both, or denying the second girl the ball, forcing long passes over the middle into the second line of defense.

Creating turnovers is the objective. More times than not, the ball falls into the hands of one of these guards. From there it is pedal to the metal, as fast as they can, for a layup. “The Big Three” know their role and can execute it to perfection. If they see the shot is not underneath, they can kick it out to a teammate that is usually open behind the three-point line.

With a good rebounding front court - Ethel Stewart, KamryBohannon,andEmily Bellettini - it is surprising how many rebounds find their way into the hands of the guards. Then it’s off to the races again.

Senior Quapaw is in her second full season of learning the Rumer system. She is a tremendous ball handler. She wants the ball in her hands. She has an “ankle breaking” crossover dribble that often leaves the defender stumbling. She has a insideoutside game. She can go underneathandbackspinthe ball off the backboard. She is mostdeadlybehindthethreepoint arc. She does not seem to have a range, or a place on the court that she wouldn’t shoot that three. Many are let go well behind the line. She rarely gets her feet crossed up on defense. She gets lots of steals. Quapaw leads the guards in scoring with a 13.1 point average.

Also, a senior is French. She has grown up in Coach Rumor’s system. She always knows where she should be on the court. That goes for both ends of the floor. She is looking to get the ball from the rebounder and push it up the floor quickly to the open teammate. She is a great shooter. On any given night, she can get hot from beyond the arc. In the first game of the year, she tallied six three pointers and did not play the fourth quarter. Her hands are quick and she loves a good steal. She is averaging 8.1 points per game.

Herndon is the sophomore who has played a lot of minutes the last two seasons in this offense. She has many of the attributes that her older teammates have. She too is a good three point shooter. She has an uncanny ability to make up for a bad play with a good one. If she has a turnover, she may follow that right back with a steal.

She is a terrific competitor. She wants the ball in her hands. Like her teammates, she pushes the ball and the tempo all the time. She averages 7.8 points per game.

In an offense averaging 58 points a game, 29 points are coming from the “Big Three”. If one were to add in the steals, assists, turnovers and rebounds that Quapaw, FrenchandHerndonaregenerating, they can see where Rumer has the guards in a lofty position.