Henry Ford Community College’s Men’s and Women’s basketball season is close to an end, and both teams’ coaches talk about preparing for next season with plans to recruit from local high schools, teach better strategies on the court, seek players with prior skill, and influence players to keep a balance on school grades.
This 2012-2013 basketball season, Coach Mashhour led the Hawks to fourth place in conference. Mashhour believes what his team could have done better is mind their academics instead of playing basketball.
“We would have been in a better position if they did so,” said Mashhour.
HFCC athletic players need to maintain a minimal grade point average of 2.0. Mashhour further said, “We try to push them to do a lot better than that.”
The Men’s Basketball team suffered a loss of players due to injury this season. HFCC athletic coaches have been going to high schools all around Wayne County to recruit for next season.
Three sophomores will be leaving the Hawks next fall. Roderick and Rodney Butler and Darryl Mobley will each be transferring to other schools next fall. Multiple schools are looking at them as potential ball players, but so far, there have been no absolute choices. All players will be transferring with scholarships.
Mashhour teaches his players to cooperate with each other and to play hard.
“On the defensive side, we teach positioning and checking out. Offensively, good decision-making with the ball, passing, and screening,” he says.
The college works with the students and further encourages their involvement with classes.
Coach Mashhour ends his comments on the 2012-2013 season by saying, “Playing with this season’s Hawks, I have learned how to address on different subjects. I have learned to be patient with some of the things that go on and I need to be some more disciplined with some other things that go on. There has been a learning experience for everybody, I would say.”
The Women’s 2012-2013 basketball season, according to this year’s new coach, went extremely well. This was Coach Leslie Williams’s first school year on the job as head coach.
“Having to bond with the girls and get them to adapt to my strategy of coaching, I believe we had a pretty successful year,” says Williams.
Coach Williams said the team’s conditioning could have been better this season considering the low amounts of energy the girls had before finishing each game.
“For next season, we’ll put more focus on that category,” she commented.
Next season, HFCC Women’s Basketball will start basketball camps and open the gym earlier to teach future players the fundamentals of shooting, dribbling, pump-faking and rebounding.
The Women’s Basketball Team will be losing 4 of 7 sophomores next season who will be transferring elsewhere. Players such as number 3, Kemara Stallworth; number 13, DeJanique Reddix; number 23, Charisse Charr; and number 15, Asha Pyne will be transferring next fall semester.
Coach Williams says of her experience coaching the team, “I have learned mostly to expand my communication skills to use with the girls.”
Williams says the best feature of the Women’s Basketball Team is playing more together than they did earlier in the season. The girls got the chance to get to know one another while playing on the team. Williams compliments the team’s hard work while getting to know her and understanding the style of coaching and play she wanted to implement.
When it comes to the basketball player themselves, the first-year coach looks for someone who brings desire, dedication and commitment.
“I look for someone who is going to give me effort and communicate with me all the time. I want someone who wants to be here and have the desire to take themselves to the next level,” Williams said.
According to Coach Williams, jersey number 13, DaJanique Reddix, is number one in the nation for three-pointers, and jersey number 23, Charisse Charr, is number six in the nation for scoring. Men’s statistics could not be found.