WSSU women's basketball team has influx of new players

Photo: WSSU Head Women's Basketball Coach Dee Stokes
http://www.coachdeestokes.com/

By John Dell, JOURNAL REPORTER and staff reports

Stokes, staff welcome nine fresh faces as Rams' practice starts

Dee Stokes, the coach of the Winston-Salem State women’s basketball team, has wasted little time assembling a team of her own recruits.

Stokes, whose team will begin practice Saturday, has nine new players thanks to one of the largest recruiting classes in the country.

“We actually signed 10 players, but we lost one of them to academics,” said Stokes, whose first WSSU team went 8-21 last season.

“We’ve got eight freshmen and one junior-college player among all the new players.”

The only returning player is guard Keoshia Worthy, a senior from Augusta, Ga., who averaged 6.2 points a game last season.

“I’m a lot more excited,” Stokes said of her second season at WSSU. “We’ve got our own players in now, and the kids have been hitting their preseason conditioning pretty well.”

Stokes’ new team will be on display tonight at 5:30 at the Gaines Center as part of Ram Madness, when both the men’s and women’s teams will officially begin practice.

Three players graduated, two others were cut, one transferred and another player quit. This opened several scholarships, and Stokes and her assistants went into action.

“We are a young team, but hopefully we’ll be energetic,” Stokes said. “When you teach them something new they are like sponges, they just soak it up. That’s one benefit of having such a young team.”

Among the players who might make the biggest impact, according to Stokes, is 5-8 guard Patrice Wade, a junior-college transfer. She will give the Rams needed experience after one season at Arkansas Little-Rock and at a junior-college last season.

Nora Campbell, 6-2 is expected to help the Rams in the post. But she was involved in a car accident last summer, according to Stokes, so it will take time for her to be 100 percent.

“Once she gets back and is totally healthy, I think she can do some nice things for us,” Stokes said.

Stokes says that the Rams needed to improve in the frontcourt.

She said that freshman Vontisha Woods, a 6-0 forward from Danville, Va., should help Campbell.

“If we can get her to play hard every second, then she’ll be something else,” Stokes said. “She can score and is very athletic.”

Among the other new players are Rene Rector, a 5-6 point guard from Winston-Salem who is a former star at Mount Tabor, and forward Nikki Kee, who played at Greensboro Dudley.

“Teaching young kids in a way is a little easier,” Stokes said.

“They may have some bad habits but we are trying to change those habits.”

Despite the youth of her team, Stokes has high expectations.

“We are bigger at the guard position, and we really had to be,” Stokes said. “We are still a little lean in the post, but we’ll be OK. We’ll address that in the next recruiting class.”

The Rams will play a full MEAC schedule and a challenging nonconference schedule starting with a road game at Virginia Tech on Nov. 14.

“I think staying healthy and not hitting the wall too early will be key for us,” Stokes said. “You are going to hit the wall with young kids, so how I handle that will be important as well. You have to back off some when that happens.”

Photo: WSSU cheerleaders expression shows displeasure towards 8-21 record of last season. Major improvements are expected this season for the Lady Rams.






2007-08 Lady Rams Basketball Roster

No. Name Ht. Pos. Cl. Hometown/Last School

03 Jalesa Byrd 5-10 Guard/Forward FR Charlotte, NC/Myers Park HS
11 Nikki Kee 5-8 Forward FR Greensboro, NC/Dudley HS
13 Nora Campbell 6-2 Center FR Long Island, NY/St. Anthony's HS
14 Corbin Bradford 5-7 Guard FR High Point, NC/High Point Andrews HS
15 Keoshia Worthy 5-7 Guard SR Augusta, GA/USC Upstate
20 Quintoya Mobley 5-11 Forward FR York, SC/York HS
21 Montague Austin 5-6 Guard FR Greensboro, NC/Dudley HS
22 Rene Rector 5-6 Guard FR Winston-Salem, NC/Mount Tabor HS
23 Patrice Wade 5-8 Guard JR Clarksville, TN/Chattanooga State
34 Vontisha Woods 6-0 Forward/Center FR Danville, VA/George Washington HS

Coaching Staff

Dee Stokes - Head Coach
Michelle Fortier - Assistant Coach
Kristina Baugh - Assistant Coach
Angie Abraham - Assistant Coach