2008 Woodie Awards
The Daily OrangeEducation of a guard: Freshman guard Tasha Harris has an experienced tutor in junior Cintia Johnson
By Jared Diamond
Posted: 3/20/08, 12:24 AM EST Section: Sports
So it was a bit of a shock to her when Hillsman would yell at her in practice for not giving enough effort on defense. It was even more jarring when he would take her out of the game after a blown assignment.
"In high school, we were all really talented, so we got away with not playing defense every possession," Harris said. "My defense is not that bad, but I don't stay in the stance every possession. I get lazy. It's a matter of playing hard every possession."
Working hard on defense has never been a problem for Johnson, who at 5-foot-4 is the ultimate lockdown defender for the Orange. When Harris would struggle, Hillsman would sacrifice a little offense by putting in Johnson for her defense, most notably against Cincinnati on Feb. 23, when Johnson helped shut down the Bearcats' Kahla Roudebush.
As her defensive struggles continued, Harris' confidence began to falter. She said watching Johnson play defense in practice and games has helped motivate her get better on the defensive end herself, but that she is just now starting to get her confidence back, once again thanks to her unofficial mentor.
"If I turn the ball over or made a mistake, I'd get so down on myself, it was really tough," Harris said. "Cintia would always be the first one over to me and saying, 'What are you mad for? You made a mistake, so what? Get back on the other end and make a play.'"
Hillsman thinks he's found a solution, though. After seeing Harris sometimes let down on defense, he decided the best way for her to improve wasn't by sitting her down, but by playing her even more. So against Cincinnati, when Johnson was tired, Hillsman decided to put Harris on the hot-shooting Roudebush, and she shut her down for eight key minutes in the second half.
It seemed strange, but so far it's worked.
"Every game now we've had that, that we need to guard somebody, I put Tasha on her," Hillsman said. "I put Tasha on the best player because that's how you ensure she won't let up. If you let up on her, she's going to score. So we just put her on the best player, and that's how I've made her play defense."
Harris said Johnson has truly been the key to her success this season, especially her improvement on the defensive end. For Johnson, she knew she was doing her job right when Harris approached her and said she aspired to one day defend like her.
Harris is still a work in progress, though, and her biggest test still lies ahead as Syracuse begins its NCAA Tournament run Saturday against Hartford. But if she does something right - a key steal, a proper rotation of the zone - nobody will be prouder than Johnson.
"I just tell her, 'You have the potential to play offense and defense, but most importantly defense wins games, not offense,'" Johnson said. "So I had to let her understand that. It's not so much the scoring, it's more getting stops so we can win."
jediamon@syr.edu
"In high school, we were all really talented, so we got away with not playing defense every possession," Harris said. "My defense is not that bad, but I don't stay in the stance every possession. I get lazy. It's a matter of playing hard every possession."
Working hard on defense has never been a problem for Johnson, who at 5-foot-4 is the ultimate lockdown defender for the Orange. When Harris would struggle, Hillsman would sacrifice a little offense by putting in Johnson for her defense, most notably against Cincinnati on Feb. 23, when Johnson helped shut down the Bearcats' Kahla Roudebush.
As her defensive struggles continued, Harris' confidence began to falter. She said watching Johnson play defense in practice and games has helped motivate her get better on the defensive end herself, but that she is just now starting to get her confidence back, once again thanks to her unofficial mentor.
"If I turn the ball over or made a mistake, I'd get so down on myself, it was really tough," Harris said. "Cintia would always be the first one over to me and saying, 'What are you mad for? You made a mistake, so what? Get back on the other end and make a play.'"
Hillsman thinks he's found a solution, though. After seeing Harris sometimes let down on defense, he decided the best way for her to improve wasn't by sitting her down, but by playing her even more. So against Cincinnati, when Johnson was tired, Hillsman decided to put Harris on the hot-shooting Roudebush, and she shut her down for eight key minutes in the second half.
It seemed strange, but so far it's worked.
"Every game now we've had that, that we need to guard somebody, I put Tasha on her," Hillsman said. "I put Tasha on the best player because that's how you ensure she won't let up. If you let up on her, she's going to score. So we just put her on the best player, and that's how I've made her play defense."
Harris said Johnson has truly been the key to her success this season, especially her improvement on the defensive end. For Johnson, she knew she was doing her job right when Harris approached her and said she aspired to one day defend like her.
Harris is still a work in progress, though, and her biggest test still lies ahead as Syracuse begins its NCAA Tournament run Saturday against Hartford. But if she does something right - a key steal, a proper rotation of the zone - nobody will be prouder than Johnson.
"I just tell her, 'You have the potential to play offense and defense, but most importantly defense wins games, not offense,'" Johnson said. "So I had to let her understand that. It's not so much the scoring, it's more getting stops so we can win."
jediamon@syr.edu
Be the first to comment on this story