Basketball teams cover every inch of the court

GC&SU basketball players come in different shapes and sizes, impacting the skills each brings to the court.

Players range from petite women like Brandy Holsendolph, 5 feet tall, and Christina Royster and Lindsey Smith, both 5 feet 2 inches tall, to big and tall men like Bishop Tiller and Aaron Clark, both more than 6 feet 8 inches tall.

There are advantages and disadvantages of each extreme.

“Being taller helps me on the court because it gives me an advantage when I’m playing defense and rebounding against smaller opponents,” said Clark, a sophomore center. “On offense I can shoot over people, so I would say that being taller is definitely an asset on the court.”

Tiller, a freshman center, agrees being taller is to his advantage.

“It helps being taller, especially when rebounding. You are also closer to the basket so you don’t have to move as far,” Tiller said.

Some female basketball players say their heights can be helpful as well.

“I like being short. I use it to my advantage,” said Holsendolph, a junior guard.

Royster, a sophomore guard, agrees.

“I feel like I have an advantage over the taller players because I move quicker,” Royster said.

But there are also downsides that come with each unique body frame.

“Against taller guards, it’s hard to see around them and to pass the ball,” said Smith, a sophomore guard.

For taller players, the disadvantages have little to do with being able to see around other players.

“One disadvantage of being taller is that you tend to be a little slower than a lot of the smaller, quicker guys,” said Clark. “Sometimes I feel like I’m in slow motion when I’m trying to keep up with guys like ‘Spider’ (Andre Smith) and Shejdie (Childs).”

Holsendolph, the shortest player on the women’s basketball team, gets teased daily about her height, but says she doesn’t mind.

“I don’t get teased about (being 5’2) because Brandy is smaller. I get to tease her about being the shortest,” Smith said.

As for the guys, their height advantage compared to other players gets them teased as well.

“On the court being my height (6’9) is awesome. Even a little taller would be better,” said Clark. “Off the court, I get gawked and stared at, so I wish I was a little shorter in that respect.”

Tiller adds that his height affects him more off the court.

“Off the court people ask me tons of questions and I am constantly hitting my head on things,” said Tiller.

The three shortest players on the women’s basketball team all agree that they like playing their positions on the court above any other position.

“I love being a guard. I set things up and make it happen,” said Royster.

Holsendolph agrees that being able to make the decisions on the court is one of the best parts of playing.

“I like (the guard position) because you get to make decisions. But it sucks not to make the shot,” she said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 3 2006. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry