Page 11 - Laker Connection Fall 2011

come together and stay together by acci- dent. It takes work. It’s like a relationship between two people. Both sides have to work to keep it together. It’s the same with a team, but there are even more dynamics because it’s a group of people.
Cox also notes that the group dynam- ics of the championship team benefitted from past experience.
“I also think that having experienced two other Elite Eights made a difference as well,” he says. “Even though we only had two players left from the 08-09 Elite Eight team, they were our captains, Brittany Hall and Tanisha Woodard, and I think it also helped that Coach Kaleena Coleman, our trainer John Zubal, Athletic Director Mason Barfield, and I, had been there and knew what our expectations were.”
To paraphrase Dickens, there were Great Expectations in 2010/2011. Great, indeed, because there is nothing greater than a national championship, no matter what level you’re playing on, the thrill is the ultimate. Here’s what another pretty suc- cessful (556 wins in the NBA) basketball coach, former Houston Rockets, Milwau- kee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers coach Del Harris has to say about championships.
“One thing I have learned about win- ning championships of any kind is that the brain’s response is nearly the same, re- gardless of the level of that tournament or the type of game being played,” Harris ex- plains. “As a series progresses, the brain computes that the goal is greater with each step and then understands when there is an ultimate moment to this process, the biggest game. The response for the winner and the loser will vary little relative to the type of event or the level of the competition, so long as it is one into which the individual has invested greatly, the real key. The brain computes that the body is playing to see who can be the best among the com- petitors in the race.”
Playing to see who can be the best... the ultimate moment... Dennis Cox and the Clayton State women’s basketball team did just that, and they faced that moment on March 25, 2011. As a result, they are in- deed number one.
The 2010/2011 Clayton State Women’s Basketball Season (35-1) Home games in CAPS...
Chick-Fil-A Southeast Region Challenge
Nov. 12
Nov. 13
Nov. 19/20 North Georgia Tip-Off Classic Nov. 19
Nov. 20
Nov. 21
Nov. 23
Nov. 26/27 Eckerd Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 26
Nov. 27
Dec. 4
Dec. 18
Dec. 29/30 Heritage Bank Holiday Classic Dec. 29
Dec. 30
Jan. 3
Jan. 8
Jan. 15
Jan. 19
Jan. 22
Jan. 24
Jan. 26
Jan. 29
Feb. 2
Feb. 5
Feb. 10
Feb. 12
Feb. 16
Feb. 19
Feb. 23
Feb. 26
Peach Belt Conference Tournament
Mar. 2
Mar. 5
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional
Mar. 11
Mar. 12
Mar. 14
NCAA Division II Finals
Mar. 22
Mar. 23
Mar. 25
CATAWBA BREVARD
vs. Lynn
vs. Chowan TUSCULUM
at Albany State
vs. Florida Southern at Eckerd
at UNC Pembroke AUGUSTA STATE
LINCOLN MEMORIAL LENOIR-RHYNEGA PALM BEACH ATLANTIC at Georgia College
at USC Aiken
at Montevallo
NORTH GEORGIA COLUMBUS STATE
at Armstrong Atlantic
at Flagler
GA. SOUTHWESTERN GEORGIA COLLEGE LANDER
FRANCIS MARION
at Columbus State MONTEVALLO
at North Georgia
at Ga. Southwestern
MONTEVALLO at USC Aiken
FRANCIS MARION BARTON
LANDER
vs. Bentley
vs. Shaw
vs. Michigan Tech
W, 80-69 W, 80-66
W, 106-46 W, 89-48 W, 72-65 W, 99-62
W, 82-73 W, 58-40 W, 82-61 W, 112-43
W, 64-55 W,71-40 W, 81-55 W, 53-42 W, 66-60 W, 68-56 W, 87-63 W, 76-59 W, 87-65 W, 85-67 W, 83-60 W, 87-61 W, 83-81 W, 80-60 W, 64-54 W, 91-59 W, 79-44 W, 77-50
W, 90-48
L, 73-72 (OT)
W, 79-54 W, 97-71 W, 76-60
W, 84-61 W, 63-46 W, 69-50