Posted on October 25, 2018.
By Thomas Sellers Jr.
The trademark of LaTesa McLaughlin is defense.
The all-time leader in steals for high school basketball in the state of Tennessee has used the philosophy of “defense first” to win on all levels. McLaughlin was vital to a Millington Lady Trojans State runner-up finish in 2008. She earned a National title at Union University before coming back home to lead the Millington Middle School Lady Stallions.
McLaughlin, founder of Tee’s Photography, was pulling double duty last Friday in the MMS Gymnasium. The Lady Stallions head coach had both the girls and boys teams together for the 2018 Media Day. While the players met with the media and filled out information, McLaughlin was snapping pictures and recording video for a hype video.
Between the photo opportunities and head shots, a trio of Lady Stallions stepped to the microphone to talk about the upcoming season, Aubrey Young, Makenzie Chambers and Roshundna “Shea” Gooden.
“We work on defense a lot,” Young said. “She has a lot of press plays for when they’re coming down the court.”
Young said Coach McLaughlin emphasizes proper stance on defense.
“She wants us to aggressive and not be too soft,” Chambers noted. “She don’t want us to foul. She wants us to stay back enough not to foul anybody.”
Chambers said proper footwork is crucial. Coach points out how the feet should never cross in order to limit the chances of being crossed over.
Chamber (eight grader) and Young (seventh grader) have suited up for the Millington Lady Stallions before. For Gooden this will be her first and only season in the Blue and White.
“I just don’t want to be the new person, ‘She’s weird. She’s don’t talk to anybody,’” Gooden said. “I just want to get along with everybody and be cool. It’s fun being a part of this team.”
Gooden’s role on this team will be of a post player.
“I’ve learned a lot actually,” she said. “I wasn’t good at defense until I got here, I’ll be honest. I’ve only been with her for two weeks and it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve learned a lot about defense. She has taught me how to get big down there on the block.”
From the block to the perimeter, Young said the offense will do its part in order to win games this season.
“We’ve got a lot of plays on offense,” she noted. “It’s a lot involving moving the ball and creating space on offense.”
So with the pieces falling into place and the mindset of defense ever-present, Chambers said the key to success for the Lady Stallions will be cohesion.
“We’re more dependent on each other,” she said. “We used to pass the ball anywhere we wanted. We didn’t even know each others names. We were making careless mistakes leading to turnovers. This team I can say we’re a very strong team. We have structure.
“Just how to be successful and learn how to depend on people,” Chambers concluded. “Teamwork, learning to work with others. I don’t think one person can do all things by themselves. It does take teamwork. I hope we learn how to be a better person and how to be a better young lady.”
The 2018-19 season starts Oct. 25 at 2:30 p.m. with a home game for both Stallion teams.
