Star Power

Another exciting season of girls' high school basketball is just around the corner and area teams have their eyes focused on making it to Diddle Arena for the state tournament. Iroquois is the pre-season favorite to win the 6th Region but don't count out Butler. Manual, Mercy and Christian Academy are all battling for the top position in the 7th Region. VYPE has selected seven players who could have a major impact on the season. Hopper Has Big Shoes to Fill at Butler Butler won the state championship last season led by Tia Gibbs. If they are going to repeat in 2009, they are going to have to rely heavily on senior Tiara Hopper. The 5-foot-10 center averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game last season. She can be explosive at times and she's very versatile. Hopper can play on the perimeter and in the post. "I'm very good in the post," Hopper says. "I penetrate a lot and I like to take the ball to the hoop." Hopper has a lot of experience playing in big games. She started her career at Iroquois and as an eighth grader, she helped lead them to win the 6th Region championship. She transferred to Butler her freshman year. Despite the loss of Gibbs, Hopper feels her team has what it takes to repeat as state champions. "We are a hard working team," Hopper says. "We are determined to make a name for ourselves again. I spent the summer working on my game, especially my ball handling. We will be a good team." Hopper's play on the court has attracted the attention of several college programs. Tennessee Tech, New Orleans, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee Martin and IUPUI have all shown interest in her. Can Jones Lead Manual Back to the State Tournament? Defending 7th Region champion duPont Manual returns one of the region's best players. Senior Avery Jones, a 6-foot-1 center, knows she will play a much bigger role this season. Manual lost one of the state's best players when Brittany Wilson graduated and signed to play college ball at the University of Dayton. "Losing Brittany is a big loss," Jones says. "I miss her already. I've been playing behind her for three years and I learned a lot from playing with her. I know I'm going to have to step up my game, but I think we will be fine. We had a strong bench last season and we have several good freshmen coming in who should contribute." Several schools showed interest in Jones, but in the end there was only one school for her. "I committed to Tennessee State University," Jones says. "I liked the campus and the coaches. I'm going to major in physical therapy and they have a good physical therapy program at Tennessee State. I also think they have a good basketball program and they are going to do some great things." LeCompte Leads Strong Group of Guards Shelby County is in the running to win the 8th Region championship thanks to their strong guard play, even with the loss of Kentucky All Star Raechelle Gray. The Lady Rockets will turn to 5-7 senior guard Haleigh LeCompte for leadership. Gray, who signed to play college ball at Marshall, will be missed, but LeCompte says her team will still be tough to beat due to their speed and quickness. "We are going to be a lot different," LeCompte says. "We have a bunch of guards who are very quick and that can shoot the ball. Gray is going to be really hard to replace, but we are going to be fast and I think we are going to outrun a lot of teams." LeCompte spent the summer working on dribbling and shooting off the dribble. "I worked on my dribbling because without Gray, I will have to bring the ball up more," LeCompte says. "I won't totally be taking over the point guard position, but I will have the ball in my hands more. I worked on shooting off the dribble because I have always had Gray there to set up shots for me but this season I will have to create my own shot more." Mathies — Favorite for Miss Basketball? Just as last season's Miss Basketball came out of the 6th Region (Tia Gibbs of Butler), this year's winner just might come out of the same region. Iroquois senior Adia Mathies averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds per game last season for Iroquois, which lost to Butler 47-49 in the very tight 6th Region championship game. But Mathies, who led Iroquois to the state tournament as a sophomore, is just focused on helping her team get back to the Sweet 16. "It would mean a lot to make it back to the state tournament," Mathies says. "Since this is my last year, I want to make it very memorable, and making it back to the state tournament would be big." Mathies has been playing at Iroquois since she was in the sixth grade, and she has started every game, scoring over 2,000 points in her career. Her game is very versatile. She can go down low and bang with bigger players or she can play on the perimeter and knock down the long-range jumper. She shot 47 percent from behind the arc last season, tops on the team. Mathies recently committed to the University of Kentucky. Mercy's Montano is Finally Healthy Mercy guard Therese Montano is finally 100 percent, and that's bad news for the rest of the 7th Region. The 5-foot-9 junior tore her ACL in 2007 and had surgery that August. The injury caused her to miss a portion of last season. "It's a tough surgery to come back from," Montano says. "It was hard, but knowing I would come back and contribute to the team is what kept me going. I am 100 percent. I still have to do certain exercises every other day to keep it strong and to help it from being torn again. I'm just praying that it will continue to stay strong." Mercy loses six players from last season's team that went 18-14 and won the 25th District championship. The team is young, but expectations are still high. "We are going to be very young," Montano says. "We don't have a lot of experience but we have a lot of potential as a team. Our team works very hard." Montano, who also plays field hockey, worked on her game this summer. She especially focused on her jump shot. "I was a point guard my freshmen year but this season I'm moving to the two guard," Montano says. "I've really been working on my jump shot. It has some work but it's getting there." Slaughter is Looking Forward to Being a Cardinal Christian Academy junior Antonita Slaughter grew up following the University of Louisville Cardinals. So when U of L coach Jeff Walz offered her a scholarship, Slaughter jumped at the opportunity. She committed when she was just a sophomore. "I'm very excited about going to Louisville," Slaughter says. "They have a very good team. I love coach Walz. He's a very good coach and when I visited the campus, he welcomed me with open arms. Slaughter averaged 17 points and 7 rebounds per game last season. At 6-foot-1, Slaughter is a great outside shooter. She has worked very hard on her jumper and now she is a threat to knock it down from 25 feet. Slaughter has also been in the weight room and added muscle to her frame. She is looking forward to playing college ball in her hometown. "I wanted to stay home so I can get a lot of support from my family," Slaughter says. "My mom has been sick, so I wanted to stay home so she can go to my games and watch me play." Christian Academy lost to Ballard in the first round of the 7th Region tournament last year. They lose their starting point guard from last season, but Slaughter expects her team to be strong. "I think we will be very good," Slaughter says. "We have a lot of potential on our team." Thacker is an Inside and Outside Threat Most girls that stand 5-foot-10 or taller do most of their damage in the post. Not Kayla Thacker. The Bullitt East junior is one of the best point guards in the 6th Region. She uses her height advantage to see over defenses and to post up smaller players. "Being a taller point guard, I can see the floor better," Thacker says. "Most other teams' point guards aren't as tall, so I can see over them. This helps me to see who's open and to make better passes. It's a big advantage for me." Thacker has been starting since her freshman year. This will be her first year playing point guard. She spent the summer working on her ball handling and her jumper. "This summer I worked with Coach [Steve] Small a lot," Thacker says. "I worked on my shot. I worked on pulling up off the dribble. I want to be more than just a set shooter. Since I'm going to be starting at point guard, I also spent a lot of time working on my ball handling." Thacker's play on the court has attracted the attention of college scouts from Northern Kentucky, Indiana State, Gardner Webb, Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky and Cumberland College. Michael Johnston is a Louisville, Kentucky native and a 1999 graduate of Jeffersontown High School. He has a degree in communications from the University of Louisville. He is engaged to be married in May.