Under Construction

The building blocks for any sports program are talent. At Jeffersonville High School, the girls' basketball program has enough talent to build a new gym...or at least make some major renovations to the school. Coach Chad Gilbert is in his 10th season as the master builder of this perennial powerhouse. He's coached some strong teams at Jeffersonville and was selected as coach of the Girls 2007 McDonald's All-American West Team. Through nine years, Gilbert and his teams have built an impressive 149-35 record, capturing four Hoosier Hills Conference Championships, four Sectional Championships and two Elite Eight Championships. That's quite a few banners for the gym and quite a reputation for the girls to uphold. After losing four seniors to graduation who had played a combined 300 games, some might say this year's team is rebuilding, but not Gilbert. "We have high expectations for and from our kids," he says. "We don't have any seniors playing this year, so it will be a tough test for our young players to learn our system and maintain our high standards of play." Sounds like a reloading job rather than reconstruction. But like any good building project, a firm foundation must be in place. "The foundation of our system is in the fundamentals: defense, rebounding, and playing together," Gilbert says. "We're stressing to our girls that the harder they work, the more breaks they'll create for themselves." Those fundamentals should serve the team well as they face tough competition throughout the season. Gilbert was blunt about his young team, saying, "Yes, we're young and have no seniors. But we have 10 returning letter winners and a lot of talent in our sophomore class." The team is comprised of three juniors, nine sophomores and two freshmen. Gilbert believes the tough schedule will only help his young team. "The competition will make us better," he says. "It will expose our weaknesses and allow us to focus on improving every practice and every game during the season so that we'll be playing our best ball during the run to the playoffs." So, who is going to lead this young bunch? "We want someone who will practice hard every single day," Gilbert says. "We don't need someone who will get on their teammates—that's our job as coaches—or just be a cheerleader, but we want a hard worker and who will lead by example." Gilbert talks about playing a solid 7-girl rotation of juniors Alexis Samuel and Shanice Gholson, sophomores Brooke Valentine, Jamice Williams and Brooklyn Kinnard, and freshmen Jalynn McClain and Lakin Roland. "We're still looking for two more players to emerge for those 8th and 9th spots in the rotation," says Gilbert. "I'm sure we'll fill those spots soon because we have a good group of girls." The building blocks are there for the Jeffersonville High School girls' basketball team. They are loaded with talent, they have a nationally recognized coach and some hard working kids. Whether this year's squad is rebuilding or just reloading, they'll look to add that elusive "State Champion" banner to their walls this year. Jeffersonville Girls' Varsity Lineup 04 Adriane O'Neal 5' 4" Sophomore 10 Kasey Falkenstein 5' 8" Sophomore 11 Jamice Williams 5' 3" Sophomore 12 Racheal Gary 5' 9" Sophomore 14 Jasmine Witherspoon 5' 7" Sophomore 20 Brooke Valentine 5' 10" Sophomore 22 Bailey Brendle 5' 11" Sophomore 23 Shanice Gholson 5' 8" Junior 24 Alexis Samuel 5' 9" Junior 30 Jalynn McClain 6' 0" Freshman 32 Brooklyn Kinnaird 5' 4" Sophomore 33/54 Christian Tarver 6' 0" Sophomore 40 Danielle Eckert 5' 6" Junior 55 Lakin Roland 6' 1" Freshman