Ready to Run
October 30, 2008 11:01 AM | General
October 30, 2008
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| Takisha Granberry |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Senior guard Takisha Granberry is eager for the 2008-09 season to begin after missing out on competitive basketball last year.
The Charlotte, N.C., native was forced to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules after spending her first three seasons at Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Although she itched to get back on to the court and play meaningful games with her teammates during West Virginia’s historic 2007-08 year, she also realized that the time spent working hard in practice and learning on the bench was beneficial for her game.
“I think I’ve progressed a lot just from last year by learning the system,” Granberry admitted. “I’m learning to go hard everyday because sometimes I didn’t do that before. Playing with the practice squad has made me a lot stronger and tougher I believe.”
With a plethora of experienced erased by the departure of four starters from last year’s team, Granberry looks to become a team leader for a squad filled with freshmen. The quick, 5-foot-11 guard believes her familiarity of competitive Division I basketball in the ACC will be helpful for her teammates.
“I think it was instinct for me to be a leader because of all the new girls we’ve gotten,” Granberry added. “I have a little experience. I’m not all the way there yet but I’m getting there.”
If a case arises this season when the Mountaineers go through premature success or a stint of growing pains, Granberry plans to tell her youthful teammates to stay the course. Knowing that nearly every team goes through its ups and downs, the natural-born leader is prepared to be a calming influence in the face of achievement and adversity.
“What I’m going to tell them is we need to stay calm and not panic and don’t let the adrenalin rush and overcome our ability to stay focused and calm,” Granberry said.
Granberry’s talent was displayed throughout her three years as a Cavalier. She played 62 games with 31 career starts and posted 18 double-figure scoring games, including a career-best 18 points against Clemson in 2006.
But the multidisciplinary studies major was awestruck by the hard work she had to put in when she arrived in Morgantown. Strength and conditioning coach Andy Kettler has helped Granberry and her teammates make strides in their endurance through a rigorous regimen, and the results are starting to show.
“There’s been plenty of days where I didn’t think I would make it,” Granberry admitted. “My teammates held me up; we held each other up and stayed on each other hard. It was just missions we thought we would never be able to do that we did somehow, magically. I can see it on the court that we can run up and down nonstop now.”
And with an improvement in her physique, Granberry has a positive, new outlook on her ability to accomplish greater things.
“It’s given us the strength to make us think that if we can do those conditioning and weightlifting workouts here – because at Virginia I never imagined that anything could be harder – then we can do anything,” Granberry added.
Picked to finish ninth in the preseason BIG EAST Coaches’ Poll, Granberry doesn’t mind having WVU fly under the radar. She is ready to burst out of the gate and surprise a lot of conference and nonconference foes who think the squad is in total rebuilding mode.
However, the lack of size in this season’s lineup will force the Mountaineers to try to outhustle their opponents. No team can underestimate playing the game with passion and reckless abandon, and Granberry looks for her team to do the little things that can make a big difference between victory and defeat.
“Defense, boxing out, and outhustling -- that has to be our game,” Granberry said. “Right now the chemistry is not where it needs to be, but it’s getting better everyday and we just have to take our time more so than anything. Defending, outhustling and boxing out will be our strength.”
One attribute WVU can be proud of is its athleticism. Granberry is one of many players who are quick, agile and well-conditioned. With a smaller unit this upcoming season, the Mountaineers will look to make their defense be their best offense.
“With any team or program, offense comes from the defense. You can stop anybody at anytime, and the shots will start falling,” Granberry added.
Now stronger, quicker and more aggressive than she was a year ago, Granberry is ready to challenge the naysayers who have the Mountaineers as merely a blip on their radar.
And after sitting out last season, the well-accomplished guard has even more to prove not just from a team standpoint, but for herself.
“I’m extra excited,” admitted Granberry. “I don’t want to be too excited for that first game; I’m just ready to go. It’s going to go by fast, but it’s going to be a long season and we just have to pace ourselves.”
