Jan. 26, 2006
Spare the requiem for junior Lauren Simms. Yes, she injured her knee. Yes, she’s not the same player this year. No, it’s not that simple.
Freshly rehabbed from a torn ACL, Simms has re-emerged in a new role for the Gamecocks this season, one that has found her scoring less and playing point guard more.
“Lauren is probably our best all-around ballhandler. You want your best all-around ballhandler to bring the ball up the floor, especially against teams that get up and pressure, as a lot of SEC teams do,” said head coach Susan Walvius.
Simms, who led the Gamecocks with an 11.8 scoring average last year, has yet to crack South Carolina’s six highest-scoring individual games this year. Her 8.5 points per game through Jan. 22 represent a career-low. Yet in 17 games, Simms has already surpassed her assists total from all of last season. At this rate, she’ll dish out more assists than her first two years combined.
“It was something that I had to adapt to,” Simms, a former all-state player at Spring Valley HS, said of her increased playing time at point guard. “I’m getting there, but you can always get better.”
Adapting and improving were keywords of Simms’ summer. In a game against Alabama February 20, 2005, Simms tore her ACL after landing awkwardly on an offensive rebound attempt. For three hours a day, four days a week, she awoke at 6 a.m., wedging her rehab around her summer class schedule.
With a military discipline – her parents are both retired from the U.S. Army – Simms annihilated timetables for recovery. Achieving a full-wheel rotation on a stationary bike took her one month; for most ACL tear victims, it takes two.
“When I did my first run, when I did my first cut, I was so excited. Every time they would say, `Lauren, calm down. Let it come naturally,'” Simms said.
With that same diligence, Simms plunged herself into learning the nuances of point guard in the pre-season. Simms played only modest minutes at point last year, but learned from Walvius in August that she would have a more prominent role there this season.
“That’s when I knew I had to get in the gym and work on my handles,” Simms recalls.
She sought out the help of Gamecocks assistant Michelle Marciniak, who was an all-American point guard at Tennessee in the mid-90’s. Marciniak, brooking no compromise, pounded on Simms in one-on-drills.
“While she was playing defense, she’d be really aggressive. She’s telling me, `Don’t let me stop you from where you want to go.’ She’s instructing me the whole time while playing defense on me,” Simms said.
The baptism by fire has paid off for Simms, especially in the baptism-by-fire world of the SEC. Her point guard confidence on the rise, Simms’ other strength – scoring – has not coincidentally come out of the shadows. Beginning with a 16-point effort against Tennessee, Simms has scored in double figures in 4 of the Gamecocks’ first 5 SEC games.
Walvius praises her junior’s anything-it-takes philosophy.
“She doesn’t make excuses. She’s quietly confident. She just gets her job done without complaining,” she said.
Gamecock fans have had little to complain about, either.
The Tip Drill
Bear Trap: Just in case the Gamecocks forgot they were in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Sunday… at the team’s hotel, watercolor portraits of Paul “Bear” Bryant actually hung in the elevators.
Thought You Should Know: In the 2004-05 season, Melanie Johnson led the Gamecocks with a 47.2% shooting percentage. This year, six Gamecocks are averaging better.
On The Air: Junior Angela Hunter interned this summer at the Gamecock Radio Network’s sister station, Kiss 98.5 FM. A player after a broadcaster’s own heart, for sure. Does this mean we rechristen a Hunter three-pointer as a “long-distance dedication”?
