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The Leader-Tribune Wednesday, February 27, 1991
Natalie White and Greg Streeter • ••
One ends a terrific career and looks toward college;
the other leads a talented group of underclassmen
by Mike Lovvom
Editor
It is a fact of modern-day athletics
that the most gifted athletes shoulder the
heaviest burden. The lights shine brightest
on them when their team succeeds. On the
other hand, their tunnel is longer and dark¬
er in times of adversity.
Lady Trojan senior Natalie White and
Trojan sophomore Greg Streeter have seen
both sides.
As Middle Georgia's leading scorer
her senior season and the Lady Trojan
scoring leader for four years, White has
had her share of the spotlight. She has
also taken her share of heat, seen by some
as a selfish, one-dimensional player until
recently, and taken to bouts of moodiness
when her team didn't play up to her expec¬
tations.
Though only a sophomore, Streeter
has also seen the ups and downs of life in
a superstar's fishbowl. Possessed with
great leaping ability, a soft shooting touch,
and bom body control, he was acclaimed
as one of the best freshmen to play for the
Trojans and a real star of the future.
For a while this year, another side
showed up. Prone to occasional mental
lapses on defense and with a tendency to
turn it on for the crowd at times, Streeter
was chastised for showboating too much
and not mixing it up enough.
To the credit of both of them, they
took the criticism in stride... and improved
their games as a result.
Both the Trojans and Lady Trojans
enjoyed one of their finest seasons, win¬
ning 39 games between them. The biggest
reason for both successes involves the
roles played by eight or nine players on
each squad, but when you look for the
glue that pulled them together, look no
further than White and Streeter. Both
players adapted their games to that of their
teammates, and both teams were the better
for it.
Early in the season, White displayed
the same tendency she had shown for her
first three years, an ability to score from
anywhere, but a determination to ignore
her teammates so she could score from
anywhere.
After the holiday break, a new Natalie
White emerged. Suddenly she seemed
more interested in assists than points,
passing the ball all over the floor to open
teammates. Many times in the second half
of the season, she ignored wide open fast
break layups to dish off to her running
mate at guard, talented sophomore
LaTondra Tennyson.
As a result, Tennyson developed into
a prolific scorer and heir-apparent at point
guard. Another sophomore, forward
Jocelyn Howard, found a scoring touch on
the receiving end of White’s passes as
well. Howard led the team in scoring in
one game and Tennyson did it twice.
Why the transformation? We asked
Natalie and her coach, Maxine Cherry,
that question.
"My teammates developed confidence
in themselves," says Natalie. "Before,
they were afraid for me to pass them the
ball. We talked about it in practice, and
Fort Valley State College
&
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Present
The
13TH Annual Women's Basketball
TOURNAMENT
FEBRUARY 28, March 1 & 2, 1991
In Woodward Gymnasium on the Campus of Fort Valley State
ADMISSION
$10.00 For the Entire Tournament
$4.00 Each Session (Day)
$1.00 For Students from S1AC Schools With Valid l.D.
Alabama A&M University
2/28/91 800 pm.
Foil Valley Stale
11/91 8:00 p.m.
Miles College
2/28/91 300 pm.
Savannah Stale
CHAMPIONSHIP 12/91
8:00 P.M.
Tuskeqee University
2/28/91 1:00 p.m.
Paine College
LeMoyne Owen College 11/91 6:00 p.m.
2/28/91 6.00 p.m. Consolabon Game
600 pm. 3/2'91
Albany Stale College
II 1 i
9dappy ‘Birthday I 1
1 I
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1 1 1
i Bill Smith! 1
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M m i
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■ cy o 1 1
We Hope You're Back i i i
On Your Feet Soon. i
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We Love You 1 1
Missy & Stacey I i
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a
PWN T
worked on it a lot."
"Natalie had to realize that these other
players were talented and could score,"
said Coach Cherry. "When she did, we
became a better team."
White is very candid about being
labelled a selfish player at times. Asked
what she would change if she could replay
these four years, she said, "I would change
my attitude. Sometimes I would get frus¬
trated and get out of control. 1 have to
learn not to do that."
Coach Cherry had a similar response
when asked what she would do differently
as a coach if she could do it all over again.
"I would be tougher on her, not have
her way as much." Then she said some¬
thing very interesting. "If I could do it
again, I would make her a strong forward,
instead of a point guard. She has great
leaping ability and might have helped us
even more playing inside."
What looms now that White has hung
up her Trojan uniform for the last time?
College, of course. She is being
courted by Fort Valley State, Valdosta
State, Florida A&M, Missouri, a number
of small colleges, and... perennial national
power Georgia has called twice.
Where she will go is anyone's guess.
She won't even tell her coach, if in fact she
has made up her mind. The next national
signing day for high school seniors is
April 10.
"I'll let you know on April 10," she
says.
In the meantime, she intends to spend
her off-season shooting the ball, working
on her directional skills (she is a rarity
among athletes, a right-hander who goes to
her left better), and doing some long-dis¬
tance running. She also plans to run track
for the Trojans in the Spring.
Finally, we asked if she had any
advice for her returning teammates.
"Always think positive," she said.
/> Wm .
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Our photographer may have found the only way to stop Natalie White...
Greg Streeter says he'll lift weights, work on defense in the off-season.
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"Work hard and be dedicated. Dedication
is the key to your success."
For Greg Streeter, a high school
career is just beginning. In her first three
seasons, White basically went it alone.
Streeter's situation is just the opposite. He
sits among a sophomore class that has
been called by many the best class of ath¬
letes ever to come along in Peach County.
Streeter's task is to do now what
White did in the last half of her senior
year; adapt his game to the cast around
him.
Streeter is merely one of the best of a
great lot. His game, to reach its peak,
must mesh with the talents of Luwon
Penamon, Marcus Robinson, and Kelcey
Johnson; all talented and all sophomores.
Next year, juniors Marquez McGhee and
Trent Parker will also be back, giving the
Trojans, along with exciting freshman
Jacquez Green, a formidable returning
cast.
How that cast performs, though, may
hinge a lot on how their most talented
member elevates his game. The other
three have worked hard to develop basket¬
ball skills. Streeter was bom with a God
given talent to do special things with a
basketball. His task is to refine those
skills and mesh them with those of his
teammates.
Along about the lime White emerged
as a prolific passer and team player,
Streeter- and his team- went into a slump.
To his credit, he took the criticism in stride
and emerged a more complete ball player.
Blessed with what his coach, Dudley
Eubanks, calls incredible rebound timing,
Streeter sometimes relied on that timing
rather than going inside and bumping with
the big men.
He worked hard at going into the
thick of things to rebound, and learned that
he had a shortcoming in that area.
"I got pushed around a lot under the
basket," he says.
There isn't a lot of bulk on his 6'4"
frame, something he intends to concentrate
on in the off-season.
"I plan to get in the weight room and
try to get stronger," he says.
To that end, Eubanks has designed an
off-season weight program for his players
who do not play football and consequently
are not well acquainted with the weight
room.
"We've had them lift weights some
before," the coach says. "But it's never
been anything consistent. This year, we
are going to have a concentrated effort on
it in the off-season."
Eubanks is excited about the
prospects for the 91-92 season, and not
just for Streeter and the others already
mentioned.
"You have to remember that we
played this year without Alyeska Scott,
and he'll make a big difference under the
boards." Scott injured a knee in football,
underwent surgery and wasn’t ready for
the basketball season.
The Trojans have historically been a
team without much height. Not next year.
Scott is 6"4', about 230, Robinson is 6'5",
Johnson a bulky 6'3". Streeter is 6'3".
Add an inch to each of those between now
and November and you have the makings
of a formidable front line.
Eubanks is quick to point out that the
Trojans play a touch schedule and must
continue to improve.
"We have to work hard in the off-sea¬
son to get better. We know we'll be good,
but so does everyone else. We want to
continue to run the ball, but good teams
have to be able to play half-court when the
game dictates it. We still are not a good
half-court team and must become one if
we are to improve on this season."
The 19-8 record was Eubanks' best at
Peach County and second best of his
Page 7A
coaching career. He had a 24-10 team one
year at Newnan High.
"There's no doubt this was the most
enjoyable season I've had. It just went so
fast.
"Everyone came to practice and
worked hard, the road trips were fun, it
just seemed like we played about 17 games
instead of 27.”
Though this a team long on ability, it
could easily be said that as Greg Streeter
goes, so goes the team. They certainly
have the ability to survive an off-night by
Streeter, but if they are to improve on this
year's 19-8 record and bring home a region
title and state tournament berth, Streeter is
likely the key.
The soft-spoken forward has no prob¬
lem accepting that burden. He is quick to
point out what he thinks was his shortcom¬
ing this year, and intends to work on
improving it.
"I need to play better defense," he
says. "If I could change something about
this season, I would work harder on
defense."
Streeter needn't look any further than
Natalie White to see what a talented player
can do when they make up their mind to
elevate their game to its fullest potential.
How can the Trojans win 20 games or
more in 1991-92? A taller Marcus
Robinson, stronger Kelcey Johnson, quick¬
er Luwon Penamon, more deadly Trent
Parker, healthy Alyeska Scott... all that
will help. An even bigger key? Twenty
more pounds of Greg Streeter playing each
night as if he is determined to be what he
has the ability to be- the best ever to grace
the floor at PCHS.
A final commentary...
Sports writers are a lot like referees.
It's up to us to "call 'em like we see'em'.'"
At times calling Natalie White selfish
and Greg Streeter a showboat isn't flatter¬
ing, especially to a high school athlete.
But I believe sportswriting at any level is
charged with the duty of telling the truth,
even when it isn't all that pleasant.
With high school athletics, the world
is full of talented players who never devel¬
oped. The ones who DO develop elevate
not only their games but their lives.
I chose these two players to feature
because both they travel on similar paths.
Both of them are the type of athlete I
mentioned at the beginning, the ones who
feel the lights the brightest but also take
the hottest heat when they don't excel.
White could have sulked when she
was called a selfish player. Instead, she
became a complete player. From the top
of her game to the bottom, Natalie is the
best girls' high school basketball player
I've seen in 12 years covering the sport.
Greg Streeter is walking in the same
steps. Doing this interview, I saw no
resemblance to an athlete who would
shoot, then wave at the crowd. He was
quiet, polite and determined about improv¬
ing his skills.
It hasn’t been easy for either of them,
living in the spotlight. Both of them have
handled it well. Both are credits to Trojan
athletics.