Sherise Williams didn’t know she still had a chance.
Once she learned she still could become academically eligible to play basketball at Mississippi State University, Williams wasn’t sure she believed she could do it.
Johnnie Harris did. As a result, MSU will have another freshman on its roster who could contribute this season.
On Thursday, Williams talked about the frustrating and ultimately rewarding process she went through and the help she received from Harris, MSU’s associate head coach, to become a Lady Bulldog this season.
“No one pointed us in the direction (of taking online classes),” Williams said. “They said, ‘If she doesn’t get (the grades) she will just go JUCO.’ No one knew about the online classes until (Harris) came along.”
Williams, a 6-foot-1 1/2 forward from St. Louis, Mo., gave a verbal commitment to former MSU coach Sharon Fanning-Otis last year. When Fanning-Otis retired from coaching at the end of the 2011-12 season, Harris quickly established contact and went to work to find a way to help Williams qualify.
Williams, who was in position to go to Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College, took online classes in Spanish and math and didn’t earn the grades she needed to qualify academically. She then took a course at Sylvan Learning Center, a national testing and tutoring service, to help her raise her qualifying score on the ACT, a standardized test used by colleges and universities to determine a student’s aptitude. Williams said the course she took earlier this year helped her raise her ACT score multiple points.
As a result, Harris said Williams was then in position to take other classes again, so she asked her which subject areas she felt strongest in. Williams said science, which fit perfectly because Williams could take online classes to raise her grade-point average to qualify. The sticking point was she needed an ‘A’ in two classes to reach her goal.
Williams credits her father, Steven DeShields, and Harris for motivating her and staying on her to do her best in the classes, Earth Science A and Earth Science B.
“The second time I talked to coach Harris I thought I was just going to go JUCO,” Williams said. “She kept pushing me and telling me I could do the work. She just motivated me. My dad would wake me up at 8 a.m. so I could do the work, and then I would work five straight hours so I could get it done on time and I could qualify.”
Shortly after he was hired in March as MSU’s new women’s basketball coach, Vic Schaefer referred to Harris and assistant coaches Aqua Franklin, Brittany Hudson, and Maryann Baker as “The A-Team.” He said Harris is an outstanding recruiter and is a coach the players can look at as a mother figure.
“I have seen Johnnie at work for a long time, and this is why we’re so lucky to have her at Mississippi State,” Schaefer said. “When we first looked at the situation Sherise was in, it wasn’t good. Johnnie knew with her expertise there was an outside chance if she got after it and she did what he did that Sherise could qualify. Working with (assistant compliance coordinator) Candace (Dailey), they crunched the numbers more than once and developed a great plan. At the end of the day, Sherise got it done. That is why Johnnie is one of the best in the country in what she does.”
Harris, who has worked with Schaefer at Texas A&M University and also spent time as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas, said she did what any coach would have done to exhaust every means to help Williams qualify. The mother of two kids of her own and the legal guardian of a teenager in high school, Harris said she embraces the role of mother figure. She said she is proud of Williams for casting aside her doubt and for doing the work it took be able to play this season.
“When I went into her home, I convinced her and her parents I have had this before and that I have had kids who felt like they weren’t going to make it,” Harris said. “A lot of people were telling her she wasn’t go to make it. Our compliance people had it down to the T what she needed to make. Once I got that and saw it was attainable, I let her and her dad know that if she gets this she can come to Mississippi State.
“She was very receptive. Her mom and dad were instrumental. He paid for her classes, and he sacrificed for her. I kept reminding her how much her dad sacrificed for her to be in this position. She called me a couple of times and said, ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ I asked her how was she taking notes and that she should write everything down and read it and write it down and read over it again. I was not going to let her quit, and I used her dad as motivation. I told her your dad is sacrificing so you sacrifice, even if that means staying up for an extra hour. Your dad has done this for you and you do this for your dad. She worked really, really hard. She very excited.
Williams said the process was stressful and she knows she wouldn’t have gotten through it without Harris, who she said took the time to get to know her and built a relationship.
“She really wants to help kids,” Williams said. “I felt she was really looking out for me. She never gave up on me. It just gave me motivation to do good for myself to know I had good people looking out for me.”
Williams selected MSU over the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the University of Memphis, the University of Alabama, and DePaul University. She joins guard Jessy Ward as the second member of the Class of 2012 signed by former coach Fanning-Otis to join the program. In November 2011, Ward, Williams, and Dominique Brooks were part of a Class of 2012 that ESPN ranked No. 48 in the nation. Brooks, an ESPN 100 player, failed to qualify academically.
Former college basketball coach Dan Olson follows recruiting for his website, Dan Olson’s Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. He said Williams is “an athletic insider with a pro-frame.” He said she has an emerging interior game and is a shot-blocking presence. He feels Williams’ quick leaping ability and athleticism in transition could fit in well with Schaefer’s defensive philosophy.
“She is kind of a sleeper,” Olson said. “She has a long body frame and can play in an up-tempo, fast-paced league like SEC. Her body make-up is perfect for the league. Her skill development needs to catch up. She has made progression from junior to senior year, and has progressed in athletic ability. Mississippi State is getting a pretty good prospect with a big upside. She has the potential to be a really good college player.”
Williams said she watched MSU play Louisiana Tech last season. Before she visited Starkville, she said it was a relief to make a verbal commitment to MSU so she could concentrate on her final high school season. She said she plans to use her size and speed to help in any way Schaefer and the Lady Bulldogs need her.
“I think I need to work on my outside shot and become more consistent,” Williams said. “The strong part of my game is my inside play. I think I am good with guards who pick and roll, and I think I am good at shot blocking.”
Williams arrived on campus early Friday morning after her father drove all night to get her to Mississippi. She attended the women’s basketball team’s initial team meeting Monday. She will spend the next month and a half adjusting to life as a college student-athlete in preparation for the official start of practice in October.
MSU went 14-16 and missed the postseason for the second year in row last season. The Lady Bulldogs lost six seniors — including leading scorers Diamber Johnson and Porsha Porter — and have 11 players on the roster.
Whether it’s running, blocking shots, or playing defense, Williams is eager to get started. “I want to do everything I can for this team this year,” Williams said.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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