Jackson Memorial High School girls basketball standout Crista Evans cannot wait for the 2009-10 season to start, even if it is coming nearly a week later than most of the other teams around the state.
“I am so pumped. I’m running and lifting and in the best shape possible,” said Evans, one of the tallest juniors in the state at 6-2 and one of the most noticed young prospects by college recruiters. “I’m getting stronger and I think that’s the biggest difference from last year. And I’m getting faster. It’s easier for me to run down the court on breakaways.”
Evans got a visit from Rutgers University basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer at a Jackson Memorial practice recently.
“I was so nervous,” said Evans, who noted that coaches from Fordham and Providence have also been at practices.
Family members said there have been contacts from more than 50 colleges that are interested in Evans’ basketball services.
For now, Evans is concentrating on the 2009-10 season that began with a Dec. 23 showdown against Southern Regional, which shared the Shore Conference A South Division championship with the Jaguars last season.
Jackson Memorial was 17-8 in 2008-09.
The Jaguars will be playing at the KSA Tournament in Orlando, Fla., starting on Dec. 27. The squad will play an opponent from Wisconsin on the first day it arrives at Walt Disney World. Jackson Memorial played in the tournament four years ago and won two of three games it played.
“Crista is one of the most highly recruited players in the country,” coach Rachel Goodale said of the junior. “She can shoot. She can put the ball on the floor and post up. She’s the total package. She has a good touch.”
Goodale said Rhode Island, Richmond and the University of California also are in the recruiting mix.
Evans averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds per game last season and is fully recovered from an ankle injury that sidelined her as the team lost early in the state tournament to Brick Memorial and to St. John Vianney in the quarterfinals of the Shore Conference Tournament.
Evans said she also has looked to shoot better and she kept up her conditioning by playing on the Jackson Memorial volleyball team that went 14-11 in an injury-riddled season.
“It was so much fun,” Evans said. “It was better than last year. It’s good to keep improving each season.”
She admitted that it is “definitely harder to get ready for basketball playing volleyball, but you get to run and lift and it helps with your vertical jump.”
As the Jaguars prepare to tip off the basketball season, Evans will be surrounded by three returning starters, including guards Dana Costello and Caitlyn Testa, both seniors, and junior forward Kim Clemmer, who is 5-9.
“We’ll have a target on our backs. Everyone is excited to beat us,” said Costello. “We have to come out every game with the same intensity.”
And “there is no given victory,” said Goodale, pointing to a game last season against last-place Toms River South where the Jaguars came back from a seven-point deficit with :40 left.
“The whole conference is a challenge every night,” said Goodale. “It comes down to who has a good shooting night and who controls the boards.”
Forward Kelly Rose has graduated, but there are players waiting to step up, including Evans’ sister, Shannon, a 5-9 sophomore, and freshman Hannah Missry.
Sophomore Tiffany Montague, at 5-6, and freshman Stephanie Mason, at 5-7, make for a nice-size rotation.
Goodale said the Jaguars’ bench players may be young, but they are very experienced from playing on the competitive AAU circuit. She said she is pleased with the team’s offseason commitment that included conditioning, lifting and playing in the Princeton University team camp, where the Jaguars finished 6-1 and lost to Trenton Catholic.
“It’s probably the best off-season since I’ve been here,” said Goodale, who is now coaching her 10th season at her alma mater.
“I think our team is looking really good because it’s more experienced and we have good freshmen who have been playing all summer long with the others,” said Evans.
“Our offense is much better,” said Costello. “Last year we won games because of Crista and holding teams down. This year we have multiple threats.”
Goodale said there are a few wrinkles, particularly a somewhat more up-tempo game because of the number of experienced players on the roster. She is hoping it makes for a deeper advance into the postseason. That is, as long as everyone stays healthy.