Klotz helped North exceed expectations
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Jacquie Klotz had a pretty good freshman year for the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls basketball team.
Her encore sophomore year was even more spectacular, and it helped to lead the Knights to one of their most satisfying seasons.
”She’s very competitive,” said Knights head coach Bob Boyce, “which is part of what makes her so good.”
What she did as a sophomore this winter had some coaches asking Boyce where she was going to college next year. He’s happy to know that she still has two more years to develop before heading to college.
”She would be tough to coach against,” Boyce said. “I wouldn’t play box-and-one because I’d fear the McNeillys would get going, or she would get open on screens and rebounds.”
Klotz faced almost every conceivable defense this season, but it was hard for anyone to even slow her down. It was still early in the year when she scored 29 points and added 21 rebounds in a 53-49 overtime win over rival WW-P South. Klotz scored all 11 of the Knights’ points in the extra frame.
It was even tougher for opponents less familiar with her. Klotz scored 37 points in the Central Jersey Group IV state tournament opener, a 56-45 win over Monroe.
”Hopewell played man-to-man and played two people on her and she scored 34,” Boyce said. “Rancocas played us straight up man in the first half and she had about 18. It was like a one-point game. Then they went to zones and traps and they just doubled her. Then they pulled away.”
Rancocas Valley went on to win the sectional championship. The Knights, though, didn’t do badly themselves. Without a senior in the starting lineup, they worked together to go 17-7, and Klotz was a player who did a little of everything to deliver. In 24 games, she scored 533 points, an average of 22.2 per game. Six times, she scored 30 or more points, and on a couple of those occasions, she did not play much in the fourth quarter because the Knights were winning handily. Her rebounding led the team and was improved with double-figures consistently, and her assists remained high as teams collapsed on her to allow her to recognize open teammates.
”Defensively is where she’s just become a beast,” Boyce said. “She grabs 14 rebound a game, blocks four or five shots a game. She always has to guard the toughest player.
”She covered Alexis Johnson (of Hamilton) and she had her shut down,” Boyce said. “She had 30, but she had like two when Klotz covered her before we played zone.”
On top of everything else, Klotz was asked to take on a leadership role this season. It was a significant change from last year, but one that Boyce thought she could do.
”She’s a great vocal leader on the floor,” he said. “She understands what we’re doing. She understands basketball. If they listen to her, they do well.”
Jacquie Klotz is the Princeton Packet Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
”In my overall game, I became more confident,” Klotz said. “It was my second year. I knew what was going on more than last year. That caused me to be able to play smarter and more confidently. At the same time, I think I have a few things to work on defensively.”
Klotz has always worked out in the offseason. She plays for the AAU team Fencor Basketball Club out of Pennsylvania, which helps her stay competitive year-round. Her improvements showed up in her second year with the Knights.
”In the offseason, I’m still shooting around and trying to improve my game,” Klotz said. “It’s nice to be able to put it into the games.”
This year, Klotz had to do a little more than she did as a freshman after significant graduation losses.
”I knew there would be a little more focus,” Klotz said, “but I also knew at the same time, since Kerry (McNeilly) and Marilyn (Allen) had been on the team, I knew they could make the shots when they needed to. They can make shots. If I get an open shot, it’s usually because they’ve created that opportunity for me.”
Klotz still sees plenty of room for improvement everywhere even after an outstanding year. That willingness to continue to improve even after such a good season is one way she’s developed into a tough matchup.
”I’m probably going to have to work on my speed and agility,” Klotz said. “I’d like to be a little faster. I need to work more on my moves and work on executing them quickly. I have to get sharper on offense, and definitely ball-handling. I have to get better at dribbling under pressure.”
Klotz saw plenty of development in her game since her freshman year when she scored 344 points. She scored nearly 200 points more this year, and her statistics went up across the board.
”It had been a goal of mine, but mostly I’m just so happy that we could come out with that many wins,” Klotz said. “I had no idea I had gotten that many points up until a couple games ago. I was just looking forward to getting wins. If that’s what we needed to get wins, I was willing to do that.”
Said Boyce: “I don’t think I’ve seen a player that can shoot like her. And some of the moves she comes up with, they’ve all improved.”
Boyce has seen her go to fantastic post moves inside, but he encouraged her to continue to develop her game as a guard, not just be stereotyped into the post because of her near 6-foot size. Klotz clearly has skills that can take her farther as a guard.
”Her shot release is quick,” Boyce said. “You can’t leave her alone. We use a lot of screens to counter stuff. It boggles you how she’s scoring. If she drives, it’s like the whole team will meet her in the paint.
”She scores a ton of points off offensive rebound putbacks,” he said. “You better box her out. Teams would go box-and-one, but then another person would shoot it, and they’d lose her and she’d get the rebound and put it in anyway.”
One of the biggest changes for Klotz was the increase in leadership that was asked of her. Even though she was just a sophomore, she was one of three team captains on the young Knights along with juniors Marilyn Allen and Kerry McNeilly.
”There definitely was more pressure than last year,” Klotz said. “Because of the seniors we had last year, we just had to go play. This year, there’s all the leadership involved. The other two captains did a great job. There’s definitely more pressure not being the youngest and being older than some of the girls and trying to help them figure things out and not only play, but help other people with the new experiences.
”It’s hard to include all the other things. There’s a lot more than what goes on, on the court. Without the other two captains, it would not have been good. They organized so much. We were together a lot. We had to manage what was going on off the court as well as on the court.”
Klotz is hoping that this season was the start of something big. Given how well they did this season without many senior contributions, the future looks bright for a team that is developing the right pieces to be even more successful.
”Last year, we had a lot of three-point shooters who were deadly behind the arc,” Klotz said. “There was a lot more experience. We could reach that in the next couple years and it’ll be just like last year.”
The Knights managed themselves well to help produce a season that surprised many. For Jacquie Klotz and the WW-P North girls basketball team, it was a chance they relished.
”I knew we could do it,” Klotz said. “I knew our team had potential. We have a lot of girls. It was just a matter of if they would step up, and everyone did. Everyone that plays came through.”