Season’s on: White Plains
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- November
- 18
Last season it was supposed to be impossible. The team had graduated two Division I players from a championship team that had graduated two Division I players from a championship team the year before that. But as you know, this dizzying array of talent at White Plains had left one player behind, and it turned out Angelei Aguirre and an ever-improving supporting cast were enough to upend the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams in the section to win a fourth straight Class AA title.
It was a stunning achievement for the 10th-seeded Tigers, but at least then they always had the best player on the floor. It will be much tougher now to launch a deep run into February and March. Let’s look at the reasons for optimism and pessimism:
Sue Adams is back. The coach who has won four straight Class AA titles with a program that had won just one ever returned after a prolonged flirtation with retirement. Adams stepped down, but returned this fall when a panel headed by boys coach Spencer Mayfield asked her to fill the void she left behind.
Adams is just a coach and we all know success is based largely on the players on the floor. However, Adams’ ability on the bench gives White Plains an edge in any given game.
Aguirre is not. The Journal News’ Westchester/Putnam player of the year dominated in every facet, handling the ball and putting it in the basket. The Tigers should be strong on defense but must find players who can replace Aguirre’s production. Of course, that will require way more than just one person, but they must make up the difference collectively.
Only one starter returns. Aguirre was the show, but her success took away attention from a group of strong supporting players. Donika Rexhepi shot the ball well. Simone Tharkur was a terrific defender. And Valda Heyward could handle the ball and facilitate plays to take pressure off Aguirre. All three were probably better than they were given credit for, so White Plains will miss them, too. The only starter back is 5-foot-10 forward Shelby Fields, whose rebounding and defense were integral down the stretch of the season. Fields was an excellent role player as a sophomore, but White Plains will need her to emerge as a scorer and as a leader if it hopes to compete in its league and beyond.
The only returning senior is Abby Revers, a 5-foot-7 guard who has impressed Adams so far. Junior Sara Franco saw limited action last season but is expected to provide scoring behind Fields.
A bevy of new faces. After years with the same cast of characters, Adams has a handful of new faces ready to infuse youth into the program. Sophomore forward Linnae Fargo should play right away, as will freshmen guards Kim Hanlon and Sophia Roman, a duo Adams said “remind me of the next Kim and Liz,” speaking of her daughter, Kim Adams, and Liz Flooks.
White Plains will also welcome the return of Brittany Marbury, a senior who didn’t play last season and will likely take over point guard duties from Aguirre and Heyward. The Tigers did, however, lose Bree Bradley, a 5-foot-9 forward who was a member of the rotation as a freshman and battled through injuries as a sophomore. Bradley opted to not play this season.
“I look at this year as such a challenge but that is why is was enticing to return,” Adams said. “A lot of people think there is no one left at White Plains but my feeling is there is always somebody at White Plains.”
Adams always preaches the importance of preparing the team to make a deep run in February and March. That preparation will be harder than ever this season, but you never know. White Plains certainly bears watching.
The Tigers open with Clarkstown South and Roosevelt before they host the Lynne Kahn tournament Dec. 11-12. They could open strong, but this nine-game stretch to end the season will determine their fate:
@ Mount Vernon
@ New Rochelle
vs. Scarsdale
@ Ursuline
@ Mamaroneck
vs. Mount Vernon
vs. New Rochelle
@ Scarsdale
vs. Ursuline
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 7:02 pm by Josh Thomson. 
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Josh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting, Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his fiancee, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University, where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in history.
Interesting that in commenting on the departure of the teams previous stars, Coach Adams said “At White Plains, there is always someone” to take their place. The same could be said for, to stick with the AA Class, teams from Scarsdale, Mt. Vernon and Ursuline – why is that? The reason is the coaches who do more than run practices and/or manage the game time strategy and substitutions.
Josh correctly notes that “success is based largely on the players on the floor.” But a good coach has a lot to do with the skill sets that the players bring to the floor. A typical example of this is 2007 Isabel Costa award winner Liz Flooks, who came to White Plains three years earlier as a new post-up player on a team that already had two much bigger post players. Liz had to be taught to play the game from the out on the perimeter, which Coach Adams did, and let her own work ethic and talent do the rest. The most telling example is the work Adams did last year with a team with only one returning starter (Aguirre) from the previous year. Adams transformed Aguirre from a good point guard to a dominating, game changing player and improved the supporting role players to the point where they could hit key shots and/or made key stops in White Plains’ magical playoff run for a 4th consecutive gold ball last year.
Quite simply, players who play for Coach Adams get better, and her ability to teach and inspire players to improve is why at White Plains – just like at other schools with great programs and great coaches – there always seems to be some one left to carry on.
Josh,
Any truth to the rumors that Championship week at the County Center is being trimmed from 6 days to 2, with only championships being played, with semi-finals at the higher seed. That would be terrible both for kids and fans, I think if it is the case we need to look at some of the bigger high school gyms for neutral site semi finals
ballboy…Unfortunately, there is much truth to it. I will have more on that later on today…
That is a shame Championship week has become a staple to many families and people throughout the area. It often has created an opportunity to run into people that you only see once a year, and obviously the basketball environment is second to none. I hope that they do consider neutral sites for the semis. When you think of some of the teams with potential to be high seeds in sectionals, some of them have small gyms and very difficult parking situations.
there is one positive to just having the finals at the county center. several high schools will be able to generate some revenues off of concessions and admission charges (should they choose to charge). in times like these, that’s nothing to sneeze at. of course, i would rather be playing at the CC, but it is what it is and it isn’t that big a deal. welcome to the world of just about every other team sport played in the county—semis are at the higher seed.
I agree I was a high school football coach so I understand the idea, I am talking more from a logistics standpoint, for example you will have (almost certainly) a boys semifinal involving Mount Vernon, in a gym that does not have the capacity for that kind of game, there are many other examples especially at the girls level when you look at possible high seeds. Also I do feel that the home-field advantage in basketball is greater than in any other sport. As a former football coach I can’t think of a time where the crowd directly effected my team, but in basketball in a tighter venue that is commonplace.
ballboy, i think you are right about the home crowd and its potential effect…but isn’t that appropriate? shouldn’t the 1 and the 2 seed have that advantage after busting ass all season to get to that place? as for the logistics, you are also correct…that could be a problem for the boys. as for the girls, we should only be so lucky as to have an overflowing gym at one of those semifinals.
What will the knick coaches do !!!!!
on vacation,
As we have seen numerous times the best records does not always mean the best team. There are certain teams that play more difficult non conference schedules than others and are in tougher leagues, the County Center at least created an equal playing foot for these teams when it came time to go to the County Center.