University of Georgia Athletics
Know Your Lady Bulldogs: Tamika Willis
July 18, 2011 | Women's Basketball
July 18, 2011
Effort, attitude of Willis provide positive results
The adjustment from being a high school phenom to a college freshman can be tricky. Often times, players go from being on the court for every meaningful minute to spending a majority of the game on the bench. How that transition is handled can say a lot about a player...and their potential to make an impact later in their collegiate career.
While most outsiders likely wondered about the potential of Tamika Willis last season, Andy Landers knew the manner in which she tackled challenges would pave the way for the success she enjoyed during the 2010-11 campaign.
Willis' acclimation to college basketball was hindered when she missed most of last fall due to personal reasons. When she returned to the team in December, the College Park native trailed her teammates in virtually every way imagineable.
"When she came back, she was behind so much," Landers said. "Conditioning and strength and stamina were at the top of the list. She tackled all of those immediately, but she still had to transition from being a high school player to college. In addition to all that, she had to change her footwork patterns, specifically the way she moved on the court. When you add all that up and combine it with her trying to understand what we were attempting to do in terms of our team, she was lost."
Such a situation would cause many players to cave in. But Willis remained positive and determined to make progress on a daily basis, even if most would not be able to see the results of her hard work in game situations.
"It was hard, but I knew my team was doing good so that made it easier," Willis said. "I still felt like I was contributing. That could be in practice or in games. Sometimes when I was sitting on the bench I would see things and would try to help point things out. It wasn't like it was going to break me. I just knew I needed to improve."
That attitude caught Landers' eye.
"For her not only to deal with all of that but to go out and go to work without any hesitation speaks volumes about her fortitude," Landers said. "It displayed how bad she really wants to be good."
It also helped that Willis had a classmate going through much of the same process. She and Jasmine Hassell spent countless hours working out together to improve their conditioning. It wasn't uncommon to see the duo side-by-side on treadmills, logging miles even on game days.
"It helped a lot to have someone there with me," Willis said. "We'd push each other. She'd have her days when things weren't going great and I'd have mine, too. We got through it together."
Willis attacked her development when the season ended, determined to make an impact during her sophomore season.
"I knew I needed to be tougher both mentally and physically," Willis said. "I ran a lot and shot a lot during the summer and I think that has paid off."
Willis' dedication delivered dividends both individually and from a team standpoint early in her sophomore year.
In the season opener, Willis notched career highs of eight points and nine rebounds against Georgia Southern. That performance resulted in her first career start in the Lady Bulldogs' next outing against Chattanooga, where she again upped her career-best scoring tally with a dozen ponts.
In fact, Willis scored more points (21) in those first two games than she did in all 13 games she played as a freshman (17).
Those contributions continued through the 2011 calendar. Through December, Willis averaged 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. She also connected on 63.6 percent of her field goal attempts, the best effort on the team by a full 10 percent.
"It's been a blast," Willis said. "I'm excited to be out there and contributing. As much as I felt I was down (last season), it proved to me that you can come back from anything."
"Tamika gradually moved forward from the end of last season and through the summer to where she can be a major player for us," Landers said. "The situation she's in now is something that many freshmen encounter toward the end of their freshman season."
Willis did hit a figurative wall as the season progressed. Though she saw action in all 16 SEC regular-season games, her numbers slipped to 3.3 ppg and 3.6 rpg in league play.
Still, Landers looks for even greater contributions as Willis continues her development as a junior and senior.
"She's done a lot of the tough things and is ready to contribute more," Landers said. "Now she's got to put it all together not only for herself but in the context and framework of what the team is trying to do."
