(KB - 04/03/06) Asia
Wilson has finally settled in. Her
team is
finally beginning to gel and Asia is feeling
confident.
She swings downcourt, assesses the
defense and calmly drains a three.
She trots back
upcourt and casually, almost nonchalantly,
eyes the
opposing ballhandler, probing for weaknesses.
She can't go left, Asia thinks.
She puts her hands on her
knees and feigns
exhaustion. The
ballhandler picks up
on this obvious non-verbal clue and
drives to the basket.
Asia cuts her
off at the key and rips her cleanly.
Sucker.
I can't believe she
fell for that, she thinks, as
she completes the break-
away layup.
What is that?
Twelve, now? I'm gonna
try
for twenty, she thinks. After
the game her dad asks her,
"How many points did you
get?" "I
dunno. I don't keep track." Asia
is as cool as the other side of the
pillow. The
Blue team is Asia's team and she knows it. The
Lightning
were Jacky's team.
The Red team is Brooke's
team. But the Blue
team belongs to Asia. When they need a bucket or
a clutch steal, they look to Asia.
And she does not disappoint.
She thrives under the pressure. After
the departure of last year's leading scorer, Laquita Curry,
Asia has
stepped comfortably into that
role. She moves seamlessly between the point
guard and shooting guard positions.
Her versatility allows the Blue team to present
strategic matchup problems to opponents. Asia
takes particular pride in her defensive
prowess. She doesn't overpower offensive
players. She lures them into making heedless
mistakes. She has an uncanny ability to ferret
out weakness and exploit it. If
you see Asia sitting back on her heels with her hands on her
knees, it's an act. It's the Asia Wilson
rope-a-dope. Don't fall for it. In
her high school career, Asia has been a varsity starter since
her freshman year and has led her team to the Final Four twice,
winning it all in 2006. She is a
two-time, All-Seminole County player. Asia
also led the Comets Blue team to the 2005 AAU D2 National
championship. There's certainly nothing
rope-a-dope about that!!
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