Dec. 31, 2005
By Scott MacDonald – If you have ever been to a Georgia Tech women’s basketball game, you know who Kasha Terry is. Maybe not by name, or even by her jersey number 35, but as the 6 foot, three inch, girl in the middle that swats away opposing team’s shots that take place inside the paint. For Terry, it’s always come natural.
“I guess it’s a little easier for me because my arms are so long,” said Terry. “I don’t always have to be in the vicinity of a shooter to get a block.”
Terry, a senior from Douglasville, Ga., leads the Yellow Jackets with 11 blocked shots this season and ranks 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference, averaging 1.83 blocks per game. One reason her numbers are not higher right now, is due to minutes played, 17.7 per game, as a result of recent foul trouble.
“Coach [MaChelle] Joseph and I are beginning to work on my timing in practice right now because of my foul situation,” said Terry.
Timing is something that is pivotal in the art of blocking shots. If done correctly, it can add another dimension to a team’s defense that changes the way another team’s runs their offense. According to former National Basketball Association great and Hall of Famer Bill Walton, six-time NBA league MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the greatest at it.
“Everyone talks about how Kareem was such a great scorer, but he dominated games by rebounding and blocking shots, too,” said Walton in an interview with Mike Kahn.
Terry first learned the skill from her high school Coach Chet Forsh. “In high school, coach Forsh and I worked on timing in practice as far as when a person goes up and which hand they up with to make a basket,” said Terry.
Terry stands fourth all-time in Tech history with 151 career blocks, 29 shy of third place. She also ranks in a tie for 19th all-time in ACC history. But the one statistic that jumps out at Tech fans is the Jackets record with Terry on the floor, 17-3 over the last two seasons when she is in the lineup.
“It’s a mental thing,” said Terry of the team’s record for the remaining games of last season which saw Tech go 3-12 without her. “When you see another player out there that’s bigger and stronger and you don’t have anyone to match up, then you are already letting yourself down. I think we could’ve won more games, but the mental part of the game was not there. Plus we were very young, with no seniors on the team.”
When Terry is on the floor, she is very productive. Not only with her blocked shots and defense, but 7.8 points per game, in just 17 minutes of action. She also grabs four rebounds per game for the Jackets. But she knows that she has to become a more prolific scorer to help Tech continue its winning ways.
“My offense is starting to get better because I have gotten a little bigger and I can hold my own in the post,” said Terry. “I finally got in my head last year that I have to be strong on both the offensive and defensive ends.”
With everything set aside, Terry does not have to look far for inspiration. When she is on the court, only about 100 feet away, sits her mother, Hilda, who attends every game in support of the Yellow Jackets.
“My mom used to have this sweater that said, `I’m living my basketball dream through my daughter,'” said Terry. “I love having her at every game and I also like the fact that she not only cheers for me but for the whole team.”
Hilda, a former student at the Military Academy, provides an extra coach for Terry during and after the games. Only she shouts commands from the stands rather than the bench. But that does not bother Terry.
“I tried to tell her when I first got to college that I have really good coaches now, and she doesn’t have to coach me up after each game,” said Terry. “She has calmed down since my freshman year, but she still has some advice for me sometimes.”
