The Clayton State Lakers and head coach Dennis Cox have
announced the signing of three new players for the 2009-10 season.
Teshymia Tillman is a 5-foot-10 native of High Point, N.C., who
becomes part of a Clayton State program that went 26-7 this season,
advancing to the NCAA Division II “Elite Eight” for the
second time in the last three seasons.
“We are thrilled that Teshymia has chosen to be a member of
our Laker family, and we are excited about the assets that she will
bring to our team,” said Cox, 125-37 in five seasons at
Clayton State. “She is extremely athletic and very strong, a
great rebounder for her size with a strong finish and can pull up
for a soft jump shot as well. We see her as a natural small
forward, but expect her to contribute at the two guard and power
forward positions as well.”
Tillman is the ideal player for Cox’s system that is
up-tempo and uses the full-court pressure defense. She has the
size, strength and athleticism and comes from the same mold as
former Clayton State two-time All-Peach Belt Conference forward
Shantel Ragin.
Playing under head coach Treka McMillian at Guilford Tech, Tillman
averaged 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists a game, while
shooting 52 percent from the field this season. She garnered NJCAA
All-Region X honors in the process in pacing Guilford Tech - a
first-year program - to the NJCAA Region X championship.
“With us being a first-year program, she was a solid leader
for our younger kids and a tremendous player that was very
coachable,” said McMillian. “We put a lot of
responsibility on her shoulders and she really stepped up. We think
she will do will in her transition and make some big contributions
at Clayton State.”
Prior to her sophomore season at Guilford Tech, Tillman started
her collegiate career at Division I Western Carolina under head
coach Kellie Harper in the 2005-06 season. She played in 27 games
with 16 starts for the Catamounts, averaging eight points and four
rebounds a game. Tillman scored in double-figures in seven games,
including 20 points against Furman, 16 points against Wofford and
15 points against UNC-Greensboro.
Tillman was a four-year standout at High Point Central High School
under head coach Kenny Carter. She scored more than 1,800 career
points and averaged double-digit scoring and more than five assists
per game in each of her four seasons. She paced the Bison to four
straight conference championships, a North Carolina State
championship during her freshman season and the state finals during
her senior season.
Tillman was a four-time All-Tri-County 3-A performer at High Point
Central, garnering Player of the Year honors during her senior
season.
JUCO guard standout Latonda Bruce from Daytona State College
will also continue her career at Clayton State. With the graduation
of wing standouts Marie St. Fort and All-Peach Belt Conference
performer Nikkisha Pritchett from this season’s NCAA Division
II “Elite Eight” team, Cox expects Bruce to make an
immediate impact on the perimeter for Clayton State. Ironically,
Daytona State is where Cox was head coach for six seasons prior to
becoming head coach at Clayton State in the spring of 2004.
He compares Bruce to former Clayton State greats on the wing like
Jamika Hindsman, Sharon Wiles and St. Fort.
“We couldn’t ask for a better player to come in at
this time and fill some big shoes at our guard position,”
said Cox, 125-37 in five seasons at Clayton State. “She is a
power-type guard that plays big and gets to the rim with a strong
finish. She is also a lefty, which in my opinion makes her even
tougher to guard.
“We look forward to great things from her.”
Bruce, a native of Montgomery, Ala., was a two-year starter for
head coach Cal Cochran at Daytona State. This season, she averaged
14 points and seven rebounds a game, while shooting 46 percent from
the field and 30 percent from 3-point range. Bruce was a first team
All-Mid-Florida Conference selection.
As a freshman in 2007-08, Bruce averaged 10 points and six
rebounds a game, while shooting 43 percent from the field. In the
process, she was a second team All-Mid-Florida Conference
selection.
Bruce prepped at Alabama power Jefferson Davis High School in
Montgomery, earning All-Metro and All-State honors both as a junior
and a senior. She helped paced Jefferson Davis to two straight area
championships, the Alabama Class 6A state championship in 2006 and
the Class 6A state semifinals in 2007.
Bruce was teammates with two fellow Jefferson Davis standouts that
signed Division I scholarships – Cassie Moore (Auburn) and
Courtney Ward (Florida State).
Clayton State will also bring in post player Breanna Fort from
Central Florida Community College.
Fort, a 6-footer from Hawthorne, Fla., is the first signee of
Clayton State’s 2009-10 recruiting class. Cox expects her to
make an immediate impact in the post for Clayton State with the
graduation of starting posts Shanrika Hardeman and Lisa Jackson.
Fort is the second player from Central Florida to continue her
career at Clayton State, following in the footsteps of All-Peach
Belt Conference guard Nikkisha Pritchett.
”We are thrilled that Breanna has chosen to be a
Laker,” said Cox, 125-37 in five seasons at Clayton State.
“We are impressed with her work ethic and aggressive style of
play that will be a tremendous asset in our pressure defense and
up-tempo transition game. She comes ahead of the learning curve
having played in a similar system at CFCC, so we look forward to
her making an impact for us right away.”
Fort lettered two seasons at Central Florida under head coach
Cheryl Rice, and she really stepped to the forefront this season
for the Lady Patriots. Fort averaged 14 points and eight rebounds a
game, while shooting 55 percent from the field. She was a first
team All-Mid-Florida Conference selection, NJCAA first team
All-Region VIII and NJCAA honorable mention All-American.
As a freshman in the 2007-08 season, Fort averaged nine points and
six rebounds a game, while shooting 46 percent from the field. She
earned second team All-Mid-Florida Conference in the process.
“We are happy for Breanna. She made a great decision to
continue her career at Clayton State,” said Rice. “She
turned out to be a diamond in the rough for us coming out of high
school, and we look forward to seeing her excel at the next
level.”
Fort was an unprecedented five-year starter for head coach Barry
Hutchison at Hawthorne High School. She was a three-time All-Area
selection and three-time Class 2A All-State selection in pacing
Hawthorne to four straight FHSAA Class 2A State Tournament
berths.
“She was always a very coachable player who I believe
hasn’t reached her full potential yet as a player,”
said Hutchison. “She’s very fundamentally sound, has
good hands in the post and runs the floor very well.”
Baseball
About the PBC
