Falcons aim for smarter play

New coach wants good decisions

RALEIGH -- St. Augustine's women's basketball players have long been great students in the classroom, but their new coach wants them to be great students of the game as well.

LaTanya Collins was imported to be the Falcons' new leader, continue SAC's excellent academic tradition -- and win.

With a new focus, new attitude and new concepts, Collins sees no reason her team can't be smart and victorious.

"There's a way to achieve both. Even as good of students as they are, all of them -- in some way, shape or form -- receive some sort of athletic aid or were recruited to become athletes," Collins said. "So while they've achieved in the classroom, they've been disappointed with the results on the basketball court."

St. Aug's fired coach Antonio Davis this past spring after a CIAA-worst 6-22 performance, but the Falcons paced the league in academic performance with a cumulative 3.2 grade point average.

Sitting at her already cluttered desk and going over academic progress reports and playbooks, Collins said she wants to make the Falcons play more aggressive defensively and she wants her players to be able to adjust when the opposition does things they don't expect.

"I'm teaching them how to read offenses, how to read defenses. Teaching them about basketball and enabling them to make decisions on their own," said Collins, who was a St. Aug's assistant under Davis in the 2004-05 season before eventually becoming head coach, assistant athletics director and women's administrator for Southern Vermont College. "I'm not a big micromanager. I teach them in practice and expect them to perform during the game."

Crammed into a small room opposite Collins' office, four Falcons watched video of last season's games.

Senior guard Rebecca Hubbard said the Falcons watched as much video under Davis but that what they're watching for and learning from the sessions is different.

"In practice, we actually have more freedom," Hubbard said. "We're not so strict and robotic on X's and O's. It's more about understanding concepts and principles."

Hubbard said there's a different feel around the program. Davis, affable and soft-spoken, also was a stickler for rules. Collins said she is, too, but because Collins is just 31 and a 2000 Virginia State graduate, Hubbard said the players see the new coach as part of their generation.

"We feel comfortable around her," Hubbard said. "But it also brings some challenges because we have to remember that she's our coach and authority figure. But it's a good thing."

Collins said there's no reason to have any anxiety about her NCAA Division II head-coaching debut against crosstown rival Shaw or the rest of the season.

"Hey, we're in the situation we're in. Why not take risks?" Collins asked. "It has been a little rough around here. When I was here the first time, we showed a lot of promise. The team was really solid. So, maybe I'm the bearer of good news."