Anderson creates Peabody's offense as point guard
Being a point guard is not any easy task. Usually a point guard gets little accolades, but their play is necessary if an offensive play is going to work correctly.
Trenton Peabody coach Michael Hart feels like he has a special point guard on his teams this year with senior Maya Anderson, and he considers her one of the best — if not the best — point guard in West Tennessee.
When Hart describes Anderson's value on the team there are many attributes he gives her like a lock-down defender, gets her teammates involved on every play, gets the team organized on the floor, gets players where they need to be on the floor and she is responsible for guarding the best player on the opposing team.
For Anderson, she feels that to get to the level she is playing at now, it has taken time and effort.
"To be a good point guard, you have to have skill, and that takes a lot of practice," Anderson said. "You have to be dedicated to using those skills and working on them."
Anderson averaged eight points last season to go along with five assists and three steals as the Lady Tide reached the District 14-A championship game.
If the play goes the wrong way or isn't finished at the end, point guards are hard on themselves because they feel that the play started in their hands.
"If a play doesn't work, I have to try to settle the team down so that we can score the next time down the court," she said. "I have to make sure they are organized to make sure the offense works."
Looking at Peabody's team, many coaches look to try to stop the scoring ability of Stacie Mayberry or how to defend Rae'vianna Clark in the post. But Anderson is OK with them getting the attention.
"Not getting the accolades are fine with me as long as I am helping my teammates try to get the win," Anderson said. "Rae'vianna is doing a good job this season in the post, and Stacie is always a good scorer for us."
With four starters back, the Lady Tide were looking to build off of last year with the goal of winning the district title and making a playoff run. A 2-5 start was not the way that Anderson wanted the season to start, but she knows her team isn't done.
"It is a learning experience," she said. "My team has a lot of potential. Those losses taught us a lot, and now it is a matter of us taking what we learned and improving our team. We have to listen to Coach Hart and his game plan, and we will bounce back."
Two areas where Anderson felt the team learned the most were sitting down and guarding to play better defense and executing on offense.
"Winning takes five players working on the court at all times," she said. "We know that we can do it. We just have to take all that we have learned and put it out on the floor."
Michael Odom, 425-9754
