LaTonya Sims
6'3 everything
Sophomore Junior
The Badgers super soph got
minutes at every position in 1998. Recruited to play guard or small
forward, she was forced to play center her freshman year when Amy Wiersma
was hit by injury and ineffectiveness. She responded by setting Wisconsin
freshman records in scoring and rebounding and was named Big 10 Freshman
of the Year. This year she came to camp knowing she would be the
go-to player on the team. She started games at power forward but
played small forward and guard more as the season went on. She even
got a few minutes at point guard, which is something I'd like to see more
of in 1999. Despite playing farther from the basket, she
grabbed only one less rebound than she did last year. This was the
first time in her career that Tonya played a significant amount of time
facing the basket and it showed early. Her jump shot hit lots of
rim and her defense was, oh, sometimes there and sometimes not. Basically
she did not look instinctive with the ball. She still had the slashing
drives, but she was often tentative when she wasn't driving. She
had difficulty staying in the game mentally for 40 minutes. As the
season went on, she improved significantly. Her jump shot improved
and she even hit some threes. Defensively, she improved, especially
on the perimeter. But the main improvement was mental. By the
end of the season, she was playing focused, intense ball for the entire
game. She also began demanding the ball in crucial situations and
proved able to carry the team when it needed carrying. By the end
of the season, she had become a dominating player. She scored in
double figures in every game and has hit that mark in 44 consecutive games
in her career, and was over 20 in 8 of her last 10 games. Her 577
points this year are the second most ever scored in a season by a Badger
woman. The athletic Sims is a very good rebounder, but she
really excels on the offensive boards, getting over 40% of her rebounds
on that end. By the end of the season, there were no glaring holes
in her game that needed closing and she had become as good a sophomore
as I've seen. But she also has room for improvement everywhere.
Her defense still needs work. She has the potential to be a dominating
player defensively and should be a major shot blocker with her size and
athleticism. Regardless of which position she plays next year, Tonya
will have more ball-handling responsibilities and she needs to cut down
on her turnovers. She needs to continue working on her jump shot--it
really isn't supposed to be parallel to the floor. If she could develop
a cross-over move she'd be virtually impossible to stop with the ball in
her hands. Mainly, she needs to continue to stay focused every second
she's on the court next year. She finished her sophomore year wit
969 career points and ranks 13th in all-time Wisconsin scoring. Tonya
has made an excellent start on being one of, if not the very best woman
to ever wear a Badger uniform.
Honors: 1999 all
Big 10 first team (media), all Big 10 second team (coaches), WNIT all-tournament
team.
1998 Big 10 Freshman of the Year, honorable mention all-Big 10 (coaches
& media)
1997 first team Parade all-American, WBCA all-star game participant,
Miss Wisconsin basketball
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