Friday, October 20, 2006

Ten Days of A-Sun Basketball continues with a glance at the Jacksonville Dolphins. Last season, the Dolphins tallied double-digit wins and earned a spot in the A-Sun Tournament for the first time since 2001. The more remarkable part of the feat was the squad's success with only nine healthy players, including five underclassmen. The up-tempo style of basketball worked wonders for the Dolphins as the squad out-hustled and ran circles around their opponents en route to most prolific scoring output in program history (62.6 ppg). In her third year storming the sidelines, head coach Jill Dunn is ready to take the program into uncharted territory: more than 13 wins in a season and a chance to put the Dolphins among the elite in the A-Sun.

Coach Jill Dunn on the Dolphins

Team Page

Roster

Schedule

Statistics

SEASON PREVIEW - (Courtesy Jacksonville Media Relations)

Serving as a cornerstone for the future will be junior forward Ashley Williams. Only the second Dolphin to earn first team all-conference accolades (Kat Sungy - 2001), she also set the program record for points in a season with 478. A wiry, acrobatic post player, Williams also has a shooter's touch from the perimeter and from the foul line.

Also making up the young core of returners is sophomore guards Regina Omoite and DaVina Hamilton, sophomore guard/forward Virginia Gregoire and sophomore forward Kelly Ford. Omoite was thrown in the fire last season at point guard due to a knee injury to penciled starter Crystal Ayers. After early season struggles, she grew in confidence and has become the floor general for the Dolphins. A tenacious defender, with the ability to press the ball anywhere on the court, Omoite is also a threat from beyond the arc. Hamilton looks to replace the departed Sheena Carpenter (1,010 career points) as the squad's shooting guard. Another player thrust into action early, Hamilton began looking for her shot after the midpoint of the season. A starter in 12 of the final 14 games, she is also a pressure defender, averaging 1.3 steals per contest. Gregoire is the most dynamic player in the mix after displaying a spectacular ability to slash to the basket. A threat from 3-point range, she also displayed her versatility by averaging 15.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals in her final three starts. Ford is the blue collar representative on the squad in the paint. A tough, gritty, enforcer, Ford also showed improvement in her post moves to become a threat to score.

Forward Crystal Grable (Hancock Central HS), forward/center Danielle Gray (Stephenson HS), guard Courtney Jackson (North Atlanta HS), forward Desarae Johnson (Riverside HS) and guard Teneshia Ruff (Columbus HS) make up the newest wave of youths to make their way to the First Coast. Grable, a 6-foot post, earned first team all-Georgia High School Association honors and was named to the Middle Georgia 6A All-Star team as a senior after leading the Bulldogs to the GHSA Elite 8 and their second-consecutive Region 7 Championship. During the year, she averaged 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per contest. Along with five newcomers, the Dolphins will also feature a new addition on the sidelines with the arrival of Nitasha Brown. A point guard at Auburn from 2002-06, Brown was named team captain and co-MVP in her final season with the Tigers.

Read the full season preview

10 Days of A-Sun Basketball Schedule
Oct. 16 - Belmont
Oct. 17 - Campbell
Oct. 18 - ETSU
Oct. 19 - Gardner-Webb
Oct. 20 - Jacksonville
Oct. 23 - Kennesaw State
Oct. 24 - Lipscomb
Oct. 25 - Mercer
Oct. 26 - UNF
Oct. 27 - Stetson