McEachern won the girls Class AAAAA basketball crown this past season in part based on the efforts of the six Lady Indians who have signed or committed college programs. Head coach Phyllis Arthur had four seniors in her starting lineup to begin the year who had signed with college programs, and she admitted it will be difficult to replace those seniors who have now graduated.
“We lost three of our top players from last year to graduation,” said Arthur, during an interview at a summer tournament.
One of those players was Pachiyaanna Roberts, who earlier this week was named a Parade All-American. She will play college basketball at Syracuse next season.
“It will take two or three players to replace Pachis and everything she did,” said Arthur. “You can’t just replace a Parade All-American.”
Another senior that has moved on is Destinie Gibbs, who will head to Los Angeles to play at USC after originally signing with Ole Miss. Gibbs was released from her scholarship after the Ole Miss head coach who recruited her left the program in Oxford. The McEachern coach said Gibbs, a 5-foot-11 guard, fell in love with USC on a trip to LA in early May.
“The whole place is for her,” said Arthur. “Los Angeles, California, the school, the program, she just fell in love with it all.”
USC also promised that Gibbs will be competing for playing time once she steps on campus.
“They told her she’d play right away because they like her size,” revealed Arthur. “They are looking at her for a lot of playing time early. She has a chance to start at a beautiful school.”
The McEachern program also lost Dominique Wilson and Kayla Montgomery to Arkansas and Clemson, respectively. Arthur’s cupboard isn’t bare, however, as she has rising senior Mia Cooper (South Carolina) and rising sophomore Te’a Cooper (North Carolina) returning to help defend the GHSA title.
“Thank goodness the Cooper sisters are back,” said Arthur. McEachern also has a very talented freshman entering the program in Jayla Lewis as well as some returning seniors.
In addition to visiting in-state powerhouse Norcross, McEachern will face something of a national schedule in 2012-13. The team will travel to Washington D.C. to play in a national tournament and has also been invited to the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona.
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