Season recap: Natasha Cloud
Natasha Cloud knew going into her senior season that her role would be different.
The Maryland combo guard signee was the lone junior starter on a Cardinal O’Hara (Pa.) team with four Division I-bound seniors last season. This year, Cloud was ready to make the transition from complimentary player to centerpiece.
Right off the bat, however, the Lions faced a spell of bad luck. They lost one potential starter to an ankle injury that required surgery, and another to a stress fracture. Suddenly, Cloud was faced with even more responsibility than initially expected.
“Everybody keyed on her all year,” said Cardinal O’Hara coach Linus McGinty. “We struggled a little bit offensively this year. ... [But] I just think her maturity and her leadership and her unselfishness were her main assets.”
Cloud averaged 13 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists, while shooting 72 percent from the foul line and 41 percent from the field. She led the Lions to a 17-8 record and the second round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AAAA tournament. In the first round, Cloud guided Cardinal O’Hara to a 33-23 win over Downingtown East.
“We were down eight and I think she had 10 in the fourth quarter,” McGinty said. “We came from down eight to win by 10. That was probably the best [performance]. She helped hold them to four in the second half. She had two steals to start the third quarter and help get their lead down.”
In the second round of the state tournament, Cloud squared off against future teammate Alyssa Thomas and her Central Dauphin squad. Thomas’ team prevailed, 50-42, but Cloud filled up the stat sheet once again, finishing with 15 points, five rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocked shots.
A well-balanced stat line was a given for Cloud most nights, but she also had notable scoring outbursts throughout the year.
“There were tough games we won because she had like 13 or 14 in the fourth quarter. She did that four or five times,” McGinty said. “A lot of times people would double-team her and our other kids [would step up].”
McGinty coached Cloud for all four years of her varsity career, and was always impressed with her adaptability and leadership. Versatility was always her strong suit, and McGinty expects that to remain true during Cloud’s time in College Park.
“I think she can play the 2 and the 3,” McGinty said. “We’ve been happy when we played her at the 1. ... I think [the Terps] want her to work on her ball-handling skills and become more like a true point guard, be able to play point and maybe guard 2s and maybe some small 3s, too. … I think Natasha did really well and I think Maryland loves how she plays defense and passes the ball. I think they’re getting four other kids that are real good, so she should fit in with the personality of that type of team.”
Comments
Matt,
I just read this blog post where they say Hubert and Hopkins are not very high on MD.
Even if they pull a coup with Cook, the same problems will keep us from being an elite team again.
This is just terrible, and at the end of the day, frustrating.
You can say all you want about Gary being a great coach, but, recruiting is a major factor as well, and at that he is mediocre at best.
You look at how terrible Paul Hewitt is, and having a #1 class 2 out of 3 years, and it shows how Gary and crew must be doing something terribly wrong.
It isn't Nike. It isn't money or cheating, it just plain out ain't getting it done.
Until they figure out how to get the Joe Smith's, Chris Wilcox's, Len Bias's, Baxter's, etc. to go with the gaurds, its gonna be somewhere between #15-30 in the nation, and they will struggle to get the to sweet 16 every season.
A huge issue is going to be next year, when even the gaurds are small again, and not the 6'5, 6'6 like Hayes and Vasquez.
Posted by: Mitch | March 30, 2010 12:31 PM