Noxapater’s Jerrick Porter pulled the boys basketball program out of the depths of MHSAA Class 1A basketball. Now he’s hoping he can do the same with the girls basketball team.
Porter was recently named as the new girls basketball coach at Noxapater, replacing Shaniqua Robinson who stepped down to go back to school and pursue a masters degree.
Porter said it was a natural fit to take over the girls program.
“They kind of threw it at me when I got here,” Porter said. “Coach Robinson was planning on leaving and going back to school. She talked about it last year but decided to go ahead and do it this year. They asked me if I wanted to do it so I went ahead and took a shot at it.”
Much like he did with the boys squad, Porter is starting from the beginning with the girls.
“They are doing a lot of baby steps and they are improving,” Porter said. “i don’t really have any basketball-minded players yet. We are doing a lot of teaching. We have played a couple of games and are trying to be a defensive-minded team. But it’s a lot of baby steps. One thing I can say is they want to learn, they want to win. They aren’t missing and are hungry for success and seem like they are willing to do whatever it takes to win.
While the girls are having to adjust to Porter, he’s also have to adjust his coaching style.
“I can’t coach the same as i did last year,” Porter said. “Girls are different than boys. And I can’t coach at the same pace I did last year or I’ll burn out. I have to look at it differently and tackle it step by step. Girls are different than boys.”
Porter sees the girls at the same place the boys were at this time last year.
“They are just different talent wise,” Porter said. “The boys have had some success and know what to expect out of me. The girls are trying hard, they just haven’t had a lot of success. They just have to understand the small things in basketball. I can’t put a finger on it yet. I’m just starting from the beginning with them. Right now, I’m not worried about winning and losing with them, I’m looking for heart and effort. The boys have an advantage with me because they were with me last year. The girls don’t know a lot of basketball right now but they are getting there.”
Porter said the Lady Tigers have two more shootouts, one at Kosciusko this week and another at Louisville and that will round out the summer for them.
“We have played two shootouts already and have shown some progress and improvement,” Porter said. “We haven’t played another 1A team yet. We have played a lot of bigger schools. They are seeing better players and where they need to be.”
