Thompson Erases Doubt, Makes History
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
February 14, 2017
When Jacara Thompson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee this past summer, she thought she was done playing basketball.
The fact it was the second torn ACL of her high school career, along with the timing of the injury, had the Swartz Creek superstar doubting her future.
“I thought I wasn’t going to play basketball anymore,” Thompson said. “This is my second knee blowout and I need to be done – that was my first thought. I was going to miss my whole senior year, and that was really hard.”
Thompson proved her initial thoughts wrong, however, and is back on the court making history. Recently, she broke a school record that had stood since 1979, setting the all-time mark for scoring at Swartz Creek. She had scored 1,179 career points through Feb. 10, now well ahead of the former mark of 1,087.
“I don’t even know how to explain it,” Thompson said of setting the record. “Nobody in my family has ever broken a big record like that or anything. It really didn’t hit me until people started telling me congratulations.”
Those congratulations would have been well deserved for any player hitting that mark. For those who have watched Thompson overcome two major knee surgeries and break the record despite missing 17 games, the moment was even more special.
“I was extremely proud,” Swartz Creek girls basketball coach Adrian Trzebiatowski said. “As a player, you have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone that achieves that goal. As a coach, to see a young woman grow up, to blossom, to develop into a very good basketball player and an amazing person, it is an extreme sense of pride and admiration for what she’s gone through.”
It was in Trzebiatowski’s second season at Swartz Creek that Thompson entered high school, and the slashing guard was making an impact on the varsity team as a freshman. But her debut lasted only six games as Thompson’s first torn ACL, in her right knee, came early in her career.
She came back with a strong sophomore campaign, and as a junior joined the state’s elite, averaging 25 points per game and totaling 501. She was named Class A all-state second-team by The Associated Press.
“Early in her career she was a slasher – she could take a bump or two or three and still get to the basket,” Trzebiatowski said. “Last year we really committed to lifting weights, and she could finish with contact. She was able to get herself to the line and finish layups. I wish there was a stat column for how many and-ones she has. She was a strong player who could really plow and weave her way to the basket.”
Thompson also was developing a stronger mid-range game and working on her outside shot to keep defenders even more off-balance. Before she could showcase her advancing skills and build on the momentum of her junior season, she suffered her second ACL tear.
While an initial doubt she could return again was in her own mind, it was something her coach never saw.
“She knew how to rehab, and knew what she had to do to get back,” Trzebiatowski said. “As far as mental toughness, Jacara overcoming this is probably one of the toughest athletes I’ll ever coach.”
As Thompson worked her way back again, she said it was her Swartz Creek teammates who helped her get to the right place mentally.
“I finally got over it when I started to practice with my team,” Thompson said. “I couldn’t scrimmage with them, but they made me feel even better, that you’re going to be even stronger when you come back.”
Trzebiatowski said the team had to learn to play without Thompson over the summer, but despite that, Thompson’s impact on the young Dragons squad remained strong.
“Everybody looked at her as a leader, but I don’t think she’s always felt that way until this year,” Trzebiatowski said. “When we actually voted for team captains, the team decided before we even voted that Jacara would unanimously receive the vote for team captain. That’s never happened to me.”
Thompson missed the first two games of the season, but has come back strong. She’s averaging 17 points per game and has now added a more dangerous 3-point shot to her repertoire, something she said already has caused opposing defenders to take notice.
“I kind of always knew I had to get better at it,” she said. “Shooting wasn’t really my big thing. I always loved driving and getting to the basket and to the free throw line, but I knew I had to add an outside game. I feel like (defenders) look for me to go the basket every time, but now that I have an outside shot, they’re going to have to check me. They’ve caught on. They call me a shooter now.”
She said she feels like her old self now, although it took a while to get there.
“I’d say probably about 90 percent of it is mental, really,” Thompson said. “Because you have to think about what move am I going to do? Am I going to tear my ACL again? You think about every move you do when you’ve been through two ACL surgeries.”
Thompson is undecided on her basketball future, but said she wants to play at the college level. Her injuries have helped her to focus on her off-court future, however. No matter where basketball takes her, Thompson wants to study to become a physical therapist.
“I had always thought about going overseas and even trying to make it to the WNBA,” she said. “I don’t think I want that anymore. I want to do something to help people with ACL injuries.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Swartz Creek's Jacara Thompson prepares to shoot a free throw. (Middle) Thompson, back this season after multiple knee surgeries during her career, looks to get past a defender. (Photos courtesy of the Swartz Creek girls basketball program.)
Performance: Heritage's Shine Strickland-Gills
March 22, 2018
Shine Strickland-Gills
Saginaw Heritage junior – Basketball
On back-to-back days, Heritage’s 6-foot-1 forward put together back-to-back standout performances at Van Noord Arena to lead the Hawks to their first MHSAA girls basketball title since 2002. She had 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals in a 46-28 Semifinal win over Grosse Pointe North, then 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in Saturday’s 57-36 Class A championship victory over East Lansing to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
This season, Strickland-Gills averaged 12.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 2.2 assists and two steals per game as Heritage finished 27-1 – its only loss was in double overtime to eventual Class C champion Detroit Edison. She also started as a sophomore when the Hawks finished 20-2 and was a varsity sub when they were 22-2 in 2015-16.
Strickland-Gills still has plenty of time to figure out her future, of course, but she'll choose from Division I college basketball opportunities and is interested in a career in the medical field, perhaps as a physician’s assistant. She’s also played volleyball and participated in track & field at Heritage, although she’s unsure if she’ll compete in either sport moving forward.
Coach Vonnie DeLong said: “Shine has developed into one of the best post players in the state. She has come so far since her freshman year, physically, mentally and emotionally. She has always been a very hard worker and spends hours in the gym. But this year there is a maturity about her that really took her to the next level. Her hard work was finally paying off and as she started seeing the results it just motivated her even more. She has developed a great understanding of the game. She has also become one of our vocal floor leaders, which allows her to ‘quarterback’ the back of our defense. I always tell my kids, ‘I can't give you confidence. The only way you gain more confidence is by putting the time in and transferring it to game situations. It comes down to preparation.' Shine has done that and is now a pretty confident basketball player. She has also become a great teammate. We don't win the state championship without her. … I'm excited to see what the next year holds for Shine. She seemed to get better every game this year, and after another offseason of workouts and AAU, I am sure she will be even better next year. I'm just happy I get the opportunity to coach her for another season. She is a very coachable, kind, fun-loving kid that I am really going to miss when she moves on.”
Performance Point: “What’s sticking out the most is how relentless we are and how focused we are because it’s extremely hard to play back-to-back like that, especially two really tough games,” Strickland-Gills said of her memories from the weekend. “That we came out and performed hard, and did the best we can, I was very proud of that. We knew that if we came to play Friday, we would have a sure chance of winning and to play on Saturday. And if Saturday we came to play, we could really do it. … There’s been a lot of congratulations. Every time I come down the hallway, every teacher I’ve had, and I got lots of teacher emails and stuff like that.”
Shining Moment: “When (Coach DeLong) took us out with two minutes to go, when everybody sat down, we were all just like, ‘We did it. Finally, we just really did it.’ And it really hit – we just won states. It was a very proud moment.”
Expectations met: “In the past we’ve had really good groups. But this year was something special because we had a better mindset before we got into the tournament. Everybody bought in, and our practices were a lot, lot better. We even got better as a team during the tournament. … We never stopped getting better and we never stopped going hard, and I think that was a major difference that helped us.”
Pride in my roles: “My team is really good at scoring. That’s what they do. My team doesn’t always need somebody to score 20 points a game. We just need to play defense – you can’t win without stopping your opponent from scoring. My team (also) really needs me to rebound, so that’s what I focus on. I know if I do my job, I can really reap the benefits. … ‘Coming out, I need to score 10, 15 points,’ has never been a thought in my head. I just need to come to play and do what my coach tells me to do, and we’ll get it done. I take a lot more joy in my teammates scoring and seeing how happy they get, how happy the crowd gets, rather than just me.”
Making her name: “I was born in spring. At the beginning of April, it isn’t too warm, but it was super hot that day. (My mother) was like, ‘I don’t know what to name her.’ So my original name was going to be J. My dad wanted to name me Erma after his mom. So my mom said, ‘You know, it’s hot outside. So we’re just going to name her Shine.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
March 15: Skyler Cook-Weeks, Holland Christian swimming - Read
March 8: Dakota Greer, Howard City Tri-County wrestling - Read
March 1: Camree' Clegg, Wayne Memorial basketball - Read
February 23: Aliah Robertson, Sault Ste. Marie swimming - Read
February 16: Austin O'Hearon, Eaton Rapids wrestling - Read
February 9: Sophia Wiard, Muskegon Oakridge basketball - Read
February 2: Brenden Tulpa, Hartland hockey - Read
January 25: Brandon Whitman, Dundee wrestling - Read
January 18: Derek Maas, Holland West Ottawa swimming - Read
January 11: Lexi Niepoth, Bellaire basketball - Read
November 30: La'Darius Jefferson, Muskegon football - Read
November 23: Ashley Turak, Farmington Hills Harrison swimming - Read
November 16: Bryce Veasley, West Bloomfield football - Read
November 9: Jose Penaloza, Holland soccer - Read
November 2: Karenna Duffey, Macomb L'Anse Creuse North cross country - Read
October 26: Anika Dy, Traverse City Central golf - Read
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Saginaw Heritage's Shine Strickland-Gills works to get past East Lansing's Jaida Hampton during Saturday's Class A Final. (Middle) Strickland-Gills goes up for the opening jump.