Date: 10/31
Position: Forwards
Returning letterwinners (key stats): Jala Buster (14 games played-0 games started, 1.6 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 3 stls); Kennedi Centers (34 GP-1 GS, 3.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 43 asts, 23 blks, 29 stls); Casey Ferguson (3 GP-0 GS, 1.0 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 1 ast, 3-3 FT)
Letterwinners lost (key stats): Christen Carter (35 GP-35 GS, 5.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 33 asts, 19 stls)
Returning redshirts/Squad members (Yr., Hometown, Previous school): none
Newcomers (Yr., Hometown, Previous school): none
Miscellaneous Notes
-Entering her final season at the collegiate level, Centers' 79 appearances are the second-highest total on the team.
-Her scoring (128 points), rebounding (169), assist, block and steal figures in 2018-19 surpassed her two-year totals coming into last season.
-Last winter, Centers finished second on the squad in total rebounds and was third in boards per outing while also ending up second on the team in blocks.
-Ferguson saw action in three of the Jags' first four contests a year ago, but ended up redshirting after suffering an injury.
-Buster didn't make her collegiate debut until South's visit to Tennessee State on Nov. 29 last season, going on to appear in 14 games all off the bench.
-She recorded a season-high 10 points in a Dec. 17 win over Faulkner, a total she surpassed after posting 13 points
— which included a 5-for-6 performance from the floor — in the Jaguars' exhibition victory over Birmingham-Southern on Monday.
Head Coach Terry Fowler
-On what is expected of the team's forwards this year: "That is an energy position for us, they move the basketball in our offensive scheme and a lot of times that will lead them right into ball screens; they really set the pace for what we do offensively. This group has worked on shooting the three-pointer so that they can give us the ability to stretch the defense, which will then open it up for our post players on the inside."
-On Kennedi Centers: "Kennedi brings great energy every night and she is such a smart player, especially on the defensive end of the floor where she can cover up for a lot of people's mistakes; she is the quarterback of our defense. We need her to rebound the basketball but primarily she needs to give energy, which is what she has done since she has been here."
-On what Jala Buster has done to earn a more prominent role in the team's rotation: "Talent has never been an issue with Jala, now she has matured. It is night and day comparing her to the player she was last year just in her ability to understand what we are trying to do and the energy that she is bringing, she is playing so hard. Jala is a different athlete than we've had here at that position."
Jala Buster
-On her expectations for the upcoming season: "My expectations are for us to go as far as — if not farther — than last year because we still have all of our key pieces. My role has become bigger, sometimes that can be a lot of pressure but I know that with my teammates' support and with what my coaches are teaching me that I can fill that position."
-On her role for the Jaguars on the floor: "I am expected to bring defense, energy and aggressiveness. As a forward I will mainly set screens to help get my teammates open, but I want to do anything that will help our team whether it's getting rebounds or steals. I need to do the little things."
-On the help she gets from the upperclassmen on the team: "Before we go into practice they will go over plays with me, and if I am slacking in practice they will tell me to pick it up. If I am not bringing the energy that I know that I am capable of they will get on me."
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