Weatherly is pleased, but not fully satisfied
Photo by Guilford College Athletics
Anais Weatherly of Winston-Salem frequently draws double-teams as the top performer for Guilford College. This past season, Weatherly was named Honorable Mention NCAA Division III All-American.
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE
Anais Weatherly of Winston-Salem openly admits that she’s pleased with her progress as a basketball player. Even so, she’s far from being satisfied.
Weatherly recently completed her most productive season at Guilford College. The 5-11 power forward was a key piece for Quakers who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
In the process, Weatherly collected more than her share of postseason accolades – Honorable Mention Division III All-American, 2nd team All-South Region voted by D3hoops.com) and she made all-league in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
“I feel that I can do more,” said Weatherly, who averaged 15 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a league-leading 3.1 steals per game.
“This summer I’m going to put in a lot of time to improve my game just like I did last summer. Looking ahead to next season, my individual goals are to make All-America and be voted conference player of the year.”
Weatherly’s presence was a key factor in Guilford’s surprising run at the ODAC title. In the pre-season voting, the Quakers were picked to finish sixth, but they proved the pundits wrong. Guilford occupied first place for nearly all of the season. But due to a late-season loss, the Quakers (22-6) ended up finishing second in the regular-season standings.
Versatility is Weatherly’s chief asset. Although she’s listed as a power forward, she frequently finds herself operating at multiple positions throughout the course of a game. As an exceptional two-way player, she impacts the game at both ends of the court.
“Anais is an all-around player who does whatever we need for her to do,” said coach Stephanie Flamini. “Not only can defend at every position, but she has a knack for making big plays at the most crucial times. Over the past year, she improved a lot with the use of her left hand and her 3-point shooting. In our league, there is no one who can stop her.”
The desire to perfect her craft is the main reason why Weatherly exudes confidence about her ability to raise her level of play for next season. Last summer, she was in the gym three hours a day, five days a week. To add to the intensity and degree of difficulty of her work-outs, she trained with and competed against men in pick-up games. Some were members of Guilford’s men’s team.
“Playing against guys was really a big help,” said Weatherly, who graduated from Mount Tabor three years ago. “It helped a lot with my quickness and being able to anticipate what’s going to happen on the court. I didn’t start playing basketball until my ninth grade year and I didn’t play AAU until the summer after my senior year of high school. So, I feel like there’s still so much more room for me to grow as a player.”
As the Quakers marquee player, Weatherly, an ODAC All-Tournament pick, frequently faced opposing defenses which were designed specifically to limit her scoring. As the season progressed, she drew more double-teams and saw a lot of box-and-one defenses.
Perhaps the most improved part of Weatherly’s game is outside shooting. Her best game shooting the ball from long distance came in an early-season 67-56 win over city rival Greensboro College. Weatherly scored six 3-pointers in the first half, which included four 3-balls in the first quarter.
“Nobody came out to guard me because they knew I could get tao the bas-ket quickly off the dribble,” she said. “So, I kept taking the shots. That was a fun game because I got a chance to show off my guard skills.”
Even though Weatherly has another season of college eligibility remaining, she’s already thinking about her athletic career beyond Guilford. She’s fully aware that making the grade at the next level will be a difficult task. But when she considers how far she’s come in such a short period of time, Weatherly believes she can give herself a reasonable chance to succeed.
At her height, there’s no question that she will have to change positions to play pro ball. In her case, that means playing in the backcourt. That’s why she’s going to spend much of this upcoming summer working on extending her shooting range and improving her ball-handling.
“After college, I want to go pro,” she said. “To do that, it’s a must that I get better with my handle and with my shooting accuracy.”
