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The

NEWFACE of Lady Ocelot basketball

TheNEWFACE of Lady Ocelot basketballKevin Brathwaite takes reins of successful program

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Schoolcra College had one of the best coaches in ju-nior college womens basketball leave to pursue other goals.

Former coach Karen Lafata tallied more than 300 wins inher 12 years leading the Lady Ocelots before accepting a

position as an assistant coach with Wayne State University.So where did SC Athletic Director Sidney Fox look to nd

Lafatas successor? Rather than searching outside the programfor a fresh start, Fox looked right down the bench for the logical

replacement to continue the Lady Ocelots winning tradition. KevinBrathwaite was promoted from assistant coach to head of the perenni-

ally-ranked womens basketball program.Before a single game has been played, Brathwaite is already dem-

onstrating how many of the fundamentals of game play will remain aconstant. At the same time, Brathwaite has introduced subtle dierencesin the way he builds his roster. One might even credit his former career as

a Detroit Police ocer for his insistence on character building and playerdevelopment.rough working directly with a wide array of people as an

ocer, Brathwaite developed the ability to see the potential in others andpush his players to reach beyond the limits they set for themselves.

I dont judge players based on talent, I want to see the girls perform in their

classes and on the court, he insists.Where his predecessor could be described as animated in her coaching style,

Brathwaite exudes utter calm. He is an individual that thinks through a plan beforerushing ointo action. is is a personal philosophy that he passes on through his

coaching. Just as his police training honed his skills for emergency situations, Brathwaiteinstructs his team to play by memory and repetition. Drills stressing the fundamentals arerepeated to point where players tire of the repetition. at is when Brathwaite introducesnew wrinkles to keep the players on their toes. By having the team play oof memory, theplays will come easier and become second nature. e thinking is over and the game boilsdown to a series of reactions.

e majority of the teaching should be done in practice, he preaches.Flexibility is another aspect of the game stressed by the new coach. To Brathwaite, every

player on the roster is a potential number one. e plan is for each woman to play all of theother positions on the team, so any team that they come up against cannot single out andneutralize one major player.e reason he wants to use this tactic is to confuse the oppos-

ing team and not the fans.If I teach the girls every oense play, if they use those skills against any team, they can

defend it, said Brathwaite. h l h h l h l d h b l f h h

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2012 Michigan Community College Press Association Judging Form

Place of award: First PlaceFirst Place Second Place Third Place Honorable Mention

Category: Sports Feature Photo

Headline/title of entry: The New Face

Contestants name: Brian Camilleri

College name: Schoolcraft

Judges comments:This image stood far out in a field of entries, communicating the gist of the story at aglance. Beautifully lit, very well conceived illustration, simple yet full of impact.

Sharp as a tack, shot with enough resolution to handle the size of the page, and litappropriately only on the side of the face that would ultimately be used on the page.

Kudos also to the layout folks who wrapped the cutout of this player with the text of thestory.