Local women’s basketball has received high marks from ESPN analyst LaChina Robinson, who said she was extremely impressed by the skills level of Station Hill Cavaliers, especially that of Cavs post players Jamila Studer and Wanda Agard-Belgrave.
Robinson made the remarks as a surprise spectator at the just-concluded knockout title game between league champs Station Hill and UWI over the weekend.
“I’m a post player so I enjoy good post play and I can see that No. 14 [Jamila Studer] and No.7 [Wanda Agard-Belgrave] are very skilled,” said the former NCAA Division I collegiate centre.
“But I really enjoyed this game overall as I didn’t know what to expect coming in. But after watching it I was very impressed, particularly with the post game of Station Hill.”
A one-time starter for the Wake Forest lady Deacons and former All-ACC freshman, the six-foot-four Robinson has made a name for herself in basketball circles after being a part of ESPN’s first prime time broadcast of the WNBA earlier this season.
This was following a stint with network giant as an analyst for the 2010 NCAA Women’s Tournament. Robinson currently does colour commentary for WNBA franchise Atlanta Dream.
So the comments come as somewhat of a surprise considering her pedigree, and the rapidly-declining standing of a league that has seen Station Hill win 11 of the last 13 league crowns including 10 in succession.
Such is the Cavs dominance that Station Hill have appeared in 13 straight title series while adding ten knockout crowns to that league tally, leaving many local pundits to question the abilities of the present-day players.
But Robinson hasn’t followed suit, saying that she can tell the local players are skilled from what little she witnessed.
“I was more impressed than anything else with the game and they’re a lot of skilled players from what I can see,” Robinson said.
“I was very impressed with the shooting ability of both teams as I though they shot the ball extremely well but of course I can’t compare this to the WNBA because the games are completely different.
An American-born basketaller with Bajan family roots, Robinson said she expected to be back in the island regularly to watch more games and even hoped to set up a girls’ basketball camp sometime soon.
“I don’t want to focus on just basketball but also help with things like self-image so I’m excited about doing a camp like that here,” she added.
