Family ties, ferocious schedule fuel Arlington girls basketball team

article and image from Commercial Appeal

For the Arlington High girls basketball team, success is relative.

Literally.

This year's Tigers team, which is currently ranked fifth in The Commercial Appeal's Dandy Dozen, has two sets of twins on the team, juniors Lanetta and Lanyce Williams and freshmen Carmen and Charmen Taylor. Sophomore starter Nya Stewart's sister Shanobia is one of the team's managers.

"Lanyce and Lanetta ... they don't look anything alike so they're easy to tell apart," said Tigers coach Wes Shappley. "My younger set, to this day I'm looking for cues trying to tell which one is which. One wears her hair longer than the other; one wears tall socks and the other wears short socks.

"It makes it tough. We even have referees that have been thrown off ... Having three sets of sisters in the program definitely brings that family feeling in. But our girls do a good job relating with one another any way."

Which is one of the reasons why the Tigers look certain to be in the mix for one of the area's two spots in this year's Class AAA state tournament. Despite — or maybe because of — playing the toughest schedule in town, Arlington began this week with a 14-6 record.

Counted among those defeats are losses to Olive Branch and Houston, who are ranked second and fourth in this week's Dandy Dozen. The Tigers also lost to Hamilton Heights from Chattanooga, which is sending two players to the McDonald's All-American game, undefeated Bradley Central and Murfreesboro Riverdale, the defending state and USA Today national champions.

If Arlington does make it to Murfreesboro in March, it will have been well-earned.

"Playing a tough schedule is very beneficial when it comes to district play," said senior Sarah Grandberry. "We know what tough games are like ... and we learn from our mistakes. Those games are exciting though. I love challenges."

The challenge for Arlington will be having to go forward without leading scorer Caitlyn Wilson, who provided 15 points per game but is out for the year with a torn MCL.

But there's plenty of talent still on hand, lead by Lanetta Williams, an almost-freakishly athletic 6-3 junior who is ranked 35th in the Class of 2019 according to ESPN. The left-hander boasts excellent length, a soft touch around the hoop and — most impressively — the ability to handle the ball like a much smaller player.

Her basketball lineage is solid too; the twins' father Lance played at DePaul before carving out a 15-year career overseas.

"He played in Greece, Bosnia, Turkey ... most of our life we've been overseas," said Lanetta. "Watching basketball all the time, that was one of the things that influenced me.

"(With ball-handling), honestly my coaches gave me the freedom to do it and our guards also. That was really important to me and they let me learn and develop and make mistakes. And also my sister helping me."

Lanyce is also out for the year through injury so her contribution will be supporting her sister, whether it be by timing Lanetta's post-practice sprints or using what Shappley calls their "twin telepathy" to motivate and encourage.

"We critique each other all the time," Lanyce said. "Now I'm on sitting the sideline but I'll turn around and tell Lanetta 'hey, that wasn't the smartest move' or 'I know you can do better than what you're doing. And she understands. She'll say, 'yeah, I know what you're trying to say.'"

The Tigers square off against Hamilton Heights again Saturday at the Robertson Sportswear Classic in Baldwin, Miss. After that, it will be strictly local competition. Shappley thinks his team will be ready.

"Taylor Lattimore, she's a senior and a Jackson State signee and she's been playing really good basketball for the last month and a half," he said. "She's provided scoring but even defensively and rebounding ... she's providing what that senior is supposed to be.

"Her and Lanetta are going to carry a lot of the weight but I've got five or six girls that are sophomores and freshman and I told them, 'quite honestly, ya'll have got to pick up the weight.' And they can. They're capable."