Sharpe selects ECSU
Published 12:00 am Monday, August 4, 2003
AHOSKIE – For Sha-Teisa Sharpe, it’s like starting all over again.
Sharpe, the 2002-03 Northeastern Coastal Conference Female Player of the Year during her senior season at Hertford County High School, has signed a full athletic scholarship to play basketball and continue her education at Elizabeth City State University.
Her high school coach, Joan McCullough, said the transformation Sharpe had from a freshman, full of raw talent, to a star-studded senior season was amazing.
&uot;When she came in as a freshman, Sha-Teisa showed a lot of potential,&uot; said the coach. &uot;She was really good, but she failed to realize at that young stage of her career that there was much left to learn.&uot;
McCullough began to notice the change in her point guard following her junior season.
&uot;She finally understood there was much more to this game than just scoring,&uot; noted McCullough. &uot;Sure, she did score more in her senior season (increasing her average from 5 to 19 points per game), but she became a well-rounded player in other aspects of the game – working without the ball, feeding the ball to the post and on her defense.&uot;
For Sharpe, she said the key to the turnaround was showing an eagerness to learn more.
&uot;I guess you can say that I learned the hard way,&uot; stressed Sharpe. &uot;I kind’a cruised in my first two years in high school, but then I learned that to be better, you’ve got to put in the extra time. From that point on, I didn’t take a day off because I wanted to learn more. I began to practice hard and play even harder.&uot;
From the first time she stepped onto the HCHS hardwood, Sharpe said she wanted to be a leader.
&uot;That was something I had to grow in to,&uot; she stated.
Sharpe credited her family for getting her to this stage of her young athletic career.
&uot;My family has been very supportive,&uot; said Sharpe. &uot;My dad (Kenneth Sharpe) pushed me to do well in the classroom first and then on the basketball court. My mom (Edna Sharpe) was there to pick-up me after practice.&uot;
She continued, &uot;I also would like to thank my coaches here at the high school. They taught me the work ethic that it took to get me to this point.&uot;
Sharpe said she would major in physical education at ECSU.
&uot;We’re very, very proud of Sha-Teisa,&uot; closed coach McCullough. &uot;Personally, I’m extremely happy for her because she has chosen to attend my alma mater.&uot;