It is the reality in collegiate sports that any one player’s time on a team is finite, that for programs to continue to be successful, there must be an emphasis on recruiting future talent to replace current stars.
Freshman guard for the Georgia State women’s basketball team, Makeba Ponder, is a major part of that future talent.
Ponder comes to Georgia State from Colquitt County High School, where she made her name as one of the best shooters in the state, recording a career total of 2,071 points, averaging 24.5 per game in her senior year.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named Ponder to their Class AAAAAA Georgia All-State team, the state’s largest classification.
While Ponder’s game is built around her impressive shooting prowess, she shows great promise in all areas of her game as she led the Class AAAAAA division in average points per game, three-point baskets (88) and free throw shooting (85 percent). Ponder was No. 13 in the state for steals with 83 overall and 3.2 per game.
The transition from high school star to college athlete has not been easy for Ponder, an experience many athletes experience when moving into collegiate sports.
“Coming in it was kind of hard because the speed of the game and playing with girls who can all play. I’m coming from high school where I was the star, but now everyone’s the star,” Ponder said.
The speed of the game at the college level is something that many athletes can struggle with as well as the increased level of competition and responsibility that they have to take on.
Ponder described her game as slow, and is adjusting to moving her feet faster to keep up.
Now you got to get the shot off quicker and your moves have got to be quicker,” she said. “It isn’t what it was in high school.”
But Ponder has found support in the knowledge and encouragement from her fellow teammates like senior guard Alisha Andrews, and Head Coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener.
When I do something wrong or bad, she’ll tell me to, ‘keep on, you got it,'” Ponder said of Point Guard Andrews. “And if I mess up on defense, she’ll be there to help me. She’ll push me to the spot.”
“You can’t take it personally, because she’s doing nothing but helping me,” Ponder continued.
She has also been welcomed by her new coach, whom Ponder admires.
“She reminds me of my high school coach,” Ponder said of Baldwin-Tener. “She not only cares about what we do on the court, but what we do in class.”
That admiration is returned by Coach Baldwin-Tener who noted how well Ponder is adjusting to the college game.
“I think she can really shoot the basketball,” Baldwin-Tener said. “It’s something that she’s blessed [with] and able to do. And I think she has a lot of confidence. I think that helps a freshman because you’ve got to have a little bit of confidence to get out there on the floor and play with people four years older than you. So, I think that’s helped her.”
Ponder looks to have a bright future here at Georgia State and hopes to become one of the stars for the Panthers. But she knows that as important as her talent is, playing well with the team and fitting into its system is just as important.
“It’s a fast play, kick the ball up play. They want you to shoot it. I think it’s defensive stuff too. They want the defense to be really intense,” Ponder said.
Georgia State looks forward hopefully to the future career of their new freshman point guard.
