by Jim Fenton, The Enterprise
BROCKTON –- As a native of Florida, Shardajah Collins was unsure what to expect from her first winter in Massachusetts.
Fortunately, the weather was milder than normal with very little snow to deal with for the Massasoit Community College freshman.
"That was good,″ said Collins. "I've actually been here in a good winter.″
There is something else that has made Collins' experience in New England a pleasant one this winter – being a key part of the undefeated Massasoit women's basketball team.
The 5-foot-4 point guard is the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 3 leader with 5.5 steals per game to go with 18.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
Collins has helped the Warriors (24-0) earn the No. 1 seed in this week's NJCAA Division 3 tournament. They open Thursday at 1 p.m. against Cedar Valley College of Texas in Rockville, Illinois.
"I'm very happy,″ said Collins. "I say it every day that I'm happy I came here and that I did choose this school. It helped me stand out more and I got to try something I always wanted to do.
"I started playing when I was in high school and I was an OK player. When I got here, it was a big change for me.″
Collins graduated last year from Winter Haven High School, located in the city where the Red Sox once held spring training. She was looking for a junior college program, and Massasoit came into view last summer.
Collins' older sister, Sharajah Collins, plays at a four-year Division 1 school, Delaware State, and the coach there, Dave Caputo, is a friend of Massasoit coach Mark Leszczyk. That is how the connection was made for Shardajah to make her way north to Massachusetts.
After being a shooting guard in high school, Collins transformed into a point guard with the Warriors and is doing a little bit of everything.
"Shardajah is just a pleasure to have on the team, a very coachable kid, an honor roll student,″ said Leszczyk. "She's getting better and better by the day. She's just learning how to play point guard. To advance to a four-year level, it's going to be as a point guard.″
Collins spent the summer working out with her older sister, who is averaging 11.9 points and 3.8 rebounds for Delaware State, and has made the move to point guard with little trouble.
"I think that helped me out a lot, working with my sister,″ she said. "This is my first year playing point guard. I learned how to be a playmaker rather than being a shooting guard.″
The Massasoit defense has been superb throughout the season, allowing 48.4 points per game, and Collins has been setting the tone with all of her steals.
"I've always played good defense and gotten a lot of steals,″ said Collins. "I just love defense. I love defense more than offense because it wins the game. Defense is easier for me.″
Said Leszczyk: "She's sneaky quick. She knows how to position herself to get some quick steals. Her hands are always active. She's just the kind of kid who always finds herself in the right place at the right time. She knows how to read players and get steals. She's small, quick, keeps herself low to the ground and she's a real smart defender.″
With three more wins, Collins and Massasoit can cap off a perfect season with a national championship.
Collins is planning to return to the school for her sophomore year next fall and is happy she made the move from the Sunshine State to Massachusetts.
"I was looking at a lot of different schools and this one just caught my eye more,″ said Collins. "I thought this would be a perfect fit for me.
"I wanted to try something different. Florida is always hot. I wanted to see how it felt to come up here and play in the north, to see if it's different with basketball and all that.
"It's a big change, but I survived through it thanks to my teammates and my coaches. It's been pretty good. It's been a great experience up here.″
Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.
