Clan-Members » in 2012-13 and their first Atlantic Division titl

When point guard Kiana Williams sets up a teammate for an open shot, she has a habit of yelling -- really yelling -- an emphatic two-word phrase.Yes, maam!What happens next is almost always a bucket.When she yells, Yes, maam, it makes you feel good, teammate DaNasia Hood said. It gives you confidence.Williams, who plays for Wagner (San Antonio), has given her teammates and coaches full confidence for years. She averaged 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and 2.5 steals last season, earning first-team Class 6A all-state honors.Shes also the No. 8 player in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100 for the 2017 class. This weekend, the 5-foot-7 Williams will make an official visit to Stanford, and she could make a decision on college by Sunday. Shes also considering Oregon State, Baylor and Texas Tech.Williams, 17, certainly has the credentials for college -- she owns a 4.0 GPA and ranks 14th in her senior class. She enjoys math and English and is interested in a career as a sports commentator.If somebody makes a higher grade than me, I want to do even more, said Williams, whose goal is to be ranked in the top 10 by the end of the school year. Im very competitive.Catching onWilliams, the daughter of LaChelle and Michael Williams, learned how to compete from watching her family. Michael played linebacker at Texas Southern University. And Kianas oldest brother, 30-year-old Chancy Campbell, was a running back at Abilene Christian University.When Kiana was in third grade, she asked her father to teach her basketball. Michael, who admits he is old school, told his daughter that girls dont play basketball. Kiana insisted, and her reluctant father went with her to their front yard and winged a pass her way. It hit her in the head.I threw it pretty hard, said Michael, who was about 10 yards away. It hit her in the face, and she went back inside to her mother, crying.Kiana said the ball hit her above her right eye, causing some redness.Undeterred, Kiana regrouped and dragged her father back outside. Same thing ... Dad took aim, and the ball hit her in the head again.Kiana finally caught the ball on the third try. At that point, her father decided she was ready for the next step.That phase of Kianas basketball education, while not as painful, was unexpected as well. Rather than go to a park to shoot, Michael spent an entire month with Kiana in the driveway of their house, practicing dribbling.Only when she had sufficiently mastered that skill did she start learning how to shoot.Those were teachable moments, Kiana said. Ive grown so much from those experiences. It taught me mental and physical toughness.Williams said the ball-handling drills she did with her father have stuck with her long-term.You cant create your own shot if you cant dribble, she said. Its a process, and I needed to stay patient and develop my skills.By the time Williams was in fourth grade, she had a hoop in her driveway, and her father had started an AAU basketball team called SA Hoopers. All the girls on the team were in sixth grade except for Williams. Two years later, Williams was playing -- and starring -- against girls who were five grades ahead of her.Michael, who had once thought that basketball wasnt for girls, now knows he was wrong.Shes the best athlete in the family, he said, hands down.The next stepIn the Williams household, there is a definite pecking order: God first, then school and then basketball. Even so, Williams often wakes up at 5 a.m. to put up shots at her high school gym.Koty Cowgill, her AAU coach with SA Finest, has known Williams since she was in seventh grade, and he has always been impressed. Back then, he was an assistant coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio, and he was well aware that Williams was a high end point guard.You could see the development -- you could see it coming, Cowgill said. You could see she had the tools to become what she is today -- a player with great speed who is versatile and under control. She defends end to end and makes the game easier for her teammates. She would fit in any system.To get even better, Cowgill said, Williams needs to get stronger, continue to work on her 3-point shot and fine-tune her education as a point guard.Its just having that masters degree in point guard play, Cowgill said. That is on the near horizon for her because she is really bright, and people gravitate toward her. Nobody will ever question her integrity or her heart.Williams, who is a fan of the Fast and the Furious film series, has a need for speed on the court, and it looks like she will be able to run full throttle this season. Theres a new coach at Wagner, Jeff Ogden. He was a boys head coach at San Antonio Edison, but he jumped at the chance to coach Wagners girls.I coach basketball, Ogden said. It doesnt matter to me, boys or girls. The opportunity was there, and I went for it because Wagner is a great program.It didnt hurt, however, knowing that Williams was in place. Ogden has known Kiana and her family for several years, coaching as a fellow assistant at a previous stop alongside Chancy. Williams was in seventh grade at the time, and she used to come visit her brother at the Sam Houston High gym.Kiana would come to shootarounds, Ogden said, and I could tell she had a lot of talent.On the first day after Ogden was hired at Wagner, he met with Williams and did something he said was completely spontaneous.I pulled some keys out of my pocket and I handed them to her, Ogden said. I told her, You are driving us this season. Im just the GPS. Sure enough, Williams comes by Ogdens class almost every day. Sometimes they talk about basketball, and other times they talk about life. Williams has taken ownership of the team. Sometimes she will grab a post player in practice and work with her for 30 minutes; sometimes she will stop a drill and have her teammates run it again if it has not been executed properly.She gets the whole team right, Hood said. If we do something wrong, she will tell us in a respectful way.And if they do something right?Yes, maam! Doug Flutie Bills Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Doug Flutie Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. http://www.shoptheofficialbills.com/Elite-Andre-Roberts-Bills-Jersey/ . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Tremaine Edmunds Jersey . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Jim Kelly Jersey . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. NEW YORK -- The New York Knicks believe a new home will help Andrea Bargnani regain his old form. The Knicks acquired the former No. 1 overall pick from Toronto, hoping he can rally from a poor 2012-13 season and help them remain among the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Bargnani battled an elbow injury last season and his scoring average dropped to just 12.7 points in 35 games in what was his worst season since his second year in the league. But the Knicks sent three players and three draft picks to the Raptors, counting on Bargnanis outside shooting and hoping for improvement in his rebounding and defence. "I think the opportunity here of a fresh start in New York -- and hes very excited about that opportunity -- will lend to him getting back on track to being the player that we all hoped he would be," Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald said Thursday during a conference call. Bargnani was the top pick in 2006 and just three seasons ago averaged a career-best 21.4 points. But the Raptors made the playoffs only once since drafting him and were eager to rid themselves of the two years and about $22.2 million remaining on his contract. The 7-footer from Rome shot less than 40 per cent last season and his 3-point shooting has hovered around 30 per cent for the last two years. He said thats because of his injuries, including a sprained right elbow last season. "Last years were tough for me because I had so many injuries," Bargnani said. "I wasnt really able to play continuously during the season and that really affects your rhythm and your shape. "I missed like more than half of the season, so it was definitely a huge factor in my last years season. It wasnt a major injury, but it was very tricky and it forced me to stay sidelined for many games. So it was really bad." He said he is healthy now and will play this summer for Italy in the European championships. The Knicks also announced the re-signing of J.R. Smith, the Sixth Man of the Year last season. They previously re-signed guard Pablo Prigioni but are losing Chris Copeland, wwho accepted an offer from Indiana that they couldnt match.dddddddddddd. That leaves them with plenty of work to do to avoid falling back after a 54-win season in 2012-13 and their first Atlantic Division title since 1994. Grunwald said they have only 10 players under contract and are hoping to bring in a third point guard and some depth in the front court. Kenyon Martin is being considered for the latter after playing well for the Knicks after joining them late last season. "Were evaluating our options in that regard and certainly Kenyon is getting our full consideration as we look at all the options we have," Grunwald said. For now, they have little more than the deal for Bargnani, which sent forwards Steve Novak and Quentin Richardson, and centre Marcus Camby to Toronto. The Knicks also sent the Raptors a 2016 first-round draft pick and second-round selections in 2014 and 2017. That may be a lot to give up for a player who has averaged just 4.8 rebounds for his career. But the Knicks believe his offensive skills -- he scored a career-high 41 points at Madison Square Garden in 2010 -- will fit nicely with Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. "We think that will cause other teams difficulties as they try to match up with us," Grunwald said. Fans in Toronto turned on Bargnani toward the end, and he said he understood given the teams struggles. Now he stands as the big move for a Knicks team that watched the neighbouring Nets potentially blow past them with their acquisitions of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from Boston. With few options left for any more upgrades, the Knicks need this move to pay off with teams all around them improving after New York finished second in the East and reached the second round for the first time in 13 years. "We wanted to again take another step forward this year and we felt that Andrea was a step forward for us, and not withstanding what other teams do, we have to get better," Grunwald said. "We made a big step forward last season, but obviously were not satisfied." ' ' '