SYDNEY GILLHAM

Hoxie junior hoping for repeat showing

Hoxie Lady Mustangs coach Mike Chipman said Sydney Gillham is a special talent. “I say it all the time. … There are coaches across the state who coach their entire careers and never get to coach a kid as talented and as special as Sydney,” he said. “My dad was a coach, and I don’t think he ever was able to coach a player with as high a potential and ceiling. I’m very fortunate and count my blessings every day.” Gillham was the most valuable player of the Class 3A state tournament last season as she led Hoxie to the state championship. She is the 2017-18 Three Rivers Edition Girls Basketball Player to Watch. Gillham is a junior this season. She said winning the state championship was awesome. “At the beginning of the season, we had goals,” she said. “That wasn’t necessarily one of our goals. One of our goals was to go far in state. So, we were a little shocked. I think we deserved it with the hard work and dedication it took to get there.” Gillham said she started playing basketball when she was 6 years old. “I love competition, she said. “I love the feeling you get when you step out on the court. Fans or no fans … I just like the feeling. It’s stress relieving.” As a sophomore, Gillham averaged 18.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game as the Lady Mustangs went 30-6. During Hoxie’s 51-40 win over Valley Springs in the Class 3A state-championship game last March, Gillham scored 12 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as she was named MVP. “I was very thankful and grateful,” she said of winning the honor. “My teammates and my coaches helped me get it. It took everyone. I’m very thankful for them. It just took a lot of hard work.” Gillham is 6 feet tall but isn’t a typical post player. “On defense, I can guard a big girl,” she said. “In the state tournament, I guarded a player who was 6-3, but I can also guard players who are guards. I’m versatile there. I can shoot the 3. I can shoot free throws. I can play inside. I’m very versatile.” Chipman concurs. “Her skill set is what is valuable, along with her size and strength,” he said. “She’s able to play every position on the floor. She can handle it against a press if you need her to break a press. She hits the midrange jump shot. She shoots the 3. She plays well with her back to the basket. She can beat someone off the bounce. “All of those skill sets … she’s not one-dimensional. Teams have to put a solid defender on her. If teams try to play a big player against her, she can step out and can really take advantage of them off the bounce or shoot a jump shot outside. If there is a smaller player against her, she can post them up. She’s really tough to defend.” Gillham will be a three-year starter this season, having moved up to the high school team as a ninth-grader. “It was a no-brainer,” Chipman said of moving her up. Gillham said it was tough at first, playing as a ninth-grader. “Especially with some teams knowing I was a freshman, they would make sure to intimidate me, but it got easier, and my teammates really helped me,” she said. Gillham said her team’s goal this season is to repeat as state champion. “For the team, obviously, we know we can win state,” she said. “The big goal is to win state.” Individually, Gillham has a long-term goal. My goal is to get 2,000 points by the time I graduate,” she said. “This season, my goal is to get all-state and state all-tournament.” Gillham also plays volleyball and and throws the shot and discus during track season. She said volleyball helps and hurts her during basketball. “It helps some because they are different, but it takes away because we’ve been going further in state with volleyball,” she said. “So then we have a week until our first game, and I have to practice basketball on my own, making sure I’m getting reps in basketball.” Right now, Gillham owns a 4.0 grade-point average. “She’s an excellent student,” Chipman said. “She doesn’t struggle in class. I’ve never had to worry about her grades or getting her work done. She’s a top-notch student, top-notch kid all around.” Gillham is also getting her fair share of recruiting letters. She said she’s received information from Arkansas State University, the University of Tennessee-Martin, Jacksonville State University in Alabama and Southeast Missouri State University. And she is well on her way to a long playing career after she finishes at Hoxie High School.