Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal
Maybe it was her experience at summer camp. Maybe it's being a year older. Maybe it's just good old-fashioned hard work.
It's probably a combination of all three that has helped Tiffany O'Day go from a bit player on a real bad basketball team last year to a starter on a team fighting for a post-season berth this year.
O'Day, a senior, isn't the type of player that you notice right away, which is typical of a blue-collar performer. She doesn't have the blazing speed of Brandi Vega or the long-range shooting touch of Gina Bianchi. However, she plays extremely hard and is consistent at both ends of the floor. She's somebody who Carson girls basketball coach Todd Ackerman can count on game in and game out.
"She played a lot of basketball last spring and summer," Ackerman said. "She has really improved.
"I think she was somebody that maybe lacked some confidence (last year). She was thrown into a situation where she had to play or possibly play right away. When you play 3 or 4 minutes a game and you play 3 or 4 minutes the next game, you're going to stay nervous."
It's different this year, and a big reason is playing time. O'Day logs around 20 minutes per contest, averaging 4.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per outing.
"I played more in the first 10 games this year than I did all of last year," O'Day said. "Maybe I'm getting a feel for coach Ackerman's coaching (style).
"I'm better on offense, I know when things are going to happen; when to set screens. I think I was just nervous about messing up in front of a lot of people. I think I would hold back maybe a bit. I always felt I would get pulled out right away if I made a mistake, so a lot of times I would get the ball and look for somebody else to pass to."
When you talk about O'Day, you talk about a player with a great work ethic, both for basketball and academics. She admitted that she learned what hard work was all about when she attended a summer basketball camp in Santa Barbara with teammate
Whitney Nash.
It was non-stop basketball from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and O'Day said she had a good time. The camp covered dribbling, shooting, post play and defense.
"It started at 8 every morning, but I went to the post players clinic and that started at 6," O'Day said. "It was five days of hard work. Now I know what it's likes to work hard. Some people on the team will complain about practice and running and I think to myself 'this is nothing.'
"We did defense for eight hours. We worked on it everyday. I remember going (hard) all the time. It boosted my confidence. You're working with college coaches, and they are telling you when you did something right; did it well."
Having confidence can do wonders for a player.
"I'm more confident with everybody on the team this year" O'Day said. "I'm not afraid to make a mistake. I'm not as nervous around coach."
O'Day is one of the team's most consistent rebounders at both ends of the floor. That's where you really see her work ethic and desire.
"I'm not a tank," O'Day said, smiling. "Ever since I played JV, the coach drilled us about boxing out. When a shot goes up, that's the first thing I think about before I look at the board (to locate the ball).
"I don't know how I do it. A lot of people say I jump high. I get a burst of energy and go for it. You have to want it more than everybody else. Half the time people are just standing around as the ball goes up. If anyone is going for it, they will get it."
O'Day's rebounding high is 12, Ackerman said.
"She has led us in rebounding six times," Ackerman said. "She's pretty quick and jumps pretty well. She just wants to go get the ball. You have to have that itch to get the ball. It's like defense, you have to want to play it because it's not fun."
Her offensive game is pretty simple " stickbacks and taking it to the basket. She doesn't shoot a lot from the outside. She takes good shots within the framework of the offense.
"I'm very selective when I shoot," she said. "If I'm going to shoot it, I want to hit it. I'm not just going to throw up a crappy shot to score if I don't think it's there. I'm pretty straightforward (offensively); not very secretive of what I'm going to do."
O'Day his happier playing basketball this year for two reasons " her own personal success and the team's success.
"Last year was loss, loss, loss, loss," O'Day said, describing the Senators' 0-6 start. "To win early (second game against North Valleys) was big."
She and the Senators would like nothing more than to rack up four or five second-half wins and reach the playoffs.
- Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling 881-1281.