It’s time to put McKinney in the Hall
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Sometimes in life, the best laid plans are those slowest to develop.
Such has been the story for Houma native and Vandebilt Catholic graduate Shakira Harding’s path to become a Division I college basketball player.
It’s had its ups and downs, yes. But Harding said it’s all been worth the wait and now she’s in the position she’s been waiting for all along.
Harding announced this week that she’d signed a National Letter of Intent to finish her playing career with Tulane – an American Conference university that competes with Connecticut, South Florida and some of the other top programs in the country.
Harding said she’s honored to be at this point in her career, touting that the Green Wave is a perfect fit.
“God has a plan for everyone,” Harding said after signing with the Green Wave. “There’s a quote that I like that says that sometimes people go so, so fast all the time when they don’t realize that they’re really just going nowhere. I really like that quote because I think sometimes the best success stories are those that take a long time to develop. I think that I can relate that to what I’ve been through. My plan got altered a little bit. But I’m here now, and I’m definitely so blessed to be in the position to be a Tulane athlete.”
“I’m very excited about the group coming in,” Green Wave coach Lisa Stockton added. “They’ve had great years … and soon they’ll know what it’s like to go up against the very best in our league.”
The marriage between Harding and Tulane fits – both on and off the floor.
On the floor, Harding will give the Green Wave a stable point with the versatility to play multiple positions.
For the past two seasons, Harding has been a standout performer at Hutchinson Community College – a starting guard for one of the best JUCO programs in the entire country for women’s hoops.
This past season, Harding battled injury, but still enjoyed success, averaging 7.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for the Lady Dragons, who rolled through the regular season with a perfect unbeaten record.
When left unguarded, Harding showed herself capable of stretching the defense, shooting 37 percent from behind the 3-point line.
The Houma native and former Lady Terrier said Tulane caught wind of her talents in the postseason. They offered Harding a scholarship after she competed favorably in the NJCAA National Basketball Tournament Champions in late March.
In the Championship Game, Harding played all 40 minutes for Hutch, scoring four points on the night. But more important than the buckets was the stabilization Harding brought to her offense against Chipola College, who is known for its high-octane pressure defensive system.
Harding played point most of the game and didn’t have a single turnover against the pressure.
“They were really impressed in my point guard play in the National Tournament,” Harding said. “All of my career (at Hutchinson), I was playing the two-guard position. But in that championship game, I got to showcase what I could do at the point. Tulane saw that and that’s what they were looking for at the point guard position.”
The Green Wave is undoubtedly one of – if not the – top programs in Louisiana. Tulane finished the 2014-15 season with a 22-11 record, which included a trip to the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
Harding said she’s well aware of the fact that the Green Wave compete against powers like UConn, South Florida, Temple and others, touting that the challenge to play the best is one of the things that attracted her to the program.
“That’s definitely going to be exciting,” Harding said. “UConn has been the No. 1 team in the country for what feels like four or five years now. And I know a lot of the other teams in the American Conference are known as being power programs, as well. Those will be exciting times and big games for us.”
Tulane is a natural fit in the classroom, as well.
Always known as an academy power in the Southeast, Tulane’s medical program was a big draw to Harding, who plans to study in that field.
A model student with exemplary academic standing, Harding said she was drawn to both the Green Wave’s academic programs and also its proximity to home.
After being nested away in Kansas for the past two seasons, Harding said she can’t wait to be able to play before her family, friends and support system – the men and women who Harding said have given her the power to persevere throughout her entire career.
“That’s something that’s very exciting to me,” Harding said. “I know I’ll always have someone there supporting me at every game. I’ll always have someone waiting for me at the locker room door after every frustrating game. That’s something I’d had my whole life, but that I didn’t have in Kansas. There are so many people I’m so grateful to. For me to be able to play at home again, it’s almost like my chance to repay them in a way for their loyalty to me and my career.”
Harding will enroll at Tulane in the fall and will have three years to complete two years of eligibility. She will be a junior in the next basketball season.
