HANG TIME: Verdin helps Lady Tigers leap up standings

Alaina Verdin jumped up, grabbed the bottom of the backboard and lifted her lithe frame into the air at the end of a team practice last week.

It was a particularly fitting display, considering the sophomore guard continues to help lift the Lady Tigers (9-4 through Monday) to the top of the District 7-5A standings.

“Each time I jump, I look at the rim to see how close I am to dunking,” said Verdin, who stands only 5-foot-7. “I think I have the ability.”

She has certainly demonstrated the ability to score. This manifests itself in the 15 points she’s averaging a game this season – a figure coach Greg Knox believes will go up.

Verdin averaged more than 23 points per game last year as a freshman en route to earning first-team all-district accolades and leading Terrebonne to a 14-10 record, which was good enough for fourth place in district.

The Lady Tigers finished their 2006-07 season with a first-round playoff loss to New Iberia, something that didn’t sit well with Verdin.

“It made me want to come back and make it further,” she said. “It made me want to finish as the first seed in district.”

Terrebonne’s chances continue to look bright with Verdin on the hardwood. Her offensive game is fueled by a hot jump shot and an ability to drive to the basket.

The majority of her points come from lay-ups.

“I think if she (Verdin) keeps playing like she is, she very well could be (a Division I basketball player) one day,” Knox said. “Her grades are good, her work ethic is great and she will only continue to get better.”

But Verdin wasn’t always a go-to player on the courts. She chuckles when reminiscing about the year she took up basketball at age 7.

“I was one of the worst on my team,” Verdin quipped. “I did everything bad. I ran with the ball and didn’t dribble, and I’d shoot the ball and it would go to crazy places.”

Nonetheless, her parents encouraged her to keep playing.

Verdin returned the next year and started to make strides. She even started playing AAU ball over her summers.

Eventually, Verdin started to stand out – even last year as a lowly freshman.

“I was surprised – a lot went well,” she said. “It was a new experience and a little awkward at first trying to play on the high-school level. But I had a lot of motivation and encouragement.”

Those are the same ingredients that drive her closer to the rim, the same ingredients that may one day lead her to throw down a thunderous slam dunk.

In the meantime, however, Verdin is simply looking forward to seeing her team improve – by leaps and bounds.

(Photo by CHRIS SCARNATI

• Tri-Parish Times) Terrebonne sophomore Alaina Verdin is banking on the Lady Tigers’ chances of soaring to the top of the District 7-5A standings.