Vandebilt’s Harding excelling at college level

Gustave A. Cheramie
March 11, 2014
NSU men, women head to Katy with NCAA hopes
March 11, 2014
Gustave A. Cheramie
March 11, 2014
NSU men, women head to Katy with NCAA hopes
March 11, 2014

Former Vandebilt Catholic guard Shakira Harding must feel like she’s experiencing déjà vu.

Now a freshman in college, the Houma native is in the all-too familiar position of preparing for a deep postseason run and a shot at winning a championship – just like she did every season of her decorated career as a Lady Terrier.


Now at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, Harding is the lone freshman starter on a team that completed its regular season with a sparkling 32-0 record, which included a conference championship.

Harding said her time with the Blue Dragons has been excellent, adding that the team’s current postseason push feels awfully familiar to the runs that she made throughout her high school days.

“It’s such a blessing,” Harding said. “A lot of the players here come from high school programs where they were maybe the best player on the team, but they didn’t have a lot around them, so they didn’t experience a lot of postseason success. So for me coming from Vandebilt, this is just normal to me. We made it to state every year of my career there. So for me to come here, play right away and be a part of an undefeated team – it’s exactly what I wanted, because it’s exactly what I’m used of and comfortable with.”


Harding said the transition from home to Kansas hasn’t always been easy.

The former Lady Terrier said that it took a while for her to get used to looking around the bleachers and not seeing her mom, dad and little brother at Hutchinson games.

“That was a hard adjustment for me, because my whole life, I’ve had my family behind me at every game that I’ve played,” Harding said.


But she said modern technology has eased the transition, because Hutchinson’s games are streamed online, which allows Mom and Dad to watch from afar and give their critiques.

“That’s made me feel so much better, because they can still see me play and offer their constructive criticisms on what I’m doing well and what I should work on,” Harding said. “That’s made me feel much better.”

Harding said the Kansas lifestyle is also something she’s had to adjust to. Harding said that she never realized that “Southern hospitality” is something that doesn’t exist in other places in the country. She said it was weird to walk around campus and not be greeted by everyone, like one would experience in Louisiana.


“It’s not that people here are mean or anything,” she said with a laugh. “It’s just it’s not like it is in Louisiana. People here aren’t going to go out of their way to talk to you like they would back home, that’s all. It took a little time to get used to that.”

The weather is also a bear, according to Harding. With a harsh winter around the country, a lot of Hutchinson’s games have had to be postponed or canceled with the snow. Harding said she likes the cold, but wasn’t aware that it would snow as often as it has in Kansas.

“I love to play in the snow, so I’m not complaining,” Harding said. “It’s different, but it’s not bad. I enjoy cold weather. But when it’s warm here, it’s truly beautiful. There’s not much humidity and there’s always a breeze with a big, bright blue sky. I actually prefer the weather here.”


But even with all of the adjustments she’s had to make, Harding is still an immediate impact player on the floor for the Blue Dragons.

The Houma native started all 28 regular season games for Hutchinson, averaging 7.6 points per contest.

Harding’s primary role within the team is to be a complimentary player for Hutchinson’s more experienced players – a role that she has thrived within.


Harding is shooting 46 percent from the field in the 2013-14 season, including a team-high 39.7 percent from behind the 3-point line.

“Coming into here as the only freshman starter, it took a little bit of time for me to get used to my role,” Harding said, “All of the other girls are sophomores and they played together last year, so I had to find my spot and learn the different ways that I could help this team. I wouldn’t say that’s something that I’ve struggled with, because it’s gone quite well. But that’s definitely something that I had to learn when I got here, because I wanted to have an impact right away.”

So with a solid freshman season complete, it’s all about winning the championship now for Harding and Hutchinson.


The Lady Dragons are No. 3 in the National Junior College rankings – a mark that the team has held throughout the entire regular season.

Harding said she believes the team has what it takes to win it all.

She would know.


Harding has seen a lot of playoff basketball in her lengthy career.

“I think we have a really, really good team here,” she said. “We’re really well known here at Hutch for being a prestigious program that plays a lot of good basketball. And this has been one of the most successful and banner seasons for our school’s history. So we’re going to keep pushing and see if we can go as far as we believe that we can go.

“This entire season and experience has been a blessing for me.”


Former Vandebilt Catholic guard Shakira Harding dribbles the ball as a true freshman starter for Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. One of the top programs in the country, Hutchinson is 32-0 in the season and is pushing to win a championship, something that Harding is used to from her prep days. She averages 7.6 points per game on the season and is the team’s lone freshman starter.

COURTESY PHOTO