SR grad Rhoads straw that stirs Vandy's drink
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jence Rhoads is Vanderbilt basketball — so the ad says.
But Rhoads' senior season as a point guard for the Commodores women's basketball team means more to her than shooting a promotional spot for the school's website.
“I'm so pumped,” Rhoads said. “I've come full circle. It's hard to believe I'm a senior now. It seems just like yesterday I was in seventh grade. It seems just like yesterday I was this quiet freshman coming to Vanderbilt.”
The Slippery Rock High graduate has been anything but quiet in her three-plus years with the program.
n Rhoads made the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team in her first season at Vandy.
n She was third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio as a sophomore and averaged 13.8 points and five assists per game as a junior, good enough to earn her a spot on the All-SEC first team.
n Rhoads is one of 50 players on the watch list for the Naismith Trophy, which is awarded to the college basketball player of the year.
n She's on the preseason All-SEC team.
Rhoads, who has adjusted well to being front and center for Vanderbilt, is one of three seniors on a team that is loaded with talent.
That has Rhoads thinking big things are coming for the 23rd-ranked Commodores.
“I think this year we are capable of reaching a whole new level,” Rhoads said. “We have some very talented freshmen and sophomores, and everyone has worked so hard.”
Even with a plethora of talent, there is little doubt who the go-to player is.
Coach Melanie Balcomb said she plans to use Rhoads at more than just point guard.
The offense will revolve around Rhoads.
“We believe Jence is one of the best guards in the country,” Balcomb said. “The thing about Jence is that I don't look at her as a point guard anymore. I think she has evolved into what I call a player.
“There are positions and there are players, and you are only as good as your best player,” the coach added.
While Rhoads hasn't peered much beyond this season, she is contemplating basketball life beyond college.
Her father, Posey, played professionally in New Zealand.
Playing abroad or at home in the WNBA is becoming more than just a fleeting thought.
She recalls fondly wearing a Cleveland Rockers WNBA jersey everywhere she went as a little girl growing up in Slippery Rock.
She'd like to wear one for real someday.
“It's creeping into my mind more and more,” Rhoads said. “I would love to keep playing.”
