By Becky Hopf - Tuscaloosa News
Posted Apr 17, 2020 at 9:16 AM
In 22 seasons as Shelton State's head women's basketball coach, 91 of Madonna Thompson's players will have gone on to play ball at four-year colleges and universities.
But her latest, No. 91, may just be the most memorable.
No. 91 is Hillcrest High School graduate Cierria Cunningham who announced last week that she'll be playing ball next season at Southeastern Louisiana. When the point guard takes to the court there, it will be a historic moment for Thompson's Shelton State legacy. SELA is coached by Ayla Guzzardo who played point guard for Shelton State and Thompson in 2006-07 and 2007-08. It will be a first: a former Shelton State women's basketball player playing for a former Shelton State women's basketball player.
"It's real neat," said Thompson, a former point guard who played on some of the University of Alabama's greatest teams, including the 1994 Final Four team. "Ayla is one of my favorites who has ever played here."
Guzzardo was elevated from assistant to head coach at SELA in April 2017. She, too, is among Thompson's 91, playing for Akron after helping Shelton State to a 62-9 record and two Alabama Community College Conference championships in her two seasons playing for the Lady Buccaneers.
The significance is not wasted on Cunningham who said it's been her dream and her goal to one day play for an NCAA Division I basketball team.
"I think it's going to be cool," Cunningham said of playing for Guzzardo. "They say she favors Madonna, and if she coaches anything like Madonna, I'm in. I'm going to be in good hands.
"I think it's going to be pretty cool playing for someone who played at the same school I played at. We'll have something in common."
So far, three out of four of Thompson's sophomore players at the two-year school have committed to play at Division I schools. Twin sisters LaTascya and LaTora Duff are heading to the University of New Mexico. The fourth, Sipsey Valley graduate Denetria Williams, Thompson believes, will also sign somewhere.
The quest of the tournament is to win the national championship. It's also a crucial showcase for JUCO players to be seen by a large gathering of four-year college coaches. But the 2020 tournament never happened, yet another victim of COVID-19.
"That was difficult," Cunningham said. "I already had some looks but I felt like I could get more at nationals. On top of that recruiting was hard because I couldn't go on any visits. All I could do was talk to coaches on the phone and by text. The only video chat I did was to the school I committed to (SELA)."
Fortunately, Thompson's Shelton State teams are perennial national powers. That gave her seniors a slight advantage over the effects of Corona virus versus recruiting.
"We ended up being OK," said Thompson. "But, it (nationals) is a huge time. That's when we've gotten multiple looks and offers. The twins had already committed to the University of New Mexico, so they were in good shape. We were worried about Cierria (not getting enough looks), but she ended up getting a great scholarship in getting to go play for Ayla at Southeast which will be a perfect level for her, a great league and conference where she can go in and have great success. Denetria hasn't gotten an offer yet, but there's still time. She didn't get to play at the national tournament, and I feel like if she had, she would have come back with something good."
As a freshman in 2018-19, Cunningham played in 31 games and averaged 7.4 points. This season, she made a major impact, moving into the starting spot in all 31 games, She averaged 9.5 points overall and 10.2 in conference play.
"She's been a huge part of our success. She's a very talented player. She's really improved over time. She's always been better than she thought she was. We've had to pull it out of her, and this year was the year we really saw her potential. Has she reached her potential? Absolutely not. She's very talented. She's very skilled. Very knowledgeable of the game. Her best basketball is ahead of her. She has signed with a conference that's going to be perfect for her and a coach that's going to be perfect for her because Ayla knows exactly what we do and what style we play," said Thompson. "I think it's going to be a great fit for both of them. I know they're both excited."
At SELA, she'll play against Ole Miss next season and, her senior year, at Alabama.
Because of COVID-19 closures, Cunningham never got a chance for a campus visit. Still, she's confident she made the right choice.
"I talked to the coaches a lot. I felt comfortable with them, and I talked to some of the players. I felt like it was the best thing," Cunningham said. "I talked to one of the assistant coaches and she asked me how I liked to play, and I said with Madonna, we always play fast. And she was said, 'yeah,' they'd seen that out of me and they liked how I liked to play fast and push the ball and how I see the court. They told me that's how they play."
She'll be less than five hours away from Tuscaloosa when she moves to Hammond, Louisiana, a drive that her family can easily make to see her play. Meanwhile, she says she'll treasure the experience of being able to play in her hometown--even on her side of town--at Shelton State.
"Winning for my team. It was good playing in my town because I had a lot of fans there that knew me. And Madonna is a great coach. It was nice playing under her."
Alya Guzzardo
