Emily Suddreth is a student of the game. Recognizing her faults as a player over her first three years of high school basketball the 6-foot post decided to learn from her mistakes and had a pretty successful senior season in the process.
She averaged 13.4 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks per game, setting the single-season program block record in just 10 games.
Now she’ll get to learn at the next level.
Surrounded by coaches and family, Suddreth signed to continue her career at Bluefield State on Thursday evening at Independence High School.
The decision came down to Bluefield and Concord for Suddreth, but seeking more of the college experience she elected to go with the former.
“I was torn between Concord and Bluefield State just because they’re both far enough away from home that I could get the college experience but if something did come up I could always come back,” Suddreth said. “I ultimately chose Bluefield State because the coach there, Coach (Ryan) Bailey, was great. I just really enjoyed the campus and not having to stay in a dorm. I also have a few friends that go there and met a few of my teammates through social media and they all seemed pretty great.”
The opportunity to play at the next level was something Suddreth always considered and worked hard on. Early in her career she was a force on the defensive end, but struggled to stay out of foul trouble. She took the opportunity to learn from her mistakes and did what any good student does – ask questions.
“My freshman year of high school blocking came naturally to me, but I stayed in foul trouble,” Suddreth said. “So through my junior and senior year I tried to perfect the technique without fouling. So I talked to a lot of the refs during summer leagues and different things like that and most of them told me when I jumped up and my body hits the player, that’s what they’ll call the foul on. So my junior and senior year I tried to create as much distance as I could from their body while getting contact with the ball.
“That really helped my game because I almost got double the amount of blocks that I got from my junior season to my senior season. So I just talked to the refs and understood what they were saying. That and knowing the type of fouls I needed to avoid really helped my game.”
At the next level Suddreth anticipates remaining a force on defense, but she also knows she’ll need to continue improving. She won’t camp in the post at Bluefield State and is already working on adding to her skillset.
“He told me most likely I’ll be playing a four like a power forward,” Suddeth said. “I’m really happy about that because that and the post are two of the positions I’m most comfortable with. That’s what I’ll be doing my freshman season. Defense is one of my favorite parts of the game, so I worked on that a lot, but then I tried to work on my offense a little more. I want to improve more on the offensive side.
“I just wanna make sure I can get my game up to speed with the college players because it is a lot faster and a lot more serious. So I’m really hoping I can get there and blend in well and work on my offense. Especially my 3s. I know as a power forward in college, being able to hit 3s and also drive in with my height would be a threat for our team.”
Contact Tyler Jackson at tylerjackson@lootpress.com, call him at 304-731-5542 and follow on Twitter @tjack94
