by KEITH HEJNA
GoPSUsports.com
n a day and age where basketball has become dominated by talented, selfish prima donnas who neither pass, play defense, nor do the dirty work, it is refreshing to find a player who takes on these less glamorous tasks. The Lady Lions have a player who gives back to the team in this way and, ironically, her name is Charity.
Senior power forward Charity Renfro will look to help lead Penn State to a Big Ten title after an uncharacteristic season last year (13-16, 6-10 in the Big Ten). Like a true team player, her personal goal is no different from the team??s goal.
??The big plans are, obviously, to win the Big Ten. That??s been our main goal after finishing out last year. Right when the season ended we wanted to be Big Ten champs,?? Renfro said.
To help the Lady Lions achieve their goal, Renfro plans on playing the role that many basketball players do not want to play. ??Defense [is the strongest aspect of my game]. I really do love playing defense. Everyone gets on me because I??m not a scorer and all that, but everybody has a role. The Bulls had (Michael) Jordan who scored, which is like Kam (Gissendanner) and Amanda (Brown). Then they had (Dennis) Rodman. He didn??t score; he rebounded and played defense. So everyone has a role and I love my role: stopping and shutting people down on defense,?? Renfro said. It may not be the kind of role that will make her a household name around Penn State, but it is what the team needs and she is more than happy to get the job done.
Renfro was Penn State??s second leading rebounder last year, averaging 4.8 rebounds per game. On March 2, 2005, she grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds against Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Will she match or even pass that mark this year?
??I??m gonna be confident and not cocky, confident, and say yes because this is it, this is my senior year and I want to go all out. I want to have a few games of 13 or more; try to be in the Top 5 (in the Big Ten) in rebounding,?? Renfro said.
Although the Lady Lions return all of their key players from last year, they are still a young team. Renfro and teammate Amanda Brown are the only two seniors. The team??s youth has inevitably thrust these two into leadership positions.
??Because we are young, I feel like, having the experience that I have, I can contribute a little bit of knowledge to some of the girls on and off the court, as well as just contributing what I know and what I can help with. I just try to be as vocal as possible, you know, lead by example,?? Renfro said.
Though she is a senior and a team leader, this is only Renfro??s second season wearing blue and white. Hailing from Las Vegas, Nevada and playing collegiate basketball for two years at Yavapai Community College in Arizona, Renfro can appreciate the increased level of competition at the Division I-A level, as well as on the East Coast.
??It??s a huge difference. Of course the competition is a lot harder just because you??re out here on the East Coast where I feel basketball is a lot more competitive then the West Coast,?? Renfro said. ??Teams are a lot different as far as having more tradition out here, which is really good because you have so much support.??
She is a West Coast girl, but she fits in fine with Penn State??s East Coast philosophy, doing the job she is assigned to do and doing it well.
Aside from rebounding, blocking shots and covering the opposition??s best post player, Renfro has an outstanding three point percentage: 100%. Last year, she took two three pointers and nailed them both. ??That was the ongoing joke, like ??oh your 100%.?? I know it sounds corny, but I don??t want to ruin that,?? Renfro said.
What is not a joke to Renfro is Penn State winning the Big Ten. With teams like Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue and Minnesota favored to be at the top of the Big Ten standings, many look past the young Lady Lions.
??I feel like we??re one of those teams in the underdog situation. So people aren??t going to be expecting us to do much but we??re gonna really try to come through and bring everything.??