When coach LeDawn Gibson knew she needed a makeover in her Lady Rattlers to get to the level she wanted, she looked high and low for the best combination of players she could find. At one particular stop she found two. Twins Jamie and Kaylin Foreman have been a perfect fit for this season's edition of the highly-competitive Lady Rattlers basketball team.
Jamie has had more of an immediate impact on the team. The 6'1" forward was highly decorated in high school. She was named the Augusta Chronicle Player of the Year after averaging 19 points and 12.3 rebounds per game as a senior. She also averaged three assists, blocks and steals a game that year. She was an All-Region player for Silver Bluff High School in Aiken, S.C.
Kaylin was an outstanding and even more rounded player than Jamie. She averaged 10.3 points, 11.9 rebounds and two blocks and steals per game as a senior basketball player at Silver Bluff High School. She was also a standout player in volleyball. Her athleticism led her to be named All-Region in both basketball and volleyball.
This season, Gibson has relied more on Jamie, but sees Kaylin expanding her role as she picks up the system. "I definitely went to recruit both of the twins. I had sent coach (Latasha) Shipman to watch them play and she was pleased at what she saw. We had heard about the duo and how well they played together," Gibson said.
Even with that, it was not the easiest of tasks to visit the two young ladies. Beach Island, S.C., their hometown, is not exactly a metropolitan area. "It was definitely in the backwoods...in the country. There was no cell phone service, but it was a nice little town. The people there were great. When I saw them play, I liked what I saw," Gibson added.
Saturday's game against North Carolina Central University, represented the first time the twins played significant time on the court together. "When we were in high school, we played together all the time, so being on the court together brought back memories of us feeding off each other in the game," Kaylin said. Jamie, who has had more playing time early on, was waiting for Kaylin to get in the groove. "To see her out there, it was my job to keep encouraging her, because I know she can do even better," said Jamie.
The duo is part of a revamped Lady Rattlers lineup that has already reaped dividends. In the game against NCCU, coach Gibson played all 13 dressed players in the first half. In the second half, she played virtually all reserves for the final eight minutes. Kaylin got a good feel for the game as she scored a bucket, got three rebounds and one steal. Gibson expects all of her numbers to improve. "Its hard to establish a good program without getting players adjusted to doing what they did in high school and translating it to college ball. Kaylin is coming around slowly but surely and Jamie has nearly reached that point already," Gibson said.
With the young ladies coming from a small town, its no surprise that there are a host of people rooting for them to be successful. Jamie says, "Our family is real excited about us being here. They are ready to see more of me and Jamie because they know we both can play better than the way we've been playing, and they're just ready for us to step up." "When we go back home to South Carolina, everybody is looking forward to us doing good. They kind of look to us," Kaylin said.
The pressure of college couldn't be better handled than with your twin sister on the team. As the ladies take the journey together, the Lady Rattlers are looking for them to come to full form in order to help the team make their run at the MEAC title.
