Summer Notebook: CiCi Shannon
7/3/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Last year was not the season that many had hoped for Kent State women's basketball. The Golden Flashes finished tied for fifth in the Mid-American Conference East Division. Unfortunately, the season ended with a first round loss to Bowling Green in the MAC Tournament.
On the bench for all of that season was current senior CiCi Shannon, who was not allowed to play her junior year due to NCAA transfer restrictions. The six-foot-four center is a transfer from Southern Illinois University, where she holds the records for most blocks in a year and most blocks in a career.
"When I came on my visit I loved Coach O'Banion," said Shannon. "And I believed in everything she was saying and I could tell she was a great person. It was hard and frustrating to sit out last year."
This season Shannon and the rest of the Golden Flashes are working towards a better year. Shannon's summer days start at 5:45 a.m. The team works out with strength and conditioning coach Bob Lemieux three times a week. In addition to these work outs, Shannon and the other centers on the team will meet for individual practices a few times a week. The team also has open gyms organized by the captains throughout the week. On Fridays, all of the Kent State female athletes that are on campus compete in the Lady Flashes Challenge, where each team competes in a series of events that include: tires flipping, plate throwing, plate swinging, and pull-ups.
"We are trying to go as hard as we can in open gym," Shannon said. "We try to take advantage of every workout, and every time we step into the weight room or court regardless of how tired we are. We are coming in and working with a purpose. I feel like last year we did not work as hard in open gyms and now we are working 10 times harder."
Shannon is also working towards a few very lofty personal goals for next season.
"I would like to be on the All-Defensive team," she said. "My previous goal was to break the single season shot blocking record at Southern Illinois. I achieved that and I would like to do the same at Kent State."
Andrea Csasza currently holds the most blocks in one season at Kent State with 82 blocks during the 2003-04 season. Shannon set the Southern Illinois single season block record with exactly 82 blocks during her freshman year.
In order to achieve her goals, Shannon is working on improving her footwork.
"Right now, I am working on my footwork," Shannon said. "If I can beat my man on defense, then I can do a better job of staying out of foul trouble and be a better defender."
Kent State will need to improve on defense for the upcoming year, considering the Golden Flashes gave up nearly 70 points per game last season. Shannon hopes to provide an inside presence that will help limit points in the paint. Fewer points allowed will hopefully lead to more wins for the Golden Flashes.
