South Georgia Tech Lady Jets basketball team features five international players

Five international women’s basketball players will be donning South Georgia Technical College’s red, white, and black, uniforms for the upcoming 2016 – 2017 season as the team attempts to repeat as the Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season champions.
“We have players from Japan, Nigeria, France, Spain, and Canada this season,” said South Georgia Technical College Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey. The Lady Jets line-up also includes players from three states other than Georgia on its 12-member roster.
This is the largest group of international players that South Georgia Technical College has hosted in a single season or on a single team in the history of its basketball program which began in 2001 – 2002. The Jets have fielded a total of five international players in their 16-year history, while the Lady Jets have recruited a total of 12 in the past 12 years of the program. The five players this year expanded the Lady Jets’ number to 17 in 13 years.
South Georgia Tech’s five international players includes one sophomore and four freshmen. The lone sophomore is 5’ 10” power forward Madison Cameron from Alberta, Canada, who played at Lake Michigan College last season. The other four freshmen international players are: Houlfat Mahouchiza, a 6’1” forward from Nice, France; Marina Balaguer, a 5’ 7” shooting guard from Mataro, Spain; Kanna Suzuki, a 5’ 2” point guard from Hamamatsu, Japan; and Esther Adenike, a 6’ 2” freshman power forward from Lagos, Nigeria.
“This is a great group of girls,” said Coach Frey. “They are very talented on the court but they are also well-rounded student-athletes and have adapted to the culture here in South Georgia very quickly. We laugh a lot and it is interesting when they ask for a food from their home land. Sometimes it is difficult to find that here in Americus.”
All five players speak English, but sometimes there is a communication gap between proper English and southern English and South Georgia colloquialisms.
Coach Frey found Kanna Suzuki of Japan and Marina Pienado from Spain from recruiters that contacted him. The other three came as a result of coaching connections. “We recruited Esther Adenike from Nigeria for two years. She committed to us in the summer of 2015, but had difficulties getting approved for her visa. All parties were disappointed but decided to continue to go forward with the visa process. She was finally approved in January of 2016 and moved to Americus in July of 2016,” said Frey.
Houlfat Mahouchiza of France came to South Georgia because an assistant coach at Rider University contacted Lady Jets’ assistant coach Kenzia Conyers. Rider had signed a friend of Houlfat’s and even though Houlfat had expressed an interest in coming to the states, she was unable to sign with a NCAA Division I school. That’s when South Georgia Tech began recruiting her. After many skype conversations, phone calls, and Coach Frey’s relationship with a recruiter in France, she signed with the Lady Jets.
Madison Cameron from Canada decided not to return to Lake Michigan College after her freshman season. Coach Frey was looking for an experienced power forward and after viewing film and talking and skyping with her, an offer was made and Madison decided to become a Lady Jet.
“This is an unusual situation for us, to have five international players, but they are all very talented and seem to be a good fit for our program and our team,” said Frey. “Kannah Suzuki from Japan had been attending high school in Atlanta and playing basketball. We got to see her at an AAU event in Nashville, TN. Coach Conyers was at that event and got to watch her play in four games that week. We began the recruiting process, she visited our campus and saw the way our program was run, and she decided that day that she wanted to be a Lady Jet.”
Marina Pienado was brought to South Georgia Tech’s attention by a recruiting service in Spain that had helped the team sign Claudia Perez a couple of years earlier. “We watched her films and were impressed by her court presence and her ability to shoot from long range. We again had many skype sessions and phone calls and developed a relationship with Marina that led to her arrival in Americus in August.”
The international players include the shortest member of the team, Kanna Suzuki at 5’ 2”, and one of the tallest, Esther Adenike at 6’ 2”. The other three fit in the middle at 5’ 7”, 5’ 10”, and 6’ 1”. “The main thing that we do is to make sure that the chemistry is right. It doesn’t matter how talented they are if they do not buy in to our coaching philosophy and cannot get along with their teammates,” said Frey.
The non-international players include returning sophomore La’Deja James, a 5’ 8” guard from Virginia Beach, VA. The other sophomores are: Camille Coleman, a 5’ 8” sophomore guard from South Bend, IN; Desiree Corbin, a 6’ 2” sophomore center from Griffin, GA; and Shaineequah Fluellyn, a 5’ 7” guard from Molena, GA. Both Corbin and Fluellyn played at Darton College.
The new freshmen from here in the United States are: Davesha Murray, a 5’ 6” point guard from Brunswick, GA; Sceret Ethridge, a 6’ 1” center from Argyle, GA; and Trakyra Kidd, a 5’ 7” point guard from Wesley chapel, FL.
The Lady Jets open the new season at home on Tuesday, November 1st against Chattahoochee Valley Community College at 6 p.m. The Jets will also play that night at 8 p.m. They will face New Rock Prep from Conyers, GA.
The Lady Jets will also host a Tip-Off Classic tournament on Saturday, November 5th and Sunday, November 6th. They will match-up with IMG Academy at 6 p.m. on the 5th and Denmark Tech at 3 p.m. on November 6th.
The next weekend, the Lady Jets will also host a tournament and face Cape Fear at 6 p.m. Saturday, November 12th, and Denmark Tech at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 13th.
Both the Jets and the Lady Jets will play at home on November 26th and 27th in a Thanksgiving Classic. The Lady Jets will play at 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and the Jets will play at 6 p.m. both days. The Lady Jets face off against St. Petersburg College and the College of Central Florida and Jets host Motlow State and Pensacola State.