Tamera Young, former Laney star basketball player, and
James Madison University graduate, was the number eight pick in the 2008 WNBA
Draft. She was a part of history two times, being the first JMU player to be
drafted into the WNBA, and the Atlanta Dream’s (the most recent addition to the
WNBA) first ever draft pick.
But making history is nothing new to Young, who became the all-time leading
scorer for both James Madison and the CAA during her senior season. Most
WNBA fans haven’t heard of her; however, her JMU teammates, her former Laney
teammates and coaches, and Wilmington basketball fans know exactly who she is.
Ever since NBA star Michael
Jordan’s retirement, there has never been any athlete, man or woman, who has
had a recognizable and influential effect on the professional and collegiate
sports worlds. Rapidly, everyone forgot where MJ was from- I doubt that they
ever knew- and Wilmington was erased from the map of places where sports stars
are born, never to return since. Not to put any pressure on her or the two
other Laney basketball stars, Shaqwedia Wallace (a rising sophomore at Temple
University) and Shatara Jackson (Laney class of 2008), but Tamera is going to
have to leave their marks on the WNBA and the NCAA for Wilmington to be
penciled back onto the map. The final inking will then take place if Shatara
Jackson and Shaqwedia Wallace pursue a WNBA Career.
