By: Kevin Moses
Lenise Joseph
Instagram: Shegotgamephenom
Twitter: @Shegotgamephen1
6’0″ 189lbs
C/O ‘27
North Mecklenburg High School Huntersville, NC
Joseph is a fast break machine. She is a relentless rebounder which she uses to fuel that fast break. She surprises many with her speed from one end of the court to the other, and with her ball-handling ability. With that strong ball-handling ability, scoring in the paint is a given! She uses her size and strength as a dangerous weapon. She said, “My game is different”. She can score in a variety of ways, even through contact. As good as she is, what impressed me the most is how she is constantly trying to get better and add even more to her overall game. She is consistent and confident, and if she continues to gain more and more confidence as she gets older, watch out. She is a defensive beast, a rebounding phenom, and a shot-blocking machine.
Last season Lenise averaged 16 points (466), 10 rebounds (76), 1.1 assists (33), and 4.4 blocks (129) per game. The thing that really drives her is not in the games her team won, but in the games her team lost, especially the ones that were by single digits. She is SUPER competitive and that competitive nature pushes her to keep outworking and outhustling everyone. Her goals going into next year are to lead by example by being a more vocal leader. She loves her teammates, and she knows if they play like a team, they will be very hard to beat. She is on what she calls the “Road To The States/Revenge/No Mercy tour.” She understands that respect is earned and not given, and she plans on doing everything she can to earn respect for her team.
Nothing fires her up more than when an opposing coach double-teams her. She will often beat that 2 on 1 and if she can’t, she knows that only means that one of her teammates is open, so the opposing team has to pick their poison. When the pressure is on, she takes a deep breath, focuses, and never lets the moment get too big. At the end of the day, she just loves to compete and she loves the game of Basketball. She has a mental toughness that can’t be taught.
When asked what a coach can expect from her, she said “A very high IQ of the game and a high standard for myself, because at higher levels it’s not just playing the game and being there, it’s knowing the game and putting it all together as it has to be played. Also after a while, it’s up to you to hold yourself accountable, because your coach can’t want it for you more than you want it for yourself.” That is a pretty mature statement from someone as young as she is.
In the future, she sees herself playing at the D1 level because of her wants and her knowledge of the game. She knows there will always be more to learn, the higher the level she plays at. She also understands that academics are critical to receiving a D1 scholarship. My personal assessment is she absolutely has the talent, drive, passion and work ethic to be a D1 player. This budding young star is passionate and hungry. Keep a close eye on her, because it’s going to be a fun ride!