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Trio of BC Redskins to play college basketball
Trio of Redskins to play college basketball
Bryan County girls basketball signees, left to right, Niyah Shuman, Anthony, Anderia Jackson. Photo by Mike Brown.

When Ty Anthony tore her ACL causing her to miss her senior season it would have been only natural to assume her playing days were over.

However, the Bryan County High School girls basketball player is getting a chance to take her game to the next level thanks to her initiative and Coach Mario Mincey.

The Redskins senior, who will graduate this Saturday, has signed to play basketball at Central Carolina Community College in Sanford, N.C. She is the third member of this year’s team to take her game to the next level.

Anderia Jackson has signed to play at Denmark Technical College in Denmark, S.C., and Niyah Shuman will be taking her talent to Morris College in Sumter, S.C.

While Anthony had to watch from the bench Jackson and Shuman were the leaders on a Redskins team (23-6) that reached the second round of the GHSA Class A Public state tournament before losing to Hancock Central, 56-48, in overtime.

Jackson averaged 10 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.1 steals per game while Shuman, a three-point specialist, averaged 13.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

While Anthony wasn’t able to play this past season, she averaged 10.8 points and 8.3 rebounds as a junior. That and what he saw on film provided by Mincey was to enough to convince CCCC Coach Marcel Webster to offer her a scholarship.

In their four years on the varsity the trio helped Bryan County post an overall record of 80-27 including a school record 26 wins in 2019.

Mincey has now had 10 players go on to play in college during his 15 years at BCHS. The others are Olivia Melton, Coastal Georgia; Satashala Beasley, Chattanooga Tech; Yasmine Crawford, Central Georgia; Julianne Brown, Central Georgia; Shelby Gunn, Chatham University; Jay Black, Albany State and Olonna Rawls is at Columbus State.

While Shuman and Jackson were helping Bryan County bounce back from a COVID impacted 9-12 season Anthony could only sit and watch.

“I was at every game sitting on the bench,” the 5-foot-8 Anthony said. “It was hard. I could see myself playing.

“I feel like I could have helped them. I’m a rebounder, a post player who can move around.”

Unlike Shuman and Jackson who grew up in Pembroke and are products of the Hendrix Park recreation program Anthony transferred to Bryan County from Sumter, S.C., as a ninth grader.

“It was hard,” Anthony said of the move. “I had to make new friends, I had to adjust to a new team but playing basketball made it a lot easier.”

While it was her basketball that helped her assimilate it was her ruggedness under the boards which made her a favorite of Mincey who cherishes defense and rebounding above everything else.

Anthony said she was looking at schools on the internet when she came across Central Carolina and it piqued her interest.

“It’s close (two hours) from where I used to live,” Anthony said. “I told Coach about it and he helped me to get to where I am.”

Jackson and Shuman both had dreams of playing college basketball and both said Mincey helped them achieve that dream.

“I’m kind of surprised that I’m getting the chance to play in college,” Shuman said. “It was an unexpected turn but I knew my coach would help me.”

“He played a big role, a huge role,” Jackson said. “He’s played a big role for all of us. We’re all happy for Ty, too. We felt her absence this year. I felt we would have had a chance of winning a state championship with her.”

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