Joneria Grant, an 18-year-old senior point guard for the Colquitt County Lady Packers, is standing on the cusp of an exciting season. She has an opportunity upon which she has been waiting for a long time. As one of just three seniors on this year’s team, she will be tasked with leading the Lady Packers on and off the floor. The team is hers. They will go where she goes. And she has the talent to take them a long, long way.
Grant isn’t very big. In fact, she’s quite tiny. She stands just 4’11” – beyond small, even by women’s basketball standards – but she has never let her size (or lack thereof) stand in her way. Grant began playing basketball in the seventh grade. By her eighth-grade year, she knew she could be pretty good; she just had to keep working and staying focused on becoming the best player she could be.
At first, Grant relied more on her speed than anything else. She was fast, athletic, and coachable, but she didn’t know the game very well.
“She has worked very hard to become a good player. It’s been amazing to see her develop. She has learned how to use her size to her advantage, she has a good jump shot, she can make lay-ups, and she can play defense. She’s the total package, although it’s a pretty small package,” said Rondesha Williams, the Lady Packers’ head coach, followed by a laugh.
Last year, Grant worked her way into the starting line-up. She shared the floor with Makeba Ponder, who scored 2,200 points during her career, was an All-State player, a former featured athlete on the pages of this magazine, and now plays at Georgia State. “Joneria is now ready to make a statement. The spotlight is hers. She will have to lead us, and she will drive this team,” Coach Williams said.
This summer, Colquitt played 40 games during the offseason. Grant showed she was quite capable of doing everything Coach Williams will ask of her this season. A year ago, Grant averaged nine points, four assists, and three rebounds per game. To get Colquitt back to the playoffs, Grant will have to be the Lady Pack’s leading scorer and turn around and lead the team on defense. Grant is particularly comfortable on the defensive end of the floor. “I try to stop the ball up top. I play my hardest on defense. It’s the best part of my game,” she said.
The biggest challenge Grant will face this year will be leading a group of freshmen throughout the season. To be successful, everyone must
buy in to what Coach Williams and her staff are trying to do. Four years ago, Grant decided to do that very thing, and her game had benefitted tremendously. Now she has to show the underclassmen the same thing.
“It’s going to be a big task but she can handle it. She’s fast, confident, and very relaxed. She plays a nice, smooth, fundamentally sound game. She’s been a joy to coach these last four years,” Coach Williams said.
What does the future hold for Joneria Grant? She would love to play basketball in college, though she doesn’t have any offers just yet. Coach Williams is confident her star point guard will find a spot on a college roster. “She will be able to play. She’ll just have to find the right fit – maybe a junior college or a smaller four-year school,” she said.
Favorites:
• Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
• Player: Kevin Durant
• Subject: Math
• Least favorite: Literature
• Pepsi or Coke? Pepsi
• Best movie of the last year: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
• Place to travel: Hawaii
Player Spotlight/South Georgia/December 2014
Joneria Grant
Colquitt County High School
Moultrie, Georgia
Robert Preston Jr.
Colquitt senior steps out of the shadows and into the spotlight.
