ATHENS — Anne Marie Armstrong had made up her mind. Not long after Georgia’s basketball season ended last year, she summoned all the courage she could muster and walked into coach Andy Landers’ office to deliver the news.
“I was meeting with Coach to quit, actually,” said Armstrong, recalling that day early last summer. “I was going to play volleyball here and not play basketball. He didn’t like that at all. He told me he wasn’t going to release me.”
Her decision wasn’t an impulsive whim or an angry, knee-jerk reaction. Armstrong had discussed the situation at length with her parents, and they were in agreement. This was what she wanted, so this was what she had to do.
The Lady Bulldogs are thankful that the story did not end there. Landers, as one might note by his sideline demeanor during games, is a willful man. He wasn’t going to let his prized pupil go without a fight.
After considerable internal debate, Armstrong not only remained with the team, she remained a one-sport athlete — and she is a big reason Georgia enters the NCAA tournament as a No. 4 seed.
The No. 21-ranked Lady Bulldogs (22-8) open play Sunday against Marist (25-7) in Tallahassee. Armstrong will start for the 28th time at forward and probably play more minutes than anybody, as usual.
Had she had her way that day some 10 months ago, however, neither she nor Georgia might be where they are today.
“I’m glad [Landers] took that stand on that because I couldn’t ask for a better season thus far, other than maybe win a few more games,” Armstrong said. “Just to be a part of this team and have the teammates I have, there is nothing else I’d rather be doing right now.”
Armstrong’s discontent had little to do with her relationship with Landers or even her performance on the court the first two seasons. For her, it was more about personal fulfillment — and boredom.
Armstrong was famous for her frenetic lifestyle even before she graduated from high school. At Wesleyan, she became a famous multitasking athlete, collecting state championships like others collect comic books. She left with 10 combined in basketball, volleyball and track.
And she did not limit her extracurricular activity to those sports. Armstrong also played fast-pitch softball and was on a swim team up until her senior year. The thought of playing one sport year-round was completely foreign to her.
“It was kind of crazy, really,” said Armstrong, who was named Miss Georgia Basketball in 2009. “I never really got tired of a sport. I always thought if I focused on one sport I’d get sick of it. That was my mentality.”
When she arrived at Georgia, Armstrong mentioned to Landers the idea of also playing volleyball. Each time she was rebuffed, and the Bulldogs’ coach never wavered.
“When I recruited Annie, I told her, ‘if you can focus, you can be special,’” Landers recounted. “In January of her freshman year, I lost her for about two weeks. Right at the end of last year, I lost her. But not this year. She’s focused all year long, and now she’s in a special place.”
There is statistical evidence to support that. Armstrong enters the tournament on the heels of being named first-team All-SEC and as a finalist for the WBCA All-America team. A 6-foot-3 wing player, she leads the team in rebounding (6.3 per game), assists (91), steals (69) and blocks (33) and is third in scoring (11.6 ppg).
In fact, in conference games she ranks among the top 10 in the SEC in nine different statistical categories, more than any other league player. She ranks third in steals; sixth in rebounding, defensive rebounds, assists and minutes played; seventh in scoring and blocked shots; eighth in field-goal percentage; and ninth in assists-to-turnovers. On average she has doubled her production in every statistical category.
Landers can’t resist the urge to say “I told you so.”
“When we recruited Anne Marie, I told my assistant coaches, ‘if this kid has the ability to lock in on one thing, she can be a special player,’” Landers said. “Until the time she came here, she was playing something different every three months, and that was exciting for her. She couldn’t see it. I don’t think Mom or Dad could see it. I don’t think anybody, but me, could see where she could be if she simply focused on one thing and did what we were asking her to do every day.”
Armstrong hasn’t given up on playing other sports. Now she talks about possibly going out for Georgia’s volleyball team in her fifth year, after she has graduated and exhausted her basketball eligibility. But, by then, professional basketball likely will be an option.
“Right now basketball is my focus, and I’m doing a pretty good job,” she said. “Maybe that will take me somewhere.”
It already has.
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