Player Spotlight: Dyer County Lady Choctaw Basketball’s Tykeria Kennedy
Dyer County Lady Choctaw Basketball’s Tykeria Kennedy
Lady Choctaw Tykeria Kennedy leads Dyer County girls into postseason
Jason Peevyhouse
Editor, JP Productions
With her senior season on the court winding down and the postseason on the horizon, Dyer County senior Tykeria Kennedy will be looked towards for leadership as the Lady Choctaws head into the District 13-3A Tournament next week on their home court in Newbern.
Dyer County Head Coach Derek McCord said Kennedy has been a joy to coach during her four years with the Lady Choctaws, which began with two trips to the TSSAA Class 3A State Tournament.
“She’s just a solid person,” McCord said. “She’s meant so much to our program.
“She’s been so good for us on offense and defense. She’s unselfish. She’s a fun girl to coach.”
In moving to the point guard position this season to replace a hard-working senior in Sanayah Starks (who is currently seeing a lot of playing time at nearby Dyersburg State), one of the strongest parts of “TK’s” game is on the middle side of things.
“I think one of the strongest parts of her game is just basketball I.Q.,” McCord said. “She understands the game – when to attack or when to set up and run offense.
“She’s extremely unselfish. There’s a lot of times I have to encourage her to shoot more. And, that’s unusual in today’s game.”
Much like last season’s point guard in Starks, Kennedy has become a go-to player for the Lady Choctaws.
“We’ve had a really good stable of point guards in our program,” the Dyer County head coach said. “She’s no exception to that rule.
“She’s played the shooting guard for us and she’s really done a good job for us this year in sliding over to the point with Sanayah going and playing at the next level.”
McCord added Kennedy is a great teammate.
“She’s good for our program on and off the floor,” McCord explained. “She’s always got a smile on her face. She’s a really great teammate.”
The Lady Choctaws’ head coach said Kennedy has really improved the most as a shooter over the last four years.
“I think she’s emerged as a really good shooter – a knockdown shooter,” McCord pointed out. “Both off the dribble and the catch and shoot.
“She’s always been a really good ball handler”
She’s also improved defensively, according to her head coach.
“She’s undersized but she’s really gotten stronger,” McCord said. “She’s really been able to defend much better than she has in the past couple of years.”
Being able to distribute the ball is something you look for in a point guard. This is an area where McCord praised his senior.
“She shares the ball,” McCord added. “And she comes up with a basket when you need one. She’s been that type of player for us this year.”
There are also some parts of her game that don’t show up on the stat sheet for Kennedy that also illustrate her importance to the team.
“What college coaches that have inquired about her is just her ability to create shots,” McCord explained. “Her ability to find open teammates and her ability to share the ball.
“To excel at the next level, which I am sure she can, she’ll have to continue to get stronger to be able to have the ability to play at the same performance level at college as she did in high school.”
McCord stressed increasing her strength is a key because the skill level is already there.
“The work ethic is there because TK is the total package,” McCord added.
The Lady Choctaw head coach said he feels the future is very bright for Kennedy.
“I think she’ll be a solid player at the next level,” McCord said. “To me, what I think makes her so attractive at the next level is she’s a point guard that can score.
“Coaches love point guards that can knock down shots. She comes off screens well and she knows when to back cut.”
Dyer County hosts Crockett County for Senior Night on Friday at 6 p.m. in the regular season finale. The Lady Choctaws, the No. 4 seed in the District 13-3A Tournament, will take on Obion County Central in the play-in game, tentatively set for Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Newbern.
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