By Christine Sampson
Lucky for them, though, one of those players was Cigi McCollin, a 5-foot-7 guard and redshirt sophomore, originally from Long Island City and a product of Christ the King.McCollin, who missed most of the 2002-03 season with a knee injury, has been enjoying a Renassiance kind of season, averaging a team-leading 16.2 points per game for the Pride and playing 33.3 minutes per contest, also a team high.”I feel like my old self again,” she said, after having scored 14 points – and being double-teamed most of the way – against Old Dominion in the team's final regular-season game March 3, a 78-65 loss to ODU.McCollin scored 14 against William & Mary in a first-round CAA tournament game, which Hofstra won, 68-52, and then poured in a game-high 20 points against ODU in the Pride's 87-68 quarterfinal loss.Now over a year removed from her knee injury, McCollin is finally comfortable playing as hard as she knows she can play.”Her second year she came and played very gingerly on the knee, so everything was halfway,” Legette-Jack said. “I've done the same thing. Your heart says, 'Go,' but your mind says, 'Nine months of rehab.””This summer she really had a coming-out party, able to attack the basket. It takes a whole year to really get your confidence back.”The injury had been quite a blow to McCollin, who was used to being a factor in every game she played. She got that mentality playing at Christ the King, where she won three CHSAA state championships with the Royals and was an Adidas All-American and McDonald's All-America nominee as a senior.At CK, it's not just about high school, it's about the next level,” McCollin said. “They treated us like we were in college. Tough practices, tough competition.”Her old high school coach called her a fine example of a CK graduate, and recalled how tough she was on the court as a Royal.”She was extremely fast and could really score, she's definitely excelled through the (Hofstra) program,” said Bob Mackey, whose current team is ranked No. 1 in the nation, just won its 16th straight CHSAA state title and heads to Glens Falls this weekend to try and claim its first state Federation title in four years.Though Hofstra ended its season at 13-16 and fell short of making the conference championships, McCollin knows next season has the potential for even more excitement. This year's team had just two seniors, one of whom redshirted due to injury and will retain a year of eligibility. The team's next two leading scorers, Vanessa Gidden (14.4 ppg) and Lizanne Murphy (11.8 ppg) are only sophomores.And with McCollin mentoring one of the program's players of the future, freshman guard India Ali, through Legette-Jack's own 'Pride Sisters' system, McCollin will likely have an effect on the team even after she graduates.”She's showing (Ali) the way, with positive reinforcement to allow India to enjoy her college experience and become a better player,” Legette-Jack said. “(Ali) is becoming more confident, authoritative, Cigi indicates to her that its' the right way to go.”Reach contributing writer Christine Sampson by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
