Amiah Lindsay’s swats making Fort Mill better

There is one thing Fort Mill girls’ basketball standout Amiah Lindsay asks her coach before each practice drill: is this live?

It’s an important question because it could determine how the drill goes. If it’s “live” it very possibly will result in Lindsay rejecting one of her teammates’ shots. She takes no mercy on the other players, often gently ribbing them after swatting a shot away.

“Yes I do,” Lindsay said, smiling. “I’m like, ‘I’ve got to prepare you.’”

It’s a good problem for Yellow Jackets coach Brett Childers to have.

“It’s helping the girls because they know when they drive in there, they’ve got to be creative. There’s gonna be a challenge,” he said. “If you can make a shot over her, you can make a shot over anybody.”

As a freshman, Lindsay blocked 107 shots. She had eight games with six or more blocks, and rejected 12 shots in a win over Northwestern. Childers couldn’t confirm if 107 was a school record - single-season or career. Either way, the lithe 6-foot-1 sophomore should smash the school career record this season.

“Athletically, she’s off the charts,” said Childers. “She can jump, she can run.”

As a relatively unknown ninth grader, Lindsay may have surprised a few teams last year, leading Fort Mill in scoring in 16 of 21 games and posting eight double-doubles en route to Region 3-4A newcomer of the year honors.

She won’t surprise anyone in 2016-17. She seems ready for the challenge, though, and has made strides to become more well-rounded. Lindsay is putting up 13.8 points, nine rebounds and 5.5 blocks per game so far this season - all improvements - and is showing some new developments that don’t appear in a stat line.

“Her understanding of the game has improved a lot,” said Childers. “She’s figured some things out and is a lot more confident in using both sides of the basket more.”

And she can even improve her shot-blocking. It’s mostly instinctual for Lindsay, who is helped by a 6-foot-6 wingspan and a good gene pool that includes a 6-foot-5 great grandmother. She works with her dad, Neil, on timing, though, in an effort to avoid foul trouble. She’s also blocking shots with both hands.

“She wants to be good, and that’s a key factor,” Childers said.

Lindsay missed much of the offseason with a stress fracture that she played through the last two months of her freshman season. She hasn’t gotten a ton of recruiting attention yet, but there is still plenty of time to change that situation and Division I schools are in contact with her.

Lindsay is not alone in being noticed on a broader stage. Childers and the rest of the Yellow Jackets got a bit of a surprise when a statewide preseason poll ranked them eighth in 5A.

“I was like, ‘really?’” said Childers. “But it’s a compliment. We do have some good young talent here and people are looking out for us. There’s expectations for us now, so we have to go out and exceed them.”

They only return five varsity players - four of them starters, including Lindsay and senior guards Meredith Christopher and Kimber Haley. Freshman point guard Unique Burch is off to a good start, averaging 12 points per game, but is also indicative of Fort Mill’s reliance on youth; 12 of the 15 players are underclassmen.

That will put more leadership pressure on Lindsay, one of the few returning players. But her amiable personality makes it clear that won’t be an issue.

“She’s real fun to be around, she’s got a real good sense of humor,” said Childers. “A real good teammate, looks out for everybody.”

At least until they drive the basketball into her lane.

Other local players to watch

Click on the map’s icons to learn more about other standout girls’ basketball players in The Herald’s coverage area:

Developments to keep an eye on

▪ Northwestern and South Pointe are very young; how will those teams develop under coaches Stephanie Butler and Lisa Rivers?

▪ Who is going to hit outside shots for Rock Hill High? The Bearcats have plenty of talent back from last season, but in losing Madison Hendrix, Monique Stevenson and Kendall Lahr to graduation, and Brooklyn Bailey to transfer (to a private school in North Carolina), there aren’t obvious 3-point threats on Kenny Orr’s roster, at least currently.

▪ Marilyn Milton’s York team has plenty of returning talent from a team that started well last season - her first at the school - but dropped five of its last six games. Let’s see if the Cougars make a leap this year, even with a tough new region.

This story was originally published December 4, 2016 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Amiah Lindsay’s swats making Fort Mill better."