University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Spotlight: China Antoine
11/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Note: This is a feature story on senior point guard China Antoine that ran in last weekend's Minnesota Basketball Game Program. Antoine, a native of Alabama who scored a career-high 18 points by making 6-of-7 three-pointers during last night's 73-63 win versus Pittsburgh, talks about her adjustment to Minnesota winters and what she's looking forward to during her final season in Maroon and Gold.
By Justine Buerkle, Athletic Communications student assistant
Minnesota winters are notoriously harsh, and for someone from the South, they can feel even colder. Madison, Ala., native China Antoine faced this reality when she joined the Golden Gopher basketball team last season. Last winter was the coldest weather she had experienced.
"This time around, it's not as bad," said Antoine. "It's still getting cold, but it's getting a little better...I'm getting there, but I can never say that I will ever get totally comfortable with this freezing."
While she is still adjusting to Northern weather, Antoine has completely fit in with the Gopher team. She came to Minnesota last season as a junior after transferring from Shelton State Community College. The 5-3 guard brought energy and intensity, and she joined the starting lineup in mid-December. On the year, she averaged 8.1 points per game, led the team in three-point percentage, and was second in both assists and steals. She may have been startled by the Minneapolis winter, but Antoine was not at all surprised that she became one of the Gophers' go-to players.
"That was my primary goal, to get to that," said Antoine. "I don't want to come to a program [and] not make an impact in some way. My goal was to be an impact player and be the best that I could and just keep growing. Fortunately for me, I was able to learn from every practice and just get better as I was here, and I've just developed the skills and the mentality to get that way, so I think it's definitely been great that I've become that, but I've always been striving for that."
Unfortunately, six games after she had become an integral part of the starting lineup, Antoine went down with an injury, forcing her to undergo her fourth-ever knee surgery and miss three games.
"It was probably the hardest thing because I felt like I just got to playing some of my best basketball and I was just feeling comfortable with the team," said Antoine. "We were getting better as a team, and I just felt like we were getting there and we were becoming successful. I was getting better and I was working hard to get to that point. Then when something like that happens, it kind of sets you back a little bit. It hurts and it's unfortunate, but you learn from it and just keep going. I just had to heal, and I knew it took time, and I've been there before, so it was fine."
Antoine came back healthy for the start of practice this season. Voted one of three captains along with Kristen Dockery and Kiara Buford, and filling in for graduated four-year starter Brittany McCoy, Antoine has an even bigger role this season than last. In comparison to her fellow captains, Antoine has a less vocal leadership style.
"I'm a big lead by example-type person," she said. "I'm kind of quiet and reserved a lot of the time. Sometimes I don't really have much to say. I just like to show people by my actions what to do, and what's right and what's wrong. But I've kind of grown out of that a little bit because I do have to get my voice heard, so I've been working on that."
One thing that has helped Antoine develop as a vocal captain is a leadership course she and her teammates are taking. The Gophers took this class during the offseason and continue to take it in 30- to 45-minute sessions after practices now. Antoine says the course focuses on team chemistry and preparing everyone to be a leader at some point, whether on or off the court. Among the wide range of topics are communication and health. The course has been beneficial to Antoine so far.
"It's given me a different outlook and given me things I need to work on and shown me ways that I can work on things and how I communicate with people and the different types of personalities that we're going to have in a team and in my life," she said. "It's definitely helped with my captain role."
A session about confidence particularly resonated with Antoine.
"It's talking about keeping your confidence and knowing that you're going to have ups and downs," she said. "As a captain you're going to have to take the good with the bad, so when you do well the team does well...and when the team does badly it falls back on you as a captain as well. You might not get all the praise for doing all the little things that you're going to do as a captain or as a leader, but it's all about the team's success and how we do as a team."
What is Antoine most looking forward to this year?
"Having fun," she said. "This year is going to be my senior year, and I want to make it the best and most memorable for not only myself but for my teammates. So I think just having fun. I think with fun, there's success. I think as long as we enjoy every single moment this year, I think we'll be alright."
Despite Antoine's success in Minnesota, there is still the issue of climate. After graduation, she plans to move back to the South, both to be closer to her family and to get back to warmer weather. But when she leaves, Gopher fans' memories of her will be a lot more permanent than a Minnesota snowfall.
