Janese Hardrick has been a solid contributor to the University of Georgia basketball program since her first day at Athens, Ga. As a freshman, she became a starter vs. Georgia Tech in the 10th game of the 2003-04 season. After averaging 7.0 ppg. and 1.5 rpg. in non-conference contests, she raised the bar by recording a team-high 13.6 ppg. and 4.6 rpg. in 14 Southeastern Conference games.

Janese was named to the Gballmag.com Freshman All-America team in 2003-04. She also was one of three unanimous selections to the All-SEC freshman team, and earned All-SEC second-team honors. Janese was voted to the All-SEC tournament team, and selected on the All-West Regional team at the NCAA tournament, becoming the first Lady Dawg frosh to earn All-Regional honors since Teresa Edwards in 1983.

Hardrick was a four-year starter at McEachern High School, where she averaged 24.2 ppg. over that span. Her 2,600+ points vs. scholastic competition were nearly 1,000 points more than the previous Cobb County scoring record for girls' basketball.

In a telephone interview on Oct. 27, she shared her thoughts on numerous questions asked by Gballmag.com.

Gball: When you attended McEachern (Ga.) High School, how did playing volleyball help you with your basketball game?
Hardrick: Volleyball definitely helped me with my jumping and my slides.

Gball: Why did you decide to attend Georgia?
Hardrick: I had originally committed to the University of South Carolina before my senior year, and Georgia kept being very persistent. I enjoyed coming here on my visit, so I decided this was where I wanted to go.

Gball: What are the differences between playing high school ball and on the collegiate level?
Hardrick: The players have so much more speed and play defense with so much intensity in college. On the collegiate level, it is defense, defense all the time. Many high school players average 26 points per game, but you don't find them coming into college and duplicating those numbers.

Gball: How far has your game come since high school?
Hardrick: On a scale from 1 to 10, I would be at a 4.

Gball: What do you like best about college basketball?
Hardrick: My team. I love my team. The way we bond together and the way we react to each other on and off the court.

Gball: Who would be some of the toughest players you have played against?
Hardrick: Seimone Augustus and Temeka Johnson of LSU on the collegiate level, and Carrie Moore, whom I played against in AAU and is now at Western Michigan, are three that come immediately to my mind.

Gball: What is it like to play in the Southeastern Conference?
Hardrick: It has been great as far as competing is concerned. If you are a competitor, this is where you want to be. It is very unpredictable. In the SEC, anybody can win on any given day if they come to play.

Gball: What was it like to make the starting lineup in your freshman year?
Hardrick: It was great. It took me a little while to realize that I needed to play hard both defensively and offensively for the whole game. (Editor's Note: Janese actually played the entire 40 minutes vs. Ole Miss.) So, once I realized that, and I thought of starting, it just came to me. It was just great and I was ecstatic about it.

Gball: You were named to the Gballmag.com Freshman All-America team. How did you feel about this honor?
Hardrick: Mike (Mike Mobley, Ga. associate sports communications director) was the first to tell me about it. He showed me the Web site, and I was kind of shocked. Freshman All-American is a great honor to have, and not too many achieve that honor. I am just blessed to have the honor.

Gball: In the 2004 SEC tournament semifinal game, you hit the winning shot vs. Tennessee. Tell us about that shot.
Hardrick: I wasn't even supposed to be in the game. I had taken a blow to my side earlier, and coach sat me out and said your done, but I told him I wanted to play, and I kept asking him to put me in. It just so happened that the play broke down, and I was over on the side by coach where I could hear him, and he was saying, Ògo J, go J.Ó And I just went to the basket and prayed that it went in because when we were here against Tennessee, during the regular season, I missed a layup to win it. It kind of went through my mind that I've got to make this one.

Gball: You underwent arthroscopic surgery on your right knee last spring. Have you recovered from the micro-fracture you had in the knee?
Hardrick: It's coming along great. I got cleared about a week-and-a-half ago to do limited, and then I sprained my ankle. Today's the first practice that I've been in that I've done a little bit of stuff. It was great to just get in there with my teammates and do what they're doing even though it was just a certain amount of things. It certainly was better than just standing there. When I'm feeling good, I'm good.

Gball: What part of your game would you most like to improve?
Hardrick: Defense. Coach and I have a joke of when recruits come in, or if someone asks or tells him how good I am, he says, "but she doesn't play defense." When they ask me, I say I don't play defense, I just play offense. So, I'm just working at playing defense hard for the whole game.

Gball: What's it like to be a student-athlete at Georgia?
Hardrick: It's just great. The teachers are great and the atmosphere is tremendous. A lot of people think that we have it easy because we're athletes. It's really not that easy. Teachers work with you, like when you are on the road. I can remember on the plane last year when we were in the NCAA tournament. We were leaving on a Wednesday night and coming back on Tuesday afternoon. You were only going to classes on Wednesday, and our teachers worked with us. We have an academic advisor who comes on the road with us and gives us tests, and does a lot of things with us. As far as atmosphere and the teachers, it is great being at Georgia.

Gball: What's your favorite class?
Hardrick: Interpersonal Communications. It talks about different types of relationships with family, parents and their kids, with boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, and a variety of other things.

Gball: What do you do for fun?
Hardrick: I hang out with my teammates. I'm a big phone person. I talk on the phone a lot.

Gball: How much time do you spend on basketball during the off-season?
Hardrick: After the season depends on how far we go as to how much we do. Last year we made it to the Elite Eight, so we didn't really do too much except rest. As far as when summer comes around we're here at summer school, we lift weights, do quickness and agility drills, practice shooting all on our own because they can't do much with us. Everyday we shoot and every other day we do weights during the summer time.

Gball: Aside from basketball, what are your career goals?
Hardrick: I'm thinking I want to be a marriage counselor, or some kind of counselor that works with children, husband and wife. I just want to get on my feet and be stable.

Gball: What kind of advice would you give young girls hoping to play college basketball?
Hardrick: Keep at it. Practice hard. Practice, practice, practice. I know when I was coming up, I used to admire Teresa Edwards and all the people who are great today, and try and model my game after them. They play hard at both ends, shooting, rebounding, and the all-around game.

Gball: What do you think of your team's high ranking in the preseason?
Hardrick: It's great, but we try not to look at that stuff because certain teams and certain people can look at it and it gets in their heads. They say, oh we're ranked No. 5, we don't have anything to worry about. Since we're ranked No. 5, people are going to expect a lot out of us, and we'll have to live up to those expectations.

Gball: Your home state is Georgia; why is your favorite pro team the Detroit Shock?
Hardrick: Deanna Nolan and Swin Cash. Deanna played at the University of Georgia, and just watching Swin play over the years, I think she is a prime example of a great all-around player who can do it all. She's mobile, she can shoot, she can post up, and defensively she does it all.

Gball: If you were able to pick two players to be on your side for a three-on-three game, whom would you pick?
Hardrick: Deanna Nolan and Tim Duncan. I like Tim's game because he is unselfish, he can shoot and score, and he's shy. He lets his game speak for itself. He doesn't talk trash, but just plays and plays hard. Deanna, I've been a fan of hers since I was little and watched her here at Georgia. She can shoot and she plays very good defense, and she can jump out of the gym.

Interview conducted by Gball Editor Dave Wohlhueter


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