GRAY, Ga. — Jones County Greyhound Lu Woolfolk embraced a leadership role in her senior season, but if you ask her about it, she'll tell you her teammates made it easy.
"We had a lot of younger girls that were willing to listen and looked up to me a lot, so it wasn't too hard to be a leader with them," Woolfolk said. "I feel like they helped me a lot to be just comfortable with them and be comfortable to speak and say what I had to say."
Head coach ChoRhonda Gwaltney-Harris watched Woolfolk develop over the last three years. She said when Woolfolk began, she was just playing basketball. Now a senior, she's a reliable point guard. Gwaltney-Harris had no issue letting Woolfolk take the reins as a senior.
"I was pregnant last year so she did a lot of making sure everyone's in the right place at the right time when I wasn't there and that rolled over into this year where I didn't have to do a lot of yelling and things. She would get them to where they need to be without me doing anything," Gwaltney-Harris said.
Woolfolk is a 4.0 student in the classroom. She balances sports and schoolwork by doing things like taking pictures of her notes and reviewing on the bus ride to games. While her name may be on the schoolwork, she incorporates teamwork into her studies as well.
"Just talking to my teammates, getting their perspective on things and really just talking to my friends too and my teammates about the work just helps me alot," Woolfolk said.
"She's upset with herself if she's not getting the grades she needs. You never really have to worry or look over her to make sure she's doing her homework or anything like that," Gwaltney-Harris said.
Woolfolk's parent, Tania and Dennis, are pretty hands-off when it comes to schoolwork. But when it comes to basketball, Woolfolk has no bigger influence than her dad. Dennis played collegiately at Coker College before heading overseas for a pro career.
"He's an amazing basketball player and he's helped me like develop into the player that I am and helped me get that drive to be the best that I can be," Woolfolk said.
That's why you can always find Lu Wool in the gym, because nobody is going to outwork her.
"I just have that mindset where I'm like, 'OK, I might have practiced with Coach G today, but I need to go put some more shots up with my dad. Just wanting to be better and be the best that I can be," she said.
Woolfolk hasn't decided where she is headed to college, but she said she plans to study medicine to be a pediatrician.
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