FLOWERY BRANCH — Cherokee Bluff’s Madi Phillips dreams are coming true.
The Lady Bears’ 6-foot-2 senior forward picked up two college offers over the summer to play basketball.
“When I received my first offer I felt very excited and blessed because it has always been a dream of mine to play basketball at the next level,” she said.
George College in Milledgeville and Columbus State in Columbus are the first two of more than likely many more to offer Phillips a scholarship.
Her high school coach, Lindsay Justice, says Phillips has been putting in the extra work over the summer.
“Madi has worked really hard in the offseason, improving her post moves and playing away from and facing the basket,” Justice said. “She had a great travel ball season with the Lady Warriors Elite as well.”
During her junior season, Phillips averaged 11.7 points per game and 10 rebounds per game. She also set the school record for rebounds with 22 and turned in a 30-point performance against Cumberland Christian.
Phillips has put a major focus on improving her outside game this summer to become a threat both inside and outside.
“Before the summer started, my high school coaches challenged me to get outside of the paint and to try new things,” Phillips said. “My travel coach also really encouraged and expected me to do the same. My parents have also been very supportive as well. I’ve sacrificed many weekends to making me a better player and always being there to cheer me on and support me through it all.”
This summer, Phillips pushed herself against top competition on the high school level and travel league circuits.
“I have been playing summer basketball for as long as I can remember,” she said. “The difference this year was the level of competition. All of the tournaments we played in were against high-level teams and gave us good competitive and required us to push ourselves. I know this summer has made me a lot better.
Last season, the Lady Bears finished as the No. 4 seed out of Region 7-3A. Phillips said she wants to build on that in 2019.
“My expectations for this season is to contribute to the Cherokee Bluff culture in a positive way,” she said. “I want to be a leader for my team on and off the court and represent my school well.”
