Lanita Bartley ? Cut from a different cloth
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 | Women's Basketball
Lanita Bartley is the shortest player on the Gator's 2011-12 basketball roster but what she lacks in height, she more than makes up for in heart and intensity.
Bartley is different.
Bartley is one of the few point guards who measures 5-foot-6 and can still grab 10 rebounds in a Southeastern Conference game. But for Bartley, a statistic like that is nothing new.
Growing up in nearby Jacksonville, Bartley was so athletic that she would play just about any sport, and could often be found outside playing football with the boys. Her speed and seemingly endless energy is what makes the 5-foot-6 transfer student from Santa Fe College hard to contain, even by the most elite point guards in the SEC.
Playing two seasons at nearby Santa Fe College was an interesting concept for Bartley. While in high school, she didn't know where she would end up playing college basketball, but she did know that she did not want to stop playing the sport she had so much passion for. With Chanda Stebbins, a former basketball and volleyball letterwinner for the Gators, as he head coach at Santa Fe, Bartley knew that she had to give life as a Gator a good, hard look.
Playing in the shadows of the University of Florida is something Bartley faced during her first two years in Gainesville at Santa Fe, but when you lead your team to consecutive Mid-Florida Conference Championships and are named the Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year like Bartley, you are bound to be noticed. Gator head coach Amanda Butler noticed and the rest is history. Butler and Bartley share a high energy level that has led them to 35 wins together in just a little more than a season and a half.
“I really like Coach Butler and the coaching staff, so I'm a Gator,” Bartley said. “It's great! Everything I thought it would be and I like everything about it.”
The adjustment was easy from Santa Fe to UF, as she was already accustomed to life in Gainesville, but the things she had to adjust to were tougher competition and a brighter spotlight. In those circumstances, Bartley has thrived.
Bartley recalls her team achievements with Santa Fe before recalling any personal ones. That is just part of her team-first mindset, a trait that is often seen in some of the game's best point guards.
“Just stepping up and being a leader and having all my teammates like me and look up to me just makes me feel very good inside,” Bartley said.
On the court, she is energetic which fits right in with this emotional group of Gators, but off the court Bartley is more laid back and relaxed.
“Hitting a big shot gives me momentum, but I really like it when I'm coming in transition and I will hit somebody on a three. I really like that,” Bartley said.
Before the 2011-12 season began, Bartley was able to prepare with the knowledge and experience gained after one full season of NCAA Division I college basketball. With that knowledge, she worked on becoming a more confident shooter from beyond the arc, while continuing to improve her stellar defense.
The continuously churning motor that powers Bartley has been evident this season, as she leads the Gators in assists and steals, the two categories that she prides herself most.
“On the court I am energetic and when we get steals and defensive stops, all that just motivates us,” Bartley said.
The Feb. 5 game against Ole Miss was just another example of how Bartley is different. She pulled down 10 rebounds and scored 17 points in a 29-point victory for the Gators.
When describing Bartley's defensive intensity, teammate and sophomore point guard Jaterra Bonds says “she can probably tell me what the opponent had for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” It is a running joke between her teammates and coaches, but they all know that they are glad to have her on their side instead of having to face her suffocating defense.
After Bartley plays her last game and graduates from UF with a degree in sociology, she will have options. With hopes to keep with her passion of playing basketball, she aspires to play overseas, but knowing there is a life after basketball, she is aware that graduate school is an option and one that intrigues her just as it did for teammate and friend, Jordan Jones. Bartley also said that coaching has rubbed off on her, so that has become a possible future as well.
“I guess I just have heart for the game,” Bartley said.
--by Andrew Piper, UAA Communications Office Student Assistant
