MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women’s basketball team will welcome four newcomers to its lineup for the 2010-11 season.  Over the course of the summer, usajaguars.com will sit down with the incoming players so that fans have an opportunity to get to know each of them off the court.  The third in the four-part series is Ronneka Robertson, a 6-0 small forward from Kentwood High School in Kentwood, La.  Robertson is the only prep signee in this year’s class and signed with the Jags last fall.

While at Kentwood, Robertson started playing with the varsity team during seventh grade and earned all-district honors all six seasons.  This past season, she averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and three assists per game, while helping the Lady Roos advance to the semifinal round of the state play-offs.   She also recorded over 1,000 points for her career at Kentwood.

Robertson earned honorable mention all-state honors as a junior and as a sophomore, she was named to the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Class 1A all-state team after helping the Lady Roos advance to the semifinals of the state tournament.

Where were you born and have you always lived in Kentwood, La.?
“I was born in Baton Rouge, but for the most part of my life I lived between Amite and St. Helena Parrish.  It was midway so we were considered to be in Amite, but I’ve always gone to Kentwood though for school.  We moved to Kentwood to live around my junior high years when I was in seventh grade.  During my ninth grade year my mom and dad got divorced and I moved to Independence, La., but I went to Kentwood for school the entire time.”

At Kentwood, you were a starter at the varsity level since seventh grade.  How did that experience help you develop as a player?
“It made me grow up a whole lot.  Even during my time playing AAU ball, I always played up a level.  When I started the season during seventh grade, I didn’t even know I was going to start.  My coach just threw me out there during a jamboree and just said go for it.  He started me at point guard and told me that I was the leader of the team, even though I was the youngest on the team.  It made me grow up real fast.”

Throughout your career, have you played mostly at the guard spot or in the post?
“In high school, I played everywhere.  It depended on who was in the game and the time it was at during the game.  In AAU, I played mostly in the post.  I never really touched the guard position too much.”

Why did you choose South Alabama over the other schools that were recruiting you?
“Just the feeling that I got when I came here on my visits.  The first time I came to South Alabama was with my AAU team during a camp.  The way that they treated me and the warmness that they showed me never changed during the process.   I felt like it could be my home-away-from-home.  It just felt right.”

You are majoring in physical therapy at South Alabama.  What made you decide that you wanted to pursue physical therapy as a career?
“If I don’t end up playing basketball professionally after I graduate, I know that I want to always keep working with basketball.  I didn’t really know if I wanted to coach, but I knew physical therapy is a way that I can help players.”

Do you want to be an athletic trainer for a team or do you want to go and work for a rehabilitation clinic?
“I would like to be an athletic trainer.”

What are your goals for the upcoming season?
“My goals for this season are to make the adjustment and get a feel for how the college game is because there is a difference between high school and college.  I just want to get myself better and make myself stronger.   I just want to contribute and help them anyway that I can.”

Is there a WNBA player that you look up to or try to model your game after?
“Seimone Augustus (former LSU All-American and current Minnesota Lynx star) is my favorite.  I have been following Seimone since she went to Capital High School in Baton Rouge.  I have just always loved the way that she plays and the attitude she has on the court.  I just try to model myself to be like her.”

Since you are the only signee coming from the high school ranks this year, how has the adjustment and the transition from high school life to the college life been for you since arriving at South Alabama?
“It was a little difficult early on, but I think I am adjusting to it pretty well.  It was pretty hard in the beginning.  The others (signees) had already had some experience coming from junior college, but having always played basketball with girls older than me, I have adjusted to it pretty quickly.”

Has your roommate (Taylor Ammons) given you any advice on how to handle life as a college student?
“She has just told me that time management is the biggest thing in college.  You have to manage your time.  If you manage your time wisely, everything will be ok.”

What is a routine day for you at USA?
“Normally, I have study hall in the morning at about 9 a.m. and then I go to my classes.  After I finish those, we have our workouts in the afternoon.  Then it’s back to doing home work.”

Who in your life do you look up to as a role-model or who has had a big impact on your life?
“I look up to my mom, my dad and my sister.  My mom has always wanted us do the best we can and have a better life.  My sister has an unbelievable work ethic.  She is always trying to get better education wise.  She achieves one thing and then she is going to achieve something else.  Right now she is in law school.   She has shown me that you can do anything that you want to do, when you put your mind to it.”

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).