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Russo Helps Keep Cobras Together

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By CRISTINA LEDRA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 28, 2007

HUDSON - The girls basketball team at Hudson has seen some instability the past three seasons, with three different coaches, but one of the constants has been senior guard Patty Russo and her emphasis on teamwork.

The 5-foot-5 Russo stood out to new coach Aaron Lounsbury from his first days on the job, and he said she is a big reason the Cobras were 3-2 entering Tuesday night's game against Ridgewood.

"Her teammates look up to her," Lounsbury said. "She's got a great attitude, she's very coachable. And with this being my first year, especially coaching girls, she's really helped me out a lot."

They follow her because she is always concerned about them. Russo has played with most of her teammates for several years between the high school team and other leagues, and she thinks that has helped the team get through the coaching changes.

"I love my team to death," Russo said. "We get along so well. We have a tough week this week with Ridgewood, Land O' Lakes and Nature Coast, but so far we've been doing good. We've improved a lot from the beginning of the year."

On the court, Russo is the one opponents key in on, but she is tough to stop.

The Cobras play her at the 1, 2 and 3 positions because they have other players who can handle the ball, so they can afford to move her around.

Lounsbury, who hadn't coached girls before taking the Hudson job, has been impressed with Russo's skill.

"She's quick on her feet, she sees the whole court," Lounsbury said. "Her court vision is very good. I really wish she would shoot more. She's unselfish and she's always trying to make other people better, but she has a really sweet shot and I wish I saw it more."

Russo, who is averaging 9.4 points per game this season, said she loves to get everyone the ball and that her confidence suffers when she is not hitting her shots from the start.

Russo is third on the team in scoring this season behind Shannan Zasloff (13.8) and Cara Carley (13.2).

She hopes to be the Cobras' all-time assists leader by the end of the season. She is averaging a team-leading 5.4 assists per game.

"I like to play as a team," Russo said. "I want to get everyone to score, because every single person on my team I think is a great player. If I'm having a bad day, I know I can count on my team.

"If my shot's off, I stop shooting. My shot's off, I'm not going to shoot and it gets in my head, and sometimes I have to be more positive."

The only real problem Lounsbury has seen is that her passes sometimes have a little too much on them and her teammates have trouble handling them.

She also is the workhorse of the team. In the first five games of the season, she has only been on the bench for about six minutes.

"If she's not out there, we're in trouble," Lounsbury said.

The results have been positive, with the Cobras earning three wins in five games this season. They only had eight victories last season.

"So far so good," Russo said. "I think we have a lot to work on but I think we have a strong team."

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