//COVER Queen


BY MEREDITH BROYLES meredithbroyles@csdecatur.net


in hand. She works hard be- fore school, at practice and on the weekends with or without the coach. Alford’s ready to go from a Bulldog to a Jack- sonville Dolphin, not without basketball of course.


F Alford’s recruiting process began sopho-


more and junior year. Many schools such as Virginia Tech and Eastern Carolina among others were in touch with her. Alford has officially signed with Jacksonville Univer- sity, a Division I school, as of November 10th. Te summer before her junior year, Al-


ford tried out for a Nike National Travel team and made it. On this team, she trav- eled around the country playing in tourna- ments, which made her dream of playing at a Division I college a real prospect. She


28 CARPE DIEM • DECEMBER 2011


“[Decatur is] small, and not alot of people know about us. We’re thought of as the under- dogs. It motivates me to be thought of as an underdog,” Alford said.


or senior Queen Al- ford, perfectionism and basketball go hand


started to catch the eye of many college coaches, and started receiving letters and phone calls. Most college bound athletes don’t have the luxury of choosing a sport they would like to pursue. Alford was looked at for track as well as basketball. “When I was younger, a lot of people would doubt me because they thought I was more of a track runner than a basketball player,” she said. “Tat motivated me because I don’t like when people tell me I can’t do something.” She ultimately decided on basketball over


OF THE COURT


track because she knew it was her passion. Te girls track team won state when she


was a freshmen, with Alford winning the 800 race, this caused the belief of she was a better track runner than basketball player. Queen had to put a lot of effort into track practice, but her natural athletic ability showed when she started playing basket- ball in sixth grade. Family plays a large part of her life, espe-


cially growing up with nine siblings. “You never get bored,” she said. Basketball is something that she and her siblings liked


Photo taken by Meredith Broyles


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