Jackson Progress-Argus

Tori Laster is one of only three juniors on Jackson’s varsity girls basketball team.

Tori Laster, a junior basketball player for the Jackson High School Lady Red Devils, is unassuming and unimposing. She is soft spoken and well mannered. That’s why it seems strange when she talks about her favorite aspects of playing basketball.

“I like to get out there and compete,” said Laster, who was raised in Jackson. “I go out there and work hard. I’m a real big competitor.”

Laster, along with Jasmine Williams and Chelsie Wilson, are the only three juniors on Jackson’s varsity girls basketball team. This makes them the three oldest and most experienced players as well, seeing as the Lady Red Devils don’t have any seniors on the squad. This places Laster in a unique leadership role. Not being a yeller or a screamer, Laster prefers to let her play do the talking.

“I just go out there and play hard,” said Laster, who has played an increasing amount at guard and forward as the season has progressed. “Hopefully the younger girls can see how hard I compete and how hard I work and say to themselves, ‘If Tori’s working that hard, I need to work that hard too.’”

Laster said she has learned a lot playing for Head Coach Corey Johnson, and has taken one of his phrases that he uses in practice to heart.

“Coach Johnson will tell us in practice, ‘You do it right, you do it light. You do it wrong, you do it all night long,’” Laster said.

Johnson said that Laster is one of the most driven girls on the team, proven by something Laster did not long ago.

“Maybe a couple of weeks ago, she handed me a letter first thing in the morning,” explained Johnson. “The letter said, 'Coach Johnson, can you please stay on me and push me so I can do the things I need to do to get better.'”

While she is driven and competitive, Laster also shies away from drawing attention to herself.

“Tori is one of the players that's motivated, and she loves basketball. Tori's the type of person that wants to get better,” said Johnson. “But she’s also pretty quiet. I'm still trying to get her to uncover, so she is able to realize her potential and athletic ability. At this point, she doesn't even know how good and how dominant she could really be. I'm just trying to get her to come out and have confidence.”

When Laster isn’t busy playing basketball, a sport which consumes most of her free time, she said you won’t find her doing anything too extravagant.

“When it’s time to practice, I practice hard,” said Laster. “But outside of that, I like to just hang out with friends, just laughing and talking and stuff like that. Nothing too crazy.”

Laster said one thing you might find her doing at home is watching television shows like “C.S.I.” and “The First 48,” as she admits to having an affinity for crime and problem solving. She said she would like to get involved in criminal justice at a major university (preferably Clemson or Florida State) after graduation from Jackson High School.

Until then, Laster will continue to keep her head down and work hard. She said this will be her first year not running hurdles for the track team, but only because she wants to focus on basketball and try to attend some camps to help improve her game.