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Lyndra Littles: Managing Her Time Well
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Jan. 14, 2007
After a stellar freshman season, sophomore Lyndra Little is leading the youthful Cavaliers this season.
Averaging 16.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and netting eight double-double performances, Littles became a permanent member of the starting line-up. Named to the Marriott Cavalier Classic and Junkanoo Jam All-Tournament teams, the 6-1 forward from Washington, D.C., has also garnered ACC Player of the Week accolades this season.
But the sophomore starter isn’t feeling extra pressure.
“If anything, I’m more comfortable,” Littles said. “I felt more pressure last year, because I didn’t really know what my role was. I didn’t know what to do. Now I’m a little bit more comfortable. I know Coach Ryan’s system a little bit better and the defenses. I know what she expects, and I know what I’m supposed to do.”
Fans may be surprised that this youngster is Virginia’s statistical leader, but Littles is just one of the Cavaliers’ many weapons.
“They’re surprised? Everybody can play; Siedah can put up numbers every night; Sharneé can put numbers up every night,” Littles said. “Now we have Monica who’s a freshman and she can put numbers up every night, and Paulisha can put numbers up. So I really don’t think the leading scorer or leading rebounder really matters, because it could be any one of us.”
Head coach Debbie Ryan expected a lot from Littles from the beginning.
“Lyndra is maybe the most improved player from the end of last season to this fall,” Ryan said in the preseason. “She has worked extremely hard on her fitness level and the mental part of the game. Lyndra is much more prepared for the rigors of college basketball, and this will give us a chance to better utilize her versatility.”
With her expanded role, Littles is impressed with the freshmen and their early contributions.
“It’s definitely our present and certainly our future. Next year we can only get better; we’re a young team. I feel bad for teams we’ll play next year, because we’re gaining a lot of minutes. That’s more experience. We’re going to be a step ahead of the incoming kids next year.”
But for the moment, the sophomore and her teammates are concentrating on this season. Once again, the Atlantic Coast Conference boasts the nation’s top three ranked teams, making every game even more significant.
“We play in a great conference,” Littles said. “I’m excited to play against all of them, because they’re all great competitors, and it’ll be great competition. It’s good experience for us as younger players to play against players who are experienced. It’s good we’re in the same conference, because it puts us up there, too.”
While Littles is succeeding on the hardwood, off the court she’s had to become better organized. Recognizing that her time management skills needed to be strengthened, Littles has taken advantage of all the help UVa could give her.
“The coaches, my academic advisors, and my teammates do their best to help me, because sometimes I get stressed out a lot,” Littles shared. “I get tired. When I get sleepy, I can’t function; I can’t do anything. I have to make sure that everything’s set, like scheduling, I have to plan out my week. I have this to do today, I can take a nap here, get up and do some work here, then go to practice, go home and go to sleep. If I can see it, it’s better. Otherwise, it really feels overwhelming.
“The schedule we have is really, really demanding. On top of that, we really don’t have free time or time for yourself. I’m fine being at home by myself watching TV. I’m constantly around everybody. Sometimes the hardest thing is finding time for myself, setting aside an hour or two hours out of the day or even four hours out of the week just to do what I want to do. If you don’t have any balance, then it’s all work and no play.”
In her free time, Littles can be found on her cell phone. She’s in constant contact with her cousin Rafael, who plays basketball at Temple, and her little sister Brandi.
“I talk to my cousin like five times a day,” Littles said. “When we get on the phone, we really don’t talk about basketball much. Usually it’s `I miss you’ or `what are you doing?’ When we’re home, you never see us without each other. I’m always at his house or he’s always at my house. When we went to college, it was kind of hard. He’s like my brother. I don’t get to see him everyday, so we talk all the time.
“My little sister is really, really special. I talk to her 10 times a day,” Littles added. “She calls me in the morning, she calls me when she gets `A’s on her report card. For every `A” I told her I’d give her $10. She always calls me. She’s my No. 1 fan.”
While she hasn’t declared a major, Littles is looking into anthropology. Her passion off the court is writing.
“I like to write. I write a lot of poems,” Littles said. “My mom’s been trying to get me to publish them forever. I have notebooks of stuff since I was in eighth grade.”
With the remainder of this season and the next two years to go, Littles will surely give the Cavaliers many poetic performances on and off the court.
Out of Bounds with Lyndra Littles
Favorites
Food: Seafood pasta, chicken
Junk food: Candy corn
Ice cream: Chocolate fudge brownie
Color: Blue
Actor: Martin Lawrence
Actress: Halle Berry
Movie: Fun with Dick & Jane
Book: Coldest Winter Ever
UVa Tradition: Pre-game trip to the Dairy Queen
Basketball Drill: NBA drill
Most embarrassing song on my iPod …
Chicken Noodle Soup
Three words that best describe me …
funny, relaxed, random
My advice to a young athlete is …
go to class!
Best Christmas present as a kid …
cell phone
One thing I always pack for road trips is …
cell phone, charger, iPod
Best thing about being a Cavalier is …
having another family.
My goals for the season are …
to win a national championship.
Best thing I like about John Paul Jones Arena is …
the dining hall, our locker room, the court, the plasma TVs, and the hot tub.