By Jason Williams
Assistant Director of Athletics Media Services

She's handling the ball out at the top of the key, now she's posting up, draining a 15-footer, taking a three, setting a screen, running the fast break, splitting the defense with a pass from the high post to find a teammate for an open lay-up.

She calls out screens and shifts, dictates her team on the floor and commands the Orange and Black huddle; her back to nothing but the baseline, facing the entire floor, her teammates and her opposition.

The most impressive of this player's skills is perhaps the latter, though, the way she leads her team.

Lauren Yesh is a senior forward by roster classification, but there aren't enough columns on any piece of paper or webpage that truly define what the senior actually does for her Lady Camel team.

"She's going to be remembered by her teammates as 'Mama Yesh' and by our coaching staff as a great leader, an extension of the coaches out on the court, and that's really valuable," said CU head coach Wanda Watkins of her captain. "You see that quality a lot in point guards, but you don't always see it in a player in her position."

Yesh is a two-year captain, serving that role in solo fashion as a junior, and this season as a co-captain along with junior guard Amanda O'Neill.

"I know I'm not the most talented person ever, but I think my will, my want to win, and my drive makes up for everything else," said Yesh. "Part of my role on the court is to keep everyone together and be a leader. I try to work as hard as I can on the court and obviously I want to do what I can to help us win, I don't like lose."

Watkins recalls the recruiting process with Yesh. Associate head coach Mary Weiss was the first to uncover the Evart, Mich. native while watching the AAU nationals in Florida. Weiss immediately called Watkins and urged the head coach to see the potential recruit in person.

Watkins, now in her 30th season as head coach, then watched Yesh at her next tournament, and followed by planning a trip to Michigan to see the 5-foot-11 post play again, this time at her high school.

Though Watkins admits she drove about an hour and a half out of the way, ending up "somewhere around Lake Erie," she says the adventure was well worth it, eventually catching the game and coming away with a four-year staple in the history of a program full of notable players.

Yesh has always been a major part of the CU rotation, even as a freshman during the 2007-08 season, where she played in all 30 team games, starting the season's final 12 contests. She has also made 30 appearances in each of the past two seasons, and has 21 so far (as of Jan. 31) during her senior year, putting the all-time Lady Camel appearances record of 119, set by former CU standout player and assistant coach Janice Washington (1996-01), in sight.

Coach Watkins describes her as loyal and determined.

"She's the one in every huddle and every team meeting, helping her younger teammates learn how to be focused and keep their priorities in order," says Watkins. "Yesh is a player that cleans up and takes care of a lot of things from a coach's perspective. She's always telling her teammates what you want them to hear. She's very determined, very driven, and I think she's trying to instill that in the others. There is a positive benefit that she provides that, even long after she's gone, will exist through the players that will still be with us. She's just so focused."

"She puts her body on the line," added Watkins. "No matter if it's guarding a player that's four inches taller or five seconds quicker, it doesn't matter, she's going to put her body on the line, put her heart and soul into what you ask her to do. She does all the little things, all the intangibles, and to me that's about being an unsung hero for your team. She's been that kind of player for us. She's been blessed with a tremendous amount of leadership ability that's really hard to teach, but is a great value to a basketball team."

Coming to Campbell, though not a typical destination for someone from Michigan, was a natural fit for Yesh. The now senior forward was instantly comfortable with the coaching staff, the team and the Buies Creek campus, though she admits being 15 hours from home was a big plus for an 18-year-old looking to be an independent adult for the first time.

Yesh credits Campbell's small class sizes to her academic growth and success, being honored in each of the last three years as an Atlantic Sun All-Academic team member.

"I'm a very independent person, so it was awesome being here and being an independent person for the first time," said Yesh. "Now I definitely appreciate the importance of family more; the togetherness and closeness that I have with them. I miss them more and more as I've gotten older. I talk to my mom every day."

Despite the distance, her parents and family rarely miss games, watching the Lady Camels from afar via the internet.

"It's almost like a religious thing for my family," says Yesh. "Both my aunts hook their computers up to their TV's and watch our games on their big screens. My dad tries to watch every game, and if for some reason he can't watch it, he's calling my aunts every five seconds for a play-by-play."

The Yesh family does make it to a few games every year, taking time away from their farm in Evart to see their daughter in action all over the Southeast. Lauren also makes the trek home as often as she can. But with her busy class and basketball, that means once in the summer; and a short break for Christmas, though she was able to go home for fall break for the first time this season.

On the court, she made her presence known in her first career game with seven points and five rebounds in 17 minutes. This season, Yesh has a pair of double-doubles, collecting career-highs in points (19 in a win over Mercer) and rebounds (11, twice), leading the team in scoring five times and rebounding in eight games.

Watkins attests that growth to the senior's hard work and dedication. In addition to Coach Watkins, Marlena Murphy, a first-year assistant with the Lady Camels, has also seen Yesh grow from a Michigan rookie into Campbell's undeniable leader. Murphy's perspective is unique in a way that she was also a teammate of Yesh's in 2007-08, serving as a team captain during the final of her two all-conference seasons.

"The biggest thing I've seen from her is the growth of her leadership skills, especially how she has such a powerful impact on the team, on and off the court," said Murphy. "She leads by example, always finding a way to push her teammates and get herself out there. Yesh is that leader that we need both on and off the court."

"I feel like if I produce the leadership I'm asked to produce, and am expected to produce, and if I play my hardest every time I get on the floor, then that's all I can do," said Yesh. "That will help us be successful."

For now, Yesh hoping to help her team finish strong in any way she can, as the Lady Camels vie for positioning in the competitive A-Sun. The criminal justice major, who says working in the federal government would be her dream job, is closing in on Campbell's all-time appearances record, which she can break by playing in all of the Lady Camels' remaining games.

"It feels great to be a part of something bigger than yourself," said Yesh of the achievement. "This team has made me feel so humble. I'm not sure if I'm saying this right, but I feel so little because there are so many of us, and it feels so good to be a part of something that's so great. To be remembered as part of a record in this program feels great."

No matter the records, points scored or rebounds pulled down, Watkins undoubtedly has her leader on this team, and a staple in the Lady Camel program whose impact will be felt for years to come through her teammates.

"You never know who you might see, or where you might go to find someone that you think will fit into your system and fit into Campbell," said Watkins of her captain. "We're really blessed to have found her."