The Lady Tigers enter the 2008 season this weekend with a young team of seven freshmen, three sophomores and only three upperclassmen.And junior guard Allison Hightower, a self-described quiet person, is prepared to step into the role of an elder stateswoman on the young squad — whether she likes it or not.”This year I have to step outside my comfort zone and be a vocal leader on the team,” Hightower said at Southeastern Conference media day.Sophomore guard Katherine Graham said Hightower has been more vocal in practice, telling the team what they need to do to get better.”She is always the type that has led by example,” Graham said. “Now she is becoming a more vocal captain.”  Senior forward Kristen Morris said the only leadership aspect Hightower needed to improve was talking more.”I think she is getting better at that, but it’s hard for her,” Morris said.  Morris said Hightower was already known for leading by example, so talking more is just another step.Hightower, an Arlington, Texas, native, has let her play do the talking in her first two seasons at LSU. She was named to the 2007 Freshman All-SEC Team, and she was the 2008 SEC Sixth Woman of the Year. She was also named to the preseason All-SEC First Team this year.Second-year coach Van Chancellor said he’s excited for the opportunity Hightower has to lead the Lady Tigers this season.”There is no question she deserves this,” Chancellor said. “She will be a force and a player to watch in the SEC this season.” Hightower’s transition into a leadership role has been somewhat expected since she came to LSU in 2006. She had been part of junior- and senior-laden teams in her first two seasons — campaigns which ended in the Lady Tigers’ fourth- and fifth-straight Final Fours.With the departure of eight seniors from last year’s squad, Hightower, who played in all 37 games this season, returns as the team’s leading scorer.Freshman forward LaSondra Barrett said Hightower has always set an extremely good example and displayed her leadership ability — especially lifting weights and practicing this summer.  “She has been a good example on and off the court and in the classroom for all the freshmen,” Barrett said.Barrett said it is important to have leaders on the team like Hightower.”We look up to Allison a lot, because not just for what she has accomplished, but how hard she works and how dedicated she is to the game,” Barrett said.Chancellor said Hightower’s versatility makes her a dangerous offensive weapon, but she can improve her inside game.”She can penetrate, she can shoot from the outside, she can do it all,” Chancellor said. Hightower enters the season with 2008 Preseason All-SEC First Team honors already under her belt.”It’s a great honor for me to be picked,” Hightower said. “I haven’t focused on that, and I just want to help this team out.”Hightower said her favorite memories with the Lady Tigers have been her two Final Four appearances despite the individual accolades.”Making it to the Final Four was crazy,” Hightower said.  “When I first got here my freshman year, I was like, ‘Wow, this is what it feels like to make it to the Final Four,’ and then we made it back again my second year, and it was great.”But Morris said this season will take a joint team effort if the Lady Tigers hope to make another deep tournament run.”She does a great job keeping her teammates on the floor with her in the game,” Morris said. “But all five players are going to have to stay solid if we expect to be successful.”
 
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