Coming into her freshman season at Harrisburg High School in Harrisburg, Penn., Stony Brook senior forward Sabre Proctor was expected to have a big role within the team. Going to her senior year, she knew it was going to be her year.
“My freshman year I had a big role, but my role totally changed because it was my team,” Proctor said.
But in her senior season, it was all up to her and gave her preparation for what was to come.
“It gave me some practice with dealing with different girls and different backgrounds,” the senior forward said.
Over 1,600 points and 1,000 rebounds later, she was on her way to the college ranks. But things did not go exactly as planned for Proctor. She got hurt in her final season and a lot of the schools she wanted to go to pulled their offers.
So it was off to North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. Even though this was not one of her more favorable choices, this was the choice she made because she had some family in the area.
She appeared in 20 games while making three starts for the Aggies, averaging 18 minutes per contest. She was able to average 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
“The girls were great and I felt very comfortable with the coaching staff,” she said, reflecting on her experience. “I thought the distance would help me grow as a person.”
That was not the case, and after one year she wanted to go closer to home. While looking for a transfer school, she reconnected with a coach that had just joined the Seawolves staff in 2011-2012, Jesse Fleming. Fleming previously recruited Proctor out of high school to go to another SBU, St. Bonaventure in Olean, N.Y.
After one season with the Seawolves, a season Proctor could not play due to NCAA rules, Fleming went to Ohio to join the Bowling Green staff. But other than that, the redshirt year proved very useful to Proctor’s transition.
“It was a great time for me to get better,” she said about the year.
She was able to jump right into the mix, leading her team to their first win of the 2012-13 season, putting up 16 of the Seawolves’ 44 points in a 44-40 victory over the Midshipmen of Navy.
Her career high in rebounds was recorded during this sophomore season in a game in which she also recorded her first career double-double. She put up 12 points and 12 rebounds in a heartbreaking loss against New Hampshire in the America East Quarterfinals.
Last season, she stepped into a big leadership role and took this team under her wing. She was named to the Preseason All-Conference team and lived up to the hype, averaging 14.4 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game on her way to an All-America East nomination at the end of the year.
She also helped the Seawolves put an end to Albany’s 38-game winning streak on the road at the end of the regular season, before the Great Danes got revenge in the America East Championship game. That loss earned them a bid in the WNIT in Ann Arbor, taking on the Michigan Wolverines.
“Believe it or not, but we played a lot of bigger schools at A&T,” Proctor said. “But it was a great experience playing at Michigan.”
Now this season, the Seawolves will be looking to the finely tuned leadership skills of Proctor and her fellow senior Jessica Ogunnorin, especially with a new coach at the helm.
Caroline McCombs will take the reins at Stony Brook, with Beth O’Boyle taking a job at Virginia Commonwealth last spring.
“She doesn’t expect anything other than greatness, so I’m excited to play for her this year,” Proctor said.
The goal for this team this season will to get back and ultimately get over the hump and past Albany and ultimately get to the NCAA Tournament, and the team will undoubtedly be looking to the leadership of their senior scoring leader from last season to lead them to victories.
“They are a great team and that’s what we’re developing to be,” Proctor said.
