Latrobe grad Camille Dominick has new attitude for 2nd season with Pitt-Johnstown women's basketball team

One hundred eighty-one days.

That’s how long Camille Dominick went without playing basketball after a shoulder injury during junior high volleyball necessitated surgery and a long recovery.

Not that she was counting.

During the six months she was forced to sit out athletics, she realized what was most important to her, and that was basketball. She made it back in time for her freshman basketball season at Latrobe, and she has kept to that path since.

Now, Dominick is a sophomore with the Pitt-Johnstown women’s team, and she is looking to improve on what turned out to be a solid freshman season. A 6-foot forward, Dominick averaged 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds last season while appearing in 26 of the Mountain Cats’ 28 games.

“If you would have asked me in the moment, no,” Dominick said when asked if she was happy with the way her first season unfolded. “I feel like I could have done more, could have done better. I felt like I played into that freshman mindset a little bit too much like, maybe passing up some open shots.

“But looking back on it now a year out, I think I had a pretty traditional freshman come-up. I think I learned a lot last year, and I wouldn’t go back and change it.”

Change, however, was in the wind for the program. Mike Drahos, who recruited Dominick, vacated his role as coach to focus on his duties as athletic director. In came D’wan Shackleford-Vickory, a former standout at Ohio State who was assuming her first college head coaching job.

She inherited a roster of only 11, including only five returning players, and no seniors. Shackleford-Vickory said she approached the team as if it was a blank slate, but Dominick, she said, was one of the players who caught her attention early.

“From the time I was on my interview and I met Camille, I absolutely loved her,” said Shackleford-Vickory, who ranks 13th all-time at Ohio State with 179 steals. “I thought she was really hungry and really eager to grow as a player and a person. She just had that glint in her eye.”

For Dominick, of course, having a new coach came with some uncertainty. But she quickly learned to appreciate Shackleford-Vickory’s methods, particularly her attention to detail and how she wanted to build the team culture.

And having a coach with Big Ten pedigree as a player helped give Shackleford-Vickory instant credibility with the players.

“She always preaches to us that we’re not just players of the game. We’re students of the game,” Dominick said. “So before every game, we have notebooks and binders. We’re taking notes not only on our opponents but on ourselves. We do film and scout on ourselves.

“It’s not just going out and trying to out-athlete a team. We’re trying to out-technique them.”

But in the offseason, even before the coaching change, Dominick was making sure she was going to be a better athlete in her second year.

Five days a week, she would make the hour-plus drive from Latrobe to Green Tree to train at Sky Development. She focused on lifting weights and her vertical jump to fall more in line with the physical nature of the PSAC.

She also made sure to maintain diversity in her game. Dominick had been accustomed to being one of the taller players on the court throughout junior high and high school, but at the Division II level, that’s rarely the case. She built strength to be able to bang in the post when she needs to, but she also is capable of stepping out and shooting from the perimeter or taking her defender off the dribble.

Through the Mountain Cats’ first seven games, her averages are up to 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds. She already has two games of double-figure scoring after having only three all of last season.

And though Dominick has made two starts — the first two of her college career — Shackleford-Vickory said she might prefer to bring her off the bench.

“Energy and athleticism and experience coming off the bench,” the coach said. “I thought that Camille could really embrace that role. … She can spread defenses, she can shoot from the outside and when she gets downhill, she’s terrific into the basket.”

Shackleford-Vickory added a caveat, however: Coming off the bench might not be Dominick’s permanent role. But in either case, Dominick said she is eager to contribute.

“At the end of the day, my job is doing what the team needs me to do,” she said, “and if that means coming off the bench, then that means coming off the bench.”

As might be expected in the wake of the coaching change, the Mountain Cats are off to a slow start, sitting at 1-6 (0-2 PSAC) heading into Tuesday’s nonconference game at Glenville State. Three of those losses have come by five points or fewer.

In UPJ’s lone victory — 82-68 over Davis and Elkins — Dominick played 23 minutes off the bench and notched 11 points and six rebounds. She said once the team smooths out a few rough edges, it should be able to compete with the best in the PSAC.

“Right now, the biggest thing is we need to work on ourselves,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of turnovers. … Coach keeps telling us: Our opponents’ best offense is us giving them the ball. … If we can limit our turnovers and continue to work on ourselves, I fully believe we can beat any team.”

Shackleford-Vickory said she is eager to see what Dominick can accomplish over the next two-plus seasons. She said with Dominick’s height and athleticism, she should be able to take advantages of mismatches on the perimeter and in the post.

Dominick, meanwhile, is confident she can continue to raise her level.

“The biggest thing this year was my mindset,” she said. “Like I said, I felt last year I played into that freshman mindset a little bit too much. I wanted to come out this year and play a little more aggressive, be a little more confident in my shots.

“I’ve been a very important player in the past, and I can do that again at the college level.”