Rhian Stokes spent six weeks of her summer back on campus at Saint Joseph’s University.
The Ewing High School graduate was not only taking classes toward graduating early, but also honing her basketball skills with the Hawks heading into her junior year. Lifting weights, working out with the team and completing individual workouts gave her a full day on top of her classwork.
“I think the summers have definitely helped me a lot,” said Stokes, who graduated from Ewing in 2024. “Freshman year coming in, I wasn’t like the greatest shooter ever and I didn’t have like the best handle or the best floor game.
“But I feel like last summer really helped me make that jump to start shooting 40 percent from 3 my sophomore year. And I think that this summer, it’s just making sure my shot stays consistent, I develop a consistent pull-up game and just helping the team on the court, like being that coach on the court. So I think the summers are definitely a big help for that.”
Stokes has taken big steps since graduating from Ewing as the Blue Devils girls basketball program’s all-time leading scorer. She was able to play with Saint Joseph’s during an international trip to Croatia before her first college fall semester began, then enjoyed a solid start to her freshman year.
She started four games and played in all 34 for the Hawks, who went 24-10 overall and 12-6 in the Atlantic 10 Conference and reached the conference tournament championship game. She averaged 5.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
“When I finished my first season, I was like, oh my gosh, this game moves so fast,” said Stokes. “Because in Jersey, we don’t play with a shot clock. So we were able to just hold the ball until we got the shot that we wanted.
“But my first few practices here playing with the shot clock, it was a nightmare. I felt rushed. But I think as the season progressed, I became more comfortable with the speed of the game.”
Stokes took another big leap last year. She started all 31 games for the Hawks, who went 20-11 overall and 10-8 in the conference. Her 9.8 points per game ranked third on the team, and she led the team with 3.3 assists per game, which also ranked sixth in the Atlantic 10.
“I think I just got the reps in the summer and in the preseason practices and I just became more comfortable with my team and being able to lead them,” Stokes said. “I feel like I trusted my team more and they trusted me.”
There were improvements across the board for her. Perhaps the most impressive was her 3-point shooting, which went from 28 percent as a freshman to 40 percent as a sophomore. She also led the team with an 81 percent free-throw percentage. Her growth was part of proving how well she had adapted after just one year of college basketball.
“I felt way more adjusted,” Stokes said. “Thankfully, my first year we had a great senior class, so they were able to help me get a feel of the game coming in. And I mean, I played a decent amount my freshman year, and I feel like that also really helped me adjust for my sophomore year.
“But last summer, we had seven new people come in. So that was also kind of an adjustment as well. We had to kind of rebuild the team chemistry, but I feel like we get along very well.”
Adding four freshmen and three transfers made it new for everyone. Stokes had to learn to lead from her point guard position while adjusting to a starting role and the responsibilities that came with it.
“I was just proud of the way that I was able to help lead my team,” she said. “I thought when times got rough, I was able to calm everybody down and make sure that we were doing what we had to do on the court and off the court.”
She showed maturity in doing so. Although Stokes was only in her second year in the program, she was able to lead others while improving her own play and leading by example.
“I think the challenges were definitely figuring out what to say and how to say it,” Stokes said. “Because with new people coming in, you really don’t know how they’re going to take things.
“So I really just had to find the right tone to say it and build that bond so that if I do say something, they don’t take it the wrong way. And vice versa, if they say something to me, I don’t take it the wrong way either. So I think that was definitely the biggest challenge.”
Optimism is high for an even better season this year. St. Joe’s returns much of its nucleus from last year and has added five newcomers. The players have been working throughout the summer to bond and find a way to be even more successful this winter.
“It’s going to look a lot similar to last year, but this year we’re going to bring home the A-10 championship,” said Stokes.
She explained that her confidence comes from the team’s chemistry.
“I’d say definitely the chemistry. We have a lot of depth, a lot of people who could play multiple positions and can score in multiple different ways. Like I feel like this year we’re just going to be very un-guardable.”
Stokes figures heavily into that mix and optimism. With 65 college games under her belt, including 35 starts, she returns with as much experience as any junior in the country. She will be taking on a familiar role while leading a team that includes players a couple of classes behind her.
“I see myself definitely being a little bit more of a scorer this year, finding my shots more while also finding our other players shots as well,” Stokes said. “Just like figuring out that balance between when to take my shot and when to pass it up.”
It is a lot like how her game looked at Ewing. She could create her own shot or find others, such as Te’Yala Delfosse or Joi Johnson. Stokes has continued developing her skills since moving on to college.
“My ability to shoot the ball, that has definitely taken a jump,” Stokes said. “I feel like it’s more consistent than it was in high school and just my overall understanding of the game. I feel like being at St. Joe’s for these past two years has definitely grown my ability to understand the game.”
Ewing remains close to her heart. She was able to see the Blue Devils who followed her play a couple of games during her freshman year, and she kept up with the team from afar last year while staying in touch with head coach Dan Montferrat. Her time at Ewing was instrumental in helping prepare her for college.
“I feel like definitely competing with Te’Yala, Joi, Shawnae (Biggs), all those people, I feel like competing with them every day in practice has definitely helped me become the player that I am today,” Stokes said.
“And just me and Monty, we talk all the time. Him instilling confidence in me and having personal basketball talks with me, that’s really helped me.”
The three former Ewing standouts have followed one another throughout their college careers. Delfosse has been a top reserve off the bench for Michigan, and Johnson is taking her skills from Fairleigh Dickinson to Jackson State as a transfer this fall.
“I keep tabs on them,” Stokes said. “Me and Joi, we talk pretty much every day. Like we’ve been best friends since the second grade so we keep in contact pretty often.
“But Te,’ I haven’t really spoken to her much, but I’ve been keeping track of what she’s doing and following her on ESPN and watching her game and she’s been doing a great job at Michigan.”
They have been living up to the hype after coming out of the most successful stretch in the history of the Ewing girls basketball program. The three are proving themselves at the next level.
“We’re all definitely doing great things,” said Stokes. “Like Te’ has definitely evolved. She’s a great 3-point shooter, great defender, she’s really they’re like catalyst off the bench. She’s coming in doing all the dirty work, the little things that you wouldn’t really see show up in the box score but she’s really making a name for herself at Michigan.
“And I know Joi, FDU, it didn’t work out for her, but I think this year Jackson State is definitely going to be her year.”
Stokes has made strides each year. She will still have three seasons to play under the NCAA’s new “five-in-five” rule, which gives college athletes five seasons of eligibility over five years.
Stokes still has to sort out what that will look like academically, including whether she will pursue an advanced degree after earning her undergraduate degree. Her basketball path is more established, and she is looking forward to continuing to grow. That is exactly why she spent six weeks at St. Joe’s this summer.
“Just getting more reps in the gym, working on my ball handling, cutting down on my turnovers and then making sure I have a consistent shot,” Stokes said.
“We don’t want me to go like 3-for5 from 3 one game and then 0-for-like 7 next. I need to stay consistent in what I’m doing, with my shooting, with my dribbling, my passing, just be a consistent player.”
