Jasmine Joyner called her initial meeting with then-new University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball coach Jim Foster in 2013 "awkward."
Joyner, a Wes Moore recruit, was the last player Foster had the chance to evaluate when he took the job, as a physical delayed her ability to get out on the floor.
"The first time I met him, he just stared at me the whole time," Joyner said.
She arrived on campus with one elite ability - blocking shots - but not much else in the arsenal. That was enough to give her a chance to get on the floor as a freshman, and Joyner was instrumental in the Mocs' 76-62 win over former Southern Conference member Davidson on Feb. 1, 2014.
Joyner had eight rebounds and seven blocks in 24 minutes, having to play more time due to an injury suffered by then-senior Faith Dupree.
"Davidson didn't have a scouting report on her," Foster recalled. "We don't win if she doesn't play."
That season ended in the NCAA tournament, as have the two seasons since. In that time, Joyner has gone from a player who averaged 3.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game as a freshman to a player averaging nearly a double-double.
Her free-throw shooting has improved from just under 60 percent as a sophomore, her first season as a starter, to nearly 70 percent 10 games into her final season.
"She's an example of what you do if you work hard," Foster said. "When she came in, all she could do is block shots; now she can do a lot of things. She can shoot it, drive it, shoot a 3; she's a smart player with a big basketball IQ.
"She's a great example of what happens when you work at it."
The biggest improvement Joyner has tried to make has been evolving into a leader. It wasn't an automatic transition, but she said she's communicated with last year's leader, current graduate assistant Alicia "Red" Payne, and continues to try to improve in that area.
"I have to try not to get frustrated with myself because I'm trying to lead the team," she said. "I'm always trying to motivate them. It's been challenging, but I knew that when I first became the leader.
"I work on it every day."
The team's now annual two-week stretch between games around the holidays ends tonight at 7 with a road game at Florida Gulf Coast (6-6). Last season's two-week stretch ended with a lopsided loss to South Florida, which led to a lengthy team meeting afterward.
Joyner's focus is making sure that isn't needed again.
"We haven't had a game in 15 days, so I'm telling my teammates to maintain focus and keep playing hard," she said. "We have to play hard the whole 40 minutes, play our game."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.