CAMDEN — Alexia Jordan remembers when she was first approached about switching to point guard.

Let’s just say, the sophomore Caesar Rodney High basketball player wasn’t too thrilled about the idea.

“Initially, I did not want it all,” said Jordan, now a senior for the Riders. “I went from the ‘three’ man to the ‘one’ man real quick and I did not like it. But Coach said it was the role for me.

“Here we are three years later and I love it.”

Indeed, a lot can change in just a couple seasons. Jordan would like to think she and her teammates have evolved a great deal as a team, as well.

After going only 6-14 two years ago, the Riders are now coming off a 15-6 season and are currently 3-1 with a home game against Smyrna coming up today at 7 p.m.

“It’s like coming full circle from when it was when I got here to what it is now,” said Jordan, who is averaging 10.3 points per game. “Just how the team has changed as a whole.

“I like that we have a whole bunch of people who can do a whole lot of different things. You can stick anybody anywhere and they’re a hard-working group.”

Jordan and Jada McCullough are the only seniors on the Riders’ roster this winter. McCullough thinks the players in the program are a lot more confident in themselves than they were a few years ago.

“When we get down a few points, we don’t feel like, ‘Oh, we’re going to lose,’” said McCullough. “We always work hard from start to finish.”

While there’s only two seniors, CR does have seven juniors on this year’s squad.

Stacey Deputy has emerged from that group to be the team’s leading scorer. The 5-foot-10 center is averaging 16.5 points per game.

Deputy has gotten used to all the contact required to play in the low post. She goes to the foul line 10 times a game and has hit 26-of-40 foul shots for the season.

“It (contact) comes with the job, you’ve just got to be prepared for it,” said Deputy. “It (being the leading scorer) is definitely a little more pressure but I like pressure.”

Coach Tameka Williams has seen all three players grow a great deal as basketball players.

She remembers when Jordan didn’t like the idea of playing point guard at first. But Williams said Jordan always had the right attitude to handle the position.

“Her sophomore year, I said, ‘You only have to play it for one game,’” said Williams. “And that one game has turned into her third season. She didn’t believe it at the time. But she sees the floor well and she’s that unselfish kid that you need to be a point guard.”

McCullough, who signed with Delaware State in the off-season, is Williams’ niece. McCullough was a second-team All-Henlopen North selection as a junior.

“She’s probably harder on herself than anybody else,” said Williams. “I have to remind her, you’re going to make mistakes. Next play.”

Deputy made first-team All-Henlopen North when she was just a sophomore. But Williams said she has grown more confident — into a player who’s not afraid to take a big shot if needed.

Williams said Deputy doesn’t mind the contact so much anymore, either.

“She didn’t love it as a freshman at all,” said Williams. “But she likes to get in the mix now. She spent a lot of time working out in the off-season. She wanted to be tougher when she came back and she definitely has done that.”

With an open state tournament this season, the Riders would like to make it past the first round this time. But they also realize they’re going to have to keep getting better.

CR’s one loss so far this season has been to two-time North champion Cape Henlopen. The Vikings come to Camden for a rematch on Feb. 12.

Even though they’re guaranteed to make the state tourney, Jordan wants the Riders to keep pushing themselves.

“I think there’s always pressure,” she said. “We put it on ourselves because we always want to win every game. As Coach Williams tells us, when we step on the floor, we have to think that we’re going to win.

“I think this group has evolved. It used to be ‘me’ and ‘I,’ now it’s ‘we’ and ‘us.’ It’s not just about what I can do, it’s how I’m going to help you get to where you need to be and how you’re going to help me get to where we need to be.”