2001-2002 Women’s Basketball Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/18/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 18, 2001
%^$Looking ahead to the 2001-02 basketball season is really like being a kid in a candy store for fifth-year head coach Beth Burns.%^$
%^$Four starters and a talented core of reserves return with a “never say die” attitude after staging one of the most amazing comebacks to a season that culminated with the 2001 Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Championship being returned to Columbus.%^$
%^$Ohio State claimed the title (62-61) in front of a hostile New Mexico crowd of 18,018, the country’s fourth largest, regular-season crowd of the season, earning the program’s first postseason title and 20-win season (22-11) since the Buckeyes’ 28-4, NCAA national runner-up finish in 1993.%^$
%^$”It’s really hard to put into words and only those who experienced it can understand the growth that we had,” Burns said.%^$
%^$”From a team standpoint, the best way to sum it up is that you have to believe and we never stopped believing. It was just the most resilient team.”%^$
%^$Resilient is a gross understatement. In the midst of posting an undefeated non-conference campaign, the best start to a season since 1973, injuries began to run through the roster like the Hong Kong flu. Not just sprains and pains but injuries ranging from broken bones, stress fractures and an ACL tear diluted that diluted the roster to a starting lineup and a reserve by early January.%^$
%^$With the addition of two walk-ons and the unexpected but welcomed return of three players in late February, Burns rallied the team to a 6-10 conference record and quarterfinal appearance in the Big Ten Tournament. The performance was validated with an invite to the WNIT.%^$
%^$Claiming a first-round victory (61-60) vs. instate rival Cincinnati with a mid-air, reverse put-back at the horn, the Buckeyes mounted a five-game win streak en route to the crown.%^$
%^$”We were as competitive as we could be. Once we got a little bit of help from our walk-ons, Dana (Stearns) and Amber (Barnes), and when Caity (Matter), Courtney (Bale) and Emily (Haynam) were able to play for three and four minutes at a time, it gave us what we needed,” Burns said.%^$
%^$”Whenever you’re in a tournament your margin of error is really small and you have to work as hard as you can and get some breaks. We got a break in the Cincinnati game.%^$
%^$”The last two minutes of the game we did everything you need to do from a defensive standpoint to put ourselves in a position to be successful. Then we just got better and better. Our confidence, our motivation, ending on a five-game winning streak, there are just so many positives from that run.%^$
%^$ “With that said, we don’t want to go through it again but should we be challenged, I think we’ve learned we can handle any environment and are ready to move forward and really do some good things.%^$
%^$”It was a special, special year with a really special senior class.”%^$
%^$Six players, including five seniors, departed after the season, including the Buckeyes’ career assist leader Jamie Lewis. Lewis typified the role of a consummate point guard through the postseason, averaging a team-leading 18.2 points per game.%^$
%^$Reserves Courtney Bale (0.9 ppg./1.0 rpg.) and Mandy Stanhope (1.1/0.7), and walk-ons Dana Stearns (1.1/1.1) and Amber Barnes (0.0/0.2) also exhausted their eligibility. Junior Kit Savage (1.1/1.3), a transfer from Tyler (Texas) Junior College, will not continue her career at Ohio State.%^$
%^$”I think we have an awful lot of strengths despite the fact we graduated a lot. All three scholarship seniors contributed a lot in very different ways, Jamie most definitely with the amount of minutes she had to play over the course of her career.%^$
%^$”Her work ethic was tremendous and the legacy she leaves will go on for a long time. It showed all of us it’s up to you. You have a choice as to how you want to impact.”%^$
%^$Burns doesn’t have time to ponder the losses however because with the installation of a nationally-ranked recruiting class (No. 10) the potential of this year’s unit is without limits.%^$
%^$New to the roster are guards Ashley Allen (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis), tabbed one of the Top 21 New Players of Impact by womenscollegehoops.com, and Beth Howe (Fr., Jackson, Ohio/Jackson). Forward Cherisse Crews (Fr., Urbancrest, Ohio/Grove City) and center Brandee Gibbs (Fr., Hanover, Minn./Orono) will also call themselves Buckeyes.%^$
%^$”We think all four of our freshmen had a great opportunity to be on campus this summer,” Burns said, “and that element alone will change across the board how you see freshmen impact teams because of the strength and comfort zone they will have.”%^$
%^$The fact that Lewis was the only true point guard available for duty and with no obvious heir to the throne is intriguing for Burns.%^$
%^$”Don’t focus on what you don’t have. Focus on what you do have,” Burns adds. “It takes great character to be willing to look for it and that’s what we were able to do last year.%^$
%^$”There’s just a lot of hunger and our strength is in the maturity of those who were able to play last year and the competitiveness of those that were not.”%^$
%^$Sizing Up The Backcourt
%^$No fewer than six players have the talent to run the Buckeye offense.%^$
%^$”That enables our team to play more the way we like, which is fast,” Burns added.%^$
%^$Red-shirt sophomore Tanya McClure (2.0/2.0) was tripped coming out of the starting gate last season. Playing the season-opener with a fracture in her left foot, the 5-foot-4-inch McClure spent the remainder of the 32-game schedule in a cast. She still managed to make an impact, serving as team co-captain and organizing spring and summer conditioning schedules.%^$
%^$A healthy McClure makes her one of the team’s best at penetrating defenses and establishing tempo. As an observer last year she also returns a mature and better educated student of the game.%^$
%^$Another three returnees could be spotted at the top of the key – Sophomore Caity Matter, and seniors Lauren Shenk and Tomeka Brown.%^$
%^$Matter (6.4/2.2) was a legitimate candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year laurels, averaging better than 50 percent from 3-point range over the course of the young campaign. A stress fracture diagnosed in late December cancelled her Big Ten debut but the 5-9 playmaker returned to get critical experience in the postseason where she averaged 5.8 ppg., playing 15.2 minutes per contest.%^$
%^$Shenk (9.2/1.8) and Brown (8.3/3.7) were both starters and know the routine and expectations as members of Burns’ inaugural recruiting class.%^$
%^$Shenk, 5-9, is a talented marksman, shooting 82 percent at the stripe last season. From the outside, she drained 44 treys, second best on the squad. Brown, 5-8, was a member of the 2001 Big Ten Foreign Tour team and will again receive the Buckeyes’ toughest defensive assignments.%^$
%^$”We will lean on Lauren and Tomeka tremendously for their leadership and to bring a sense of balance to the roster because of their experience and calm competitiveness,” Burns said.%^$
%^$Allen, 5-9, brings added speed, incredible scoring depth and a nose for defense to the backcourt. Averaging 15.3 points per game in her final campaign, she helped guide Ben Davis to its second-consecutive state title with a team-leading 20 points and tournament-record nine steals in the championship game.%^$
%^$”Ashley, a back-to-back state champion, is really skilled with the basketball. She is a real offensive weapon and down the road could be one of the best defensive players we’ve had here,” Burns said.%^$
%^$Howe, 5-8, is proficient at both the one- and two-guard positions. She closed her prep career at Jackson as its all-time scorer (2,173), averaging 26.0 ppg.%^$
%^$”We knew Beth was a great athlete, having been to the state championships in track as a sprinter. We liked her speed and versatility, playing as both a point and off-guard. She has great hunger for the game,” Burns added.%^$
%^$Forecast For The Frontcourt
%^$Size, talent and aggression are attributes that most accurately describe the entourage of Buckeye post players. Just like the backcourt, Burns will enjoy the luxury of using any number of strategies.%^$
%^$Junior forward Courtney Coleman, six-foot, is coming off a sophomore campaign of notable success. Touting great hands, stamina and natural rebounding instinct, she became the Buckeyes’ “go-to” player inside with the loss of center LaToya Turner three games into the Big Ten season. Coleman, a Second Team All-Big Ten honoree, ranked fourth and third, respectively, in Big Ten scoring (16.0) and rebounding (8.2), while registering one of the country’s top (11th) field goal percentages of 58 percent.%^$
%^$”Courtney has great self confidence and self esteem and it enables her to be very coachable,” Burns said.%^$
%^$”She developed a complete game as a sophomore, working on her moves from the block and finishing her execution. The goal for her junior year is her face up game. I feel confident she will pick up where she left off.”%^$
%^$Junior D’wan Shackleford (8.8/5.5), also six-foot, enjoyed a season of promise. A returning starter, Shackleford’s statistical contributions are greatly overshadowed by the potential impact she can have on game tempo.%^$
%^$”She by far was our best offensive rebounder,” Burns said. “One quick lesson for D’wan was learning how to harness her aggression and playing smarter with respect to our limited roster.”%^$
%^$DiDi Reynolds (4.8/2.6), a 6-1 junior, delivers the biggest element of surprise to opposing teams because of her versatility. Playing every position but point guard last season greatly improved her shooting range and proficiency (.421) in addition to her defensive prowess.%^$
%^$Sophomore Emily Haynam (2.0/1.0) brings size, strength and good judgment to the playing floor. After sitting out seven games with a fractured left ring finger, the 6-2 Haynam returned to action in the best shape of her career and a renewed commitment to the game.%^$
%^$Factor in a healthy Turner (17.8/6.6) and the Buckeye frontcourt evolves into one of the most formidable in the league.%^$
%^$The 2000 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Turner was well on her way to recording another impressive campaign, but a tear in her left knee ACL-graft brought her effort to a close in just the second game of the Big Ten season. The 6-4 junior returns after extensive rehabilitation another 18 pounds heavier, touting more potential than ever before.%^$
%^$Newcomers Crews and Gibbs provide the perfect compliment.%^$
%^$Crews will see time at both forward positions because of her impressive quickness and rebounding tenacity. A four-year starter, the six-foot Crews averaged 18.4 points and 10.5 rebounds over her prep career.%^$
%^$”Cherisse does a lot of things really well but she is an awesome rebounder,” Burns said. “She has great timing and quick hands.”%^$
%^$With Gibbs touting a 6-3, 215-pound frame, it should come as no surprise that she departed as Orono’s leading rebounder and shot blocker. Averaging 18.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, she will display a physical presence that has eluded the Buckeyes in recent years.%^$
%^$”Brandee is a solid player offensively whose aggressiveness and size will aid our inside game tremendously,” Burns said.%^$
%^$According To Burns
%^$Burns will direct one the deepest benches in the league but will be more immediately challenged with the makeup of her starting lineup, and more specifically, who her floor general will be.%^$
%^$”That’s part of the reason why our non-conference schedule is so competitive,” Burns said. “We are jumping into things head first. Arizona and Virginia those are tough places to play. Louisville, Colorado State and Xavier all won their conference titles and went to the NCAA Tournament.%^$
%^$”Every game has the potential to be a nail biter and that’s when you need your point guard to make solid decisions. When you look at the decisions we made down the stretch, it’s how you win games.%^$
%^$”Game experience, that’s our “X” factor. The positive is that it gets people to practice and games are a reflection of how you practice. If everyone stays healthy we are going to have really competitive practices and simulate a number of things because we don’t have a lot of experience there.%^$
%^$”I don’t think there is one player on this team who is not off the scale excited about their own capability and our team’s capabilities. We have no limits. When you coach with only six as we did, you learn a lot as a staff. You have no fear of trying anything.”
