Courtesy of Sports InformationOld Gold and Black Reporter
Courtesy of Sports Information
Head Coach Karen Freeman expects a healthy squad this season.
Healthy female basketball players in Demon Deacon uniforms? Are you sure?
A bum finger, a blown ACL, a stress fracture and a pesky osteochondral defect of the femoral condyle of the knee are not the ingredients of a winning women's basketball team, but knock on wood, things will be different for the 1995-96 version of the women's basketball team.
Head Coach Karen Freeman said that her team is ready to challenge in the tough ACC. One of the major reasons for her optimism stems from the fact that when she scans her team roster, she sees nothing but fit players. The last two years, the Demon Deacons have not had the chance to maximize their talent because of major injuries to key players. Freeman said that most of those injuries were a product of being very young, noting that many underclassmen were injured because their bodies were not ready for the physical nature of college basketball at the top level.
If everyone stays healthy, Freeman said that she expects to use 10 players in her rotation. Of those 10 players, most of the attention will be on junior Tracy Connor.
As a freshman in 1992-93, the 6-3 center broke through as one of the best post players in the league, earning honors such as ACC Freshman of the Year and the Wake Forest University Outstanding Female Athlete. A stress fracture in her foot caused her to redshirt the 1993-94 season. Poised to make her comeback last season, Connor missed 14 games because of an unusual knee injury that will never let her be at full strength. Even when not at her best, Connor is still a feared opponent, as she averaged 16.4 points and nine rebounds in the 14 games she played in last season. Freeman said that Connor's stats could improve this year, provided the knee does not swell.
"She'll never play pain free. The swelling is our enemy," Freeman said. "You have to remember, when we asked her to play last season, she was out of shape, rusty and basically playing on one good leg. The difference this year is she'll give us quality minutes, and that will give us a dominant post player."
Freeman is quick to point out that with or without Connor, the team will improve on last season's 11-16 record. She said that in the past it has been the attitude of the team that the Deacons' success rests with Connor.
"The toughest thing about turning around this program is getting the players to believe they could win," she said. "The success of our program does not rest on Tracy's shoulders. If we've got Tracy, we can vie for the ACC Championship. Without her, we can still be in the top five of the conference."
Freeman said that in Connor's absence the team has developed some other quality players such as sophomores Carri Walker and Nancy Helms. An improved defense holds the key to a better season, according to Freeman. Last season the Deacons threw a combination of junk defenses that more often than not failed to impede opponents.
"The key to winning in this league is defense," she said. "Defense has not been a strength for us, and that's going to be emphasized. We are building a defensive system that will be more up-tempo and create easy buckets. I can count on one hand the number of easy baskets we had last year."
With an experienced group of starters, Freeman said that she sees no reason why the team cannot move into the upper half of the conference. "My least expectation is a fifth place finish in the conference," she said.
Freeman said that all of the returning players figure to have a chance to start. Senior co-captain Gretchen Hollifield, who Freeman said is the only lock to start, will run the offense at the point. A 5-5 guard, Hollifield figures to be a three-point threat, as she shot 42 percent last season.
Another likely starter will be the other senior co-captain, Val Hodge. The 6-0 forward started every game the last two seasons, and her experience and consistency will be crucial if the team is to improve. One of the team's better offensive players last season, Hodge led the the team in field goal percentage by hitting 46 percent.
The starting center will undoubtedly be Connor.
"If she's healthy, she's a starter," Freeman said.
Junior RaeAnna Mulholland will most likely get the nod at power forward. The 6-1 Mulholland has played several different positions in her career, and the Deacons will need to get more consistency from her. When Mulholland is on, she dominates, as evidenced by her 30-point, 20-rebound performance at Georgia Tech last season. The Deacons will need such efforts if they are to challenge league favorites Virginia and N.C. State. Mulholland averaged 13.3 points and 8.1 rebounds last season.
Junior Lindsay Seawright, 6-1, will probably round out the starting five. A standout defensively, Seawright led the team in blocked shots last season. With the improvements of Helms and Walker, Seawright will need to keep sharp if she is to remain a starter.
The return of red-shirt freshman Heidi Coleman and the addition of two highly-touted freshmen gives the team depth. Freeman also has junior Stacey Hawes and sophomore Crystal Carpenter battling to see playing time. The combination of a deep bench and an abundance of talent should give the Deacons new weapons.
"In the past, we've always been limited with our weapons, but that's not the case this year. We've got experience, talent, depth, some speed and some outside shooting," Freeman said, adding this is the brightest outlook the team has had since she arrived as Deacon Head Coach in 1992.
Unfortunately, though, the Deacons have to compete in arguably the toughest league in the nation from top to bottom. Perennial powerhouse Virginia is everyone's favorite to be the class of the league, followed by N.C. State, Duke and North Carolina. Freeman's team is predicted to finish where it wound up last year, seventh. Though Freeman is not surprised by such predictions, she is not ready to concede anything.
"For me, (places) two to nine are wide open," she said. "We never have had an opportunity to showcase what we've got because of the injuries. This year we've got a key dominant post-player in Tracy. If we can improve our defense, I see no reason why we can't finish in the top half and accomplish our goal of going to the NCAA Championships."
The Deacons open their season with some tough non-conference opponents with the likes of Auburn, Washington and Northwestern. In December, the team will travel to Tucson, Ariz., to face Arizona and San Francisco. Freeman said the that tough competition in these games is needed if the Deacons are to be prepared for ACC competition.
Another change this year involves where the Deacons will play home games. This year, all home games will be played at Joel Coliseum. Freeman said that the move was necessary.
"In order to recruit you need to have a quality facility. Reynolds Gym is not symbolic of the prestige of the ACC," she said. "The little gym also became a psychological crutch for our team. When we went to the Coliseum, it felt more like a neutral site. The players and the fans need to get used to the Coliseum as our home court."
The Deacons are poised to make headway in the ACC. With fit, injury-free players and a talented group of veteran players and newcomers, this could be a breakthrough year for Freeman's team.
Courtesy of Sports Information
Mulholland will be looked to for potent offense this year.