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After the departure of four-year coach Cindy Blodgett last winter following the team’s worst season in school history — a disastrous record of 4-25 — the University of Maine women’s basketball team is ready for a new beginning.
With the addition of five freshmen and new head coach Richard Barron for 2011, they get just that — along with some hope.
Barron’s new coaching staff includes assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jill Poe, with 17 years of experience; assistant coach Amy Vachon, a UMaine women’s basketball alumna and 2000 graduate; assistant coach Jhasmin Player, a 2009 graduate of Baylor University and leading player for Barron during his tenure there; and director of basketball operations Tracy Guerrette, a UMaine women’s basketball alumna and 2003 graduate.
The Black Bears return nine players from last season. Guard Tanna Ross was the only graduating senior, and five freshmen were added to the roster over the summer.
Prior to coaching at North Carolina State University, Barron served as women’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for Baylor University. It was at Baylor where Barron was responsible for recruiting the country’s top-ranked high school player in Brittney Griner — a 6-foot-8-inch powerhouse who became the seventh woman to dunk in a college basketball game.
In terms of the upcoming season’s expectations, Barron hasn’t set any.
“It’s premature for me to, because I’m still learning what our players can and can’t do,” Barron said. “I don’t know our competition well enough to make those judgments.”
Instead, Barron has implemented a certain checklist of points to go over before the season begins.
“There are a lot of things we’re trying to get through here in the beginning, so we’re prepared for whatever we might see when the season comes around,” he said.
Barron also spent six seasons as the women’s head coach at Princeton University, as well as the women’s head coach and assistant men’s coach at the University of the South for a combined total of nine seasons in separate tenures.
Senior guard Samantha Wheeler is back this season to play her final year at UMaine after suffering a season-ending injury last season after just five games. She will most likely lead the team into battle — as long as she’s in good health — along with sophomore guard Ashleigh Roberts, who was the Black Bears’ top scorer last year with 10.7 points per game.
Most likely, the other guard to join Roberts in the starting lineup will be senior guard Brittany Williams, but sophomore Amber Smith and junior Rachele Burns — who was also injured for most of last season — could see some quality time in the two or three spots.
As for underneath the basket, expect to see junior forward Corinne Wellington and 2010 team shot block-leading sophomore forward Ali Nalivaika share time with Wheeler.
The American East Conference released their 2011 preseason poll for women’s basketball on Oct. 13. The Black Bears were selected to finish last, in ninth place.
“That’s where this team finished last year, and it’s not like we [are] all of sudden bringing back three all-conference players who were out last year and now are back,” Barron said. “You don’t know — nobody knows how good we’re going to be, including us.”
When it comes to first-year coaching opportunities, Barron has had quite the record of success.
In his first year with Princeton, Barron turned a dying program — one that went 2-25 in the season prior to his arrival — into one of the most improved in the country, going 11-16 in his first season. At NC State, his guidance helped a team that was ranked ninth in the preseason finish fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference and make it to the ACC tournament finals.
The irony between his prior first-year coaching years and his current situation with UMaine make this year’s upcoming season a hopeful one.
Five new Black Bears will see time on the court this season, with the incoming freshman class including guards Amber Dillon and Kelsey Mattice, forward Danielle Walczak and Maine-native guards Courtney Anderson and Rebecca Knight.
Dillon comes from Jamaica Plain, Mass., and is an alumna of Brookline High School, where she scored over 1,000 total points, averaging 18 points, five assists and three steals per game and earning a bronze medal while playing in Europe during the Junior Olympics.
Mattice comes from Cicero, N.Y., and is an alumna of Cicero-North Syracuse High School, where she averaged 10 points, eight assists and two steals per game and was named to numerous first teams during her high school career.
Walczak comes from Lee, N.H., and is an alumna of Oyster River High School, located in Durham, N.H., where she tallied a total of 1,199 career points — averaging 19.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.5 blocks and 3.3 steals per game — and was decorated with numerous recognitions, including 2011 Gatorade Player of the Year, Miss Basketball New Hampshire, McDonald’s All-American nominee and three-time First Team All-State.
Anderson comes from Greene, Maine, and is an alumna of Leavitt Area High School in Turner, Maine where she ended her career point total with 1,465 and averaged 22.3 points, six rebounds, 3.8 steals and 4.4 rebounds during her senior year. She was a McDonald’s All-American nominee and the Lewiston Sun Journal’s Player of the Year.
Knight comes from Alfred, Maine, and is an alumna of Catherine McAuley High School in Portland, where she averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists. She was a McDonald’s All-American nominee, a Miss Basketball Maine finalist and 2011 Maine State Champion.
When asked for his thoughts on the freshman class, Barron stressed the five are no different than the rest of the team.
“They’re all new to me,” Barron said. “We don’t look at the seniors differently than we look at the freshmen.”
According to Barron, the five freshmen will play a large role on the team during the early season because they currently make up half of the team’s healthy players on the roster.
“We’re going to try and put the best team on the court that we can, and right now, we have 10 healthy players, so half of those are freshmen,” Barron said. “Certainly, [the five freshmen] will have to contribute … we will have to rely on them.”
In a way, Barron believes the freshmen might have an easier time adjusting to the new season.
“[The five freshmen are] going through growing pains and changes just like everybody else,” Barron said. “In some ways, they may have an advantage in that they don’t have to un-learn the differences … they might not have some of the tendencies that I’m trying to change and that may make it easier for them.”
The Black Bears begin their season this Sunday with an exhibition game against the University of New Brunswick at 2 p.m. in the Alfond Arena. UNB is already 10 games into their season and 2-7 overall, to which Barron explains is an interesting aspect since his team has yet to play a game this season and has a brand new coaching staff.
“[New Brunswick has] been going at it [for some time now], and the coach has also been there before, so all of his returning players understand his style and things like that,” Barron said. “It will be interesting to see how we do against a team that is a little further along in their season.”
Barron shows glimmers of hope for this program to be turned around. His optimistic yet driven personality is just what this program needs, and opening the team’s first official practice to the public on Oct. 2 was just the start to a season that shouldn’t disappoint fans.
“If we find that we’re competitive and can challenge in the conference, that’s great,” Barron said. “But what I really hope is that we lay a foundation for the future of the program, in terms our of work ethic … discipline … [and] … understanding of the fundamentals of the game … and that we improve everyday.
“I think that if we can do that this season,” he added, “it will be a success.”
