|
Semeka Randall struggled her 1st two seasons without much of an offensive game so she relied on getting her athletic players to commit to 40 minutes of intense defensive play which kept them in many games. They did manage to finish strong last year, blowing out Miami by 30 to end the regular season, then getting a road kill at Ball State in the MAC tourney before losing to perennial power BG in Cleveland in a close game.
OHIO women’s bball will have its strongest team this year under Coach Randall. We’ll see how that translates to w-l as the season evolves. Still a relatively inexperienced group but have shown they can dominate inferior teams even without 2 key players, Tenisha Benson and Porsha Harris who are currently out with medical issues.
Below are my thoughts on this team after seeing the home games this year. They are currently 3-1, splitting with respectable teams and beating two weak ones. Looks like they’ll be a 10 deep team:
Randall brought in 6 new players and 3 of them are already showing a nice upside. Kat Yelle (1st team Illinois) will be a fixture at guard for 4 years. She’s hard-nosed, handles the ball and sees the court really well, and shows potential to score. Porsha, a jr college transfer, will be a key player too as she’s strong, creates space, and can rebound and score low. Another newby, Mariah Byard (POY in WV) is still learning the ropes, catching up to the speed of the game and the defensive side of things, but her offensive game might prove to be very exciting in the years ahead.
Returners include soph. Erin Bailes, (barely noticeable last year until the tourney when she nailed 7 3’s against Ball State), is probably the most improved, and still developing her offensive package. Lots of potential.
Tina Fisher is still learning to play within her game and can be a physical presence. Coach seems to have lots of confidence in her.
Simone Lyles is a defensive glove that can wear an opponent down.
Ashley Fowler is a blur, but needs to take greater advantage of that- stay in the open court when running the break and avoid getting trapped in the corners, then find players to distribute the ball to. She can wear down opponents with her fast game and can shoot the open 3.
Alesia Howard and Shavon Robinson, both in their 2nd year, can play both ends of the court and should get major minutes. I noticed they were both on the court at the end of a close game earlier this year. Their development may be the key to how far this team goes.
Benson is the real deal, the Offut of this team as she has many pieces to her game. Fun to watch and will be the central focus in the offensive play. She’s worth the price of admission when her game is on.
If they can learn to play together as an offensive unit, move the ball to scorers and make good decisions, and continue their defensive effort, they can be the surprise of the MAC.
Have a great season OHIO.
Last Edited: 11/29/2011 8:21:45 PM by stub
| 
