By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor
Wayne Williams’ serious facial expression doesn’t change much, which often makes it difficult to tell whether or not the women’s basketball coach is being serious. But when he’s talking about his team’s chan-ces this season, he’s not kidding around.
“We have a very good chance to be successful on the national spectrum this year,” he said.
Could it be that a team which finished 11-15 overall and in fifth place in its division with a 6-8 mark could be in contention for a Division II title?
“We have high expectations for ourselves,” said All-America junior center Melanie Carter. “We want to go far this year.”
And the tools the Wildcats have won’t stop them from doing so. In addition to Carter’s return, the Cats get forwards Jackie Vinson and Meredith Doyle and guard Jenny Jackson back from knee injuries, and welcome four new recruits who Williams said can make immediate impacts: junior Lynsie Blau, sophomore Stephanie Riles and freshmen Ashley King and Kierstan Barbee.
Blau, a 6-foot-3 transfer from Division I Northern Arizona, should complement Carter well down low. As a freshman, Blau was the 2000-01 Freshman of the Year in the Big Sky Conference, and as a sophomore was a 2001-02 first team all-Big Sky Conference performer, averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game.
Carter also brings an impressive rŽsumŽ to the table for ACU. Last season she averaged 20.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game on her way to being named the Lone Star Conference South MVP. She said the newcomers have already gelled well with the veterans.
“Whenever you get new players,” said Carter, “you start thinking about getting everyone to work together well. But they’ve really been open to what coach has to say and they’ve really worked their way into the program well.”
Carter, who is still rehabbing an injury to her left knee, will see limited playing time but will most likely not start the first few games of the season. Williams said the starting lineup would consist of senior point guard Jodi Hellums, senior off guard Shara Helmbeck, redshirt sophomore Doyle at small forward, junior Vinson at power forward and Blau at the post position.
Last season, ACU had a lot of potential but suffered through a rocky season, its lineup riddled with injuries and tough losses. Vinson said the team would make an effort to reverse its fortunes this year.
“We expected a lot of ourselves last year,” said the 6-foot-3 Vinson, who played in just 10 games last year because of a torn knee ligament. “When the season didn’t go the way we planned, it was disappointing. But the negative experiences we had last year will help us out this year.”
Williams agreed.
“There’s definitely some unfulfilled expectations from last year,” he said. “But from a coach’s perspective, what’s important is not where we’ve been but where we’re going.”
Williams said the team’s strong suit is its talent level and its depth (the Cats have 15 roster players this year), but the weakness is how little time it has had to prepare. The team will have only practiced 18 times before its first regular season game.
The Wildcats kick off their season this weekend at the Disney Division II Tipoff Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Several teams competing in the tournament are ranked nationally, giving ACU a chance to match up.
“We’ll know a lot about where we are when we get back,” Williams said. “Anytime you play great competition, it tests where you are and forces you to get better.”
Which, Vinson said, will be something the team does this season.
“We have a confidence level that says we’re gonna get things done,” Vinson said. “You can tell when we step out on that court that we know what we want to do.”
And ultimately, they want to go all the way to a national title.
“We’ve agreed that there shouldn’t be a limit to what we do this year,” Carter said. “We just have to remember that the reason we’re out there is to glorify God with our talents. We want to go far, but we know that He has intentions of his own.”
