Hard to believe, but it’s finally that time of year again: basketball season is ON.
The South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team has practice in full swing and their first game of the season, an exhibition against Augusta State, is Wednesday night. It’s a welcome change for the fans, I know, and I’m sure the team is ready to get rolling, as well. However, don’t expect too much from Wednesday night’s contest.
Augusta State was 5-23 last season, so this is likely to be just what you expect from an “exhibition” contest. (The Jaguars return 2 starters and 4 letter-winners from that team.) We’ll get a chance to see how everyone looks in their new uniforms and not a lot more of substance.
Now, despite that horrible record, ASU did play some opponents close—they had nine losing games that were lost by less than 10 points. Head coach Tes Sobomehin brought in ten new players for this season (last season’s top 3 scorers are gone) and several are junior college transfers that should help out some, most notably Blaire Egardo from West Covina, California. She scored 12 points in their first exhibition game and was noted for her 3-point shooting, while at Mt. San Antonio Community College. The Jags averaged about 66 points per game, last season, while allowing their opponents nearly 76. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they don’t have an awful lot to use to try to slow down the Gamecocks. They don’t have any height to speak of: they list 4 players at 6-0 (which probably means they’re about 5-10).
About now, you might be asking yourself “Why in the world is this team on the schedule, even for an exhibition game?” Hmmmm… I wonder if there are any clues? Could it be that their coach is a 2000 (M.Ed) graduate of the University of Virginia?
Tes Sobomehin hails from Gary, Indiana and looks to be on a fast track to something bigger than—but definitely related to--coaching basketball. She was the head manager for the UVA Cavalier women’s basketball team, while playing on a club team and earning a B.S. in Education. She also has an M.Ed in Teaching from UVA. She spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Oberlin College in Ohio, where she also served as Resident Director in the Dept. of Residential Education and an instructor in the Department of Health and Physical Education. She spent three seasons as head coach of Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where she also served as an instructor in sports psychology and physical education classes. One wonders if the woman ever sleeps… At Kalamazoo, Coach Sobo’s squad posted an average GPA of 3.23 and had five players on the Dean’s List.
Sobo has also worked as a community relations intern with the Detroit Shock, founded the CHALLENGE Premier Youth Girl’s Basketball Skills Clinics in Woodbridge, Virginia, and been a staff member at numerous summer camps, including those at Tennessee, Duke, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Virginia Commonwealth, Notre Dame, Wooster, Central Michigan and Virginia. She was one of 25 coaches selected to participate in the 2006 NCAA Women Coaches Academy in Indianapolis and completed the NCAA Women Coaches Academy Dimension 2 in 2007. She is a 2007 graduate of the Black Coaches Association A.C.E. Program and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators Hers Institute in 2008. Like I said, FAST TRACK.
Why the focus on the coach? There’s really not that much to say about the team, at this point. I have no doubt that there will be quite a lot to say about them in the near future, nor that we will be hearing the name Tes Sobomehin in connection with something bigger than coaching a small college team within the next several years.
On to the Gamecocks’ side of this game. We know this team, which has experience at all positions. Returning are Jewel May and Charenee Stephens in the post, along with a huge group of guards: Coco Falohun, Lakeisha Sutton, Samone Kennedy and Courtney Newton. Joining that group is transfers Valerie Nainima and Ebony Wilson, freshman Ieasia Walker and transfer Marah Strickland (who will sit out this year, per NCAA rules). I expect the returning players to be pushed, in a very significant way, by the new additions.
In the post are newcomers Ashley Bruner and Kelsey Bone, who may be the first legitimate center to play for the Gamecocks since the departure of Petra Ujhelyi. With such a small group, all of those players should see serious playing time—probably all season long. Fans are eager to see: Bone in an actual game, Stephens to begin the season in playing shape, how well May has recovered from ankle surgery and what Bruner will bring to the team.
There are huge expectations for this team, much of them resting on Kelsey Bone’s broad shoulders. Fans should remember that this is definitely a transition/rebuilding season and a lot of the Gamecocks’ success will likely depend on the development of the freshman players, along with how well they are able to integrate the old with the new. The entire 2008-2009 season was needed, for the team that Staley inherited, to adapt to her way of doing things, and it wasn’t a huge success. The players appear to be “on board” now, for sure, and hopefully are ready to look ahead and get not just started, but comfortable in their new system.
However, from the post-season comments of head coach Dawn Staley, we should probably be ready to see a lot of the old phased out (assuming success by the newer players) before the end of this season. Personally, I think that the team will need every player, this season, and I hope that they will all have a chance to show what kind of contributions they can make. If they are all taking part in the conditioning drills that were exhibited at Dawn’s recent coaching clinic, we shouldn’t have to worry about them being able to last through a game, so the emphasis can be on basketball playing skills.
A modest effort at showcasing their talents, in the game against August State, should be sufficient to bring home a win and get the fan base energized. The game is at 7 pm at the Colonial Life Arena and tickets are not necessary for this exhibition game.
