Now, first-year head coach Roxanne Allen and her staff take on the challenging task of rebuilding the Akron women's basketball program. The cupboard is not bare, however. Four athletes who played in all of UA's 26 games last season return, including senior Amie Marks, junior Laura Braaten and sophomores Amanda Hubbard and Jamie Scott, who was a member of last year's Mid-American Conference All-Freshman team. Three additional players return after missing all or most of last season. Senior Mickey Timco and sophomore Abby Hoy come back from anterior cruciate ligament surgery, while sophomore point guard Erica Glover looks to get back on the court after playing just 11 games during her freshman campaign.
"We're going to be so vastly different than last year, that our opponents won't even be able to look at tapes from last year," said Allen. "Kelley and Michelle are gone, and they were the team's offense last year. Plus, you've got a new staff with new ideas and offenses and defenses, so everything here is new."
Allen may not know much about how this team is going to come together, but all involved are excited for the season to start. "The players are excited, and they are working hard," said Allen. "We have no idea what kind of chemistry we're going to have and that's going to take a while, but that's what the pre-season and non-conference season are about: getting the kinks out."
One of the first items on the agenda is assessing the available talent and deciding on a style of play. "We don't know what kind of personnel we have," said Allen, "so it will be two or three weeks into practice or maybe a week into the season before we know what kind of an offense and defense we're going to run best. We're definitely going to do some pressing, and we're going to do some running. But we've got to see what people we have who are capable of doing those things."
All three will be pushed by several newcomers, including freshmen Jamie Krivak and Jamie Zwisler. As a senior at Columbia High School (Columbia Station), Krivak scored over 1,000 points in her career, averaging 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.3 steals her senior season. She had her knee scoped in September, but seems to be recovering quickly. She will be relied upon heavily in a backup role, and could eventually push for a starting spot.
A guard on the St. Vincent-St. Mary Ohio Division III state championship team coached by current UA assistant Nancy Beatty, Zwisler enters her first collegiate basketball season after playing her freshman softball season for the Zips in 1997. Freshman Lisa Starr could possibly step into the mix by January, depending on her progress in recovering from ACL surgery.
If Braaten follows Allen's predictions, as one of the tallest post players in the MAC, she could become a force in the paint for the Zips. "I really think that Laura is going to step up and be a force this year," said Allen. "Nancy (Beatty) has been doing a lot of work with her, and I think it will pay off."
As another athlete coming back from ACL rehabilitation, Hoy could fit in at either forward or guard. "She is strong," said Allen, "and her knee is not hampering her at all, which is something we're really excited about."
Added to the mix are three freshman newcomers. The 6-4 All-Everything Cheryl Bowles out of Kansas City, Mo. was a first-team all-Missouri pick as a senior. Bowles is extremely quick for her size, and can really run the floor. In her final season at Park Hill High School, she averaged 22 points, 13 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game. Amanda Croston makes the transition from a small high school to the MAC, and will also challenge for playing time. Stephanie Mancini is starting the year with back problems, and that will have an impact on her role with this year's team.
"An easier schedule probably would have been more conducive to a more successful season," said Allen, "but we don't have an easy schedule. At best, we have a difficult one. The reality is that we are not on the same level as Tennessee and Alabama, but it's a great opportunity to play those teams and see where we want to go.
"Playing Tennessee is strictly the un-luck of the draw," said Allen of the team's first-round opponent at the Northern Lights Invitational. "You are going to be playing the best team in the country, which they have been for the last two seasons. And we're playing the best player in the country in Chamique Holdsclaw. We're not going to be able to shut her down, but just try to contain her along with nine other teammates that also require attention. We'll prepare for all of them as best we can."
Once December is out of the way, it will be time to focus on the Mid-American Conference portion of the schedule. "The good teams in this league, like Kent and Toledo, will still be at the top," said Allen. "But I think that there will be a little more parity at the top of the conference this year, and it's going to be a tougher conference to play in for those of us at the bottom.
"What we've got to do this year is a better job of competing against those in the conference that we can compete against."
So what are the team's goals for this season? It starts with defense and playing smart. Allen and her staff expect constant improvement throughout the season, and have set their goals accordingly. Expect the focus to be on defense and cutting down on mental mistakes.
"We need to make fewer mistakes against Wright State than we had against Butler, and continue that pattern throughout the season. If we do that, the outcome on the scoreboard will take care of itself.
"That sounds very ambiguous, but it's not. It's very definitive. I'm a big proponent of defense. We have to be able to score, so you have to be able to do things that allow you to score. That's why I say that we want to improve every game. We want to make fewer mistakes than the other team makes. We want to force more turnovers than we commit. We want to shoot and make the first basket of the game. And we want to make the most in between. We want to hold our opponents below their scoring average.
"We want to touch the ball on defense at least 20 times a game. Deflect it, get a hand on it, do something to upset their offensive pattern. These are all simple game-to-game goals. We work on those things every day in practice. They will be recorded every day in practice. How many times did we touch the ball on defense? Anything to disrupt the flow of the game. Any time we can take the other team out of their game, we've been successful.
"The key to what we do has to be a realistic, attainable, measurable goal. The 20 touches. That's something we can see and something we can put down on paper. How many times are we close to getting a touch? Our goal can't be winning the conference, because right now, that's not a realistic goal. That doesn't mean that I don't think we can do it. It just means that we need to start with something that's a little bit easier to attain.
"So, we want to be successful day by day and game by game, and that isn't always going to match up with what's on the scoreboard. There are different ways to win a game. Right now, coming from a 5-21 record, we have to win small battles before we can win the war. That's our goal. To win the small battles first and let the result or the outcome take care of itself."