Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Bonnie Henrickson and the Kansas Jayhawks didn’t want to see senior forwards Jamie Boyd and Taylor McIntosh’s college careers end. But while these athletes will be missed, their departure represents a point of no return in Henrickson’s first four seasons as coach of the Jayhawks.
Boyd and McIntosh, the only players who spent four years under Henrickson, a former Virginia Tech coach, are gone, and Henrickson’s fourth recruiting class is on the way to Lawrence, led by the silky Angel Goodrich, a point guard from Thalaquah, Okla.
File photo
When the season kicks off with Late Night in the Phog next fall, there will be three seniors and six juniors in the program, a total of nine upperclassmen out of 15 players. Sophomore guard Sade Morris said now was the time to make the next step — to find a way to win on the road, contend in the Big 12 and make a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
“The NCAA Tournament, it’s that or bust,” Morris said. “We don’t want anything less.”
It definitely looks possible. But the Jayhawks have to shake their dreadful road form and find a way to limit turnovers. It’s hard not to forget that Henrickson’s team was 2-11 on the road this season and winless on the road in Big 12 play. Junior guard Ivana Catic was the only player with a positive assist to turnover ratio.
But Kansas returns 89 percent of its scoring total and 81 percent of its rebounding production. It’s a far cry from a year ago when Shaquina Mosley and Sharita Smith played their final game in crimson and blue and left Henrickson with six sophomores and three freshmen.
The Jayhawks will have the kind of depth that Bill Self boasts this season. Like her male counterpart, Henrickson will have the ability to send waves of players coming off the bench, all with experience battling together in the trenches.
“I think it will get us out and run,” Henrickson said. “You can sub and get someone fresh to continue to push. All these kids can run. It will be the quickest team we’ve had.”
The recruiting class is solid, not to mention the luxury of having sophomore guard Kelly Kohn and freshman guard Chakeitha Weldon healthy for an entire season. Henrickson is convinced the battle for playing time could only make Kansas a better team in the long run.
“I think the competition will be great for the program,” Henrickson said. “I think it’s what we need. It enhances competitiveness and production.”
Perhaps the most heated battle will be at point guard, where Goodrich will be added to an already talented pool of players. Though Catic held the starting spot for all but four games, sophomore LaChelda Jacobs’ minutes rose steadily all season and Weldon was making strides before tearing her ACL.
Whatever happens, Kansas enters this offseason’s workouts and pickup games with a goal; a benchmark for success. Henrickson said improving would be their only focus, and one that would begin immediately.
“It starts right now,” she said. “We’ve got some kids in the gym already starting to work.”
— Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
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