Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sometimes during pickup games this offseason, Kansas’ players will catch the ball and only then realize that they’re open.
Freshman guard Angel Goodrich will play for the Jayhawks this year after missing all of last season with an ACL injury. Goodrich's teammates have praised her for her ability to pass the ball, Goodrich is also a talented scorer.
Luckily for the Jayhawks, freshman point guard Angel Goodrich has an indescribable knack for hitting teammates in the exact time and spot necessary for an easy basket.
The most talented point guards have an uncanny ability for seeing plays develop quicker than most. Goodrich is no different.
“Angel’s the kind of point guard that hits you right when you’re open,” senior guard Sade Morris said. “You might not even know that you’re open but she’s going to hit you. And she’s going to give you that perfect timing when you can just catch and shoot.”
Just don’t ask Goodrich to explain how she does it.
“I really don’t know to be honest. I just see it and… I really don’t know. There are times that I’ve almost hit someone and they didn’t know.”
So begins the second go-around of Goodrich’s highly anticipated debut in a Kansas uniform. After arriving on campus with plenty of hype, and after impressing at Late Night a year ago, Goodrich suffered a season-ending ACL injury before the start of last season.
Now that she’s fully recovered, Goodrich provides a missing piece from a Kansas team that barely missed the NCAA Tournament last season.
“We’ve talked about it for the last couple of years and how close we’ve been from finishing eighth in the league to finishing fourth in the league,” assistant coach Karen Lange said. “And it’s always been a couple games where we lose by a couple points here and there. I think a good point guard gives you that.”
The book on Goodrich is rather simple. She’s an ultra-talented playmaker who can create plenty of scoring opportunities for those around her.
Plus, in a needed twist from Kansas’ offense last season, Goodrich is also a scoring threat.
Even with Kansas’ late-season success last year, much of the offensive workload rested with Morris and fellow senior Danielle McCray. And while the duo usually produced, the situation certainly wasn’t the most effective situation for an offense to function in.
“What happens is Angel’s ability to create out of an offense is going to help Danielle and ‘De,’” Lange said. “I think it will help get them easier shots and they won’t have to create one-on-one all the time.”
McCray, the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, returns to anchor an offense that connected on 46 percent of its field goals last season.
But the Jayhawks struggled with turnovers, losing a handful of games simply because of an inability to take care of the ball.
“It’s great when you just have a point guard that gives you the ball whenever you need it and just makes plays,” McCray said. ”That’s the thing about a good point guard: They make plays and make things happen.”
Coach Bonnie Henrickson walked into an impromptu press conference before last season with an unusually grim expression on her face. Henrickson revealed that Goodrich would miss the year because of her injury.
It was a crushing blow for Henrickson and the Jayhawks, who spent much of the offseason praising Goodrich’s ability.
“It’s the much-awaited and anticipated impact of her on the program,” Henrickson said. “I think for her, every day there is more confidence, more of an attack mode and more aggressiveness.”
At Kansas’ media day, Lange said that Goodrich is more prepared mentally and physically to handle the workload this season. But she also said that in terms of on-court improvements, “Angel was already pretty good.”
And there’s little argument that she should help improve Kansas’ offense. After all, life on the offensive end becomes a little easier with a play-making point guard.
“If you watch any really good point guard, the game slows for them,” Henrickson said. “They see things before things actually happen because they can see it developing. And she has that ability.”
— Edited by Tim Burgess
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