Fall in Lawrence brings certainty to many aspects of college life. Students and staff will hear the steam whistle blast, signaling the end of each hour of class. Pages of planners fill up with homework assignments and test dates. For the women’s basketball team, certainty comes in the form of the return to regular practices and workouts – and in the arrival of the “newbies.”

“They’re not all freshman, so we can’t insult the upperclassmen,” coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “They’re newbies.”

The Kansan will profile the team’s seven newcomers in a two-part feature, starting with junior transfer Rhea Codio, redshirt freshman Angel Goodrich, and freshman Tania Jackson.

Rhea Codio

Rhea Codio is used to life in the big city. So for the Brooklyn native, attending Independence Community College in Kansas meant a serious change of pace.

“I’m adapting to everywhere I go. Like you said, I’m from the East Coast, a city girl, so going from the fast life to Independence, which is the slow life, was a big adjustment,” she said.

The change off the court wasn’t the only one she was forced to deal with.

“My game there, when I first attended, was basically undisciplined,” she said.

With the help of what she called a great coaching staff at Independence, Codio matured on the court during her sophomore season, turning in a campaign in which she averaged 16 points and 7 assists per game.

Coming to Lawrence as a junior transfer, Codio said she felt the previous two years prepared her well enough to play on the big stage.

“I haven’t played at the D1 level, but I’ve played junior college basketball,” she said. “So I feel like I have some type of experience, I kind of know what to expect and what not to.”

Codio hopes to use that experience to bolster the Jayhawk backcourt.

“I feel like from the point guard position, we can help do some different things than we were capable of doing last year,” she said.

Angel Goodrich

A four-sport letter winner in high school with All-State and All-America honors in basketball, Angel Goodrich appeared poised to come in and shine for Kansas in 2008.

But during her second practice as a Jayhawk, she heard a pop in her knee and got a slew of bad news. Torn ACL. Medical redshirt. Season over.

“I’d never had an injury this bad, so I had never been through the disappointment of missing so many games,” she said.

A newcomer only in terms of in-game experience, Goodrich has fully rehabbed her knee and will begin the first of her four years of eligibility. Goodrich said she felt as though all the missed time would be a driving factor for her this season.

“It’s going to motivate me a lot,” she said. “It makes me nervous a little because I haven’t had a chance to play, but I’m really excited for the season to start.”

Humble and soft-spoken, Goodrich downplayed mentions of her various accolades, but coach Henrickson offered up high praise for the Oklahoma native point guard.

“She’s a little bit like Sherron,” Henrickson said. “A player with a smaller frame who can do some things down low to score underneath those longer players.”

Goodrich wasn’t about to sing her own praises though, saying she just hopes to add some versatility to the Jayhawk roster.

“I just want us to have a real good season and build on where the team left off last year,” she said.

Tania Jackson

Growing up in Lawrence with a basketball family, it only seems fitting that Tania Jackson will don the crimson and blue this season. But it almost didn’t happen.

“I didn’t want to play basketball at first,” she said. “I was a track girl.”

But with strong influence from her father, who played basketball in college, and an uncle who played professionally in the ABA and NBA, her talent for the game was too much to ignore.

“I had no choice but to play basketball,” she joked.

The Jayhawks will benefit from the Lawrence High product’s decision, getting a forward who averaged 10 points and seven rebounds per game during her junior year.

“Tania’s got length, a lot of athleticism,” Henrickson said. “She can face up; she has that post ability but she has range too.”

As a freshman in high school, Jackson once scored 47 points in one game, a Chesty Lions game record. Statistics aside, Jackson said she felt she could bring some intangibles to the team.

“Probably my energy,” she said. “That was a big impact on my high school team.”

Jackson sat out her senior season at L.H.S. with a knee injury of her own but is eager to finally play at Allen Fieldhouse.

“It’s a dream come true,” she said. “I grew up coming to the games.”

Check back later this week for Part Two, featuring Marisha Brown, Annette Davis, Carolyn Davis and Monica Engelman.

— — Edited by Amanda Thompson