A look ahead: 2008-09 Women's Basketball

Here is an early look at the roster head coach Janet Malouf has assembled for the 2008-09 Women’s Basketball season.

Returning from last season:

Lara Dellegrotti – Senior Point Guard

Dellegrotti will enter her senior season as the favorite to run the point. Arguably the team’s best shooter, Dellegrotti was a team-best 41% shooter from beyond the arc and her pinpoint accuracy from long range will be counted on again in her final season. It is likely she will also see some time at shooting guard when Meredith Starr is in the game. The senior point guard has suffered through a few injuries during her KU career, but still managed to appear in 23 of the team’s 27 games last season and started in 19 of those contests. Expect her to improve her 6.6 PPG from 2007-08, which is well below her capabilities. Coach Malouf traditionally preaches a pass-first mentality to her point guards, which leaves a majority of Dellegrotti’s shots to come from long range. Of Dellegrotti’s 136 shots last season, 76 were three-pointers, 31 of which were good.

Rachel Wisemiller - Junior Shooting Guard

Wisemiller was the closest thing to the team’s “sixth man” last season, and that should make her a front runner for a spot in the starting lineup in 2008-09. Wisemiller was fourth on the team in scoring last year despite starting just three games. Arguably the team’s most efficient shooter, the junior averaged 6.8 PPG, while averaging just over 19 minutes of action a game. Her 43% shooting percentage was second to just Mercedes Van Wagner among regulars. Watch for Wisemiller to break out as one of the team’s go-to scorers in 2008-09.

Vivian Melvin – Junior Shooting Guard

Entering her third season at KU, Melvin has had quite the up-and-down career. The junior started all 26 of the team’s games her freshman year, but got the starting nod just 12 times last season after falling out of favor a bit with Coach Malouf. Melvin’s strength is to make explosive plays by driving to the net, but that strength has also been her downfall as more-and-more of her possessions have turned into turnovers. Melvin actually turned the ball over 16 less times last season, but in about 100 less minutes of action. Melvin still has a chance to make an impact in what is becoming a crowded backcourt, but she will need to turn down the turnovers and make smarter plays when she gets possession of the ball. Furthermore, she was just 3-of-21 from long range and saw a drastic drop in steals. Melvin should be better in her third year, but she will need to improve in several areas to get back her starting job.

Katie Dovey – Junior forward

A rebounding specialist, Dovey is going to be a player to watch in 2008-09. She has seen a slight increase in her minutes over her first two seasons at KU and, with the departures of forwards Mercedes Van Wagner, Molly Brown, Claire Sitarz, and Lisi Reyna, will be expected to contribute in an even larger role in the front court this season. She plays an aggressive game and is one of those players that you can tell is giving you 110% on every possession. Her 3.3 rebounds per game might not seem like much, but it was fourth best on the team last season.

Chauntelle Schroeder – Junior Center

With Van Wagner, Brown, and Sitarz out of the picture, the only remaining center from last season’s roster is the one they call “Canada”. Schroeder will be pressed hard by freshman Hannah Mertz for playing time, but the junior’s experience should give her the leg up on the starting job. That said, coach Malouf loves to start freshmen and that could be bad news for Schroeder. The junior proved she can make an impact last season when she was arguably the team’s best player on a per-minute basis. In 83 minutes of action, Schroeder scored an impressive 47 points, hauled in 30 rebounds, and shot 50% from the floor. In one game (against PSAC East powerhouse Millersville) she scored 13 points in just eight minutes of work. Where she loses favor with Malouf is in the turnover and personal foul department. Is she erratic? Yes. But, does she get the job done in the lane? Absolutely. Think Trish Dudeck, but bigger. The starting center job should be Schroeder’s to lose.

Meredith Starr – Sophomore Point Guard

I’ll admit I was a bit hard on Starr last season, but darn it, I wanted her to score on every possession so I could dig into my arsenal of “Starr” jokes. Anyways, the sophomore point guard appeared in all 27 of KU’s games, starting 22, which might seem like a ton, especially for a point guard, but that is nothing new for a Janet Malouf team. Starr played just over 25 minutes a game in her rookie season, second on the team to only Van Wagner. She proved last season that she is best utilized as a pass-first point guard. She shot just 25% from the field, but managed to dish out 69 assists. Her 60 turnovers and 43 personal fouls were a bit high and something she will improve on with experience. It is expected that Starr will see plenty of playing time at point guard in her sophomore season.

Melissa McQuade – Sophomore Forward

Someone please explain to me how McQuade [Pictured] was not the PSAC East Rookie of the Year last season? I don’t get it. Compared to the winner, West Chester’s Megan Stewart, McQuade played over 100 more minutes, scored 80 more points, hauled in over 100 more rebounds, had a better shooting percentage, hit more three pointers, and led her team in scoring. Stewart beat her in steals and assists. Big deal. Okay, now that you’re convinced McQuade is the best second year player in the PSAC East, I can begin.
McQuade will enter her sophomore season as the starting power forward and is the favorite to lead the team in both scoring and rebounding. She shot just over 40% in her rookie year, averaging 9.9 PPG, a number that is expected to improve in 2008-09. Think you can stop her inside game? No big deal. McQuade hit 32 three pointers last season and managed to shoot 34% from beyond the arc. The team plays better when the ball is in her hands and coach Malouf should be doing everything in her power to revolve the offense around her best player. McQuade has ‘First Team All-PSAC East’ written all over her and there’s no reason to expect anything less.

Newcomers this season:

Vanina Bonanno (Guard) – Vanina Bonanno. That’s fun to say. Brought in from New Jersey, Bonanno is a proven contributor (15 pts/5 rebs per game her senior season) and likely will see minutes in the backcourt this season. As put by Bergen County, New Jersey’s The Record on March 25th, 2007 following her junior year: “Bonanno is a sharpshooter who averaged 12 points per game and can score from the perimeter or drive to the basket.”

Linzie Stahl (Guard) – Stahl will work from the 2 and 3 position. She won several defensive awards during her high school career, but will need to work off some rust after missing a majority of her senior season with a torn ACL.

Cecily Scavicchio (Guard) – A high school shooting guard, Scavicchio impressed Coach Malouf earlier this fall and will be on the roster. [Pictured to the right - www.rizzoproduction.com]

Brittany LeVan (Forward) – A 1,000-point scoring center in high school, LeVan will spend her college career playing the 3 and 4 spot. Plus, I’m a fan of anyone who names her pets Diamond, Strawberry, and Champagne.

Brittany Greaves (Forward/Center) – There is playing time to be had in the front court. Greaves can shoot the ball from the perimeter and has experience playing the three position, but will play four or five for the Golden Bears.

Hannah Mertz (Center) – Another Jersey girl, Mertz played both the four and five position in high school and will be expected to make a contribution to the KU frontcourt as a freshman. At 6’1”, she will battle Schroeder for the starting center job this fall.

Subtractions:

Center Mercedes Van Wagner (Graduation)
Guard/Forward Rachel Weidensaul (Graduation)
Center Molly Brown (Graduation)
Center Claire Sitarz (Personal)
Forward Lisi Reyna (Personal)
Guard Britt Percich (transfer – DIII York College)


More and more and more to come…