Angelina Wolvert believes the Ducks are still No. 1 in the Pacific-10 Conference.
Oregon’s junior forward is not worried about the loss of star point guard Shaquala Williams or the bad luck of the injury-prone Lindsey Dion.
None of that really matters too much, Wolvert said, because the Ducks have enough talent to compensate for their losses.
Enough talent, she added, to secure a third-straight Pac-10 title.
When hearing the results of the preseason coaches poll, which picked Oregon to finish second in the conference to Stanford, a light-hearted Wolvert said, “Were we really? What! We were picked second to Stanford? Are you serious? That’s a bunch of crap! That is awful! I don’t think so, I don’t think so. That is terrible, I’m sorry they chose Stanford over us.
“Our team can form and evolve into what we need to be to win a Pac-10 championship.”
Wolvert isn’t the only member of the Oregon women’s basketball team who believes the Ducks can overcome adversity, as was obvious Friday at McArthur Court when the women suited up to meet the media.
“I don’t think a three-peat is out of the question in any way, shape or form,” Oregon head coach Jody Runge said. “I just think it’s going to take a lot of work and people are going to have to step up and share the limelight. We’re very capable of doing that. The team has came back in the kind of shape to have the best season they can have.”
Much has happened since the Ducks’ agonizing loss to UAB in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March.
Oregon lost its leading scorer when Williams tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in a pickup game Sept. 16. Full rehabilitation could take anywhere from four to seven more months, according to team officials.
“This is probably the closest I’ve been to Mac Court in a few weeks,” said Williams, who is being allowed to condition on an EFX machine.
Compounding the gap left by Williams is the loss of backup point guard Karen Piers, who returned to her home of Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, to pursue academic interests.
Then, sophomore forward Courtney Moore left the team to tend to her mother, who has cancer, in Reno, Nev. While Moore wasn’t an integral part of the offense last season, she was a promising freshman whose resume included 17 points in a comeback road win over Arizona. Guard Amanda Brown also left the team.
The most recent loss to the team could be only temporary — Lindsey Dion, a guard/forward who often takes on the role of emotional leader, tore meniscus cartilage in her right knee while performing running drills at Autzen Stadium.
Dion should be back by the start of the season, but she could miss valuable preseason tune-ups.
“I don’t know what the deal is, but I’ll live, and it will be over,” Dion said. “Hopefully it will be a quick month and I’ll be back on the floor.”
The Ducks’ biggest area of concern is a lack of depth at both guard positions, especially if Dion is injured. Dion and guard Jamie Craighead split time at shooting guard last season, with guard Kourtney Shreve or Piers occasionally filling in. But with Piers gone, Shreve at the point and Dion injured, Craighead could spend time at shooting guard and the point.
Yet Runge said her team should be fine if it can adjust.
“It’s just college athletics and [losses] happen,” Runge said. “You have to be prepared. That is where your depth really comes into play. Obviously, on our perimeter, we’re a little short on depth.”
Perhaps more than any other team in the conference, the Ducks’ three senior post players — center Jenny Mowe, forward Brianne Meharry and Wolvert — are capable of putting points on the scoreboard.
Oregon’s ability to deliver the ball to its post players rests heavily on Shreve, the newly-appointed starting point guard. As a freshman, Shreve became the Ducks’ preferred backup point guard down the stretch of last season.
Wolvert is confident that Shreve can set up the offense.
“She’s going to grow a lot in the first preseason,” Wolvert said. “She’ll learn how to play a fast-paced game and run the offense a lot more efficiently. I think she’ll definitely bloom before the Pac-10s come around.”
Newly recruited Cathrine Kraayeveld, a 6-foot-3 forward, should ease the loss of Moore down low, Runge said.
“We’re doing the same things we’ve always done,” Runge said. “We’re trying to do a better job defensively than we’ve ever done before and to be able to execute on offense and get the ball inside. If they try to take that away from us, [we’ll] shoot it from the outside. We’re capable of doing both of those things.”