The last time you saw them, in April, they were celebrating their WNIT Championship at McArthur Court.
So for the nine returning letterwinners on the Oregon women’s basketball team, Friday’s media day was a reunion of sorts.
Gone were graduates Jamie Craighead, Alyssa Fredrick, Edniesha Curry and Ndidi Unaka. But back to visit in their first official gathering of the year — at least for outsiders to the program — were senior starters Shaquala Williams and Alissa Edwards, as well as junior Cathrine Kraayeveld and sophomore Andrea Bills.
And although the team has been practicing for almost two months, Friday was their first chance to strut their stuff and talk up what they plan to do this season.
“I’m looking forward to having fun and winning as many games as we can,” Williams said. “I think we had a great ending to last year in winning the WNIT, but our goals are a lot bigger this year, and we can achieve a lot more.”
If last season’s 22-13 campaign was a rollercoaster — with plenty of ups and downs, dips and turns — then this season is shaping up to be a smooth ride.
Gone is the pressure of extending an eight-year NCAA Tournament streak, though the Ducks made a case that it should have been nine straight by winning five straight in the WNIT. Also gone is the Jody Runge situation, a controversial topic last season that was often the focus of the media after games and practices.
But, most importantly, the Ducks’ core group of players has had a year to adjust to head coach Bev Smith’s system and a chance to test its intricacies.
“I think it was hard sometimes,” Kraayeveld said of last season. “We expected to win in certain games, and we ended up just not playing well when we lost. I think that it hurt our confidence a little bit. I think we have a load of talent on this team, and we should be able to string a couple more games together this season.
“We just have to have the right mind set coming into each game.”
Kraayeveld was the MVP of the WNIT — coming through with the game-winning shot against Houston for the championship — and will need help in the frontcourt, as the group is young and inexperienced.
Along with Kraayeveld, the Ducks list five full-time forwards on their roster — including Bills, who is shaping up to be a focus of the Oregon offense. Of those five, only Bills and Kraayeveld have seen significant action.
Enter freshman Carolyn Ganes. The 6-foot-3 center from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is an imposing figure and must grow up quickly to lend support off the bench.
“I’m a little bit nervous, just because you can’t help but not be a little bit, but I think it will be a lot of fun, and I’ll just go in there and play hard and see what happens,” Ganes said when asked about her transition to the college game.
Coupled with Yadili Okwumabua, another freshman from Canada, Ganes’ adjustment will be key this season.
“I think the coaches are aware that they’re freshmen and don’t know as much, but they did play with Bev and (associate head coach) Allison (McNeill),” Kraayeveld said. “I think they just need to come in and have some confidence and not worry about making mistakes.”
Oregon’s first game is Nov. 9 against the Basketball Travelers, an annual exhibition game. Its first real match of the season comes a week later against Southern Oregon and opens the way for a schedule that includes six non-conference opponents that reached the NCAA Tournament last season.
It’s a loaded schedule and should pave the way for what could be a competitive Pacific-10 Conference season that begins on Dec. 27 against UCLA at McArthur Court.
“I think that when you play non-conference teams that are good, it is a way to see how things are going to go during the season,” Edwards said.