Healthy Start

Cram counting on players returning injury-free

Getting healthy has been priority one for the 2011-2012 women’s basketball squad.

Having finished up last season with a total of 11 major injuries, six surgeries in the off-season, and inconsistencies in the starting line-up, head coach Rusty Cram says that the staff has been focused on getting his team members through all their physical rehabilitations so that they will be back to 100 percent by the season’s tip off.

“Basically we shut down the majority of the spring and summer just so they can get healthy again, because that’s our biggest problem,” Cram says.

On the flip side to all the injuries and downtime, Cram says he is excited about the players he has returning, along with the three incoming freshman.

“For three years we’ve changed our offense and it’s been a slow process in getting to the point where we have the type of athletes who can run that offense the way we expect it to be run,” Cram says.

Highly recruited freshman Kayla Upchurch will be joining the squad this season as a point guard. Cram expects her to get playing time immediately since former starting point guard, Jamie Navarro, will not be returning.

Anna Claire Knight, from Dublin, Ga., will also join the program as a freshman.

“She’s coming in from the 3,000 point club out of high school. She can score the basketball. She comes highly recruited and she’s the epitome of a student-athlete,” Cram says.

Tashayla Steede will complete the list of new additions to the program and will be a post player who Cram is expecting to bring impact minutes inside the paint.

Cram says for his squad to improve over last season, they are going to have to get better defensively and be more consistent at swapping out between nine or 10 players without skipping a beat. But the biggest area for improvement would have to be the post game.

“We have to score more with our big people than we did last year, because we have to start from the inside and work out,” says Cram.

To implement the changes necessary for a winning season, Cram plans on keeping the team’s “flex” offense by having some quick shooters and isolating certain players who continue to demonstrate an ability to score.

Cram plans for senior Janay Wilson to be an integral part of the team’s new strategy. Wilson was out all of last season due to an injured ACL. Cram expects her to bring speed, experience and a sense of leadership to the team.

“We know she’s going to be able to get to the rim and open up some shooters. We didn’t have that last year,” Cram says.

The entire coaching staff returns with Regina Days-Bryan, Amy Krach and Mary Perry.

“At our level, when you’re at the mid- Division I level, anytime you can keep a staff together every year it’s a bonus. There’s a pretty big turnover with assistant coaches,” Cram says. The squad opens up against Arizona in Hanner Fieldhouse, followed by Georgia, and then on the road against Alabama.

“We throw them to the wolves early. And, they’re going to realize – especially these incoming freshmen – that they’re not in high school anymore,” Cram says. “How many people can say they played Arizona on their home floor? These are teams you get to see on TV playing for the Top 20 and for national championships, and we get them right here on our floor.”