A New Face
October 22, 2008 09:31 AM | General
October 22, 2008
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| Madina Ali |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Junior forward Madina Ali is bracing for an eye-opening year as she gets her first taste of Division I college basketball.
Not only does the Williamsport, Pa., native have to learn the nuances of Coach Mike Carey’s offensive and defensive schemes, she is expected to play a major role for a team full of new faces.
However, Ali embraces such a challenge. She realizes that the brand of basketball played in the BIG EAST is the most competitive in college basketball, and she is ready to step up and play her part for the 2008-09 West Virginia University women’s basketball team.
“West Virginia has put me into the real world,” admitted Ali. “I’m no longer babied or spoiled. Coach Carey is very hard and demanding and he expects a lot more from us. The girls are real welcoming, the environment is very nice and the academics all-around are very good as well.”
Ali is known as an aggressor both offensively and defensively, which she has proven at the college level as she spent the last two seasons fine-tuning her game at Daytona Beach Community College. The JUCO transfer averaged 13 points, 9.3 rebounds and shot 57 percent from the field as an inside presence during her sophomore year.
However, the 2008 Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year is now focused on expanding her repertoire instead of just utilizing her skills in the paint.
“In junior college I played the post. I will be playing in that area as well this year, but here I get to do more things instead of just back to the basket stuff,” Ali said. “I’m opening up and shooting a little 12-15 footer. It’s definitely out of my area that I’ve been in for a while.”
Along with becoming more versatile on the floor, Ali has made a conscious effort to take the advice of first-year Strength and Conditioning Coach Andy Kettler. Knowing that she will face stiff competition from bigger and stronger post players than those she played against in junior college, Ali has noticed an enhancement in her physique.
“Strength-wise I’ve never been big in the weight room,” Ali admitted. “Coach Kettler has pulled strength out of me that I haven’t seen before. With him doing that I’ve been able to get stronger and get stronger in areas on the court like when we play in open gyms.”
As a second team WBCA/Kodak All-American last year, Ali ranked 12th nationally at the junior college level in rebounding. As a freshman she pulled down 12 rebounds per game, reflecting her tenacity and willingness to scrap after missed shots and create possessions on the offensive end.
Her natural instincts on the floor highlight one of the many keys to success for the 2008-09 WVU squad – what they may lack in size, they cannot lack in heart and hustle. Carey’s ferocious in-your-face defensive system will be a learning adjustment for Ali, but something that she can certainly grow accustomed to.
“I came from a different defensive program at Daytona,” Ali said. “Learning his system will be tough but it won’t be bad because I’m a quick learner. I’m sure whatever he puts out there I will catch on real quick.”
One adjustment she will make on the defensive end is making the right reads and deciding whether it is best to front or stay behind the post player. One slip in defending on the block, and she knows the players in the BIG EAST will likely make her pay.
“We did a lot of man-to-man, but the girls weren’t as big,” Ali said of her defensive scheme at DCC. “The girls are bigger here so Coach Carey expects us to stay behind our man and front. Playing behind all the time I have to learn to stay in front and behind and switch from side to side.”
Ali, who was also recruited by Oklahoma State and Mississippi State, has made a comfortable transformation from the non-stop warm weather of Florida to the seasonal temperatures of Morgantown. Growing up only 4 ½ hours away in Williamsport, the West Virginia climate has not been a problem for her thus far.
The junior college standout has also fit in well with her new teammates as 11 of the 14 players on this year’s roster are either incoming freshman or transfers from junior colleges or Division I schools. The FLCAA All-State Region VIII player is in the same situation as many of her teammates, and has relished the quality time spent with her fellow Mountaineers.
“It’s going real well,” Ali said of bonding with her teammates. “On the court we try to show each other support and help each other out if things go wrong - just lifting each other up. Off the court we bond really well, hang out, talking about what the season is going to be like. Overall, it’s going real well.”
If Ali and the rest of this season’s squad can take their off-the-court chemistry and convert it to on-court success then the Mountaineers will have a chance to make headway in the nation’s toughest basketball conference.
With a fresh cast full of newcomers, Ali hopes to lead the way toward a new era for WVU women’s basketball.
