Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
Women’s Basketball Begins Preseason Practice
October 14, 2020 10:25 AM | Women's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A West Virginia women's basketball season like no other begins later today with the official start of preseason practice.
Veteran coach Mike Carey welcomes back seven players from last year's 17-12 team that won 13 of its first 14 games before hitting a tough stretch in mid-January.
COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the season right before the start of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. WVU's last game of 2020 was a 77-63 home loss to TCU.
Carey believes this year's team will be much deeper in the paint with Kari Niblack, Esmery Martinez, Rochelle Norris and Blessing Ejiofor returning.
Junior college transfer Ariel Cummings will provide added post depth. Cummings is one of seven newcomers Carey is working with this season.
The veteran coach believes this year's team is capable of scoring more effectively close to the basket, and he's working on some new offensive sets to take advantage of that.
Carey, primarily a man-to-man coach, is also tinkering with the idea of adding a zone defense this year.
"I'm not a zone person – I despise zones – but with not practicing during the preseason and all of these new players, I just don't know if we're going to have enough time," he said. "We'd better have a backup and we'll see how it goes."
Carey said the old John Beilein 1-3-1 zone is one that intrigues him.
"They used to run that just to give a different look," he said. "The only thing on the 1-3-1 is you funnel to the middle and in our man-to-man defense, we funnel the ball to the baseline. So now I'm trying to teach seven new players to funnel to the baseline in man to man and in that zone you funnel to the middle, so it will be interesting to see what happens with it.
"I've thought about them all, including a 2-2-2," he joked.
Senior guard Kysre Gondrezick is the team's leading returning scorer averaging 15.3 points per game in 2020. She shot nearly 35% from 3-point range while making a team-best 58 triples.
Junior guard Madisen Smith is a two-year starter who handed out a team-best 83 assists last season.
Kirsten "K.K." Deans is another quality backcourt player who produced a season-high 17 points in last year's win at 10th-ranked Mississippi State.
Niblack, a junior forward, has been West Virginia's most reliable inside performer since her freshman season. The Leesburg, Florida, resident averaged 10.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last year and plays with a toughness that her coach appreciates.
Martinez, a sophomore, is a talented player who showed flashes last year as a freshman and could emerge, as could Cummings, a Chipola Community College import who averaged nearly 14 points and 12 rebounds last season.
After a year in the program, Nigerian native Ejiofer is another post player who could be a factor with her 6-foot-5 frame.
The Mountaineers got a boost recently when Mississippi State transfer Jayla Hemingway was granted immediate eligibility. The 5-foot-10 wing was the 2019 Tennessee Player of the Year who averaged nearly 23 points and eight rebounds per game during her senior season at Houston High in Collierville, Tennessee.
Hemmingway appeared in 24 games last year as a freshman at Mississippi State.
Carey is also hopeful of getting an immediate waiver for Georgia Tech transfer Jasmine Carson, also a 5-10 guard. Carson, a junior, averaged 9.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last season for the Yellow Jackets including a season-high 26 points in a win against East Tennessee State.
She prepped at Memphis Central High in Memphis, Tennessee.
Carey has also remodeled his coaching staff. Former Mississippi State standout Nitra Perry was brought in late in the summer and will join associate head coach Bett Shelby and assistant coach Craig Carey.
Mike Carey and Shelby will work with the posts while Perry and Craig Carey will oversee the perimeter players.
"Coach Perry has a lot of coaching experience," Carey said. "She has been a head coach before, played Power 5 basketball and played overseas. I wanted to get somebody with a lot of experience in here. Other than me, we are very young on the coaching staff, and I wanted another coach who is a role model and a mentor and coach Perry fits that."
Carey said his team is still looking for one game to complete this year's nonconference schedule. UNC Charlotte recently backed out, leaving an opening to fill.
He also said the team will play two Big 12 games in December - at home against Baylor and on the road at Oklahoma State.
"Everything is going to be squeezed in a little bit," he said. "We've got seven (nonconference games) plus two conference games means nine games during the first semester."
Carey, beginning his 20th season at West Virginia, admits he is going to have to be more patient this year than he would during a normal season.
He is planning for possible interruptions and delays as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
"Teams that have a lot of people back will have an early advantage. Teams that have a lot of new players coming in, with the time taken away, it's going to be a process," he concluded.
Veteran coach Mike Carey welcomes back seven players from last year's 17-12 team that won 13 of its first 14 games before hitting a tough stretch in mid-January.
COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the season right before the start of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. WVU's last game of 2020 was a 77-63 home loss to TCU.
Carey believes this year's team will be much deeper in the paint with Kari Niblack, Esmery Martinez, Rochelle Norris and Blessing Ejiofor returning.
Junior college transfer Ariel Cummings will provide added post depth. Cummings is one of seven newcomers Carey is working with this season.
The veteran coach believes this year's team is capable of scoring more effectively close to the basket, and he's working on some new offensive sets to take advantage of that.
Carey, primarily a man-to-man coach, is also tinkering with the idea of adding a zone defense this year.
"I'm not a zone person – I despise zones – but with not practicing during the preseason and all of these new players, I just don't know if we're going to have enough time," he said. "We'd better have a backup and we'll see how it goes."
Carey said the old John Beilein 1-3-1 zone is one that intrigues him."They used to run that just to give a different look," he said. "The only thing on the 1-3-1 is you funnel to the middle and in our man-to-man defense, we funnel the ball to the baseline. So now I'm trying to teach seven new players to funnel to the baseline in man to man and in that zone you funnel to the middle, so it will be interesting to see what happens with it.
"I've thought about them all, including a 2-2-2," he joked.
Senior guard Kysre Gondrezick is the team's leading returning scorer averaging 15.3 points per game in 2020. She shot nearly 35% from 3-point range while making a team-best 58 triples.
Junior guard Madisen Smith is a two-year starter who handed out a team-best 83 assists last season.
Kirsten "K.K." Deans is another quality backcourt player who produced a season-high 17 points in last year's win at 10th-ranked Mississippi State.
Niblack, a junior forward, has been West Virginia's most reliable inside performer since her freshman season. The Leesburg, Florida, resident averaged 10.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last year and plays with a toughness that her coach appreciates.
Martinez, a sophomore, is a talented player who showed flashes last year as a freshman and could emerge, as could Cummings, a Chipola Community College import who averaged nearly 14 points and 12 rebounds last season.
After a year in the program, Nigerian native Ejiofer is another post player who could be a factor with her 6-foot-5 frame.
The Mountaineers got a boost recently when Mississippi State transfer Jayla Hemingway was granted immediate eligibility. The 5-foot-10 wing was the 2019 Tennessee Player of the Year who averaged nearly 23 points and eight rebounds per game during her senior season at Houston High in Collierville, Tennessee.
Hemmingway appeared in 24 games last year as a freshman at Mississippi State.
Carey is also hopeful of getting an immediate waiver for Georgia Tech transfer Jasmine Carson, also a 5-10 guard. Carson, a junior, averaged 9.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last season for the Yellow Jackets including a season-high 26 points in a win against East Tennessee State.
She prepped at Memphis Central High in Memphis, Tennessee.
Carey has also remodeled his coaching staff. Former Mississippi State standout Nitra Perry was brought in late in the summer and will join associate head coach Bett Shelby and assistant coach Craig Carey.Mike Carey and Shelby will work with the posts while Perry and Craig Carey will oversee the perimeter players.
"Coach Perry has a lot of coaching experience," Carey said. "She has been a head coach before, played Power 5 basketball and played overseas. I wanted to get somebody with a lot of experience in here. Other than me, we are very young on the coaching staff, and I wanted another coach who is a role model and a mentor and coach Perry fits that."
Carey said his team is still looking for one game to complete this year's nonconference schedule. UNC Charlotte recently backed out, leaving an opening to fill.
He also said the team will play two Big 12 games in December - at home against Baylor and on the road at Oklahoma State.
"Everything is going to be squeezed in a little bit," he said. "We've got seven (nonconference games) plus two conference games means nine games during the first semester."
Carey, beginning his 20th season at West Virginia, admits he is going to have to be more patient this year than he would during a normal season.
He is planning for possible interruptions and delays as a result of the ongoing pandemic.
"Teams that have a lot of people back will have an early advantage. Teams that have a lot of new players coming in, with the time taken away, it's going to be a process," he concluded.
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