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2013-14 Utah Women's Basketball Outlook
11/6/2013 12:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 6, 2013
With team members hailing from six states and two foreign countries, perhaps it's only fitting the Utah women's basketball team will employ a diverse lineup as well in 2013-14 as it searches for a return bid to the NCAA Tournament.
As the Utah program continues its tradition as one of the most accomplished teams in NCAA history, it will build this year's team around senior All-America forward Michelle Plouffe. The Utes return a second starter in sophomore point guard Danielle Rodriguez as well as five other veterans. The Utes also welcome a quartet of freshmen who will be given the opportunity to contribute right away.
The Utes are coming off an intense, fast-paced postseason run in 2012-13, winning five games in five cities to advance to the WNIT championship game. Utah picked up road wins at Long Beach State, Pacific, St. Mary's (Calif.) and Kansas State, in addition to a home win over San Diego, before falling at Drexel in the title game.
"The WNIT was fun last year, but ultimately--as one of the winningest programs in the history of NCAA--the expectation here has always been to get into the NCAA Tournament and make a run," head coach Anthony Levrets said. "We have a really unique team this year with a mixture of older kids and really young kids who are going to play.
"I expect all four of our freshmen to play significantly. They are going to have growing pains, but we have to be patient with them and know that we'll be playing our best basketball at the end of the season. Hopefully, we're good enough to win a few games early on, but I really think the ceiling for this team is incredibly high."
Two strengths that Levrets points to heading into the season are his team's depth and ability to shoot. The Utes were fourth in the Pac-12 in shooting percentage last season, connecting on 41.5 percent of their attempts from the field.
"The biggest strength of this team is that everyone can shoot," Levrets said. "If we surveyed our staff and asked them to list everyone's strengths in order, all but one kid on our team would have shooting the basketball in their top three. We shoot the ball, as a group, as well as any team we've had since I've been here."
Plouffe, a two-time Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American, has been named to the Sporting News Preseason All-America Third Team. Plouffe begins her senior campaign on pace to become just the third player in Utah history to reach 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. The Edmonton, Alberta, native has averaged 15.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game during her career.
"[Plouffe] just has to be herself," Levrets said. "She always plays hard. I don't have to talk her into it. She practices hard. She works out hard. She's in the gym more than any other person I've ever seen. That part takes care of itself.
"She just needs to show up and play and take what she can get. There are going to be nights where she doesn't score a bunch of points. But she's a great passer, great defender, great rebounder, and she understands our stuff and she'll get other people involved. She just needs to go out and play."
With so much preseason hype surrounding Plouffe entering her senior campaign, does Levrets feel she'll sense any added pressure to perform well?
"Expectations are not going to be hard for her," he said. "She was an Olympian and played for her country at 19 years old, and she has been expected to lead a team before. This group of kids has other talented players as well. Our fans may not know them quite yet, but they will soon."
Behind Plouffe is a corps of six returners who will benefit from the adjustments made by opposing defenses.
"We have a special player in Plouffe who has to be guarded all over the floor, and that will allow other people opportunities," Levrets said. "Teams are going to do their best to take her away and it's going to open the floor for other people to play. We're also a little bit deeper at a couple positions than we have been in the past. Those are the two things that are slightly different than they have been in the past couple of years.
"Our ability to shoot the basketball from every position will allows us to do a lot of different things offensively. It opens the floor up for driving the basketball, getting the ball to the post, and we will play off of that ability to shoot."
Rodriguez comes back for her second season as a starting point guard after handing out 78 assists with a 1.53 assist/turnover ratio last year.
"She has really improved her athleticism and shooting during the offseason," Levrets said. "Her overall understanding of our system will help her be an even better leader."
Senior Ariel Reynolds will provide an athletic presence and the ability to finish around the rim, while redshirt freshman Nakia Arquette, a true `stretch 4' who can be effective all over the court, returns after suffering a knee injury four games into last season.
Alongside Rodriguez in the back court, redshirt junior Ciera Dunbar will bring two years of playing experience under her belt. Dunbar averaged 10.0 minutes in 34 games last season while being named to the Pac-12 Honorable Mention All-Academic Team.
Junior Cheyenne Wilson has played in 65 games over the course of her career with eight starts, averaging 3.8 points in 15.0 minutes per game. Sophomore Awa Kalmstrom is a pass-first guard who can get to the rim and appeared in 14 games last season.
Taryn Wicijowski, a two-time All-Pac-12 performer, will be unavailable this season after sustaining an injury in August. Also utilizing a redshirt year will be sophomore Paige Crozon, who started 10 games last season.
Having two veterans out of action and losing three seniors who played significant minutes a year ago, the door is open for the Utes' newcomers to get immediate playing time.
"We're going to play four freshmen, and it's just going to take a little while to get them comfortable in our system," said Levrets. "They're talented, so once they get comfortable this group has a chance to be good.
"Our biggest deficiency heading into this season is that we haven't been together very long. We're going to put some players on the floor who have never played college basketball before, and they're going to sink or swim early. I think they're going to swim."
Wendy Anae is an active post player from San Diego, Calif., who can play inside and out, and shoot.
Malia Nawhine enjoyed a decorated prep career, being named the 2012-13 Gatorade Utah Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Salt Lake Tribune Prep Female Athlete of the Year and Deseret News Ms. Basketball. She was also a two-time all-state selection at Springville High School.
Devri Owens is a talented offensive player whose contributions to this year's team will be determined by how well she progresses defensively. The Plano, Texas, native was a McDonald's All-American nominee and a two-time District MVP at Plano West High School.
Emily Potter is a 6'6" native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who has a presence around the basket and can be effective from 3-point territory. She averaged 7.6 points per game with the Canadian Junior National Team at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championships last summer.
Sophomore Valerie Nawahine, who played at BYU in 2011-12, will provide depth for the Utes at the guard position.
"The biggest thing we need to work on is becoming a team," Levrets said. "You don't become a team overnight, and the way we play is described by our motto: Five people playing as one. We don't want to be five people playing one-on-one. So when you watch us play you don't see one person, you just see a unit out there. That takes a really long time to develop.
"What it comes down to is if you can execute and get a score when you need to and if you can execute and get a stop when you need to. This team has the ability to do those things but it's going to be a long process."
Utah's 2013-14 schedule includes seven games against four teams that earned a spot in last season's NCAA Tournament. Three of those teams advanced to at least the Sweet 16. The Utes will appear on the Pac-12 Networks 12 times.
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