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A Different Season, a Different Result
A Different Season, a Different Result
John Mad Dog Churan
Published by John C.
11-27-2007
Smile A Different Season, a Different Result

COLUMBUS (OH) -- When Jim Jabir and his Dayton Flyer women’s basketball team began the 2006-2007 season there were high expectations. In each of the two previous seasons, the Flyers had shown one of the top improvements from the previous season in Division I. Continued improvement could have found the Flyers in the NCAA tournament. However, to the chagrin of Jabir and the rest of the Flyers, it was just not to be. Not only did they fall short of those lofty expectations, they failed to find any consistency and found themselves with a losing record at the end of the season.

Jabir did not mince words in his breakdown of the season.

“Last year was a great disappointment for me.

”I believe that part of our problem was not knowing how to play without Cara Wright. People weren’t stepping up and maybe they weren’t ready to. This year, I think we have seen a huge improvement in not only the seniors but also the young kids. Last year, we had a number of close games that we just didn’t close out and I think experience had a lot to do with that.”

In looking at the schedule that Jabir set up, he certainly did not let last year’s results make him shy away from his normal aggressiveness. To start the season, the Flyers participated in the Women's Sports Foundation Tournament at the University of New Mexico that found over 8,000 in attendance when they gave the Lobo’s all they could handle before losing 72-64. This followed an overtime loss to Northwestern in the first round of the tournament and an 0-2 start had to be weighing on the minds of both the players and coaching staff.

There is a time in every season when players can either step up or let things continue to slide. More often than not, this happens in the middle of the season when players finally realize that changes need to be made if they want to be successful. However, an 0-2 start with four more games to be played on foreign courts before the first home game of the season was enough to create a sense of urgency. This was not going to be a repeat of last season.

The Flyers defeated Western Michigan easily in the final game of the New Mexico tournament. It was then on to Loyola of Chicago for another easy win and confidence began to grow. Then there were two one-point victories over UW-Milwaukee and San Diego that probably would have been losses the previous year.

There have been three different leading scorers in the six games as the Flyers have shown a balanced attack with three players averaging in double figures and three others averaging over 7 points per game. In addition, there are four players that are averaging between 4.5 and 6.3 rebounds.

”I don’t think we have a stud or a superstar, but I think the pieces fit really well together. Brittnay Holterman (12.2 pts/game) has really come into her own and she has learned how to insert herself into the offensive. She is really going to take a lot of people by surprise this year. In Nikki Oakland (10,5 pts/gm and 5.3 rebounds), I think you are going to see much of what you saw last year, but better. Kristin Daugherty (8.7 and 5.0) is going to be a great player for us. Kiki Lund (10.3 pts/gm and .500 on 3-point shooting) has been very consistent since the beginning of practice. I think we can continue to expect that from her. Kendel Ross (7.2 and 3.8) could have a really good year for us, too. She had a great summer with the Canadian national team where she led them in virtually every offensive category. I think she has more of a sense of belonging here this year.”

This is a well-balanced team with a number of tools. There are currently 11 players averaging over 10 minutes per game as Jabir experiments with different looks and line-ups, but there is no hiding Jabir’s affection for his seniors, his first recruiting class at Dayton.

”I’m very proud of our senior class. There were a number of people out there that thought that we were crazy when we began our recruitment of them. Our record wasn’t good, but they believed in what we were doing and were willing to give us a chance. They are character kids. They have worked hard and they are the kind of kids that you can build a foundation on. Because of those kids, we have built a level of respectability that has allowed us to successfully recruit players like Kristen Daugherty, Kendall Ross, Kelly Keil and the other kids that have followed them.”

Karah Cloxton has brought a certain level of steadiness at the point with a 2.6 assist/turnover ratio that just wasn’t there last year. That steadiness has led to a reduction in overall turnovers that has plagued this team in the past. The Flyers are currently averaging 16 turnovers per game, which still leaves some room for improvement. Last year’s team always seemed to make unforced turnovers at game changing moments while this team has seemed to be able to avoid that affliction.

Shot selection has also seen an improvement as the Flyers have built an offense that they have become more familiar with this year.

”We are being more aggressive on offense this year. Last year, we were too polite, almost timid. We have to attack people. We have to make them foul us (77.5% FT shooting percentage thus far). Being aggressive on offense is probably the thing that we have stressed more than anything else. We are still running the European style offense that we ran last year, but it has been evolving. We are doing our best to run more and making that our early offensive scheme. I like the movement that we have been getting so far. There is some real continuity with what we have done in the past, which has allowed the kids to make it work.

“I believe that our shooting has improved over last year. We have been more consistent. Our ball handling is better. It comes down to understanding what to do. It’s knowing when to cut so they can receive the ball in stride instead of having to reach for it. It is the little things that make a big difference in how you handle the ball. We are older and smarter, we’ll see how that translates into wins and losses.”

Everyone knows that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. The Flyers have worked hard since last season to make defense more of a priority. All too often last year they would work hard only to give up an easy basket. This year, the same consistency they have found on the offensive end of the court has followed them to the defensive end.

”I’m still trying to find out the character of our team. We continue to work on the press and man-to-man principles, which is fundamental in everything that you do. We aren’t where we want to be but we’re getting better. We want to be aggressive but we will be selective in our pressure. We will trap and press selectively. We are not the quickest team in the league but I think we can contain our opponents’ speed a little better this year. We are very athletic this year, which will help us on both ends of the court.”

Every year a team takes on a new identity. This is a team that has grown up together. It is loaded with seniors that will not make any All-American team, but know how to play the game. The older players have taken the younger ones under their wings and have a closeness that should lead them to more wins than most have predicted.

”We were picked eighth by the coaches and press. The teams ahead of us are probably better than us but that doesn’t mean that we agree with their assessment of our team. Hopefully we are better than people think and we can surprise a lot of people.”

So far, so good.
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  #1  
By Chris R on 11-27-2007, 11:28 PM
Smile

Good article Mad Dog. Seems like JJ likes the balance and complimentary parts of this team. Winning and losing can be a fine line. We could be 2-4 right now, or 5-1. And that would change the collective moods entirely. After 6 road games, 4 wins is definitely a positive start.
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  #2  
By John C. on 11-28-2007, 11:07 AM
If only the men could do as well.......
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  #3  
By UDBrian on 11-28-2007, 11:32 AM
Great article John. I think the WSU game last year was the turning point, the team began playing better and taking care of the ball.

As a fan it has been a lot of fun watching this senior class improve year after year and I am sure that coach Jabir will be quite emotional when they have senior night. They have worked very hard to improve their skills which is what you need. The school, fans and families should be proud of the example all of them have set with their work ethic and community work.

Let's hope they can all go out with a big bang.
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  #4  
By San Diego Flyer on 11-28-2007, 11:48 AM
Great article. I know it problably took some time, and it's great to get JJ's thoughts on each player, the season, and some insight into his overall thoughts.

The gals are picked 8th, and they (and we) think they are possibly better than that. They're going to have to prove it. I see a lot of similarity to the men's situation. We could write a book on the potential of our individual men's players, but again , we're picked 8th or thereabouts.

Both teams offer hope, but have a lot to prove.
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  #5  
By John C. on 11-30-2007, 05:51 AM
Big win by the Flyers last night. Any time you beat UC in anything it is a great day. This team is definitely going to surprise some teams in the A-10 this year.
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