Growing pains, improvement anticipated
Steve Shields and Joe Foley, good friends since taking over their respective UALR men’s and women’s basketball teams within a week of each other, have endured similar challenges heading into their 10th seasons.
Shields, head of the UALR men’s team, is having to rebuild a frontcourt with a slew of first-year players that will likely include two freshman point guards.
Foley, trying to lead the UALR women to a seventh consecutive 20-victory season and a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament, is having to rebuild a frontcourt after the departure of fouryear producers Marian Kursh and Britteni Williams.
Their other common thread: Both like their progress despite the attrition.
“I think it’s excitement,” Shields said. “There’s a lot of optimism in the air with every program right now. I like this group. They’ve worked really well to this point.”
The Trojans are coming off a 15-16 finish last season, one that included a Sun Belt Conference West Division title for the fifth time under Shields, but an early exit from the conference tournament after a loss to Western Kentucky.
This year, two of their returners — forwards Will Neighbour (shoulder surgery) and Gus Leeper (stress fracture in his shin) — are recover ing from offseason injuries and they no longer have the two veteran guards they relied on at times last year.
D’Andre Williams was the team’s leading scorer and a first-team All-Sun Belt selection but he exhausted his eligibility. Chuck Guy, who scored 10.4 points per game in 30.8 minutes, transferred to Division II Tarleton (Texas) State.
Ben Dillard and Taggart Lockhart, who combined to average 8.1 points and 29.9 minutes last year, provide some stability. But the point guard spot will be filled by freshmen Josh Hagins and John Gillon.
Shields said Hagins, from Bossier City, La., and Gillon, from Houston, have showed glimpses of potential as well as inexperience as the Trojans prepare for the season and their Nov. 29 Sun Belt opener against Troy in Little Rock.
“To me, if they’re good enough like we think they are, they’re fine to play as freshmen,” Shields said. “Now you’re going to have freshman mistakes, and that’s been the biggest thing. We’ve turned the ball over quite a bit during these workouts, and we’ve got to get better at that.”
Foley must rebuild a frontcourt with one returning player who has any experience from last year’s team that went 20-13 while winning the Sun Belt tournament and losing to Delaware in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.
Hannah Fohne, a 6-2 junior from Walker, La., averaged 3.8 points and 4.1 rebounds while starting 15 games last season. She’ll fill one inside position; the other spot will be filled by a rotation of three freshmen: Carolee Dillard, 6-2 who is from Midwes t Ci ty, Okla., Shanity James, 5-11, from St. Louis; and Jakeisha Wells, 63, from Maywood, Ill.
That transition comes a year after Foley had to insert first-year starters Taylor Ford and Taylor Gault into both guard spots. The Trojans were 11-11 last Feb. 4 before winning nine of their last 11 games. Gault averaged 22.7 points in the Sun Belt Tournament and Ford made a floater in the final seconds of overtime to beat Middle Tennessee in the title game.
So, Foley has seen firstyear players shed shaky play that comes from inexperience through the course of the season. He’s hoping for it again this year.
“I don’t know which is easier, rebuild guards or rebuild bigs,” Foley said. “We’re going to find out this year.”
Foley is breaking in a new point guard this year, too, but he said he feels pretty good about freshman Morgan Bolton, who averaged 11.5 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals while helping Duncanville (Texas) High School to a state championship in Texas’ largest classification.
That will allow Ford, who played point guard a year ago, to slide over to what Foley said was a more natural fit at shooting guard beside Gault.
But Foley said any sure progress will come only with time.
“I think our adversity is going to be our youth,” Foley said. “Anytime you got inexperienced kids you’ve got a growing process to go through. Again, you don’t ever know.”