Transfer Weimar has been a game-changer for Terriers
When Melissa Graves took Boston University’s head women’s basketball coaching job in spring 2021, her first major roster addition was Caitlin Weimar, a sophomore transfer from Marist who arrived in August. To bring Weimar aboard, Graves needed to take a bit of a risk.
Since she had just become a first-time head coach and Weimar had entered the transfer portal, Graves was relying on word-of-mouth regarding her. She spoke to Weimar’s former NY Hoopers AAU coach, Jim Lombardi, as well as William Citron, the father of a former Weimar teammate, among others.
“I don’t do a ton of transfer recruiting,” Graves said. “But this was a very special situation, and everybody around her spoke so highly of her, which rang true because she’s such a good kid.”
Fast-forward more than a year, and Graves has an impact player. Weimar is averaging 14.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game for the Terriers (9-6), all notable increases in her junior season.
The 6-foot-4-inch forward from Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., missed nearly all of December with a nagging ankle sprain but returned just in time for conference play. BU is 4-0 since. Weimar just picked up her second Patriot League Player of the Week award, the first Terrier to earn multiple honors in a season. The Terriers are 8-3 when she has played and 1-3 without her.
“When she’s playing the way she’s playing — and she’s so dominant on both sides of the ball — it’s really hard for us not to be successful,” Graves said.
Weimar forms a dynamic frontcourt duo with 6-3 senior Maren Durant. The “post buddies” challenged each other in hard-fought practices during their first year together, and now anchor a defense that ranks 41st in the country with 4.5 blocks per game.
Graves said that in BU’s 7363 win against American Sunday, the opponents tried to draw Weimar and Durant into foul calls in an effort to break up the tandem.
“Honestly, there’s not much else you can do with those two to limit them,” said the coach. “They just have to be off the floor — because they are so dominant.”
Graves is noticing Weimar’s confidence balloon as a junior. As a 6-5 former player at Notre Dame, Graves understands that a positive self-image, particularly for tall women, can be challenging to cultivate.
While she has never had a direct conversation with Weimar on the topic, Graves is inspired by the way she has embraced her advantages and ability to dominate.
“You always have to work with the post [players] as far as, ‘No, you need to be a beast in there,’ ” Graves said. “For guys, it’s easy because guys are, like, ‘Yo I want to be a beast.’ But for a woman to hear, ‘Oh, I’m going to be a beast?’
“It has not always been the norm, and I think it’s starting to become the norm, but it takes a very specific mind-set to get there.”
Honor roles
Boston College capped a massive week of upsets against No. 11 North Carolina State and Florida State with a sweep of the ACC weekly awards. Dontavia Waggoner captured Player of the Week and Taina Mair was Rookie of the Week.
Waggoner, a junior, has experienced a remarkable breakout. She played less than 10 minutes per game last season after transferring from North Carolina State. Now she leads the Eagles in points (13.9), rebounds (7.5), and steals (3.2). She posted 21 points, 14 boards, and 4 steals in the 77-71 overtime win against Florida State Sunday.
“She’s always been a great defender, but I think before this year, it’s been in spurts,” said coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee. “But she’s worked really hard in the offseason and preseason to get in great shape, and I think that’s really contributed to her being able to just go really hard on the defensive end without much let-up for the extended period of time that she’s out there.”
Bernabei-McNamee has been particularly impressed by the defense her young squad has rolled out in ACC action. Despite opening the new year on the wrong end of a rout against No. 7 Notre Dame, the Eagles have rallied and turned heads.
“I just think the last couple of games, we’ve done a spectacular job outhustling our mistakes, and really sticking together on the defensive end and playing with a high level of intensity,” she said.
Of note
BU’s Sydney Johnson surpassed 1,000 career points in a 66-48 win against Lafayette Thursday ... Holy Cross has matched BU with its own 4-0 start in Patriot League play . . . Lawrence native Grace Efosa dropped 27 points to lead Providence in a 79-75 win against then-ranked Creighton last Wednesday.