One year must seem like an eternity for the women's basketball team.
When the Jumbos take the court for their 2009 season opener on Saturday against SUNY New Paltz, they'll debut a squad that bears little resemblance to the one that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
Gone are eight of 17 players from the 2008-09 roster, including three starters and four of the top seven players in minutes played. As a result, many who were contributors over the last two years will be instantly thrust into far more prominent positions for Tufts, which is outside the D3hoops.com top 25 for the first time since Dec. 31, 2007.
"We're a totally different team this year than we've been in the past," coach Carla Berube said. "We've got a new outlook, new goals and a new regime. It's a big year for us as far as how people step up into their new roles. There's a lot of new identities for people, which makes it kind of exciting."
One can perhaps get a sense of the greatest challenge facing this year's Tufts team simply by looking at it. All eight players who departed the program because of graduation, injuries or other reasons were listed at 5-foot-8 or greater, including an often dominant low-post presence in 6-foot-3 forward Katie Tausanovitch (LA '08). What's left behind is a squad whose average height is nearly two inches shorter than that of a year ago and whose lone experienced post player is senior forward Julia Baily.
"I think we really have to fight this year," Berube said. "We don't have 6-3 posting up on the block. The big question is, can we defend in the post and can we rebound? I think that's something we're working on."
The lack of height will force the Jumbos to try and make use of their quickness. Hoping to take advantage of a newly-renovated Cousens Gym court that was expanded to NCAA regulation size, Tufts will employ a run-and-gun offensive strategy and place a particular emphasis on spacing the floor.
"For us, the focus is to push the ball as much as we possibly can," senior tri-captain Vanessa Miller said. "If we're constantly having to set up a half-court offense every time down the court, we're doing something wrong. We want our transition offense to be the bulk of our offensive activity."
At the very least, the Jumbos have perhaps the prerequisite of any successful fast-break offense: an experienced and talented point guard. Preseason All-American Colleen Hart, on pace to break the program's three-point record by season's end, returns for her third year anchoring the team's backcourt. A starter since the first game of her freshman year, Hart averaged 12.0 points, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game a year ago.
This season, however, Hart will have additional responsibilities as one of the team's captains, joining Miller and senior guard Katie Wholey. The team's floor general since the 2007-08 campaign, Hart is now the first junior captain of the Berube era.
"Colleen has always been a very stoic player, a very talented player and just a great leader on the floor," Miller said. "That's what we'll continue to look to her to do. She's very, very reliable, and she doesn't get shaken easily when some of us can. We're just going to continue to look to her to lead us on the court and be the player that she's always been."
But even with the contributions the Jumbos can expect from Hart, their success may depend on how well those who have been complementary pieces in the past handle their new leading roles. Wholey and Miller are the only returning reserves who have ever started a game in their careers, meaning there will be ample opportunity for those who flew under the radar last year — sophomore guard Tiffany Kornegay and sophomore forward Kate Barnosky, in particular — to make an impact.
"I'm playing a completely different position than last year, but all the forwards are helping me make the transition," Barnosky said. "It's exciting, it's a completely different role, it's unexpected, but I think I'm working hard personally, and I know everyone's working hard. I think as a whole, everyone's stepping up."
"We don't have a lot of experienced depth, so some returners who haven't played a lot and newcomers that haven't played at all need to be able to step up right away," Berube added. "There's not a lot of time to grow into positions. We'll see how quickly people grow up."
But while Tufts is considerably less experienced than in years past, the expectations for the Jumbos are nonetheless high. Though conference rivals Amherst and Bowdoin open the season ranked in the preseason national top 10, Tufts still believes it can compete for its first NESCAC championship and return to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.
"I think our program is full of a lot of pride and used to winning," Barnosky said. "We still have unfinished business. We didn't go as far as we wanted to last year. Everyone, with the exception of the new people, know the feeling of NCAAs and the excitement of March. It's a lot to look forward to and a good goal to work toward. Hopefully, we'll surprise some people."
