Bowling Green State University Athletics
2005-06 Season Outlook, Part 2
October 20, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 20, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) -
YEAH, BUT GET TO THE POINT
Achter returns for her sophomore season after one of the best debuts in school history. She averaged 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in her first season at BGSU, and was the runner-up in the MAC Freshman-of-the-Year balloting. Achter took a back seat to no one in the league tournament, however, earning MVP honors as the Falcons swept three games at Cleveland's Gund Arena en route to the title.
Most importantly, Achter was the engine that kept the Falcons humming, replacing a four-year starter and all-league performer (Lindsay Austin), and making a seamless transition. After coming off the bench early in the year, Achter moved into the starting lineup in mid-December, and the Falcons went 20-4 with her in the starting five.
"As the season progressed, we saw Kate's confidence, understanding and productivity just soar, culminating with an unbelievable run in the MAC Tournament," said Miller. "She has worked hard on her three-point shooting and range in the offseason, to give her a double threat at the offensive end. But, she retains the ability to get into the lane off our high ball-screen offense and create havoc for the defense. Kate's getting into the lane to create shots, for herself or for others, is a huge focal point of our offense and allows it to run smoothly.
"The statistic that jumps off the page with Kate is her ability to get to the foul line. Kate went to the line over 150 times last year, and made 121, which was nearly double the total of the next-highest freshman in the MAC. As a fan, though, one of the things you notice is that Kate is a tremendous athlete with great quickness. That really allows us to play the way that we like to play, and score in the up-tempo.
"We led the league and were 28th in the country in scoring last year. Clearly, that only happens if you have a point guard willing to push tempo. Kate can create a lot of tempo for us, and we will depend upon her to create that tempo again, as we continue to strive, year in and year out, to be one of the highest offensive-productivity teams in the country."
Achter will be pushed at the point-guard position by newcomer McCall. The Detroit native, like Achter, has the need for speed, and her new coach looks forward to the chance to utilize an up-tempo offense, even if Achter is not in the game.
"Jasmine McCall is a tremendously talented point who will give Kate a great battle for the starting position," said Miller. "The players love to play with Jazz because of her speed, quickness and ability to get up the floor. It gives us a one-two punch at the point position and enables us to keep the tempo up throughout the entire game.
"Jazz is a tremendous on-ball defender, and has the ability for us to extend the floor defensively, really get after people and - between her and Kate - wear down opposing point guards. She is already more offensive-minded and has better range than Kate, and I think she will be an exciting player to watch for years off of our high ball-screen offense."
 Kate Achter (photo by Jeff Harwell)  |
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SHOOT, THEY'RE PRETTY GOOD
A pair of returnees will be pushed by a duo of newcomers at the shooting-guard position. McDowell is the incumbent after blossoming as the starting 2 guard a year ago. She averaged 6.8 points per game, more than tripling her average from the prior season, and was named the Falcons' Most Improved Player. That scoring average ballooned to 16.8 in the MAC Tournament, resulting in an all-tourney team accolade.
A transfer from Indiana State University, McDowell struggled to find her shooting touch during 2003-04, her first playing season at BGSU. Last year, however, she made 37 percent of her three-point field-goal attempts to lead the team, and drained 44 treys to quadruple her total from the previous year. That total included a school record-tying seven in the league tourney quarterfinal win over Miami.
"Casey had a great junior year, playing-wise," said Miller. "She is without question our smartest kid, in terms of basketball knowledge. She is always in the right place at the right time, and, simply put, we are a better team when she is on the floor. Casey is a crafty and smart defender, who doesn't gamble and make a lot of mistakes, and forces people to work to score points.
"At the offensive end, Casey really understands the game plan and what we are trying to accomplish. She has the deepest range on the team, and can really extend the floor with her three-point shooting."
Whitney Taylor averaged almost two points per game as a freshman last winter. Taylor was thrown into the fire, as her first collegiate start came in her first collegiate game. That contest was in the Preseason NIT at nationally-ranked Ohio State. Taylor had a pair of double-digit games, and showed glimpses of the ability to rack up the points in a hurry.
"Whitney is an explosive offensive player that can score points in bunches," said Miller. "As good of an offensive player as she is, I think Whitney would be the first to admit that she did not have the kind of season, shooting-wise, that she would have hoped.
"Whitney's game is highlighted by her tenacity, toughness and work ethic. She had a good summer of strength and conditioning, and I think we will see her playing with a lot more confidence during her sophomore season. And, as that confidence and understanding of the game plan continues to rise, we will see her get more minutes at the off-guard position."
DePrice Taylor is a versatile freshman who could play multiple guard positions. Her talents should enable her to find a spot on the floor. Another freshman, Goldsberry, has a three-point touch and a history of success on the basketball court.
"DePrice is one of the most naturally-gifted players recruited during our tenure at Bowling Green," said Miller. "She is a tremendously skilled and smooth offensive player, who is talented enough to slot her in as an off guard. She also has the talent to play as a backup point guard, and is strong enough to play minutes at the 3 position. Her offensive flair will allow her to become a crowd favorite early on.
 Amber Flynn (photo by BGSU Photo Services) |
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GET SMALL
A pair of juniors, Horne and Thorburn, return at the small forward spot. That tandem has combined to play nearly every minute at that position over the last two seasons. Horne earned All-MAC Honorable Mention after averaging 11.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. She led the Falcons in steals, with 63, and hit a total of 45 three-pointers last winter. Perhaps most importantly, Horne has shown the ability to hit big shots in key situations.
"Carin is tremendously talented offensively, with the ability to put up huge numbers," said Miller. "She is one of the best three-point shooters in the league, but she is also a physical player that can get herself to the hole and post up smaller players.
"Carin's offensive game is such that she could, in my opinion, someday lead the league in scoring. She has the ability to make big shots at big times, and she is not afraid to take those shots. She struggled with her shooting touch during most of the MAC Championship game, but still was able to hit two big shots at the end, which helped ice the game. She has that shooter's mentality."
Thorburn has started 33 games in her career, and has averaged over five points per game in her first two years in the Brown and Orange. An athletic player with good size, she has shown the ability to put up big numbers as well, as evidenced by a 26-point game at IPFW early last season.
"Megan Thorburn gives us a great one-two punch at the small forward or big wing position," said Miller. "She excels in the open floor, and her size allows us a lot of versatility to play big lineups. Megan has started out very strong in each of her first two seasons, and we continue to work on building her confidence throughout the year.
"Megan is a player who is playing her best when she is confident. She is a natural 3 position player, but also can be a 6-foot-1 off-guard and give us a big lineup. Megan is capable of having big, big games, and has shown in stretches the ability to be an all-conference type of player."
 Megan Thorburn (BGSU Photo Services) |
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Once again, Miller has put together a challenging non-conference schedule, with potential opponents from the Big Ten and Southeastern Conferences, and a number of other games against teams from high-profile conferences. The non-league slate also includes three games in venerable Anderson Arena. Prior to the MAC slate, the Brown and Orange will travel to five different states and play five teams that won 18 or more games in 2004-05.
"In my opinion, scheduling is a big part of building a program, and we set out to raise our scheduling as we built the program," said the head coach. "I think this is our toughest non-league schedule in my tenure here. It will help us in the RPI, and certainly will prepare us for what is going to be a very tough Mid-American Conference schedule.
"We are playing against some teams from some of the top conferences, including the Big Ten, SEC, Atlantic 10 and Sun Belt, and these are the types of conferences we need to have on our schedule in order to continue to gain national exposure for our program."
The schedule opens with a pair of home games prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, vs. IPFW and Saint Francis (Pa.). Then, BG heads to a Big Ten venue to compete in the Hampton Inn Classic in Bloomington, Ind., before ending the month of November with a trip to Detroit.
In December, the Falcons host Duquesne, looking to avenge one of just eight losses suffered in `04-05. Then, the team jets to Miami to face Florida International, and after a break for final exams, BG will face Oakland. Following Christmas, the Brown and Orange will meet Delaware, a 25-win team from a year ago, to open play in the Hawk Classic, hosted by Saint Joseph's. A game at Kentucky closes the non-league schedule.
BACK TO THE EAST
The MAC schedule has a new wrinkle this year. With the departure of Marshall and the return to a 12-team conference, each school will play home-and-home series against its five divisional opponents, while meeting each of the six teams in the other division once. For the Falcons, that means two games apiece against Akron, Buffalo, Kent State, Miami and Ohio, as BG has returned to the East Division.
"The East is going to be very demanding," said Miller. "Obviously, Kent State continues to be a measuring stick for all of us. What jumps off the page is their consistency over the years, which is what we're trying to establish here at Bowling Green."
BGSU will open MAC play with five intra-divisional games. Then, six cross-divisional contests vs. West Division opponents make up the middle of the league schedule, before the Falcons close the regular season with five more games vs. the East.
"The 5-6-5 format is a unique schedule," said Miller. "You hear all the time that the division games really mean something down the stretch, and that is what the MAC schedule has set itself up to have. There will be a lot of interesting storylines and a lot of important games that can really swing the balance of power. You need to be playing good basketball both at the beginning and the end of the schedule."
 Julie Gompers (photo by Mike Metzger/BG News) |
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It is probably fair to say that Curt Miller is a worrier.
Oh, sure, in just four years he has completely reversed the fortunes of the BGSU program, taking the Falcons from near the bottom of the MAC to the top of the league. The turnaround was complete with last year's MAC regular-season and tournament titles and a trip to the NCAA Championships.
Miller's worries have changed slightly during that time. During his first year, he worried that the Falcons might never win another game. In his second season, he worried that his team was not improving nearly as much as the rest of the league. In his third season, Miller fretted that his young team would struggle due to said youth. Last year, Miller worried that his much-improved team would not be able to live up to heightened expectations.
Now, in his fifth year, Miller's concerns involve defending the MAC titles and making a return to the national tournament - a far cry from his worries as a first-year coach back in the 2001-02 campaign.
But, with one of the most stable staffs in the region, if not the nation - associate head coach Jennifer Roos and assistant coach Brandi Poole have been on Miller's staff during his entire tenure, while assistant Kevin Eckert enters his fourth year - as well as a versatile team that has been entirely recruited by the current staff, the ingredients for future success seem to be in place.
"I like to talk about the versatility of our team," said the head coach. "For the last few years, we have consistently had four kids in double figures, or averaging at least nine points. I think that's a strength of our system. It doesn't lend itself to just one superstar, it is an equal-opportunity offense. We go to people that have good matchups, or to people that have the hot hand that night. We don't depend on just one or two players.
"And, the fifth year, of course, means that the whole team is entirely yours for the first time. Every single player on the roster has been brought to Bowling Green by the current coaching staff. We recruit very specifically to our system, and we feel very good that we have an entire roster that plays the way that we want to play and can fit into our system. We're very excited about that.
"Part of the pride I have in our championship is due to the fact that it happened with a group of coaches that I absolutely love coaching with. Jennifer, Brandi and Kevin have been extremely loyal, and have passed on some opportunities to go on to other programs. I feel that I have one of the best staffs, not only in the midwest, but in the country, and I hope we can stay together for years to come."
So, it seems that a number of ingredients are in place for continued Falcon success. And, the coach seems bound and determined to remind his players of the additional ingredients for a successful outcome, the intangibles that enabled BG to win a title last year.
"I tell our team all the time that I don't think, talent-wise, we are necessarily the best in the MAC. We pride ourselves in the little things, like cameraderie, having a championship-type lockerroom, and coming to the gym ready to work hard every day and every night. We still don't believe that we are necessarily the best team on paper - we won a championship without a first-team all-conference member last year - but we remember what got us there last year, and the players know how it felt to see that hard work pay off. They want to experience that feeling again."
