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AFTER GREAT 2011, SUGAR BEARS WANT MORE IN 2012
1/1/2012 6:22:00 PM

inShare.As the calendar flips to January and the start of 2012, the Central Arkansas women's basketball team bids farewell to one of the most spectacular years in its history, ending a 12-month span that brought a host of achievements and milestones to a Sugar Bears program that has quickly made a name for itself in Division I basketball.

In 2011, the Sugar Bears compiled a 24-10 record (.706 winning percentage) and won more than 83 percent of their games at home, finishing the year 15-3 inside the Farris Center. Included in those 15 wins were the program's first victories over opponents from the SEC and Big 10 in Alabama and Indiana, and an overtime thriller against McNeese State, the only loss in 18 games against Southland Conference teams for the conference-champion Cowgirls last season.

The big wins also came in front of big crowds, as the Sugar Bears shattered the program's attendance records – playing to the three largest women's basketball crowds and four of the top six ever at UCA, peaking at 3,450 in the 2011-12 season opener vs. Indiana.

The Sugar Bears also scored some major victories away from the Farris Center – winning two games in Katy, Texas in their first-ever Southland Conference Tournament and playing McNeese State for the championship and a shot in the NCAA Tournament. Though the Sugar Bears came up short that day, they did manage to earn their first Division I postseason berth – getting a bid to host in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational, where they ended their season with a four-point loss to eventual champion UAB. Along the way, they recorded the 700th win in program history.

The team has also become a regular in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, coming in at No. 20 – their highest position to date – in the latest poll released on Dec. 27.

There was no shortage of individual accolades as well. Megan Herbert was named the Southland's Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage for the second straight year. Desiree' Rogers became the first Sugar Bear to earn Southland Conference All-Tournament honors. Nakeia Guiden was an All-Conference honorable mention selection. Micah Rice was named to the league's All-Academic team. Marci Moffitt graduated in December with a semester still to go in her playing career. Head coach Matt Daniel was named UCA's Coach of the Year.

In all, it was – literally – a banner year.

And it is over.

And Coach Daniel doesn't want to talk about it.

"It doesn't matter what we've done," he says. "What matters is what we're going to do. Everything we accomplished – the games we won, the crowds we had, the awards we got, those are all great things but they are gone. They're done and over with. So now what?

"To go 24-10 in a year is exceptional, but the good thing about this group we have is that you can talk about what we should've done, and they get it. We want to be 30-4, and know we weren't that far away. I think 2011 was the epitome of what we want to try to do every year from here on out – only we want to take it further. We want to play for championships, we want to be in postseason tournaments, we want to graduate kids, all of those things. We do that every year and we'll have a very successful program."

And it is building a successful program, not merely having a successful team, that keeps Daniel's gears turning. Keeps his head spinning. Keeps him awake at night. Keeps an ever-growing presence of gray hairs on his temples.

Keeps his pen in constant motion in his planner, on a notebook, on schedules, on whatever is handy to jot notes down on and map out the next hour, day, week and so on. And nowhere on that itinerary is there time allocated to sit back and reflect fondly on 2011. That's time taken away from planning for 2012 and beyond.

"I'm thankful for all we have accomplished, but I'm ready to move on to 2012," he says. "Because we have yet to accomplish everything we're capable of as a program – not just as a team, but as a program. We've got some fine-tuning to do on some things, but we're close. There's so much room for growth, and the vision I see for what this place can be – not just women's basketball, but the athletic department, this university and this community – is just phenomenal. But we have to continue to press. That's what our program plans on doing, and hopefully that's appreciated and is contagious. Hopefully we all continue to press."

Forward. Always forward.

Daniel sees the growth potential for a mid-major powerhouse along the lines of a Green Bay, Delaware or Gonzaga – teams ranked No. 14, 20 and 24 in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. Delaware has drawn an average of 3,092 fans in home games against Rhode Island, Penn State, William & Mary and Yale. Gonzaga has averaged just under 5,000 at home against Hofstra, Portland State, USC, Eastern Washington, Montana and UC Riverside. Green Bay has drawn nearly 2,200 per game as well.

"We can get there," he says. "We had a small taste of it last year. We were right on the verge of being one of 64 teams out of 340-plus to play in the national championship tournament at the highest level of college basketball. We have had big crowds – just not every night. I'm glad we beat Indiana and Alabama with more than 3,000 people in the gym, but then I'm upset that nobody's in here the next night. But we're getting there.

"What I hope is that it helps not just our kids, but everybody, see how close we are and what we're capable of if we just keep pressing a little more and a little bit more. But everything's got to grow and advance. That's the nature of society today. What's next? What's the next toy? When's the iPad 3 coming out? What's the next great thing? That's what keeps people interested. And if we want to be the next great thing, we cannot stall. Stalling is a scary deal. If an engine stalls, if the economy stalls, whatever the case may be, stalling keeps you from getting where you need to be."

And where Daniel needs to be is on the court running a practice. And on the road recruiting the next generation of Sugar Bears. And in the office, looking at opponents and grades and class schedules. He needs to be doing something, constantly, because there can be no stall. There must be constant progress in order to put a winner on the basketball floor, a winner in the classroom and a winning experience in Conway.

"That's the reason I'm here," he says. "That's the reason any of us are here. Ultimately it's the student – not even just the student-athlete, but the student – that we're here for and why we do this. We want to do everything we can to give them the best student experience possible, whether they're a basketball player, band member, cheerleader, dancer, a kid shooting a shot at halftime for a prize, or the kids in the stands there for the show. We want all of them to leave UCA having had the best experience possible, and then come back later as alumni and have great experiences in the future. That's how you grow.

"As a team and as a program, we've matured a lot. But we can be even better and continue to mature, and that's exciting. This group has high aspirations and the challenge is to stay focused on that and keep that mentality as we move forward. We know what we've done, but our concern now is working to see what we can do.

"To see what's next."

GO SUGAR BEARS!!!!!!!!!!