https://ucasports.com/news/2019/11/6/womens-basketball-rushing-anxious-optimistic-as-sugar-bears-set-to-open-season-at-tennessee.aspxSugarBears and Lady Vols tomorrow from Knoxville…...might as well start with a big challenge....
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — If there is one thing Sandra Rushing has learned in her 30 seasons as a head coach, it's that there is no substitute for experience.
As she enters her 31st season overall and 8th on the Central Arkansas sideline, Rushing has a wealth of experience from which to draw – having seen it all at all levels of college basketball, from Final Fours to 5-win seasons.
Her team, however, is another matter.
And as the Sugar Bears prepare for their season opener at Tennessee on Thursday, that gives Rushing both a bit of anxiety and a dose of cautious optimism.
The 2019-20 campaign begins with the Sugar Bears featuring just five players returning from last season – including just one senior in guard Taylor Sells and one junior in forward Hannah Langhi. In addition to returning sophomores Alana Canady, Carley Hudspeth and Shay Johnson, the Sugar Bear roster is rounded out by seven newcomers to the program.Young and inexperienced. But eager.
"I'm excited, but I'm anxious," said Rushing, who comes into the season with 544 career wins to her credit.
"I'm excited because I like this team and their eagerness to learn and their enthusiasm. I'm anxious because nothing takes the place of experience – and that's not something we have a lot of. It's the unknown right now that has me worried, until we start to get that experience under our belts together.
Physically, I think we're there – I've been really impressed with their work ethic and their commitment to the weight room. But it's the mental aspect of the game we have to figure out. That's the big challenge facing us as we get started. Obviously Tennessee is a tremendous challenge, and we have a lot of challenges ahead of us in the non-conference schedule – and that's the way we want it. Tennessee, Texas A&M, Tulane, Little Rock, on down the line. These are the games that are going to prepare us for conference, this is where we're going to go through some adversity and learn from it.
We're not going to be the same team in March that we are right now. It's going to be fun watching this team grow and mature. We're going to go through some growing pains - you talk about Tennessee, one of the top couple programs in the country, for our first game. That's a big challenge for any team – especially one this young. But that's what I want. I want to put these young ladies on the big stage right away and see what it's like, because that's where we want to be again at the end of the season."
To get there, the plan is simple: work harder than everybody; play better defense than everybody; and be mentally tougher than everybody.Easier said than done, however.
"This team, we're going to have to outwork people this year," Rushing said.
"We had two preseason scrimmages and averaged 40 points. So there is some concern about where our scoring is going to come from. But we didn't have everybody for those games. When we have our full group out there, we have people who can score. We've just got to get them in the right situation to be successful. But what we have to do – one thing that is never an option – is to play defense. We are going to play defense, and we are going to play it hard and consistent. You're going to have bad shooting nights – but you can still go out and give effort on defense and put your team in a position to win. It comes down to mental toughness. You go through the adversity of a season, and you get to March, you have to be strong and hope you're a little bit more mentally tough than the other team and keep grinding through it. And that's the biggest thing for us – physically, I think we're fine.
What we're trying to do right now is condition the mentality on the floor. They've got to understand the speed of the game, what's expected in this program, time management, and so many other things. Their heads are spinning a little bit. But I'm excited to get them in a different environment on the road, and see how we handle travel, preparing for a game, and going to play the Lady Vols on national TV. We're going to learn a lot about this team early. I've seen already that they want to please and do everything right – even if they always don't. But they want to. When things don't go right, they've got to understand that one game is not going to define us. It's not about Thursday or next week. It's where are we going to be in February, March? This team has more in it than they think they do – and it's my job to pull that out of them. They're fun to coach because of the energy and competitiveness they have in practice. I see what's coming down the line - we just have to get there and make sure they see it too. I don't want this team to lose any ground if we hit a little adversity and drop a couple games early."
With Sells (7.0 points per game), Langhi (6.
and Canady (6.6) the leading returning scorers, and Langhi (4.5) and Sells (4.3) the only players back to average at least 3 rebounds per game, Rushing will be spending much of the early part of the season figuring out where the Sugar Bears will be getting the bulk of their production. While several players have shown flashes, the Sugar Bears are not quite where she would like for them to be as opening tip approaches.
"The biggest obstacle we've had in the preseason is not having everyone on the floor," she said. "You can't gain chemistry if you don't have the whole team out there. We've had injuries, some personal and family things where people have had to miss, and there's just no way to build the chemistry you need if everybody's not on the floor. That's been frustrating for me, because this is the time we'd ideally be building that and teaching everybody. Different players learn differently, and not having them all out there – that's been a big challenge for me. But we have a bunch of players who are really pulling for each other and are going to make a good team. And we compete against each other in practice more than what we have the last couple years. That's been encouraging.
But we need a vocal leader on the floor. We're searching for that. But we will be fine if everybody learns to share the ball and not try to be a superstar."Sells, who has played in 85 games with 59 starts over three seasons despite missing the last 10 games of last season due to injury, will be counted upon to lead the charge in her final year in the purple and gray.
"I'm so happy to see Taylor back on the floor for us," Rushing said. "She has three years of experience in our program and she's the quickest guard on the team. She's not as vocal as I'd like for her to be, but she understands what I want. We need her to have a great senior season for us. And then we have Hannah who has been in the program for two years. She's stepped up in her role, and increased her range and is shooting the 3. We'll need her to keep coming on this year."
After starting a combined 19 games a year ago as freshmen, the trio of Canady, Hudspeth and Johnson will be expected to play increased roles in their sophomore campaign.
"AC is a tremendous athlete, we just need her to be more aggressive and vocal. She can score, but we're still working on her defense. Shay has some experience at the point from last year, but she's still young and has a lot to learn. But she's willing to learn. You want your point guard to see the same thing you see out on the floor - that's where things start flowing. We're trying to get her there. And Carley, she's one of the hardest workers on the team. She's a really good teammate - she'll do anything to help this team win. I've asked her to play post, guard and point guard. And it's always 'Coach, whatever you need me to do - I'll do.' She just wants to be on the floor, and will do whatever we need her to do. You can't have enough players like that."
Rushing also expects heavy contributions from the crop of newcomers, which features a quartet of junior college freshmen and three freshmen, though only two will be available this season as Jalisa Outlaw will miss the season following offseason surgery."I really like the new players we've brought in," Rushing said. "We've got a pair of twins in Yanni and Bri Trigg – I wanted them because of their energy. Energy breeds energy, and they have brought that to our team. Energy, a commitment to the weight room – they are very physical young women, and that's brought a different dynamic to our team.
Savanna Walker, she plays with a lot of passion and plays bigger than she looks.
Romola Dominguez, I'm excited she'll be with me for three years. She comes in with a lot of energy and leadership. She's going to be a great leader for us, especially once she learns the system. The twins and Ro, they've been to the national tournament in junior college and played at the highest level you can play at. They know how to win and know what's expected to compete at a championship level. These kids came here because they want to win a championship – they're used to winning, and you want kids who know the commitment it takes to win a championship because that's what we plan on doing here again."
Outlaw will miss the season and
freshman guard Brionna Budgetts has been out during the preseason, but
one freshman who has made an impact already is forward Terri Crawford from Birmingham, Ala."
Terri is very strong and physical, and I'm excited to watch her career here at UCA," Rushing said. "She's going to be a big factor for us on the block. However, she's still a freshman and she's coming in and her head is spinning a little bit. Sometimes it takes a little bit for freshmen to figure things out because everything's so fast - but when she does figure it all out, I really like her potential."
And getting the entire roster to reach their full potential is what has Rushing most excited each day as the season approaches.
"I love teaching the game, I really do," she said.
"I really enjoy getting up every morning and coming to work and going to practice and teaching these kids. They want to get it right. They mess up and say 'Coach, one more time'. It puts a smile on my face. When you have the opportunity every day to go in and do a job you love and be around kids you love to be around, that's enjoyable. Yes, there are challenging days - but that's going to be the case no matter what you do. But I enjoy being around this team and I'm ready to see what we can accomplish this season."
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