Picked to finish at the bottom of the totem pole in the Atlantic 10 in the 2010-11 season, Williams drove La Salle to an unexpected 6-8 conference record in his first year. Not only did the Explorers A-10 record come close to improving their overall record from the 2009-10 season (7-23), the Blue and Gold also managed to finish ninth, five spots higher than they were predicted to finish.
In his first year as a head coach, Williams did fairly well for himself with a young, undersized team, looking trough the lens of how difficult the A-10 can be. Last year’s record may not exemplify it, but La Salle made significant gains in the conference and pushed many teams down to the wire.
“Last year was a learning experience, and we technically over-achieved, looking from the perspective of where we were picked to finish,” Williams said.
Though last year’s Explorers placed in the middle of their conference with the lack of experience and height, this season will be an superior test for the team and Coach Williams himself.
This season, La Salle will be without their ace, Ashley Gale. Gale not only led the team in scoring with her long range shooting, but she also was the face of their defense as she led the team in steals. Winning the 2010-11 Comeback Player of the Year and making it to the A-10 First Defensive team were minor accolades that Gale accomplished for her team. What she provided for them was heart and determination on a daily basis.
“I wish I had her one more year; [Gale] was a tremendous player, and her activity and leadership were invaluable,” Williams stated. “People seem to forget how good of a defensive player she was. She was the point of our presses and guarded the opponent’s best player.”
The Explorers may have lost their top-gun, but a majority of the supporting cast is returning in addition to the new faces acquired by La Salle.
Leading the Blue and Gold into this season will be last year’s second leading scorer, junior Alexis Scott, while sophomore point guard, Michea Bryant will take control of the backcourt. Senior Nadia Duncan will also be a key element this year with her aggressiveness on the boards.
In addition to the eight returners from last year’s squad, the Explorers embrace the talents of six new freshmen: Siobhan Beslow, Jordan Mosley, Ruvanna Campbell, Indigo Dickens, Jada Payne and Omaah Tayong.
Fitting each player into the rotation will be the biggest predicament for Williams this season. Along with the six new players, the team consists of two seniors, four juniors and two seniors.
“No one has a spot. They don’t know how much they will play which makes each practice more competitive,” said Williams. “The key is to getting them experience and allowing them to be comfortable with a lot of patience from myself. By January, they will be ready to go.”
These freshmen won’t be the only new faces to see the court; transfer junior Brittany Wilson will also see her first minutes in a La Salle uniform. While at Northeastern, Wilson led her team in scoring with 14.1 points per game and was a Third Team All-Colonial Athletic Association Conference selection while finishing the season ranked ninth in the CAA in scoring and 10th in rebounding.
On top of all the new faces playing on the hardwood for Blue and Gold, the Explorers will still have sophomore Jessi Koci filling in all the intangibles. After walking on to the team last year, there isn’t a doubt in Williams mind that he made the right choice in having Koci join the team.
“I saw her work ethic early in practice last year and her confidence has improved a lot over the offseason,” Williams said.
As the team keeps making strides to build their notoriety, Williams will face numerous nuisances in the beginning phases as a coach. Perseverance will be the key this year and for the following to come.
“My role at Pittsburgh and my mentors have made me prepared to take on this position,” Williams stated.
Williams knows what it takes to make it to the top as he spent his prior seven seasons at the University of Pittsburgh, including the last four as the Associate Head Coach. While there, he also helped guide the Panthers to postseason appearances in the past five seasons, including three straight NCAA Tournament trips with Sweet Sixteen showings in 2008 and 2009.
The Explorers are far from reaching these accomplishments, but with Williams as the spearhead, the promised land doesn’t look to be too far off.
With a daunting A-10 non-conference schedule, the Explorers will encounter many speed bumps this year. In addition to the six postseason teams in the 2011-12 non-conference schedule, La Salle will face a total of nine teams that finished with 16 or more wins last season and five with 20 or more.
La Salle may seem a little taller on the depth chart, but the inexperience on this unit will weigh a burden on them in this upcoming season as it did last.
The squad may be ‘Gale-less,’ but the team has many more options that weren’t there last year, mentioned Williams. This team is young and deep, and their hustle and tenacity will be pertinent to acquire success in Williams’ second season.
The first contest for the young and improved Explorer squad will be on Friday, Nov. 11 against Lehigh. Lehigh, which went 21-11 last season, crushed La Salle in their last outing by 18 points, but this is a new year and a different team.
As Williams said, “Lehigh has all our attention now. We have to take one game at a time.”
waltersj1@student.lasalle.edu
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