How was your summer? Gotcha, it’s been fall for a while now and to make a bad pun, we’ve fallen down on the job. (We even missed celebrating our own 10-year anniversary. Geez, LadySwish is in double digits!).
Nonetheless, the season’s a brewin’ (a bit of outdated Halloween fun), and we’ve got our eyes on a few storylines to follow. For starters, let’s talk about transfer impact.
Remember Chanette Hicks? Virginia Tech’s all-time steals leader in just 2.5 seasons of play suits up for Norfolk State for a final year of eligibility. Her athleticism and pedigree indicate she could dominate in the MEAC, but of course, just how rusty is she? We’ll get a look when the Spartans host Liberty on Tuesday. Speaking of point guards transferring, MaKayla Timmons, who graduated from Old Dominion but did not play or sit on the bench last season, hopped over the James River to Hampton. The Pirates are full of guards; we’re eager to see Timmons back on the floor. Hampton, behind preseason Big South POY Ashley Bates, is picked to finish second in the conference behind defending champion Radford.
Speaking of Radford, Lydia Rivers, the springy forward who earned Big South tournament most outstanding player honors last season, trades in her Highlanders uniform for Hokie colors; she’s earning her master’s at Virginia Tech (where her dad, John Rivers, starred from 1988-92) and will have one season under Kenny Brooks. The Big South first-teamer produced 15 double-doubles in 2018-19 to help power the Highlanders to the NCAA tournament.
Dani Lawson from Purdue will start her Virginia career. The 6-2 forward appeared in five games her freshman year for the Boilermakers before knee surgery cost her the remainder of the season.
And, of course, out of Blacksburg: graduate transfer Taja Cole, who ranked first in the SEC and eighth nationally with 202 assists last year, will start her Virginia Tech career. Dara Mabrey led the Hokies in assists last year. Can’t wait to see how many 3s the sophomore will drain after setting the program record with 80 as a freshman.
BTW, Kenny’s oldest daughter, Kendyl, will miss the season due to hip surgery.
Speaking of storylines, Richmond’s got a new coach. We feel the same way about Aaron Roussell that we felt about Ed Swanson when he was hired at William & Mary: they got the right guy for the job. Roussell brings a 312-122 career coaching record to the Spiders, including a 102-30 mark over the past four years. He led Bucknell to six-straight winning seasons and four-straight years of 22 wins or more. Like Bucknell, Richmond is an elite academic institution; the schools recruit similar kids.
Now Roussell didn’t recruit this roster, but he will benefit from a huge freshman get in Elaina Chapman. The 6-3 forward, the Richmond Times-Dispatch Player of the Year from nearby Trinity Episcopal High, is the only Atlantic 10 recruit on the ESPN Hoopgurlz top 100 list. Let’s see what Roussell can do for a program without a winning season since 2014-15.
More fodder to chew on, everybody’s back. For whom, you ask? VCU and JMU for starters, both picked to win their respective leagues (we have the Dukes pegged as the state’s best team). George Mason and Old Dominion are two more that return all their significant players. All four teams should be postseason bound. The Dukes will not be satisfied with anything shy of a CAA Tournament title after late injuries to Kamiah Smalls and Lexie Barrier ended their title hopes a year ago. Nonetheless, they produced a special night of basketball last March in welcoming Brooks back to the Convo. (New Convo will host the CAA tourney next year, btw, and did you see? It’s coming to W&M in 2024).
Liberty is another with plenty of vets back. Emily Lytle and Bridgette Rettstatt were selected to the ASUN’s preseason all-conference team; Keyen Green, the 2017 Big South Freshman of the Year and 2018 Big South Player of the Year, is healthy after ankle surgery sidelined her 2018-19 campaign. Tuesday will mark 599 days since Green’s last game action. That season opener we referred to vs. NSU is a rematch of a consolation game in the Christmas City Classic and the Spartans won for their lone victory against the Lady Flames in seven attempts. Liberty hasn’t been to Echols since 2005.
We haven’t forgotten Radford, the pride of the Commonwealth last season and picked to repeat as Big South champs. Hoping Sydney Nunley picks up right where she left off last season; the West Virginia native played in 29 games and averaged a near double-double at 10.3 points and 9.5 rebounds over the course of 24.5 minutes per game. Dynamic guard Khiana Johnson also returns. (No Savannah Felgemacher, though. Congratulations Mrs. Hudson!!).
Meanwhile, Rebecca Tillett starts her second season at Longwood. Dayna Rouse, a 6-0 senior forward, who accounted for nearly 25 percent of the Lancers’ offense a year ago, is the centerpiece of a team that includes six newcomers. The Big South leader in FG percentage earned preseason all-league honors, the first player from Longwood to do so.