speed to mix up the rotation and produce
points.
For McNelis, the group’s ability to shoot
the ball will allow the team to maximize
their potential at all areas of the court.
“Our guard position gives us versatility,”
McNelis said. “When you look at this group
of guards, the thing that stands out about
them - other than their versatility - is their
ability to shoot the basketball. Potentially, it
could be one of the better shooting perim-
eter teams we’ve had since I’ve been here
at Southern Miss. I think each and every
one has a the ability to score the basketball.
That is going to create a lot of opportunities
for us to do some fun things offensively and
make this team exciting offensively.”
At the point, McNelis will look to
Jamierra Faulkner to provide leadership and
help incoming transfers such as Tanecka
Carey make the adjustment to the Division
1 level. McNelis’ reliance in Faulkner is
well placed after the summer work she has
put in.
“Jamierra is obviously the guard that
will be the leader of our team on the floor,”
added McNelis. “She had a tremendous
amount of success last year and learned
how to lead vocally. She has spent time
watching film over the summer because
she wants to be better than what she was
a year ago. She spent a lot of time in the
gym working on shooting the basketball
and again; she is becoming a student of the
game. I think that’s going to elevate not only
her game but also her ability to lead this
team that has a group of newcomers.”
Two Guard
At the two guard position, McNelis’ staff
will be tasked with finding a replacement
for Brittany Johnson who graduated last
season. Tenecka Carey entered camp as the
leading candidate to fill the void and provide the scoring spark required in McNelis’
offensive scheme at that position.
Niesha Pierce and Danielle Johnson both
picked up valuable time last season at the
two guard position and will continue to vie
for playing time, but with Johnson recovering for injury, it has become a competition
between Pierce and Carey.
The Lady Eagle coaching staff is hoping
to get more resilience out of Pierce in the
tough situations to accompany her ability to
score from distance.
“(We) believe that Carey comes in the
leader at the two guard spot,” said McNelis.
“We all saw Niesha make strides as the
year went. The biggest challenge for her is
to press on. When it gets tough, you keep
going. You don’t quit. You don’t bend over
and grab your shorts. It’s that mentality. But,
she has made tremendous strides. (Pierce)
can shoot the basketball. She likes to shoot
the mid-range jumper. That is strength of
hers. She is continuing to get better at
attacking the basket, playing in that attack
mentality.”
Small forward
When discussing depth on the 2011 Lady
Eagle, look no further than the small forward
position where McNelis and her coaching
staff have stockpiled talent to compete with
the rest of Conference USA.
Competing for the position, McNelis
expects to see Rachel Vigers and Wendy
Miller vie for the spot along with Niesha
Pierce and each player brings a different element to the court.
“Rachel is someone who looks to score
off the bounce,” added McNelis. “Niesha
prefers to catch and shoot the ball. Wendy
can do a little bit of both. That gives us
some versatility based on what we need at a
particular time in the game. Wendy is a lefty
and most lefties can shoot the ball. She has
all the abilities to become a great shooter
and has worked on her technique. She is a
hungry freshman who wants to get to a level
where she can play as a freshman. She had
to make the adjustment from high school to
college, the speed of the game, the strength
of the play, but the one thing that will help
her is the want-to.”
Front Court
Through the preseason, McNelis has
been particularly impressed with the performance of her post players. Their hard-working nature has necessitated competition
at the position and is a mark of confidence
as the Lady Eagles moved forward.
Nitesha Pierce, Ewa Urbanowska, Ance
Celmina and Sedreka Plummer will all compete for playing time at the four and five
positions.
“(Pierce) is the one that’s undersized in
that group, but she has battled them tooth
and nail and uses her body to create space
to be able to score over the taller players.
She had battled, and its’ something that has
not only helped Nitesha but helped the others as well,” said McNelis. “(Urbanowska) is
more of the true five player while (Celmina)
and (Plummer) can play both spots. Both
Rachel Vigers
