The talent is there, the experience is not for the Northern State women’s basketball team this season.
“This is the youngest team I’ve coached in 32 years,” said Wolves coach Paula Krueger.
NSU has just two seniors on the roster and that is not by design. The Wolves lost some players to graduation and then lost a few more who joined the transfer portal.
“There was some changes to the roster that go beyond our control,” Krueger said. “That’s the reality that we as basketball coaches live in now. It’s not a reflection of Northern or the program or that kind of thing. It’s just a reflection of how college sports in general are changing.”
Among the notable players who left was starting center Madelyn Bragg, who allowed the Wolves the luxury of an inside-outside attack.
“Certtainly we miss those kids that left. They were a big part of what we were building around this season,” Krueger said. “And now we’re having to do a quick turnaround and maybe get younger kids ready a whole lot faster than we were prepared to get them ready.”
Krueger believes there are talented players on the roster, they just don’t have much experience.
“Certainly there’s talent here,” Krueger said. “They were all recruited because they bring something to the table, but it’s very different right now, because there are nine kids who have never played Division II basketball.”
The Wolves will be led by seniors Izzy Moore and Morgan Fiedler. While the tandem has plenty of experience, Krueger noted that even their roles will be different this winter.
“They probably have to take on more of an offensive role than they have in the past,” Krueger said, “and what’s that going to look like?”
Taylor Tool is also expected to play a key role for the Wolves.
For now, Krueger is trying to find the right blend of players to put on the floor.
“We have speed and we have length,” Krueger said, “but how we put that together, meshing that many new faces and trying to find the right thing, that’s the greatest challenge for us as a staff right now.”
And until players get game experience and start to separate themselves, Krueger will search for the right combinations to give the Wolves the best chance to compete.
“It’s not that we don’t have talent. It’s where to put it, where to find its niche,” Krueger said. “Right now, that’s probably my greatest challenge.”
One thing is likely, at least early in the season, the Wolves will hang their hat on defense.
“I think this team, until we find our footing on offense, is going to have to build itself around the defensive end of the floor,” Krueger said.
The Wolves, who start their season with two games this weekend in Kearney, Neb., will look to do things that they can control until the offense gets up and running.
“It’s very cliché, and it’s coach-speak to say control the controllables, but with a young group like this, that is something that very much has to be a focal point,” Krueger said. “Are we playing hard enough, are we rebounding hard enough, are we communicating enough on defense, are we getting to lose balls? The things that you have to do to even give yourself a chance to talk about winning.”
And yes, winning is still a priority, no matter how young and inexperienced the team is.
“Everybody says it can’t be about wins and losses, it’s got to be about the process to get there. Well no, every coach in America talks about wins and losses,” Krueger said. “Our livelihood is built on that, but for these kids to be able to win, if we’re not getting better at the rebounding and the defensive end, and those kinds of things, we’re not going outscore people right now. We haven’t figured that out, so we’ve got to stop people enough times to give ourselves a chance to win.”
While the roster may look different this season, the end goal is still the same for the Wolves.
“Our goal is still to be playing in the conference tournament, at the very least to be hosting a first round game,” Krueger said. “That’s not going to change.”
