Otahkians coach - Mostly new roster not a problem

B.J. Smith evidently isn't a patient man. That's why, despite being in his first year as coach and having virtually a brand-new roster, he doesn't plan on taking his time building a winner.

Smith expects his inaugural Southeast Missouri State University women's team to have plenty of success right away.

"A lot of people say coaches in new programs shouldn't have high expectations right away," Smith said. "I feel like we've created some high expectations, but I believe that's what you have to do.

"Maybe I'm naive, but I really believe we have a chance to be successful in our conference."

Those are certainly lofty aspirations, especially considering the Otahkians return just two players off last year's team that went 16-12 overall and finished fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 8-8 record.

But Smith's background, along with some of the players he has brought in, suggest that he knows what he's doing.

Coaching at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College the past three years, Smith's teams went 98-7. Last year's Norse squad finished second in the national junior college tournament and averaged close to 100 points per game to easily lead the nation.

Smith plans on having the Otahkians play the same style as his Northeastern Oklahoma A&M teams did --which means putting pressure on the opposition offensively and defensively from buzzer to buzzer.

"We're going to pressure people for 40 minutes, we're going to push the ball," Smith said. "We want offensive and defensive pressure the entire game."

Carina Souza, a 6-foot-1 center-forward who played for Smith in junior college the last two years, said fans will enjoy the Otahkians' up-tempo style.

"We always got comments about how exciting to watch we were," Souza said. "I want to see people come out and bring friends until we finally have that gym packed this year."

Souza is one of nine newcomers who will all be counted on to make an immediate impact.

Among the six other junior-college transfers, who all had impressive careers on that level, are two more who played for Smith at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M: 5-11 forward Miah Shelford and 5-8 guard Kenja White.

The other juco transfers are 5-7 guard Natasha Starkes (Trinity Valley, Texas); 5-11 forward Yashika Sidbury (Trinity Valley, Texas); 6-1 center-forward Louise McGoldrick (Marshalltown, Iowa); and 5-4 guard Sarah Costello (Seminole, Okla.). McGoldrick recently had surgery on her calves, and her status for the season is not certain.

Rounding out the newcomers are two freshmen, 5-8 guard Tiffanne Ryan from Oklahoma and 5-10 forward Shannon Proffit from New Zealand. Proffit is one of five international players on the squad, joining Souza (Brazil), Shelford (New Zealand), McGoldrick (Scotland) and Costello (Australia).

The two returnees, both seniors, should be key. Lori Chase, a 5-11 all-OVC forward, averaged a team-high 16.5 points per game last year as she became the 13th Otahkian to score more than 1,000 career points. LaShelle Porter, a 5-5 guard, averaged eight points per game. She ranks in the top 10 all-time in steals and assists at Southeast.

"I really believe we have the chance to do great things," said Porter. "We're going to play a more exciting style to hopefully bring more fans in the stands."

Rounding out the 12-player roster is 6-foot redshirt freshman center Tanya Guell, who was in the program last year but missed the entire season with a knee injury. Guell will likely miss the first few weeks of this season as she is slowed by a stress fracture.

"We have 12 players, and I feel like any one of them can contribute on a given night," Smith said. "I really like our basketball team as people, as young ladies, as student-athletes. I think it's a team the community will be really proud of."

mmishow@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 132