Smith eager to kick off first practice with Otahks

B.J. Smith admits he's not a very patient person this time of the year.

Smith, Southeast Missouri State University's first-year women's basketball coach, anxiously awaits the chance to get his inaugural Otahkian team on the court.

"I was talking to one of my coaching friends from junior college the other day," Smith said. "I'm sitting around my office shaking my head. Everybody in junior college has already started practice and I can't start yet."

But that will change in a little more than 24 hours when the Otahkians join NCAA teams across the country in beginning official practice Saturday. Southeast's first workout will be at noon.

"I'm really excited," Smith said. "I can't wait to get going."

Smith was one of the nation's most successful junior-college coaches, leading Northeastern Oklahoma A&M to a 98-7 record the past three years, including a second-place national finish last season. He said he welcomes the opportunity to make his mark on the NCAA Division I level.

"It's a great opportunity for me and a big challenge," said Smith, who was hired at Southeast in late March. "I'm really happy to be here. Everybody has been very supportive and I'm excited about the opportunity to build a great program."

Smith, who replaced the retired Ed Arnzen, is anxious to find out just what kind of team he has. Only four players returned from last year's squad that went 16-12 overall and finished fifth in the nine-team Ohio Valley Conference with an 8-8 record.

"We've seen them in individual workouts that the NCAA allows us to do, but not as a team," Smith said. "I think our talent will be good enough to be successful. The key will be how quick we come together and mesh as a team."

The Otahkians have two returning starters in 5-foot-11 senior forward Lori Chase and 5-5 senior point guard LaShelle Porter. Chase averaged a team-leading 16.5 points per game last season while Porter averaged eight points and led the squad in assists with 95.

Also returning are 5-9 sophomore forward Andrea Koeper (3.2 ppg) and 5-7 senior guard Kristy Roherty (1.6 ppg). Koeper is a Jackson High School product.

One other player who has been in the program is 6-0 redshirt freshman center Tonya Guell, who missed all of last season with a knee injury.

The remaining 10 players are newcomers, with eight of them junior-college transfers.

Coming in from the junior-college ranks are 6-1 Carina Souza and Louise McGoldrick; 5-11 Yashika Sidbury and Miah Lee Shelford; 5-8 Kenja White; 5-7 Natasha Starkes and Brandi Russia; and 5-4 Sarah Costello. Souza, Shelford, White and Russia all played for Smith at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

Rounding out the squad are two freshmen, 5-10 Shannon Proffit and 5-8 Tiffanne Ryan.

"One of the good things about a new program is that there are no preconceived notions, so the positions are wide open," Smith said. "We have some ideas based on our recruiting, but we really won't know until we get them out there."

Smith said he has been particularly impressed with the way the returning players have accepted his new way of doing things.

"The change has probably been the hardest on them, but they've really bought into what we're doing," he said.

Southeast will have two home exhibition games, on Nov. 8 and Nov. 15. The regular season opens Nov. 22 when Henderson State visits the Show Me Center.

mmishow@semissourian.com

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