Cavalier Corner

December 2011

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That leaves 6-2 fourth-year forward Chel- sea Shine and 6-3 third-year center Simone Egwu as the top options underneath the bas- ket, along with 6-4 second-year center Erinn Thompson, who played limited minutes last year, 6-1 second-year forward Jazmin Pitts and 6-1 third-year forward Telia McCall. Thompson continues to battle injuries, but Boyle looks at Egwu as one member of the Cavaliers front line that could emerge in a larger role this season. "Simone, she's just a UVa student-ath- lete," Boyle said. "She fits that mold. The one thing I can say about Simone is she works hard every day. She does that in the classroom and she does that on the court. I want to build her confidence a little bit, at times she gets a little shaky with that. We just try and talk to her in terms of what we need from her this year. "She's very responsive. She gets in the gym extra. She's putting a lot of time in the gym outside of practice. I feel like she's doing her part to get ready and to move this team along. Every day, I have to say she's another one that shows up every day and works hard." Egwu said she's gotten used to the new coaching staff and sees positive changes in the program. "It's been really intense," Egwu said. "Learning a whole new system is really intense, for lack of a better word. It's really mind-blowing, especially being a junior having been set in my ways. There have been a lot of changes; preseason was really hard and involved a lot more running. But all of us know it's what we have to do to be a championship team, so we are all really buying into it." Boyle said she expects the healthy and available Virginia players to quickly find QUICK FACTS Head Coach: Joanne Boyle, 1st year at UVa; 204-93 career (10th year) 2010-11 In Review: 19-16, 5-9 ACC (T-7th) Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1 Lettermen Returning/Lost: 10/4 Key Additions: F Sarah Imovbioh (has been ruled ineligible), F Sarah Beth Barnette (not eligible until 2012-13) Key Losses: G Paulisha Kellum (6.6 ppg. and 2.8 rpg.), F Whitny Edwards (6.6 ppg. and 2.9 rpg.) RETURNING LEADERS Points: Ariana Moorer (9.7 per game) Rebounds: Simone Egwu (5.2 per game) Assists: Ariana Moorer (3.1 per game) Steals: Chelsea Shine (1.6 per game) Blocks: Chelsea Shine (0.9 per game) FG Pct.: Simone Egwu (.484) 3FG Pct.: Ataira Franklin (.478) FT Pct.: Ataira Franklin (.828) 26 ◆ CAVALIER CORNER HOO TO WATCH: CHELSEA SHINE Chelsea Shine spent the summer and fall setting up interviews and tracking down football scores as an intern with WINA radio in Charlottesville, but from now through March she figures to be the subject of media requests. The 6-2 Shine, a fourth-year forward, is one of the few post players at new women's basketball coach Joanne Boyle's disposal. She's also one of just two fourth-years, meaning Shine will be counted on for leadership and will need to stay out of foul trouble and on the court. "The post players don't have a lot of num- bers, so foul trouble is something we need to stress and stay out of," Shine said. With Ariana Moorer, Ataira Franklin and China Crosby all providing fire power on the perimeter, the Cavaliers will look to Shine as their best scoring option in the paint. Shine started 33 games in 2010-11 and was third on the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game. She was also second in rebounding, pulling down 4.8 boards a contest. But Boyle, who eventually wants to play a fast pace but for now needs her few avail- able post players to log big minutes, will likely need even more production out of Shine in what could be her final season on the court before moving to the sidelines to pursue a career in broadcasting. "There are different rules, different expec- Shine started 33 games in 2010-11, and was third on the team in scoring (9.0 points per game) and second in rebounding (4.8 boards per contest). PHOTO BY ANDREW SHURTLEFF their roles and figure out how they fit into the new coach's system. "I think we have eight or nine healthy. So [the rotation] will be eight or nine," Boyle said. "Who is going to be our starting five? Who's going to be our first sub off the bench? Our first guard sub, our first post sub? We're kind of working all of that out in practice right now. I hope and would expect that, and I think the players know this, we want everybody to contribute this year. We want it all. There has to be a system to it, though. "I'm typically a coach that's going to have the same starting five every game. Unless something happens. I like consis- tency and I like a routine. That would stay consistent with people coming off the bench as well." If Boyle has her way, the Cavaliers will quickly improve on defense and as a ball handling team, which will allow Virginia to eventually play an up-tempo game. But Boyle said that was a work in progress. "We just talk about it every day," she said. "We put them in a position to be suc- cessful with the ball, and obviously when you give them a little freedom and you take away that structure that's kind of where you tations," Shine said. "There's a bunch of dif- ferent stuff that all around leads to change. It's an open kind offense and it kind of just flows. You make reads and have different options and it's up to you to do your job." — Shane Mettlen see them kind of not hold onto it as well or as much. "We talk to them all the time about valu- ing possessions. I want to be an up-tempo coach and I want to do that. They do not want to be a team that walks the ball down the floor. Scripting out who touches the ball — I don't want to be that type of coach. But they're going to have to learn. Believe me we've been running a lot in practice because of turnovers lately. They understand it, they get the concept." But what could be one of the biggest keys to success is one thing that Boyle couldn't coach — team chemistry. "One of the things I've really valued is walking in and them having a great founda- tion with each other," Boyle said. "There's a lot of work that goes into building that. It's not perfect, but it's really good. There's some really good pieces. It took a lot of time off my plate, in terms of not having to get that changed. "Ultimately, you're coming to change a culture no matter what, whether it's the work ethic or the intensity level or expecta- tions. To not have to get them to work with each other was a big part of us moving for- ward with things." ◆

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