The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/629217
BY BRANDON BROWN H aving a dominant inside- outside combination is a goal of many basketball coaches. Michigan wom- en's head coach Kim Barnes Arico appears to have just that with soph- omore guard Katelyn Flaherty and freshman center Hallie Thome. Flaherty led the team in scoring last year as a freshman, averaging 14.3 points per game, despite starting only six times. She played starter 's minutes (27.9 per game) but was still behind veterans like Shannon Smith and Nicole Elmblad in the first rota- tion. Smith and Elmblad have since graduated, and this year Flaherty is the main attraction. The 5-7 sharp shooter started all 17 games during the Wolverines' 11-6 start and paced the Wolverines in minutes (32.1 per game), three-point- ers made (47), free throw percentage (91.1) and scoring (22.1 points per game). On the inside, Thome has hit the ground running during her first year with the Maize and Blue. The 6-5 center also started in U-M's first 17 games and has performed admirably while trying to replace starter Cyesha Goree from last year's team. Goree averaged 13.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game as a senior, while Thome is posting 12.3 points and 5.2 boards per contest this year. Barnes Arico is in her 20th year as a head coach and her fourth at Michi- gan. The veteran mentor has had a lot of talented players on her rosters over the years, but none quite like Thome and Flaherty. "I've never had such a dominant inside presence as Hallie, potentially, could be," Barnes Arico said. "Not a 6-5, true back-to-the-basket center. She has a chance to be really special at her size and with her great hands. She runs so well with the size that she has, too. "There are a lot of good shooters in college basketball but Katelynn is really on an elite level. She also scores very well at the rim for her size, and that sets her apart as well. I've had some great players and some great inside-outside combos, but Hallie and Katelynn are different and unique players." Before the season started, Barnes Arico knew that replacing Goree would prove difficult, but through 17 games she is pleased with what Thome has done. She's still a fresh- man, and Barnes Arico is reminded of that too often, but so far she's happy with her young center's progress. "There are a lot of areas where she needs to get better, and she's going to continue to work and grow," Barnes Arico said of Thome. "You can't re- place experience and that's some- thing that she doesn't have. I don't think she's near where Cyesha was yet because Cyesha had 400 practices compared to Hallie's 40. "She's doing a great job, though. The level of impact that she's had in her first year is incredible. I don't know if I've ever seen a 6-5 kid do what she's doing for us as a freshman. She has really impacted our program and is doing a tremendous job for us." Even Thome herself wasn't exactly sure what to expect when she arrived