Bob Boldon doesn’t know who he’ll start, but that’s a good thing.
When the Bobcats open their season Friday night at Murray State, they’ll have something missing from last year.
That missing piece is competition.
Not competition in terms of their opponents or roster — they have the exact same player and coaching personnel.
But now there’s competition for starting spots, offering second-year coach Bob Boldon a full squad to assemble with multiple variables.
“I can tell you right now without a shadow of a doubt that I have no idea who will start on Friday,” Boldon said Tuesday. “I can say that with 100 percent confidence.”
During the 2013-14 season, the starting lineup could’ve been written in stone before Ohio’s players even entered the arena.
The team’s youth — its strong point — at times doubled as the program’s flaw, as older players suffered injuries and inexperienced ones were called upon.
At times, Boldon’s arsenal included just seven players. Entering this new season, his team now has at least seven competitive starters.
“I take that as motivation,” said sophomore guard Quiera Lampkins about the roster’s competitiveness. “That’s good because that shows we have enough players that can play and serve us. It shows that we have a bench full of players that can compete.”
The Bobcats also have a stronger three-point game, which is the offense’s major point of emphasis.
If anything could be taken away from last week’s Bobcat Madness, the squad showed versatility behind the arc, with junior forward Lexie Baldwin and freshman forward Kelly Karlis competing in the three-point shootout.
While Karlis wasn’t a part of last year’s roster, Baldwin, who rivaled Javarez “Bean” Willis in the shootout, was just sixth on the team in three-point percentage last season.
Redshirt junior guard Kat Yelle said the team has no problem distributing the ball to any player who’s burying three’s in any particular game. That’s what makes the Bobcats excited as they head into their opening contest.
Last season’s tip-off was about the overall experience of competing at the collegiate level, but this year’s will be more about correcting mistakes and becoming a better basketball team.
“I’m very excited,” Boldon said. “I think our team is starting to enjoy the thrill of competition, but you like to see where you’re at. It doesn’t do us any good to play well in practice and then not win games.”
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