Although there may be no new faces, this is a new team for Ohio women's basketball.
Late in Thursday’s practice, there was a bit of a scrum.
Juniors Quiera Lampkins and Jasmine Weatherspoon were fighting for a loose ball, but neither would give in.
After 10 seconds or so, assistant coach Kate Bruce, who also happens to be pregnant, helped pry the ball loose.
Eventually, because of Weatherspoon’s willingness to give up or Lampkins’ determination to get the ball, Lampkins got possession and began racing down the court, smiling, as Weatherspoon’s team was off guard and out of position.
Coach Bob Boldon watched the tussle, then looked away, slightly amused.
These are the Bobcats of 2015-16. They’re fun, they’re light-hearted and they’re good.
Flip back two years ago, when the two players were freshmen and Boldon was in his first season at Ohio.
The Bobcats were coming off their worst season in program history, going 6-23 in 2012-2013.
Flash forward to the present where Ohio is coming off its best season in school history: 27 wins, both a Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth.
“We’re not actively defending anything,” Boldon said after Thursday’s practice. “Like nobody can take it, you know what I mean? I don’t really care to talk about it at all. That was a great season. It was a wonderful experience for me, for the team. … I think it was a really cool experience for the school.”
But the team’s third-year coach is ready to move on.
And with this Saturday’s exhibition game against Wilmington College — the team’s last before the season opener Nov. 15 at Illinois — Boldon said it’s time to focus on the year ahead, not the white banners hanging inside The Convo, dangling the 2015 accolades.
“It makes it even worse,” senior forward Lexie Baldwin said about all the recognition. “Now everyone wants to beat us more.”
So now, after years of sub-mediocre basketball, Ohio has been placed upon the MAC pedestal as the premier program.
Already projected to unanimously win the MAC East Division in last week’s coaches’ poll, the Bobcats were also picked to win the conference in the regular season and the tournament again.
“It was different,” Boldon said. “In the past, we’ve come off terrible seasons, so it’s easy to find motivation when you’re terrible. Our first year, we lost a lot of games, we got embarrassed quite a bit. It’s easy to use that as motivation.”
“Understand that this team, while it has some players from last year’s team, it’s completely different.”
Former guard Mariah Byard, a player who didn’t necessarily stand out in boxscores but was called the “mom” of the team last year, graduated and Kat Yelle, the team’s former starting point guard, transferred to Bradley.
Instead, the roster welcomes back redshirt freshman Kelly Karlis and junior Destini Cooper, who missed the majority of 2014-15 with injuries.
In addition, this year’s roster includes five freshmen, rounding out the squad with 16 players.
It’s a considerable turnaround to Boldon’s first season, when injuries decimated morale and the Bobcats played more than three weeks of conference play solely with freshmen and sophomores.
With competition inside the team just to see who will get the playing time —something new to an already proven team — the Bobcats are closing in on a new season chasing more success. Although it’s not something anyone wants to come forward with and admit.
“It’s obviously a much better problem to have,” Boldon said. “It’s a much better feeling than being awful. I can say that with confidence.”
@Charliehatch_
gh181212@ohio.edu
