University of Georgia Athletics
Wanted: Points, Rebounds, Leaders
October 12, 2016 | Women's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Preseason practice is in large part about learning and mastering plays and defenses and building team chemistry. It's also about finding out who you are, who you've got and who's going to lead the way.
For the Georgia women's basketball team, this preseason is about all those things and more. It's about finding new sources of points, rebounds, assists — the building blocks of the game — as well as leadership. In coach Joni Taylor's first season, the Lady Bulldogs had four veteran senior leaders and contributors, as well as some experienced backups.
"It was extremely comforting to know that every day you had four seniors and a couple of returners that were going to set the tone for everyone else," Taylor said last week before the team's first preseason practice.
But that's no longer the case. Those seniors are gone after having led Georgia in every major statistical category except for blocked shots (that was freshman Caliya Robinson, third in the SEC with 1.7 per game).
Shooting guard Tiaria Griffin led Georgia with 14.7 points per game, seventh best in the SEC, and Shacobia Barbee added 12.7. Barbee was also third in the conference with 9.1 rebounds a game, while Merritt Hempe grabbed 6.1.As a distributor, Marjorie Butler was third in the SEC with 4.5 assists a game; Barbee — there's that name again — was sixth with 4.3.
From Barbee alone, and there's a reason why she was first-team All-SEC and why Georgia missed her so badly after she was injured late in the season, the Lady Dogs got 12.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and, oh yeah, she was second in the league with 2.3 steals per game. And one more thing, her assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0 was second in the league, just ahead of Butler's 1.9.
Barbee, Butler and Griffin (second-team All-SEC) all also played at least 33 minutes a game.
Those are a lot of numbers, yes, and entering this season they add up to a lot of lost minutes, points, rebounds, assists and everything else that paved the way for the Lady Bulldogs to win 21 games last season. Having four heavily contributing seniors certainly helped Taylor in her first season as a head coach.
"There were times when we were in a close game and I'm yelling or saying something, and 'Cobi (Barbee) would look over at me and say, 'I got you.' And I knew she had me and I wasn't worried about it," Taylor said.
That first practice sure looked a lot different from last year's, without four-fifths of the 2015-16 starting lineup for much of the season. And without all those veteran leaders to guide the young squad.
It's "leadership by committee" until a couple of players step forward to be the voices of this season's squad, Taylor said. She wasn't criticizing this year's team for not having alphas right away — they haven't had much opportunity to do so.
"They're not there yet, and it's not completely their fault," she said. "Because those seniors played for so long, 'Cobi and Tiara started since their freshman year, a lot of these players that we have haven't had a chance to lead, so it's not all their fault."
Redshirt senior Pachis Roberts isn't fresh off the bus. The 5-foot-11 guard/forward has been around, and she started 10 games last season, including the last four after Barbee was injured. Roberts averaged 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds for the season, but she also showed she can fill up the basket — Roberts scored a career-high 25 against Tennessee Tech last December.
As one of Georgia's most experienced players, along with junior Mackenzie Engram, Roberts has watched and listened, and she knows it's now her turn.
"I watched our seniors; 'Cobi was one of my best friends on the team and I always listened to her and she always helped me out," Roberts said. "She definitely helped me get prepared for this and I honestly feel like being a leader is something I can definitely do after watching them. And I tried to step up last year, especially when (Barbee) got hurt."
With only 11 players on the roster, and only nine of them available this season, Georgia has little room for margin when it comes to depth, health and fitness. Limited numbers won't slow down the Dogs, however. One of Taylor's first initiatives when she took over last season was to pick up the pace offensively, and that's still the plan.
"That is still who we are, that is still the philosophy. ... We still want to run and play fast," she said.
And to do that well, this new cast of Lady Bulldogs will have to come together quickly. Georgia opens its season Nov. 11, against South Carolina State.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
