A head coach’s job in today’s cutthroat world of college basketball is two-fold. He or she must not only skillfully teach players the game of basketball, but also sell the program to high school stars looking to strengthen their games in tough college environments.
Binghamton women’s basketball head coach Rich Conover needed to replace three influential senior leaders. Several months before the final efforts of Rachel Laws, Jen Blues and Jen Haubrich in Hartford, Conover prepared for a future without the most heralded senior class in BU’s young Division I basketball history.
“It’s always hard to replace 3,000 points,” Conover said.
Rachel and the Jens graduate in a few weeks, but the incoming freshman class looks poised to fill their large shoes. Conover and his staff hit the road hard in recruiting, jetting from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic. Most notably, Conover signed a very talented high school teammate of Candace Parker.
Erica Carter started all four years at shooting guard for Naperville Central High School (suburban Chicago). Initially the second option to Parker, Carter developed her game immensely by practicing against the future Tennessee superstar virtually every day. Parker and “Bucket,” as she was known for her incredible shooting range, won two state titles. Parker was unquestionably the marquee player, but Naperville failed to win the brutal Illinois Class AA tournament before Carter’s jump shot arrived.
“Several schools recruited Erica hard,” Conover said. “We’re really excited to have Erica here. She can really shoot the ball, she’s a great competitor and has a scorer’s mentality.”
After Parker graduated, Carter needed two years to develop a more complete offensive game. When classmate Lauren Grochowski (playing at Coastal Carolina next year) succumbed to injury this winter, Carter performed incredibly, averaging more than 20 points per game in the tough DuPage Valley Conference. Although her team fell in the sectionals, she is regarded as one of the best players in Illinois, earning honorable mention All-State in a loaded girls’ basketball area.
Conover is confident Carter can play a significant role next season.
“She can definitely compete for minutes next year as a freshman,” Conover said. “We’re confident she can compete for that [shooting guard] spot.”
The next order of business for Conover was to land a point guard with leadership qualities. A second team All-Iowa selection, Muffy Sadler hails from Cedar Rapids and started on the Iowa Select Team, the most prestigious AAU team in the state. Her senior year scoring totals are not eye-popping (only 12 ppg), but Muffy grabbed nine rebounds per game at the point guard position and collected five steals and five assists.
Although Sadler brings an excellent resume to the table, cracking the starting lineup will be very difficult with two experienced point guards in Shea Kenny and Rebecka Lindgren returning.
“It’s a great position for Muffy to be in, to learn the college game with two senior point guards,” Conover said.
Sadler also ran track in high school, so if she sees any significant time, the Bearcats can bank on her athleticism to contain quick America East guards.
“She’s a combination guard with good size and is a really good athlete,” Conover said.
The third and perhaps final piece of the recruiting puzzle arrives from Baltimore — another girls’ basketball haven. Darryll Peterson basically did it all for a shorthanded Bryn Mawr squad. She averaged 19.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in Maryland’s IAAM-A conference, an incredibly powerful league that routinely produces major talent. Peterson also earned First-Team All-Metro and All-City honors from the Baltimore Sun.
Most of Peterson’s high school points were scored inside, but Conover hopes she can play small forward for his team.
“In high school, Peterson played at the four position, but we feel she can move out to the perimeter,” Conover said.
Peterson constantly saw double and triple-teams in Baltimore, and only teams with legitimate top-tier Division 1 talent opted to play her straight up. Despite great improvement this past year, Peterson will have a tough time cracking an extremely crowded frontcourt in her first season.
With recruiting done, the focus shifts to next season, when the Bearcats host the women’s conference tournament for the first time. BU posted a very impressive 11-2 record in Vestal, but the America East will once again be one of the toughest mid-major conferences in basketball next year.
Conover remains optimistic.
“We’ve been a tough team on our home court and if some of our returning players can assume leadership roles, we’ll be very tough next year,” he said. | 