By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — In the new age of college athletics, it has become quite common for almost entire rosters to turn over during any sports’ offseason.
Louisiana Tech’s women’s basketball program has experienced this and will be featuring just four returners from last year’s team and nine newcomers.
Still, Techsters’ head coach Brooke Stoehr will look to be successful, despite the constant changes in the game she dearly loves.
“I think it’s hard,” Stoehr said about the climate of college athletics. “I’m a person of routine, and we script things and like them to be a certain way. I think now you’ve got to be more willing to adapt and adjust without lowering your standards or expectations. We’ve had to accelerate our level of communication earlier than what we’ve done in the past in terms of constantly having daily interactions with players one-on-one, whether it be position coaches or with me or the strength coach — whoever it is. I’m just constantly communicating. These young people want feedback, and sometimes they don’t like the feedback, but we’re always going to be honest with where they stand.
“The one thing I love about this group is they respond to that — when you tell them what the standard and expectation is, they find a way to meet it. That’s been really encouraging and exciting to see. But you really just have to be intentional about what you’re doing every single day.”
Returning for the Lady Techsters include All-CUSA freshman from last season in sophomore Jianna Morris, senior Robyn Lee and senior Autumn Smith. Senior Mackenzie Wurm will not play this season due to an injury sustained during the offseason.
“I always say the biggest job is how they feel at the end of their freshman year to their sophomore year,” Stoehr said of Morris. “You just feel confident, comfortable, and you know what to expect. You’ve been through it before. And (strenght coach Camron Blair) has don an incredible job with our group in the weight room. Jianna has benefitted greatly from that. Coming in as a true freshman, she had not been through a year in the weight room — she worked really hard in the spring. She just carries herself in a different way because she’s been in the fire. She’s a competitor, and we know what she’s going to bring to the table everyday.”
Another important contributor Stoehr is looking for will be Lee.
“Robyn has been finding her voice and feeling comfortable,” Stoehr said. “She loves to play basketball and wants to be successful. She’s already graduated, working on her MBA, and she’s trying to become a pro. She’s watching extra film. She’s always been a diligent worker, but now, I think she feels like her voice is carrying some weight in it. We’ve always felt like it had — I think she feels comfortable and confident in it now. That’s been really big.”
Stoehr said she is excited about seeing some of the underclassmen get into action this season and is expecting immediate contributions from this class, which include freshmen Paris Bradley, Jordan Marshall and Averi Aaron.
“We went to a scrimmage as a team a couple of weeks ago that started three seniors and two juniors — and we rolled out three freshmen and won,” Stoehr said. “They competed really well. They played at a high level on the club circuit or with their high school teams. They’ve made deep runs or won state championships at their respective levels. They know how to win, and it’s been really fun to watch them compete. Paris has been one of our most consistent competitors at practice every single day. I want to see who’s impacting winning from our group, and she’s been right there every week. It’s been fun to watch her.
“The one thing about these young players is they’ve made plenty of mistakes, but they’re athletic enough and skilled enough to recover and make a play. That’s what they do. So we’ll live through some mistakes and some growing pains early with some of them, but they’re talented enough to overcome it in says that maybe we haven’t been in the past.”
Given all of this, Stoehr has reason to be excited about the upcoming season, which will begin Monday at home against Nicholls State in the Thomas Assembly Center at 11:30 a.m. for the Education Day game.
“It’s almost like Christmas,” Stoehr said. “There’s anticipation, and there’s excitement you want to see. For us, every year is a new year. So when you start that first time, you get them all together for workouts and practice, and then you get to watch them grow and develop through March — it’s really exciting. And that’s where you find your joy.”
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