11/13/2009
Blazers Receive Grateful Boost
Reprinted with permission from The News Dispatch

Nick Dettmann
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - Three out of 11 girls have any varsity basketball experience.

Many haven't even touched a basketball since grade school.

In addition, 85 percent of the scoring and 90 percent of rebounding are gone.

Disaster?

Nope. And why not?

Two words: improved athleticism.

Second-year coach Rob Smith is banking on that for his Marquette Blazers in hopes of improving on a 6-13 showing in the 2008-09 season.

"I'm very excited about this season," Smith said.

Nine months ago, the Blazers appeared, on paper, headed for catastrophe with seven seniors graduating and only two players slated to return. Thankfully those two - Sam Taylor and Mary Salyer - returned. But they only combined to score just 5.8 points per game.

So what about the other three vacant spots on the floor?

Amber Cerrillos, Brianna Gannon and Sarah Lutz became the solutions, and toss in Mary Katherine Slattery as well.

Each of them are state-champion volleyball players, and Slattery is additionally a state-caliber golfer and state-qualifying tennis player. Slattery decided last year to forgo playing volleyball and focus on her golf game. Simply put they are extraordinary athletes.

Nothing against last year's group, but from top to bottom, the Blazers are better athletically, mainly because of those four additions.

"They've definitely injected a winning attitude," Smith said. "They're winners. They know what it takes. They're willing to do the extra things to get better. They expect excellence.

"Those are the type of things that I'm trying to instill in my program. ... Top to bottom we weren't athletic enough to run what I wanted to run (last year)."

The big loss for the Blazers is Janie Welsh.

Welsh averaged a double-double last season, but had grit and toughness which was hard to match on most nights. Big loss? Certainly. But Smith sees someone like Cerrillos stepping in to that role and doing it just as good ... if not better.

Cerrillos has the determination and toughness to be a solid post player for Smith's Blazers.

"She's very aggressive; she plays hard," Smith said of Cerrillos. "I think she's going to be able to put up the same type of numbers, production-wise, that Janie did.

"... She's going to be a nightmare for coaches."

Cerrillos, Gannon, Lutz and Slattery are all proven winners. They know what it takes. Blend that with players like Taylor, who's struggled to win in each of the sports she's played at Marquette (soccer, basketball and softball), and you've got one motivated, hungry team.

"We improved a lot last year," Smith said. "It just didn't translate to wins. We want to translate some of this stuff into wins."

Unfortunately, there's a downside.

With the exception of Slattery, many of them haven't played organized basketball since they were in grade school ... if ever. But even with Slattery, she's slightly behind, having not gone out for the team last year.

The basketball IQ is not there.

"That's probably going to be problematic at the start," Smith said.

But if it comes down to having basketball IQ or great athletes? Smith will take great athletes every single time.

"Once their basketball IQ catches up with their athleticism and their will," Smith said, "they're going to be terrors out there."

In addition to the athleticism, the Blazers' strengths will be shooting and team chemistry.

"We can teach the IQ," Smith said. "You can't teach athleticism, and that makes me really excited about what we have here. That basketball IQ is going to come."

The Blazers' season begins at 6 p.m. Monday at La Lumiere. The first home game will be Nov. 28 against conference foe Whiting.