Lady Topper Hoops: Lady Tops Will Prove to Be Much Bigger in 2018–19
Well, with a job change and a transition this week, life has been busy for yours truly. However, we did get to take in the Lady Toppers at…
Well, with a job change and a transition this week, life has been busy for yours truly. However, we did get to take in the Lady Toppers at Hilltopper Hysteria Thursday.
There isn’t much to really get from a scrimmage where the players are trying to show off and get some jitters out playing in front of a crowd. However, any Lady Topper fan knows how small the ladies have been in recent memory.
In women’s basketball, 6'2" is like 6'8" in comparison to men. With one player over 6'1" last year, and no more than two taller than 6'2" since the 2010–11 season, the Lady Toppers have not had size in a decade.
Four eligible players stand 6'2" or taller on the 2018–19 Lady Topper roster. If WKU is to ever compete nationally, they have to have size when they face a team like Louisville to open the regular season.
In addition to size, new head coach Greg Collins has some weapons to wield to start the season. Sharpshooters Sidnee Bopp, Dee Givens and Alexis Brewer should provide skill from the outside. Whitney Creech, Sherry Porter and Meral Abdelgawad should provide some skill, slashing and passing ability from the perimeter. Raneem Elgedawy was a revelation last year, and now that Arame Niang is available and some grad transfers bring size and experience, perhaps the losses of Ivy Brown and Tashia Brown will be neutralized.
This Lady Topper team is much more balanced in experience. In 2017–18, the Lady Toppers had two superstar seniors, two role-playing juniors and the rest were freshmen and sophomores. This year, each class has at least two eligible players.
Without much turnover from Michelle Clark-Heard leaving, Greg Collins brings in a few pieces to add some size and experience and the Lady Toppers seem to have recovered nicely from losing two more all-time superstars in Ivy and Tashia.
How do the Lady Toppers replace the Browns? This team may not be as explosive individually, but WKU seems to have some pieces to move forward, and perhaps when the Lady Tops face their gauntlet of a non-conference, they will be ready to take on and absorb teams with size.
WKU starts its season in exhibition, Thursday, November 1 at 6 p.m. against West Virginia State.