On this Friday afternoon I made the trek over to Macalester's Leonard Center to catch the 2012-13 version of Ellen Thompson's team in its early season routine. Without question this team has a different look to it without the Rene Sisters, Maggie Wood, and Holly Schiedermayer who have all moved on and Thompson is quick to admit that the younger players will have to step up from a scoring standpoint. In fact, the lone senior on the team is Kyanna Jones who hails from Osseo HS.
By the time I arrived, the team had got a head start on its flexing/stretching/footwork drills before Thompson moved things right along. The first few drills consisted of dribbling and lay-up work and then the emphasis then switched to passing as two players would go down the court doing both chest and overhead passes to keep these small but vital skills sharp. Another neat little drill that was done early on was where a player was fed a ball at the center of court who then had to go against a defender and had to finish with a jump shot.
The team then moved into drills that emphasized offense and positioning plus screen work. Transition work was also addressed as this is something that Macalester has always seemed to do well. Guards and small forwards also got into one group to do work on a variety of skills while the taller forwards and post players worked on things to help improve their game. Practice finally wrapped up with a short 5-on-5 scrimmage so that Thompson could get a better look at her team to see where they're at right now.
Outtakes - As I mentioned, this is a new-look Macalester team that won't have the Rene Sisters launching up bombs from behind the perimeter that usually terrorized opponents. Just from watching myself I'm not yet sure who/whom is going to be picking up where they left off. While the jury may be out on that front, one player who did catch my eye as far as improvement is junior Carmen Whitehead who hails from Greeley, Colorado. She just looks more confident and comfortable out there and I would have to think that she'll certainly see her share of playing time this year if she doesn't start. The other "big" item revolving around the Macalester program during the off-season was the transfer of Veronika Jakubovie from Hamline. This is certainly a tremendous addition to Thompson's program considering the graduation of Schiedermayer.....I'm thinking that this team could somehow find a way to be one of those "bubble" teams; in play for that 6th playoff spot but several things will have to go right for the Scots in order for that to happen. But Macalester is the last team you want to play if you need to count on a "W" as GAC found out late this last season.
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