For fans and media members, it’s never too early to predict how good a team will be. Way-too-early rankings are published the day after major championships and next year’s winner is already picked.
Coaches operate on a different level, though. Good luck getting one to make a prediction before a game is played and after that the chances aren’t much better.
Ole Miss women’s basketball coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has a good reason for not predicting what her latest team will accomplish this season. Tuesday was the team’s first preseason practice after all.
“I don’t know how good it’ll look in the beginning, but at the end, I think we’ll be just fine. This team is just so new,” McPhee-McCuin said at Tuesday’s media availability at SJB Pavillion. “I haven’t been in this territory for a long time. Usually, my teams are super old and super experienced.”
This year’s team, featuring just two returning players, one freshman and nine transfers, has a mix of experienced and young players. Talaysia Cooper, Emily Howard and Knisha Godfrey are all in the final years of eligibility. But five others have two or fewer years of experience in college.
“I think this is an interesting group, Team 52, because we don’t have returners who have been in the starting lineup,” McPhee-McCuin said. “This is our first time with a group that is kind of brand new. I haven’t had that for a while, maybe six years. In my opinion, we’re pretty young, but I’m excited for that. It’s going to be a lot of teaching and probably a lot of growing pains, but the future will be bright.
All of that has made for an interesting start to the year for Ole Miss and both the players and coach are learning.
“I feel like we’re way ahead of where some people probably think we should be,” Cooper, a former Tennessee Lady Vol, said. “We connect well off the court and on the court. We communicate well, for one. Overall, the chemistry has been good. There are a lot of new faces, but I feel like we’ve come together well.”
McPhee-McCuin echoes those sentiments, but also isn’t sure what this team will be like.
“The other day, we had a meeting together and they asked me what I thought of the team. I said, ‘I don’t have thoughts yet. I don’t know what I think about y’all because you’re so new.’” McPhee-McCuin said. “We haven’t been through anything yet. It has been sunny days. Football just won. Life is good. As far as I’m concerned, we’re headed to the top. But on a serious note, we need to go through the season, at least the nonconference schedule, for me to really have an opinion on this group.”
Don’t be fooled, though. McPhee-McCuin thinks this team is talented and isn’t adjusting her standards or expectations.
“Not really,” she said when asked about changing expectations. “Because I’ve kind of been through it. I know this won’t be a 0-16 year, but is it going to be a Sweet 16 year? I don’t know.”
That’s the theme right now for Ole Miss: unknown. But the players have already bought in.
“I think they’re all bought in. They don’t come to Ole Miss now unless they understand what they’re coming into,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I think they want to be what Team 51, Team 50 and Team 49 were, and that just takes time.”
Time is something the Rebels have right now. Currently, the first game for Ole Miss will be November 2 against Alcorn State. There’ll likely be exhibitions and other non-conference games added. For now, though, the Rebels will keep practicing, learning and growing into a team.
