Little Rock Women Return Following Memorable 2014-15 Season
The memory of last season is still a fond one for Little Rock head coach Joe Foley, a memory that isn’t going to fade. Nor should it. Winning 29 games, including a NCAA Tournament upset win, and the Sun Belt Conference tournament tends to produce good memories. This season, the task becomes a little tougher with the loss of some key seniors, but the goal remains the same for Foley and the Trojans.
“I think everybody knows last year was a special year for us and to be playing like we played in the conference tournament and then in the NCAAs, that was a special thing; it doesn’t happen very often,’’ Foley said. “To be able to knock off Texas A&M, and we probably should have knocked off Arizona State to get to the Sweet Sixteen or the Elite Eight, which would have been something. But just to see those kids end their careers, we had three seniors, they really ended their careers on a high note.”
But Foley would like to be a part of something special again. The coaches in the league believe he and the Trojans have a chance, picking Little Rock third in the preseason poll. Foley’s not convinced, at least not at the moment, such expectations are on the mark. But then again …
“Now we’ve got to try to fill some holes and those are two big holes with those two seniors right there (Taylor Gault and Ka’Nesheia Cobbins). And Kiera Clark came off the bench and started and was a great role player for us and scored a lot of points in the NCAAs for us. That’s three seniors — a lot of scoring, a lot of defense and a lot of holes to replace, so that’s what we’re working on right now. If we can get them filled then maybe we can end up in the top echelon (of the conference standings) like people are saying. But right now, that’s just for saying. I don’t know if we’re a No. 3 team right now or not.
“I think with all the inexperience that we have and the people that are going to be playing — we’ve got a couple of good seniors, there’s no doubt; Alexus Dawn came in and played really well for us and Shanity James has been here now for four years and she knows the conference well and college basketball well. Those are two good seniors to build around, but there are going to be a lot of new faces.”
Among the new faces is a half-dozen freshmen. There’s a couple of sophomores, too.
“I think that every game that we play this year, those young faces, they’re going to learn a lot of stuff, so they’re going to have to be prepared, they’re going to have to be resilient and be ready to bounce back when things don’t go their way,’’ Foley said. “Sometimes freshmen can do that and sometimes they can’t. We’ve got six freshmen. I don’t think I’ve ever had six freshmen before, so it’s going to be a learning experience for this team, there’s no doubt."
2014-15 record: 29-5 overall, 18-2 in the Sun Belt.
Returning starters: Alexius Dawn, Sr., G., 5-4; Shanity James, Sr., F, 5-11; Kaitlyn Pratt, Jr., F, 6-1.
Student-athlete to watch: Alexius Dawn is the Trojans’ top returning scorer, providing 10.3 points last season, while also contributing 2.9 rebounds and 117 assists. She also had 60 steals. Her experience and talent level make her a key member of this year’s Little Rock team.
Top newcomer: Deja McKinney, a 5-10 freshman guard, is expected to step in and provide immediate help for the Trojans. She was the No. 2 scorer in the state of Louisiana last year out of Ville, Platte, La., High School where she played point guard and shooting guard.
Season opener: Friday, Nov. 13 at Tulane in New Orleans.
Notes: Head coach Joe Foley had his contract extended one year to the end of the 2023-24 season … Two Trojans were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team, with Alexius Dawn claiming first-team status and Shanity James named to the second team. … Little Rock will play Texas A&M, a team it defeated in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year, in College Station on Dec. 22.
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Little Rock Men Begin New Era Under New Leadership
Don’t let the Little Rock roster fool you. Take a closer look.
The Trojans have just one starter returning this year from last season’s team and it has 10 newcomers added to the fold. But that doesn’t mean this will be an inexperienced group. Not in the least. Of the four lettermen returning, two are seniors and two are juniors. Of the 10 newcomers joining the Little Rock roster, one was his conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in junior college, four have previous Division I basketball experience, one stands 6-foot-11 and another is 6-10.
The same story exists for new head coach Chris Beard, who is in his first season leading the Trojans’ program but already has 141 career wins to his credit. The trick will be meshing Beard’s coaching style and game plan with a roster that features some returning student-athletes and a group of others new to the program if not so new to college basketball.
“We’ve got a nice balance between returning players and new players,’’ Beard said. “About half our team is guys who have played here in the past and the other half is new players, so we’re trying to improve our chemistry and trying to get these guys where we can play together. That’s something we work on daily. I think we have some good depth — I think that could be a real asset for this team. We have multiple players at each position and there’s going to be a lot of competition for playing time.
“Just trying to get these guys used to playing together will be the key. We started that process this summer. Every player on our team made a commitment to come to summer school, so that was a great start. We tried to spend as much time as we could this offseason to get these guys to gel. That’s always the challenge that first year because you don’t have that chemistry (to start) that other teams might have."
What Beard does have is a group of student-athletes who provide depth and talent and more experience than might be noticed at first glance. A team that lost its final three games the previous season looks to be a team that has a chance to create some excitement in Little Rock.
“We try to put our players in a position where they can use their talent, so from year to year we might play a little different, based on the talent that we have on that roster,” Beard said, “We want to be a good defensive team, a team that’s difficult to play against. We want to be a team that doesn’t give up shots around the basket and a team that rebounds the ball at a high level. Offensively, we really try to share the ball; we value unselfish people. We like teams that have balance. We don’t have any objective of trying to have the leading scorer in the conference. We’d much prefer to have four or five guys who can score in double figures most any night. I think that’s what’s exciting about this team’s potential, we have multiple guys who can score."
2014-15 record: 13-18 overall, 8-12 in the Sun Belt.
Returning starters: Roger Woods, Sr., F, 6-5, 230.
Student-athlete to watch: Josh Hagins, a senior guard from Boosier City, La., averaged 12.1 points and 4.0 rebounds a game last season while also collecting 52 steals. On a roster with a lot of new faces, his steadiness and experience will be play a key role for this year’s team.
Top newcomer: Jermaine Ruttley is a graduate transfer from Florida A&M. The 6-3, 200-pound guard is expected to make an immediate impact with Little Rock. Although new to the team, his experience makes him a valuable commodity with this year’s Trojans’ team.
Season opener: Saturday, Nov. 14 vs. Central Baptist at the Jack Stephens Center.
Notes: New head coach Chris Beard comes from Angelo State where he led that program to a 47-15 record the previous two seasons, including a program-record 28 wins and a No. 19 national ranking last season. … Josh Hagins is the only student-athlete on the Little Rock roster to earn preseason All-Sun Belt Conference honors. He was a second-team selection. … Of the Trojans’ first four games, only four will be played at home — two in November and two in December.