No Plum, but new energy level from Washington Womens Basketball Team

The Washington Women’s Basketball team is loaded and ready to go. But it’s not the same team without Kelsey Plum. To find the new identity, this team has their energy level at maximum

The Washington Women’s Basketball team is adolescent in many ways.  After losing their coach, top player, and four seniors, the team is trying to make sense of a new coaching staff, new players, and new playing philosophy.  They have some experience, and a sense of eager energy. But you can see the team has some “growing pains” to experience. After all, it’s all new to them.

But the one thing that is NOT new is the energy of this team. In fact, it may be higher than it has ever been.

But don’t take my word for it only.

Pac-12 Media Day

Wednesday, October 11, 2017 is Pac-12 media day for Women’s basketball teams.  Of course,., there were plenty of things to discuss.   Hannah Johnson and Mai-Loni Henson represented the Washington Women’s Basketball team. They talked about the upcoming season, their new head coach, and new players.

Some keys to this season surfaced when Hannah Johnson reflected upon Coach Jody Wynn. Johnson described Coach Wynn as a “competitor” and “fighter”.  She then added words like “grit” and “passion” to the mix.

Players Coach connect

It seemed in the interview that Hannah Johnson will be the leader for the team on the court.  There is a symbiosis between both player and coach so far.  The message in the media day seemed to be 1000 synonyms with “work ethic”.  That is just fine, because the team is inundated with new faces.  One face missed so far is that of Natalie Romeo.  When reports surfaced of Aarion McDonald’s exodus, the hope was that the team would have Romeo as a foundation this season. Now reports indicate that she will be unable to perform due to health reasons.

And finally, the media day event ended.

Takeaways

So what new news do we have regarding the Washington Women’s Basketball team? Well, the writing between the lines is that this is a fairly freshman focused team. That means the team will have good games followed by less than good games.

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Much like the men’s team, the new energy of the Washington Women’s Basketball team is channeling towards the defensive side of the ball. As such, there will be a learning curve. And with the season rapidly approaching, the team will likely still be ironing out the wrinkles even as Pac-12 games are underway.

This team will have some great games, and some not so great games. But they will improve each week.  After losing the WNBA top draft pick Kelsey Plum, that’s all the fans can hope for, right?