Coach John Duncan’s Catawba women’s basketball team went a solid 19-8 last season, but good as that team was, Duncan says there’s no comparison between the ability level of the 1999-2000 squad and the talent he’ll toss on the floor at Goodman Gym this season.
“Athletically,” said Duncan, “the difference is night and day.”
Catawba has prospered in recent years — Duncan’s an impressive 80-31 in his four seasons in Salisbury — with its collection of tiny, hustling guards and methodical inside bangers.
Duncan still has those ladies on hand, but now he’s added some serious run-jump athletes to the mix. He’s taken in four transfers, three with Division I experience. All four came randomly without knowing about the others. All four came because Duncan has contacts all over and because he keeps his phone lines open. The transfers arrived for different reasons — one sought more playing time, one didn’t fit in after a coaching change, two just wanted to get closer to home.
The transfer that local fans are most enthused about is 6-footer Donna Carr, who graduated from Salisbury High in 1995 after putting together a prep career that was simply the best in school history.
Obviously, she’ll start down low.
“Donna’s good to go,” said Duncan with a smile. “She’ll make a difference on the boards. She’s a great leaper and she knows what it’s all about.”
But Carr’s not the best jumper on this team. That distinction falls to 6-foot sophomore forward Dorthell Little, a Richmond County girl who averaged eight ppg and six boards per game at D-II Armstrong Atlantic. Little felt the pangs of old-fashioned homesickness and decided to sign up with Duncan, who recruited her out of high school.
“Little hangs from the sky,” said Duncan, who’s not often given to hyperbole. “She jumps out of the gym. She’s gonna be exciting.”
Long-armed Desiree Pugh, a 6-foot guard, saw significant action last season for N.C. A&T. But when the school changed coaches, Pugh wasn’t thrilled. The new coach who inherited Pugh had no objection to her calling Duncan, and Duncan said come on down.
“She’ll be the biggest wing we’ve ever had here,” said Duncan. “She’s definitely a Division I type of athlete.”
Then there’s junior Elina Pasola, who sat the pine the last two years at Xavier, a program good enough to make the NCAA Division I Tournament last season. Pasola hails from Finland, as do Catawba veterans Satu Puolitaival and Vuokku Timola. Duncan says Pasola and Puolitaival are good friends. That Scandinavian connection led to Pasola’s transfer.
“Pasola comes highly recommended by everyone,” said Duncan. “Her coaches said she was a hard worker and that she could play. She was just stuck behind an even better player.”
Now Pasola’s part of Duncan’s foreign legion. And now, like the old Jimmy Buffet song, Duncan will have Finns to the left and Finns to the right.
“The thing about our transfers is that none of them are bad kids,” said Duncan. “They’re good kids and good students who just wanted to change their situation.”
Fair enough. But with the addition of this quality quartet — all of whom are good enough to start — Duncan’s got some serious sorting out to do. After all, he’s got three starters back from last season and two of them — point guard Lakai Brice and deadeye 3-point shooter Timola — have been picked for the second team on the All-SAC preseason squad.
Too much talent,perhaps?
“That’s going to be the key to this season,” Duncan said. “It will all come down to chemistry. We’ve got a corps of solid veterans and we’ve got a new group of talented athletes. How well those two groups blend will determine if we’re successful.”
As far as the veterans, there’s no doubt Brice will be on the floor. The 5-5 fireball is a female version of Pfeiffer’s pint-sized hero Terrance Baxter. She scored 13.1 ppg last season and led the Tribe in assists and steals. Amazingly enough, she was also second on the squad in rebounds.
Timola is a lights-out bomber who will torch the zones that sag on Carr and Little inside. She drilled 54 treys a year ago.
Also figuring prominently is 6-2 Valerie Powell, who scored nine ppg, led the Tribe in rebounding with nearly six per game and had more rejects (40) than the Harvard School of Law. She’s not as athletic as the newcomers, but she’s already proven her worth to Duncan. So has 6-foot forward Erin Buckland (6.9 ppg), who can score big at times and Puolitaival, who has a lightning first step and unlimited offensive potential. Then there’s Leticia Stockton, the third guard a year ago. The 5-3 waterbug can drive people crazy with hounding defense.
Rounding out the squad are freshmen guards Cindy Turner and Bridgett Garmany and 6-foot recruit Danyel Locklear, all of whom are going to have to be patient.
With his surplus of talent, Duncan plans to play at a much faster tempo than last year. He’ll extend the floor on defense, because fouls and fatigue are no longer a big factor — except in the case of the indispensable Brice. That philosophy will in theory translate into enough minutes for enough people to keep the locker room harmonious. Hopefully, Duncan says, the veterans will accept new roles and new teammates.
“I think they’re all just sitting back right now, waiting to see how we’re going to get everyone in,” said Duncan. “They sense this could be a really special team. But they’re anxious. They’re curious to see how this is all going to shake out.”
So is the rest of the SAC.
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