NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt first-year head coach Shea Ralph had a plan for what Commodore basketball would look like this season.
But hold on a minute.
“The challenge is that the idea that I have for this team, I can’t be so stuck in it,” Ralph said. “The challenge is that I can’t be so stuck in it that I force something on them that may not work for this team. So every day we’re working and finding a way that best puts our players and our team in a position for success, both on offense and on defense. Some of that looks like what I thought it would look like, some of it doesn’t.
“But it’s important for me to be flexible and to know my players well enough on the court and off the court that I can do for them what was done for me, which is bring out the best in them, get their highest potential as basketball players.”
Ralph’s job, of course, is not an easy one given the circumstances that preceded her arrival in April.
Vandy went 4-4 (0-3 in SEC games) in the 2020-21 season, a campaign initially shortened and then halted entirely due to complications stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many student-athletes from that squad graduated or transferred elsewhere.
That left Ralph with a roster of young women who are not only still learning the demands of Division I basketball but also now learning about each other and their new leaders.
“This summer we spent a lot of time on the court, but a lot of our time was just spent getting to know each other, building that relationship, building that trust,” senior Jordyn Cambridge said. “Obviously, if we can’t trust our teammates and we can’t trust the staff that we’re playing for, it’s going to be really hard. They’ve done an excellent job of making sure that we know that they care about us on a deeper level than basketball, and that has been really important for me.
“I really appreciate the time and effort that they continue to put in. And I can tell it’s not going to be something that just stops once we get started. It’s going to be something that continues to grow.”
Cambridge and Brinae Alexander are the only seniors on the current roster, while Yaubryon Chambers, Demi Washington, Brylee Bartram, Kiara Pearl, Kaylon Smith and Bella LaChance also return from last season.
Five freshmen and a transfer complete Ralph’s first team.
“This is really all of their freshman year with me. None of them signed to play for me,” Ralph said. “So it was important that we build those relationships because I know that in order for me to be the best coach I can be for them, they have to be able to trust me. So that’s where we started with this team and we’re still doing that.
“One of the things that I’ve learned in my coaching career is not to get too far ahead of myself. This is going to be a long season. We’re working really hard every day, but the most important thing to me is the relationship I have with my players and the fact that they’re going to know what they’re going to get from me every single day and to be able to trust me.”
The Commodores make their debut when they host Gardner-Webb on Nov. 9. They’ll have four more games in the state of Tennessee, spanning three more home games and a trip to Middle Tennessee State, before heading to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam at the end of the month.
A trip to Texas A&M on Dec. 30 opens the always daunting SEC schedule.
Ralph and her staff know that every day is a step toward shaping both the short-term and long-term future of the program. The new coach is impatient to watch that future unfold precisely because she’s excited for what it holds.
“One of the things I learned at Connecticut was that great players make great coaches,” Ralph said. “When my players trust me and they believe in me and they have the kind of relationship where they reach their fullest potential, then that’s all I have to worry about. All the other things, all the Xs and Os, that will fall into place.
“I have a great staff, I am confident in my abilities as a coach, I just want to be the right coach for them every day.”
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.