Nov. 1, 2011
While the challenges have differed from season-to-season during Melanie Balcomb’s tenure as head coach at Vanderbilt, the results have been the same – nine seasons, nine NCAA Tournament appearances. As Balcomb enters season number 10, she faces a new challenge, but looks to capture that same result.
The 2011-12 Commodores return a unique blend of youth and experience. The roster shows just one senior, but Vanderbilt boasts four players (juniors Tiffany Clarke and Elan Brown, sophomores Jasmine Lister and Stephanie Holzer) who earned SEC All-Freshman honors during their respective rookie campaigns, as well as last season’s SEC Sixth Woman of the Year (Holzer).
Building a team comprised mostly of juniors and sophomores, Balcomb knows she must prepare early for the battles of the SEC that will come when the calendar flips to 2012. To that end, the non-conference schedule is highlighted by visits from Oklahoma and Florida State, while the Commodores will travel to NC State.
“You don’t want to go into the SEC not having played any BCS conference teams on the road, or at home for that matter,” said Balcomb on her scheduling philosophy. “You don’t want to play a conference team without having played that type of size and athleticism.”
In addition to the three BCS conference opponents, the Commodores will travel to Austin Peay and UT-Martin before embarking on Southeastern Conference play.
The SEC schedule is one of the toughest Vanderbilt has faced during Balcomb’s time in Nashville, featuring repeat opponents in perennial league powers Tennessee, LSU and Georgia, as well as two match-ups with South Carolina.
“We’ve never had LSU, Georgia and Tennesse, who’ve consistently been along with us in the top-four in the league,” said Balcomb. “To have LSU, Georgia, Tennesse and South Carolina twice is by far the toughest schedule we’ve had in-conference.”
The Commodores also hope to benefit from the fact they can remain in Nashville during the postseason through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The 2012 SEC Tournament will again be held at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, while Vanderbilt will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship at Memorial Gym.
Guard play will again be a strength of Balcomb’s team, as they will often play with three guards, led by sophomore Jasmine Lister. Lister led the team in scoring with 11.8 points per game, while adding 103 assists and serving as the team’s top three-point threat with a 36.7 percentage.
“Jasmine played a lot of point as a freshman,” said Balcomb.. “She’s playing this year with another level of confidence. She looks like a veteran and she’ll play point as well as two-guard.”
Lister’s ability to slide to the two is keyed by the addition of freshmen guards Maggie Morrison and Kady Schrann.
“What’s going to be different is that all three (Lister, Morrison and Schrann) of them can play one or two,” Balcomb said. “It’s new for us, in that we’ll have one sophomore and two freshmen playing a lot in the backcourt.”
The Commodores also will get contributions at shooting guard from junior Gabby Smith and sophomore Christina Foggie.
“Christina and Gabby really give us that veteran shooting presence to pair with our other young guards,” Balcomb said.
The versatile Foggie averaged 9.9 points per game, but only saw action in 21 contests after battling a pair of concussions.
“Christina had 27 points in her first game, but then was in and out of the lineup,” Balcomb explained. “She’s really become stronger and she was already one of our best athletes.”
Smith returns as one of the team’s leading three-point shooters after posting a 33.9 percentage from beyond the arc last season. She will see action at guard, as well as some time at small forward.
“Gabby came as a shooter, but (in practice) she actually volunteered to play some small forward and it went really well,” Balcomb said.
In addition, junior Elan Brown play guard and small forward. Brown appeared in all but one game last season, averaging 3.9 points per game.
“Elan started playing some three and four, but has played almost all small forward in preseason,” Balcomb explained. “She’ll give us a little more post play, while Gabby will give us more guard play.”
The final component of the backcourt is freshman Nadine Ndip. Ndip, a walk-on, brings some extra athleticism and work ethic to practice.
“I love her. She plays defense, she’s scrappy and is a great teammate,” Balcomb said.
The Commodores return two key members of their front line in junior Tiffany Clarke and redshirt sophomore Stephanie Holzer.
Clarke’s development became evident at the end of the 2010-11 season, as she led the team in rebounds in three of the final four regular season contests, before leading the squad in points and rebounds in both SEC Tournament games and earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
“Tiffany Clarke had a really solid last five or six games and played at a very high level,” said Balcmob. “We’re expecting really big things from Tiffany this year if she continues developing that consistency.”
Holzer was named SEC Sixth Woman of the Year last season. She averaged 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game during SEC play, appearing in all 16 games off the bench.
“Steph can face-up better than anyone we have in the post and she can play with her back to the basket better than anyone we have in the post,” Balcomb said. “She’s very efficient with her minutes and we’re hoping to get more minutes out of her. She’s in much better shape, stronger and healthier than she was a year ago.”
Balcomb feels Holzer’s development could be the most important factor for the team this season, while pointing out that the ceiling is quite high for the sophomore.
“If she can keep herself on the floor, she could be one of the best post players to ever play here, hands down,” Balcomb said. “The more we can keep Steph Holzer on the floor, the better. She changed the game, which is why she got sixth woman. We didn’t need her at the start of games, we needed her to finish games.”
Another wildcard is redshirt freshman Clair Watkins. Watkins suffered a knee injury during preseason and missed all of last season, but once she develops, she will be able to contribute.
“Clair has to adjust to the physicality of college ball and when she does that, she’ll help us right away,” said Balcomb. “She’s very skilled. She can shoot, face-up and play with her back to the basket. She suits us very well.”
The expectations have risen to the point at Vanderbilt where each season, the goal is to compete for an SEC championship and make a run in the NCAA Tournament. This season is no different and the mix of youth and experience should help to meet that standard as Vanderbilt looks for its 13th consecutive NCAA bid.
The season opens with an exhibition contest versus Clayton State this Saturday, November 5. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. at Memorial Gym.
