Experience Where it Counts the Most

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – For the past few seasons, dealing with turnover has become the norm for Ryun Williams.

As practice officially began Wednesday morning for the Colorado State women's basketball team, it was a reality once again for the coach, with three incoming freshmen and a pair of transfers on the court – just shy of half the Rams' roster.

It wasn't exactly a moment of stress, either. In two of the primary places Williams likes his team to facilitate the offense through – the point guard and the post – he saw experienced players.

McKenna Hofschild is back to run the point, and the inside tandem of Karly Murphy and Cali Clark is still intact. For Williams, having experience there makes the other players around them better, and they also serve as on-court instructors.

The change is nice, because they were the newcomers last season.

"It's definitely different than last year, just knowing the system," Murphy said. "We have a lot of young and new faces, and that was us coming in last year, so we know what it's like. I think it's easier to help another player and teammate when you see something in your position, because you know what he wants."

Hofschild was especially vocal through the first workout, handing out instruction and encouragement in equal doses. Coming off a season where she was handed the keys to the car and was the one in charge of stepping on or coming off the accelerator, she has a firm grasp of the steering wheel.

From the post, both Murphy and Clark understand their roles as scores, passers and setting screens. Hofschild not only finds it comforting having the knowledge of the system she does, but the fact there are experienced posts makes it even better. To not only make plays work, but to instruct in the process.

"It's definitely very helpful to have both of us," she said. "I think it's a new leadership role that we've taken on, and now we do have to be the vocal ones. Knowing what he wants and letting everyone else know what he's looking for is one of our biggest roles, and that's what we'll continue to improve on."

First days are about learning, so mistakes were made. But Williams and his staff weren't the only people stopping play and making corrections. The players were doing it as well, the signs of another layer of advancement for the program. Those mistakes were also coming from effort, from pushing too hard, which he liked. That, he said, can always be dialed down if needed.

The approach will help him over the next month-plus of practice to start to see a rotation develop and where the depth truly lies within the roster. Who he can count on for minutes, who he can count on in the clutch.

Deep in the recesses of his mind, he has an idea, but he's more than willing to let them all change his mind.

"You kind of have your core maybe, who you think are going to be playing a bulk of the minutes," he said. "It's the job of the newbies to try to crack that. That's very encouraging.
"That's exciting, to have some depth. That's what makes our practice so competitive. We have no idea what the rotation is going to be after once practice, but things will start to sort themselves out as we progress. You can't string a couple of bad days together, or else you'll get blown by."

Since most of the team has been around this summer – either in parts or for the whole – the transfers and freshmen looked right at home from start to finish. During install, there were some new components, and when running offensive systems, so new ideas to consider, but when they were playing, they played hard.

There wasn't a single wallflower in the group, and no one backed down, which is exactly what the players has seen develop this summer.

"The competitive level is always high with our group, whether we're playing pickup or we're in the weight room," Murphy said. "Everyone is just pushing each other, and that's' what going to get us to grow this season. That's really exciting, because I think we can get more out of it this year."

What the team wants – even with a batch of fresh faces – is to take the next step. For the majority of last year's pandemic-altered season, the Rams were the front runner in the conference race, starting with an opening statement of taking down Fresno State on the road.

The Rams entered the final weekend with a chance to seal up the top seed in the conference tournament, but a mixture of fatigue and injury took a tool, and the team dropped the final three games of the regular season, then the tournament opener.

"We have the same goal as last year: We want to win a Mountain West Championship," Hofschild said. "This group, we have a more athletic, run-and-gun, lengthy team, which I think will benefit us in the long run."

Because even from the first day, the experience they do have can see the long road ahead.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Cali Clark

McKenna Hofschild

Karly Murphy

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Colorado State University Athletics