8 — Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Guard position provides depth for Wolverines
By BRANDON CARNEY
Daily Sports Writer
A combination of new and old
has spiced up the competition
among the guards of the Michigan
women’s basketball team.
The Wolverines return four
outside
players
who
played
meaningful minutes last season,
including two starters — juniors
Siera Thompson and Danielle
Williams. Thompson enters the
year as Michigan’s second-highest
scorer, scoring 10 points per
game, but will most likely make
her presence known leading the
offense.
After earning 99 assists last
season, Thompson has a proven
ability to run the Wolverines’
offense, which has made her feel
confident that she’ll keep her spot
in the starting five.
Thompson has also excelled at
helping her teammates find their
fit in Michigan’s offensive system
as she looks to become the floor
general the Wolverines need in
early games.
“I’ve had to learn and figure
everyone out,” Thompson said.
“I’ve needed to figure out who’s
the best at doing what, especially
since we lost three starters who
we knew so well.”
Thompson may be considered
a lock at the ‘1,’ but who she’ll be
paired up with in the backcourt
still remains highly contested.
After an impressive freshman
season,
sophomore
guard
Katelynn Flaherty may seem
like the favorite to land next
to Thompson in the lineup.
Returning as Michigan’s highest
scorer and the Big Ten Sixth Player
of the Year, Flaherty has spent
a large amount of the offseason
working on skills she struggled
with last season.
Michigan coach Kim Barnes
Arico has seen Flaherty’s ability
to drive to the basket and
overall physicality improve. The
expansion of Flaherty’s game may
lead to her being able to play more
positions as well. The possibility of
playing Flaherty at small forward
may suit her skills better, opening
up the shooting guard position for
others.
Outside of Flaherty, Williams
and
senior
guard
Madison
Ristovski both have their eyes on
a starting spot. Neither Williams
nor Ristovski have eye-popping
offensive stats from last season,
but they make up for it by playing
tough.
The battle between Williams
and Ristovski may be the closest
through the first few weeks of
practice, but both say it’s made
them better players and helped the
unit as a whole.
“It’s super competitive, because
girls want to get better,” Ristovski
said. “But at the same time,
we’re making each other better.
Everyone’s competing for minutes,
but it’s also great that we help each
other, and it’s been important to
have a group of guards that have
chemistry.”
Despite the experience the
returning
Wolverines
bring,
their spots aren’t necessarily
guaranteed with a talented pair of
freshmen catching up to them.
Freshman
guard
Lauren
‘Boogie’
Brozoski
has
made
a
serious
push
for
earning
significant time on the court. The
Gatorade State Player of the Year
in New Jersey isn’t expecting to be
in the mix for a starting position,
but still has challenged her
teammates in practice.
“I’ve really been working hard,
and trying to learn my role,”
Brozoski said. “I’m not trying to
say I’m going to fight for a starting
position, but I know one day I
will, and it comes with hard work,
dedication and learning from the
best around me.”
Barnes
Arico
has
been
impressed by the effort Brozoski
and fellow freshman guard Nicole
Munger have put in, but will
be tentative in expanding their
roles as the season begins. The
pair may need time to adjust to
the physical grind of a collegiate
schedule.
“With the freshmen, it’s going
to be the grind of the season and
how much they can handle,”
Barnes Arico said. “How much
can they handle playing a team
like Maryland and bouncing back
and playing in a game two or three
days later? That’s when you really
see how ready these freshmen
are.”
With a variety of options,
whomever Barnes Arico decides
to start in the backcourt in the
Wolverines’ opener on Nov. 8 will
continue to feel the pressure of
retaining her spot in a deep and
talented position.
“Everybody has equal ability
to score,” Thompson said. “We’ve
all been working hard to not just
have one go-to player, but to have
everyone able to contribute.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL