Ladies and gentlemen, your 2013-14 Rainbow Wahine starting point guard is …
To be determined. And likely to be plural.
"We’re a ways away. And I know the fans aren’t going to want to hear this, but we’re going to get it done by committee again for a while this year," second-year UH coach Laura Beeman said after a full week of observations of practices.
"Our learning curve is going to be the steepest in that point guard position," said the coach, who played the point at Cal State San Bernardino. "We’re going to see a lot of mistakes early on and a lot of bad timing, but we just have to be patient. We have to be patient with the young ladies and have to be patient with the offense."
Beeman has a few choices. There’s junior Morgan Mason, a transfer from Mt. San Antonio College; sophomore Marissa Wimbley, last year’s backup to Monica DeAngelis, and freshman Briana Harris.
DeAngelis was a steadying presence last season, averaging 2.1 assists while adapting to playing as a pure point guard. She was the primary ball-handler for a resurgent team that went 17-14, including a tie for second in the Big West at 13-5.
A steady hand at the controls is more valuable than ever with the NCAA adopting a 10-second backcourt violation rule this season. Previously, women’s teams could take as long as they wanted to cross midcourt.
Mason, the oldest of this year’s group, might have the inside track to be the starter. She led Mt. SAC to back-to-back California Junior College state championships and averaged 12 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
"I guess if I had to say who my starting quarterback is going to be, yeah, I would say (Mason) because of the composure, because of having won close to 65 games in two years and two state championships," Beeman said. "She has a little bit of an edge on understanding timing and composure, and the pace and tempo of the game."
Mason brings a defensive mind-set to the position and is the tallest of the three at 5-foot-9. The offensive and defensive principles run at Mt. SAC are stripped-down versions of those employed by Beeman, a former longtime coach of that program.
The primary difference, Mason said, is the speed of the game, something that was apparent in preseason conditioning drills.
"Before (in sprints) I was mainly in the back, closer with the post players," Mason said. "Now that I’m starting to get a little quicker, I’m up there with more the quicker guards. Not there yet, but that’s how I can tell it’s getting better for me."
There’s still plenty of time for one of the other two guards to gain a foothold. UH plays an exhibition Oct. 30 vs. Hawaii Hilo at the Stan Sheriff Center, then opens the regular season Nov. 9 at Arizona State.
Wimbley played 26 games as a freshman reserve in 2012-13 and totaled 12 assists. She has knowledge of Beeman’s system and expectations, but making it translate from the mental realm to on-court performance has been her biggest obstacle.
"They (the coaches) just say, everything is going to come. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Take it day by day," Wimbley said. "They know how stressful it is to be a point guard, and Coach Bee has been in that position. Just having Coach Bee and Coach (Mary) Wooley being there, and always seeing positive with me, telling me specific things I need to do makes me happy and have the confidence."
The 5-foot-6 Harris, out of St. Monica (Santa Monica, Calif.) Catholic High is the most athletic of the trio and could make her first appearances at the off-guard spot to get comfortable.
Barring one guard distancing herself from the competition, the likelihood is the UH point guard job will be split between a few part-timers. Sophomore Destiny King may also see time running the offense.
"I don’t want to make it as slow and ugly as it was last year at times," Beeman said. "I don’t think it will be, because we’re more athletic and there is more experience. But we have to get it done by committee once in a while at that point guard spot. Make sure we’re getting the ball across the halfcourt timely, getting ourselves into the right spots, pushing the tempo the way we need to. So there may be some substitutions throughout games early on."
Saturday’s practice is open to the public
Rainbow Wahine hoops fans are encouraged by Beeman to attend team practice on Saturday before the Wahine volleyball team’s 7 p.m. match against Cal Poly.
Practice will be in Gym 1 (ground-level auxiliary gym adjacent to the Stan Sheriff Center) from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
