Badger fans, even those who have been around a long time, will be well advised to buy a program at the first game.  Otherwise, it’s going to be tough to figure out who’s who.  Eight of the thirteen Badgers will be wear a Wisconsin uniform for the first time.  That usually means that it will take time for the team to gel. 

Unfortunately, they may not have time.  Last spring’s athletic board decision not to extend Lisa Stone’s contract places her square in the cross-hairs.  It seems obvious that the team will have to win this year to remove the bullseye from her. 

Point Guard:  It can be argued that the Badgers have not had a legitimate Big 10 point guard since Keisha Anderson graduated in 1997.  If the team is to improve, that has to change and change now.     

In steps Teah Gant.  It’s totally unfair, but she will carry much of the burden for making the team successful in 2006.  She may well be up to the task.  Gant is a wonderfully athletic slasher and defender.  She didn’t play point guard in high school but did play it on her AAU team and that was probably better competition than she played against in high school.  She will be one of the natural leaders on the team and that’s necessary for a point guard.  She likely has the basketball mind to play the point. 

Even if there weren’t a gaping hole at the position, she may well have started there anyway.  She looks to be too good to sit on a team of Wisconsin’s stature. 

Behind her are three freshmen with much shakier pedigrees.  Sarah Ingison is a solid defender and hustler who was recruited to be a back-up.  That is not an unimportant role, but she is unlikely to be starter material.  Rae Lin D’Alie was the star of the Wisconsin girls’ state tournament.  She’s listed at 5’3 and that may be a stretch.  D’Alie is a typical water bug.  She’s quick and aggressive and can hit a shot.  She’s likely to be a fan favorite, but how much of a contribution she can make is still up in the air.  Ann Crangle has an interesting past.  She was the point guard on the high school team with Ashley and Courtney.  Will that  raises an immediate interest, those who have seen her say she is unlikely to contribute at this level. 

Wings:  The unquestioned strength of the team are the wings.  In two seasons, Jolene Anderson has established herself as one of the top players in the conference. Janese Banks has showed the potential to also be one of the leagues better players.  Anderson came to Wisconsin with the reputation as a scorer and she hasn’t disappointed.  She scored her 1,000^th point in the Badgers last game of the season last year.  She got to that plateau faster than any man or woman in Wisconsin history.  She also got there with a knee that needed surgery and conditioning that was less than stellar. 

Anderson is one of the physically strongest guards around and has the ability to get to the basket and hit shots from difficult angles.  She also has an excellent nose for the ball that results in many rebounds.  Despite being only 5’11 she led the team in rebounding.  In two years she has become a much better all-around basketball than many, including me, ever thought she could.  That does not mean that she is a finished product.  Her conditioning still could be better.  She was in better shape as a sophomore than as a freshman, but it can still improve.  And it has.  She has lost in the neighborhood of 25 pounds and looks much more toned.  Her game would also benefit greatly from a pull-up jumper.  When she drives to the basket, she always goes all the way to the rim.  If she can develop a pull-up shot, she will be almost impossible to defend. 

Banks is the team’s most intense player.  Physically, she is the most gifted player on the team.  She is quick and athletic.  She does not have a consistent jump shot but her other basic skills are solid.  Janese is the team’s top individual defender and has given some of the top players in the league fits.  She’s an aggressive penetrator with the ball and succeeds in drawing many fouls.  The downside of that is that she can get out of control and force shots.  That reflects her biggest weakness.  Developing a reliable jump shot would make her better, but she will not be as good as her talent allows until she learns to play under emotional control.  She is not a selfish player but she does not make the best decisions for her team when she is trying to carry them. 

If Banks can mature and Anderson continues to improve, this should be one of the conference’s top duos.  They’re going to need to since behind them are questions.  Sophomore Christine Spencer will likely be the third player in the rotation.  She did not show anything as a freshman that would indicate that she was capable of being more than a minor player in the Big 10.  Freshman Maria Dunham can also play the three, but she will get a look at power forward also. 

Posts:  It’s easy to focus on point guard when listing the needs of the 2006 Badgers, but decent play in the post isn’t far behind.  Stone will have five players competing for minutes and only one of them has established that she is a bona fide Big 10 player.  Danielle Ward will be the post who gets the most attention.  In her first two years, she showed great athleticism and energy.  She has good hands and a nice touch around the basket.  But her fundamentals are not good and that has hurt her.  Her footwork on defense is not good and that results in her reaching which leads to fouls.  She also has not learned to stop swinging her arm when she tries to block a shot.  Again, that leads to fouls.  If she can improve her fundamentals, she could develop into one of the league’s better players.  If she doesn’t she will likely not get much better.  She averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds coming off the bench as a sophomore.  Those are decent numbers and should get better if she starts.  How much better is the question. 

The other posts will be freshman Mariah Dunham, Brittany Heins, jc transfer Ivana Mijalcevic and soph Caitlin Gibson.  Dunham easily has the most potential of that group.  She’s 6’3, moves well and has an excellent all-around game.  She frequently brought the ball up court for her high school team and led her team in assists as well as scoring, rebounding and blocks.  She also has a body that is close to being ready for the Big 10.  If she can step in and contribute immediately, it would allow Wisconsin to put its strongest team on the court. 

If she can’t, one of the others will have to step up.  Mijalcevic had a solid junior college career and should have a more developed game than the freshmen.  Her numbers are not eye-popping but she does have a good all-around game and has the ability to step outside and hit a three or post up on the low blocks.  Gibson has some potential but she remains a project.  Her freshman season was very much 2 steps forward and 1 7/8 steps back.  She needs a lot of conditioning and strength training.  She does enter her sophomore season in better physical shape, but she’s still got a way to go.  Gibson’s fundamentals are not very good.  She does not post up strong and doesn’t move well.  On the other hand, she has soft hands and a nice touch around the basket.  How much she contributes will depend on how much she has improved over the summer. 

Heins is a real unknown.  The All Star Girls report ranked her as the 115^th best player in the country last year.  That should indicate a player who can contribute to a Big 10 team.  Other rankings have not put her among the top 25 seniors in Iowa last year.  Stone has to distribute 80 minutes among these five and Heins will have an opportunity to earn some.  At this point, anything she contributes will have to be considered a bonus. 

Summary:  This will be a huge season for Stone and the Badgers.  Another sub-.500 season and the school may well be looking for a new coach next year.  That would be too bad.  Stone is not a bad coach.  She is inexperienced in Division 1 and many of her mistakes stemmed from that fact. 

It should not be a bad year.  Things are in place for this to be a true turn-around season for the program.  If Gant and Dunham can step in and contribute immediately, and both are capable of that, the starting line-up would be:  Gant, Anderson, Banks, Ward and Dunham.  That would be the most talented group that Wisconsin has put on the floor since Jessie Stomski and Tamara Moore graduated.  But the players have to improve individually and the team has to learn to win.  It’s not easy, but it can be done and if Stone wants to build a program she has to.   

The team has a favorable schedule and the Big 10 is definitely as weak as it has been in years.  The talent to be a decent Big 10 is there.  It’s now up to the coaches to develop and teach the players.  

A very weak non-conference schedule is going to make earning a bid to the NCAA tournament very difficult.  But this team should win at least 17-18 games and play in the WNIT.  With no seniors, they will then be in a position to make another jump in 2007. 

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