Brenda Frese saw the warning signs throughout last season. The defending national champions weren’t doing the little things and the Maryland women’s basketball coach kept hoping the veteran team would realize it.
It never happened as the Terrapins exited with a stunning second-round knockout.
“There’s a lot of hidden lessons from last season,” said Frese Monday, “for anyone to understand success at any age. We’re teaching 17- to 23-year-olds not to read your press clippings with all the success they had. To their credit, they just used it to inspire and motivate themselves. It has been one of the best preseasons we’ve had.”
With four returning starters from the 2005 national titlist, Maryland opens tomorrow with an exhibition against the U.S. National Team. The early nonconference schedule includes defending champion Rutgers and powerhouse Oklahoma.
The Terps are rated among the nation’s top five and ACC favorite over nemesis Duke and North Carolina. They still have standout frontcourt players in Crystal Langhorne, Laura Harper and Marissa Coleman and point guard Kristi Toliver, who will forever be remembered for her long-range 3-pointer that sent the title game into overtime.
It’s a powerhouse that added the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class, but returning to hunger of 2005 is most important. Women’s basketball now has more than a handful of contenders and a gap that’s narrowing between the top and bottom.
It’s the enemy within the Terps must first defeat. Frese only hopes last year proves that point to players.
“You always get a feel and grasp of your team,” she said. “There were different signs in how you come into the preseason. How’s the work ethic is like? What the day to day practice is like. There were a lot of indicators out there [last year].”
Frese has her own March Madness ensured — twins due March 11. Right between the ACC and NCAA tournaments, though she expects to deliver early.
Night owl status has been surrendered to 9 p.m. bedtimes and some recruiting handled by assistant coaches. Frese’s travel schedule come January will be evaluated every two weeks so assistants may take over for late-season road games. Fortunately, the Terps have only trips to Duke and N.C. State in the final month while Maryland hosts the NCAA Tournament’s first round.
“If you could plan a pregnancy, we would have planned it awhile ago,” said Frese, who married in 2005. “The No. 1 thing is we wanted to have a family. I fully expect [to be out a short time after delivery], but I want to get back to the team and season as soon as I can.”
So what does she want — forwards or guards?
“Probably develop our backcourt first,” she said with a wink.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
