Tag: Women’s sport

TBT: Opal Jenna O’Hea on leadership, mental health advocacy

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A veteran of an Olympic campaign and two WNBL championships, Jenna O’Hea is now one of the senior figures in Australian womens’ basketball.

O’Hea spoke to The CEO Magazine from the Gold Coast, where she is part of an Opals training camp ahead of the FIBA Women’s World Cup and Olympic qualifiers to take place later this year.

A couple of months after the WNBL season wrapped up, O’Hea says the first training session of the reconvened team was “not so great” but the players had now shaken off the off-season rust and settled into a groove.

“Everyone is excited to be back,” she says. “At first there was a lot of turnovers and people just finding their way in the offence. But now, (we’ve) calmed down a bit and we’re getting a lot out of it.”

O’Hea’s off-season has involved much more than just hitting the gym and working on her jumper; she has thrown herself into community work in the break.

O’Hea on her work with mental health groups: “It’s been amazing”

Post-match interviews are often fairly routine affairs as out-of-breath players lament that they didn’t shoot better or vow to hit the boards harder next game.

An interview that O’Hea did after one game last season went somewhere else entirely, however. As tears streaked down her face, she talked about how her family had been going through a tough time after her uncle had recently taken his own life.

The rawness and honesty struck a chord with many and the tragedy prompted O’Hea to become involved in mental health advocacy. In the final WNBL round, she drove a leaguewide initiative to team with Lifeline and raise awareness and funds for the charity.

She was also named one of the Lifeline Community Custodians, an initiative with the Australian Institute of Sport that involves athletes from different sports coming together to raise awareness of mental health issues.

Last week, O’Hea travelled to Sydney with 15 of the other custodians to get to know each other and undertake training.

“It’s been amazing,” O’Hea says. “To learn how we all came to be in the Community Custodians program, it was an extremely emotional day.

“Everyone goes through things and battles differently, to learn all about that was amazing. Now we can take that and share it with the community and really be a positive force in the community for mental health awareness.

“I can’t wait for the next 12 months to see how we can help the community and make a difference.”

Sports becoming more cognisant of mental health issues

O’Hea first entered professional basketball ranks as a lanky young wing at the Australian Institute of Sport in the 2003/04 WNBL season. She says that the sport has become far more aware of mental health issues during her time in the game. Opals players now have access to mental health resources if they need them, especially after tournaments and during injury recovery when some players can feel low.

She says that high-profile athletes such as NBA champion Kevin Love speaking out about their mental health battles have been hugely important.

Closer to home, many involved in elite sport, such as Lauren Jackson (O’Hea’s Assistant General Manager at the Melbourne Boomers) and WNBL Head Sally Phillips have talked openly about their own struggles with anxiety.

“There is a stigma around mental health and we need to constantly try to decrease that,” O’Hea says.

“That will just continue to improve as it is spoken about more. It’s constantly a work in progress.”

On leadership

Widely admired around the league for her work ethic and ability to contribute on both ends of the floor, O’Hea has a real den mother demeanour during games, constantly encouraging and calming teammates.

She seems a natural choice to lead teams and last year, she captained a star-studded Opals team to a silver medal at the World Cup.

“I love it,” she says of the leadership role. “It’s something that really suits me. I want to help the younger players as much as I can because I got a lot of really good help when I was young.

“We have a lot of really talented young stars and being able to help them fit in and teach them the offence, it’s been a great experience for me.”

Teammate Ezi Magbegor is headed for the WNBA

One of the Opals’ youth brigade is 19-year-old Ezi Magbegor, a teammate of O’Hea’s both at the Melbourne Boomers and in the Opals set-up.

Magbegor was recently picked 12th in the WNBA draft by O’Hea’s former team, the Seattle Storm. O’Hea says she is excited to see the youngster’s career develop and believes she is starting to feel comfortable at professional level.

“She’s becoming a lot more confident,” she says of Magbegor.

“When I first got in Opals camp with her, she was very quiet and very softly-spoken whereas now she’s coming out of her shell a lot more.

“She’s an absolute sponge. She wants to learn and she just picks things up very quickly. Then when she picks things up it helps with her confidence.”

Originally published in The CEO Magazine.

Maddy Rocci is “super excited” to return to the champion Capitals

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Maddy Rocci was one of the league’s big improvers in season 2019/20, emerging as a committed, high energy perimeter defender and a resourceful passer.

Having played just under six minutes in game three of the 2019 grand final, the 22-year-old guard earned 37 minutes in this year’s decider.

She recently re-signed with the University of Canberra Capitals for a tilt at a rare three-peat.

Along with Rocci, Marianna Tolo, Kelsey Griffin, Keely Froling, Alex Delaney and Abby Cubillo have all committed to another year. It makes for a level of continuity that Rocci believes will give the group a running start.

“It’s always good to try and keep a core group together,” she tells The Evening Game. “It’s hard playing with players you haven’t played with before and it takes you a while to get rolling.  

“Having the six of us return is super exciting. We know how each other plays, how we train and we know how to work hard.

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Rocci is currently based in Brisbane, having moved north expecting to work at a local school and play in the WNBL1 over winter. With that competition scrapped, she has been doing individual training with a coach and has recently been allowed back into basketball courts.

Having watched former teammate Olivia Epoupa diligently arrive before training to fine-tune her ball-handling, Rocci is now focusing on this skill, along with three-point shooting. Her long-range percentage has already improved steadily; she made only one of 12 three-pointers in her rookie year, jumped to 32.6% in year two and put up 36.1% last year while taking twice as many shots from the previous season.

Further honing these guard skills will serve her well in a campaign where there will be no imports and the Capitals will be adjusting to life without Epoupa and reigning MVP Kia Nurse. Both were high-usage players and focal points of the team’s attack; they took a combined 69 shots over the two grand final games. Their absence will likely mean Rocci is tasked with more a scoring responsibility.

It’s a challenge she is up for. “You can’t replace such great talent,” she says of the pair. “But I’m looking to step up, take on a bigger role season and really develop my game”.

One other player looking to fill that void will be new signing Tahlia Tupaea, a close friend of Rocci’s.

Rocci believes she will alternate between the one and two alongside the similarly versatile Tupaea, a former teammate in Australian youth teams. “Gorrie (coach Paul Gorris) said I’d play a bit more of the one (next season), which is super exciting because I’ve always been a point guard until recently.

“To be able to play (both guard positions) is something I’ve always wanted. I don’t want to be a player who can only play one position.”

MADDISON (MADDY) ROCCI 2019/20 STATS:

Points per game = 9

Effective field goal % = 47.5%

Assists per game = 2.3

Assist/turnover ratio = 1.1

WNBL#20: Where is the league at, 40 years in?

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When Adelaide Crows co-captain Erin Phillips lifted the AFLW champion’s trophy aloft in front of more than 50,000 fans, the Australian women’s basketball fraternity could have been forgiven for viewing the moment with a bittersweet pang. The triumph was the apex of a remarkable cross-code transition by one of the best Australian basketballers of her generation, but the headlines and record-breaking crowds would have been foreign to many involved in Phillips’ old WNBL stomping ground.

Continue reading on The Saturday Paper

Lauren Jackson and Carrie Graf: two legends discuss #WNBL20

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Lauren Jackson and Carrie Graf are two of the greatest winners in WNBL history. Talking to this site at the launch of the league’s historic 40th season, they reflected on the past, present and vibrant future of the competition.

 

Jackson’s first memory of the league is a quirky one; she saw Trish Fallon on a current affairs show training to throw down a slam dunk. “I’ll never forget this,” Jackson recalls. “I was just a young girl, but I remember at the time West Coast Wine Coolers was a sponsor of the WNBL and they had put $10,000 on the table for the first woman to dunk it.”

Jackson was only 12 or 13 when she saw this forgotten chapter of league history and became intrigued by the world of professional basketball. Remarkably, she and Fallon would share the league’s MVP award just a few years later.

Today, she retains that initial excitement towards the sport, the fire that fuelled a storied career, including five championships with the University of Canberra Capitals and a stunning triumph with the youthful AIS squad.

Looking ahead to WNBL20, she is excited to see Perth Lynx import Imani McGee-Stafford in action. “She’s going to be very exciting and a big player in this league. She would have been able to mix it with Lizzie (Cambage).

“Then there’s the Opals – Abby Bishop is back in our league. There’s a lot of great people that are out here and hopefully that will take us to great places.”

For her long-time coach, six-time WNBL champion Carrie Graf, silky Canadian Kia Nurse is a firm favourite. Graf says the returning Capitals standout reminds her of Alana Beard, the WNBA all-star she coached as part of the 05/06 Capitals side. “They’re pure athletic talents,” she enthuses. “They can break peoples’ ankles with their ability to change direction on a five-cent piece.”

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On Opals and imports

Graf believes imports have added an extra element of flair to the league over the years. “I think their passion for the game is exciting to watch,” she says.

“Sometimes, the Aussie players tend to hold back in showing that, but the US imports tend to be more overt when they make a big play and I think that’s entertaining. But I look back at some Aussie athletes who did bring that; Tully Bevilaqua was a classic. When she came home from playing in the WNBA, she thought: ‘You know what? It’s fun to celebrate the big plays and get the crowd engaged’.”

Graf is also heartened to see many of the Opals squad members playing domestically. “They’re legit world stars…they set the standard for how Australians play: gritty defence, intelligent, hard-working and with a fair amount of flash.”

Coach Carrie on WNBL’s 40th season

The master coach, cutting a dapper figure in a blazer and a black broad-brimmed hat, sees the upcoming competition as even and difficult to predict. She does, however, particularly like the chances of her old team, the University of Canberra Capitals, and the battle-tested roster assembled by new franchise Southside Flyers.

She believes the game’s analytics-fuelled evolution towards ‘pace and space’ basketball will continue, with teams looking to run and seeking out either lay-ups or three-pointers. “The mid-range game has been lacking in basketball in general,” she notes.

“But trends in the sport can shift and if a team is a successful with a strong mid-range game, that will shift a whole league.”

Whatever the stylistic differences from her coaching era may be, Graf sees the current crop of players as historically good.

“The depth of talent across the league is probably the best it’s been in the past decade,” she says.

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A new role for the GOAT Jackson

Jackson emphatically says she is loving her new role as Head of Women’s Basketball. She is proud to have all games livestreamed this year and believes that the ongoing relationship with Fox Sports as well as an injection of new staff, including a newly appointed Chief Marketing Officer, will help achieve the visibility she sees as the lifeblood of the league.

“There’s definitely challenges, no doubt. Business is so different to being an athlete; dealing with people on that level is very different. But I love being part of the league again and working towards something that I’m so passionate about.”

The future

Both Graf and Jackson are in favour of an expanded competition at some point. Graf says a Brisbane team makes sense, but also nominates Newcastle as a “really intriguing” location for a new franchise.

Jackson notes there were discussions about a ninth team last year and is hopeful the WNBL can scale up. “We’ve just got to make sure that we’re a sustainable league and teams that come in are also sustainable so they can keep moving forward with the league.”

“We’re in a really good place,” Jackson concludes. “We may not be as visible as AFLW or whatever, but we are working towards getting there.

“I think we’re on the cusp of something really exciting. We’re getting all the pieces together and then we’re just going to keep growing.”

Header image credit: &DC from Coulsdon, Gtr London

#WNBL20: notes from a historic season launch

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In the genteel surrounds of Old Parliament House, the WNBL launched its 40th season. The Evening Game was there to soak up the occasion and quiz some of the competition’s key players on the upcoming campaign.

Defending champions start as favourites

With Kia Nurse, Marianna Tolo and reigning MVP Kelsey Griffin all back on board, the University of Canberra Capitals’ squad retains plenty of its championship lustre heading into #WNBL20.

By the time last year’s finals rolled around, the Capitals were less a team with momentum than a basketballing avalanche, but there was still a genuinely challenging moment for them after losing game two of the finals. The match saw them endure one of the most dramatic and heartbreaking defeats in a WNBL decider. Coach Paul Goriss gives an insight into how they picked themselves up after it.

“It wasn’t so much the physical fatigue, it was more mental fatigue,” he explains. “I won’t hide the fact that it took us a full day to get over the hurt and pain of that loss. But I think that’s what drove us in game three. We wanted to make amends.”

Nicole Seekamp’s last-second game-winner forced the first finals game three in WNBL history, but the setback had a silver lining for Gorris’ team. “It gave us the opportunity to come back home and win it in front of our home crowd, which was really important to us.”

Goriss believes every WNBL team have improved their squad since last year but that his team is well-equipped despite losing two of the league’s all-time great point guards in Leilani Mitchell and Kelly Wilson. “There’s not a replacement for those two, but it’s about getting the next best player we can,” he says. 

“Their experience and knowledge of the league is a huge loss but we’ve got Olivia Epoupa coming in and she’s played in big games in Europe and for France in the Olympics and World Championships.”

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Bendigo Spirit: killers on the road?

Diminuitive point guard Tessa Lavey inspired baffled laughter through the grand Old Parliament House members’ room when she revealed the Spirit had been playing “the murder game” on a recent pre-season road trip.

“It’s really fun,” she told The Evening Game, outlining the rules, which see players draw either a V (for victim) or an M (for murderer) out of a hat and then plot to figure out the assigned killer.

On-court, the Spirit promise to be just as fun, if a little less murder-y. The whippet-like Lavey is made for up-tempo basketball and says she opted for a return to Bendigo partly for the run and gun offence new coach Tracy York plans to implement.

“We’re going to try to lead from our defence, make sure we get in the lanes, make teams do something different and then just run,” Lavey says. Expect full-court presses and fast-break points galore.

Small-ball line-ups are also likely to be part of the M.O, with Lavey likening their new offence to the multiple-guard groups York oversaw as assistant coach of the Adelaide 36ers.

She anticipates playing long minutes alongside Kelly Wilson. “I think we’ll play a lot of swing one-two, where whoever gets the ball runs the play and vice versa.” It looms as an, ahem, killer backcourt pairing.

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The Sydney-Canberra shuffle

Lauren Scherf has switched from the Capitals to the University of Sydney Flames, a transfer that should instantly improve the latter’s rebounding and second chance points tallies. These were two areas where they struggled mightily last season after the injury-enforced absence of Alex Bunton.

The Flames have a new coach (Katrina Hibbert) and a new look without retired leader Belinda Snell, but Scherf says they still have some of the DNA of the side that romped emphatically to a championship in 2016/17.

“There’s still a few girls there and they’re very hard-working and passionate, so it’s a good environment. ‘Froggy’ (Hibbert) brings a lot of energy and a good atmosphere to the team, so I think if we have a good spirit, we can really do well.”

Standing at 196cm (6”4), Scherf could be pigeonholed as an interior player, but she’s seen the recent trend towards more and more three-pointers reshape the game and doesn’t mind it one bit.

“I do love to shoot a three myself,” she laughs. “(Bigs) being able to spread the floor, it’s changing the game. It’s making this league and the international game ten times better.”

Suzy Batkovic on WNBL19, the evolution of the game and the 1999 AIS WNBL triumph

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Suzy Batkovic’s career achievements are staggering, reading like some basketball version of that old Christmas carol: seven WNBL all-star five appearances, six MVPs, five championships, four WNBL top shooter awards and three (should have been four) Olympic tournaments.

The sheer weight of numbers easily makes her case as one of the league’s all-time greats, but what the accolades don’t quite convey is the hunger and competitiveness that she brings every game and that have made her one of the great winners not just in the WNBL but in all Australian sport.

The finish line is now in sight with Batkovic announcing this will be her last campaign. But she says the thought of retirement is still “surreal” and won’t be front of mind during the season. “I think it will be more put on the back burner, and I’m just focusing on my job at hand,” she tells The Evening Game.

“I still have plenty to give. I still love the game, and I know that eventually, I’ll miss it. But for me, it’s just business as usual.”

Reflecting on the evolution of the league, Batkovic says the days of easybeat teams have passed and talent is now evenly spread. “You could go back quite a few years ago, and you had your top half, and your bottom half. There’s no game where (you think) ‘At least we’ve got this team, and we should be fine against them’. You’re battling every team. I think that’s great. That’s what we want the league to be like.”

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The virtue of stubbornness: “I didn’t want to be put in a box”

Batkovic has long been dominant around the rim, but her game is based on a lot more than simply muscling into the key. She has a soft touch from mid-range, an excellent passing game from the post and enough nous to inevitably get to her favoured left hand and preferred shooting spots.

Discussing the evolving game and a trend of bigs increasingly becoming three-point shooters, Batkovic says the best fours and fives have always had a broad skill set.

“If you look at Lauren (Jackson), she has always shot threes,” she says. ”Myself, if I’m wide open, I’ll take a three ball. Darcee Garbin – that’s one of her strengths. Ally Mallott is the same.

“I still have plenty to give. I still love the game, and I know that eventually, I’ll miss it. But for me, it’s just business as usual – Suzy Batkovic on her final season”

“Back in the day, I remember people used to say: ‘Oh, posts, you just shoot from in here (the paint) and I remember thinking: ‘No, I’m not doing that. I’ll be working on everything’. I didn’t want to be put in a box.

“I was lucky enough that I had coaches that allowed me to work on that aspect of my game. I was probably a bit stubborn. I didn’t want to just be a post player, I wanted to be capable of doing a bit of everything.”

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“Just a bunch of kids”: the historic 98/99 AIS WNBL champions 

Batkovic’s first WNBL championship came in one of the most remarkable teams in the last quarter-century of Australian sport; the AIS student athlete team of 1998/99. It’s difficult to think of a comparable victory to this team of teenagers, who were assembled as a purely developmental team and ended up powering to an elite professional title.

That squad was a once-in-a-lifetime collection of talent with Penny Taylor and Kirsten Veal in the backcourt, Belinda Snell spacing the floor and an imposing Batkovic-Jackson frontcourt. Batkovic says the team also had an ideal mentor in Phil Brown, now an assistant coach at the University of Canberra Capitals.

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“He was a tremendous coach,” Batkovic recalls. “We were basically just a bunch of kids and, if anything, he probably coached us at our toughest point, when we were all going through different things. Puberty and whatever else, growing up. He was just incredible, the way he handled us and there was a lot of respect there.”

Batkovic says she entered the AIS not knowing all the rules of basketball and having never heard of a five-man-weave. She left a much more polished player and a champion.

In Lauren Jackson’s ‘My Story’, she recalls a turning point in the season where the coach and players met and agreed to shift from a development team evenly sharing minutes into a group firmly set on the unlikeliest of championships. Batkovic also remembers that moment well. “We were just playing and enjoying it, but you didn’t really think, like, “Oh, wow, we could actually win this.” Batkovic says.

“(Brown) kept his composure and kept us composed. We connected really well and I think a lot of credit goes to him, the way he handled everything. He took the pressure off for us so we could just go out there and play.”

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A friendship with the GOAT

Batkovic will exit the game with a lot of friends across the league and beyond. Abby Bishop is a close mate. Lauren Jackson, an old AIS teammate, is another. “We went through a lot together,” Batkovic says of Jackson. “We did NSW Country (junior rep team) together, AIS, representing Australia together and then we played in the WNBA together. We got to know each other so well.”

The pair still talk or text every week. “Even though she’s retired, she’s still that person for me,” Batkovic says. “She’s still that close friend. We share a lot of memories together. Our friendship wasn’t just all highs though, we have had the lows together.

“When we were younger, we both had stubborn and strong personalities. It was like: ‘How do you deal with this person?’ But over time, it just sorted itself out, and we got to really know each other, and bonded.

“Now, I’m grateful to have played with the best female basketballer Australia’s ever seen. I’m very grateful for that.”

Header image credit: Bruce

WNBL19: University of Capitals coach Paul Goriss on Kristy Wallace signing and a new look team

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Speaking to this site after the 2016/17 WNBL season wrapped up, University of Canberra Capitals coach Paul Goriss reflected on some of the talented players that had come through the AIS when he coached there. Many of the youngsters he had worked with had become household names – Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum and Ben Simmons.

But there was one “very special player” he mentioned that was relatively unknown at the time – Kristy Wallace.

Since then, Wallace has further honed her craft at Division I program Baylor and played a starring role in Australia’s gold medal winning 2017 World University Games team.

She has also signed a two-year deal with the University of Canberra Capitals, reuniting with Goriss for her first professional basketball.

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‘Unleashing the beast’

Goriss says the intangibles Wallace brings immediately stood out when he coached her back in 2014. “There’s very few people that I’ve coached that have that drive and tenacity and want to get better,” he says.

“My first impression of her was someone that loves the game of basketball, wants to be the best that she can and goes about it with such a high work ethic.”

The 22-year-old Wallace will now need to call on all of that work ethic to overcome the ACL injury that brought her college career with the Baylor Bears to a premature end.

The team have no doubt she can make a full recovery, however. “We’d already spoken prior to her doing her ACL,” Goriss says.

“Whether she was injured or nor we started speaking to her very early on about coming back and playing WNBL.

“The knee injury was very unfortunate, but we’re standing by her because I know how valuable she will be to our group.”

After completing studies at the Texan college, Wallace is expected to arrive in Canberra around June, where she will undertake a full medical examination and the timeline for her return to court will become clearer.

Such a major injury requires a long and taxing rehabilitation program, though Goriss has a good-natured chuckle at the suggestion the team may look to ease her into the rotation when she returns.

“Mate, there’s no easing with her,” he says. “The thing will be us trying to stop her going full tilt at everything she does.

“We’ll throw her into the line-up depending on where she’s at medically and we’ll make sure all the boxes are ticked before she gets on court. But one thing we know with Kristy is this – as soon as we unleash the beast, the beast will be at 150%.

“There will be no stopping her, I’m sure, once she gets out there.”

Wallace’s fit on the team

Wallace’s ability as a scorer and distributor were a major part of why WNBA team Atlanta Dream drafted her in the second round and view her as a valuable long-term prospect. But her leadership and lionhearted defence are equally impressive parts of her game and led to her winning Baylor’s ‘Hustle and Courage’ award.

A long 5’11 guard who was a great floor general for Baylor, Wallace is seen as a combo guard by the team. Goriss says she will be a good fit alongside one of the team’s prized signings, Leilani Mitchell.

When coaching Wallace at National Under 19s level, Goriss played her in the backcourt alongside Flames prodigy Tahlia Tupaea, and says Wallace and Mitchell could form a similar switching 1-2 duo.“No one was a point guard or an off guard (in that team), it was whoever has the ball brings it up the floor and the other becomes a lane runner.

“We’re not going to pigeonhole Kristy into a role. She’s got unbelievable speed, so we want to enhance that, whether it’s the ball in her hands or not.

Goriss also believes Wallace’s ability to play as a primary ball-handler will free up Mitchell, a career .395 shooter from three-point range at WNBA level, to play off ball and function as more of a pure scorer.

On the defensive end, Goriss says Wallace has the length and athleticism to guard small forwards as well as guards. “Our league doesn’t really have too many threes that will really take you down and post you up. So, I think she can definitely guard a one, two or three.”


Goriss welcomed the retired Carly Wilson to the coaching staff last season. "Carly has a great basketball IQ" he says. Photo: Vanessa LamGoriss welcomed the retired Carly Wilson to the coaching staff last season. "Carly has a great basketball IQ" he says. Photo: Vanessa Lam

Goriss welcomed the retired Carly Wilson to the coaching staff last season. “Carly has a great basketball IQ” he says. Photo: Vanessa Lam

Big name players, big time expectations

Wallace, of course, isn’t the only big signing the University of Canberra Capitals have made. Marianna Tolo, Kelsey Griffin and Leilani Mitchell are all players who have been in MVP contention in this league before. Individually, each moves the needle. Collectively, they give the team a big three that has already got people talking about championships.

“We’re not going to shy away from that,” Goriss says. “We’ve recruited the team to make the top four and to push for a championship run. I think that kind of expectation is good to have.

“I also think we’ve got the right character within the group. Number one, they’re good people and number two, they’re good basketball players. They all want to play together, they want to make the team work and they’re invested in it”

Goriss concedes such a new-look team may take time to gel. “I guess that’s always one of the big challenges with a new group and unfortunately we’ve had to bring in the majority of our group over the last two seasons.”

Mitchell, Tolo and Griffin have all played for the Opals at various stages, where Goriss is an assistant coach. The Capitals will run some of the same offensive systems, meaning there is some inbuilt familiarity for the incoming or returning players.

The team still has a handful of roster spots to fill, including both import spots and Goriss says they are likely to bring in an import three, as well as a player to start at the two until Wallace can play. A big to fill in for Marianna Tolo, who also has an ACL injury, is also on their shopping list.

Goriss also reflected on the value of having club legend Carly Wilson as one of his assistant coaches last season. “Carly has a great basketball IQ,” he says. “It was difficult for her working a full-time job and then coming to practice and the games, but what she knows about the players and the WNBL was invaluable.

“She has that perspective of a newly retired player and can bring what it’s like out on the floor into the coaching seat. And she can relate to the players, that’s a great quality of hers.”

The homecoming: Marianna Tolo on her WNBL return to the UC Capitals

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With all-star five calibre stars in Leilani Mitchell and Kelsey Griffin already locked in, the University of Canberra Capitals have made an aggressive change of direction in the off-season. Their latest signing is one of the city’s favourite daughters, Marianna Tolo, returning after a year in Turkey.

Her stint with Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi was cut short by a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, but Tolo says it is good to be back anyway.

“It’s definitely nice to be home. You get to enjoy the little things you miss when you’re overseas.”

With the injury having occurred almost two months ago, Tolo has already progressed back into light track work and jumping and hopes to be running again in a month.


Tolo reunites with coach Paul Goriss. "I’m happy to play for him again," she says. "He’ll do everything to put the best team forward." Photo: University of Canberra.Tolo reunites with coach Paul Goriss. "I’m happy to play for him again," she says. "He’ll do everything to put the best team forward." Photo: University of Canberra.

Tolo reunites with coach Paul Goriss. “I’m happy to play for him again,” she says. “He’ll do everything to put the best team forward.” Photo: University of Canberra.

Having previously suffered the same injury in 2015, she says the recovery process is slightly smoother this time.

“I feel like I’ve got a better range of movement and I’m stronger.

“I’m also not as fearful because I’ve been through it before. I know what I can and can’t push, I know what to expect.”

A ruptured ACL brings with it one of the most gruelling rehabilitation processes of any sports injury, but Tolo is upbeat and enjoying  the familiar environment and high-level rehabilitation  facilities available in Canberra.

“I would prefer to (rehab) at the AIS over anywhere else in the world.

“I think we have the best facilities and the best staff and everything you need to help you through that process. I’m really grateful that I have the opportunity to do that.”

The University of Canberra Capitals have several more roster sports to fill, but there is already the core of a title contender in place and the tantalising possibility of a Mitchell/Tolo pick and roll being a staple of their offence.

The addition of Kelsey Griffin alongside Tolo in the frontcourt should also significantly bolster the team’s rebounding and ability to get second chance points, where they ranked only seventh and sixth respectively last year.

Tolo’s return also instantly improves the group’s ability to protect the rim. One of the WNBL’s elite shot blockers, she also holds the league record with a ludicrous 13 blocks in a single game.

Her impact off the court, however, may be as valuable her two-way contributions on it; in a previous interview with this site coach Paul Goriss described her as “irreplaceable” and “just amazing with the playing group.”

Her presence at training will likely be particularly beneficial for young bigs Lauren Scherf and Keely Froling, both aged 22 and already double-double beasts at SEABL level.

Tolo says she is more than happy to play mentor. “I’m a bit older now, and with that comes a bit of responsibility to try to help as many people as you can.

“I’ll be looking to help them get the most out of their experience and get a little bit better every day. I will try to push them at training and I’m sure they will push me as well.”


marianna_tolo_tweet.PNGmarianna_tolo_tweet.PNG

Admitting to some pangs of jealousy while keeping an eye on the WNBL from Europe last season, Tolo says the league is on an upwards trajectory with its return to television.

“I feel like more people were engaged and definitely more people were talking about it.

“I’m glad that we’re making progress and I look forward to more changes we can make and ways we can step forward even further.”

Her return may to the court may not be until late in the year, but Tolo is already looking past that and eyeing a return to the post-season for the UC Capitals.

“Hopefully, we’ll get back on track during this season and bring a championship back to Canberra.

“I would love to have that experience again, it’s been a long time.”

WNBL: Ezi Magbegor is your rookie of the year

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Before the 2017/18 WNBL season tipped off, Centre of Excellence alum Ezi Magbegor was widely expected to be the league’s leading rookie and her first season at pro level was no disappointment.

An improbably athletic big with an advanced feel for the game and an even-keeled temperament, she recorded averages of 6.6 points and 3.75 rebounds a game in less than 13 minutes of court time each night.

She found out that she had won the Betty Watson Rookie of the Year award when Lucille Bailie, a WNBL hall of famer and the acting University of Canberra Capitals GM, gave her a call. The win was empathic; Magbegor collected 41 of a possible 42 votes to take the award in a landslide, but humbly says there were a number of contenders for the prize.

“There were so many great rookies this year. Maddie (Rocci) was awesome, especially at the back end of the year when Nat (Hurst) didn’t play a couple of games and she really had to step up. So, it was a surprise, but it was definitely an honour as well.”


Ezi Magbegor collected 3.75 rebounds per game, but her rebounds per minute numbers were among the best in the league. (Photo: 5 Foot Photography)Ezi Magbegor collected 3.75 rebounds per game, but her rebounds per minute numbers were among the best in the league. (Photo: 5 Foot Photography)

Ezi Magbegor collected 3.75 rebounds per game, but her rebounds per minute numbers were among the best in the league. (Photo: 5 Foot Photography)

Magbegor also excelled as a rim protector, ranking seventh in the league in blocks. On a blocks per minute basis, however, she was truly elite, recording a rejection every 11.13 minutes, behind only Jen Hamson, who tallied a block every 10.61 minutes.

Beyond the counting stats, Magbegor considers her mobility her best attribute. “Being able to run the floor as a 4/5, I think my speed helps me counter the physicality” she says.

“I’m a bit smaller than the people I come up against, but I think being able to use speed and versatility in those battles in the post, that’s one of my stronger aspects.”

Despite Magbegor’s productivity, it was generally a trying year for the University of Canberra Capitals. Hamstrung by injuries, they endured a 13-match losing streak at one point before rallying to record five wins in their last six games, including a boilover against minor premiers Perth.

Magbegor says the team never hung their heads. “Not winning games could cause a team to get upset, but we really stuck together. I think that’s what was really good about our team.”

“Going to training and going on road trips, it was still fun. Instead of dwelling on the losses, the girls made it a good environment to be in.”

Magbegor says playing alongside Lauren Scherf and WNBA vet Mistie Bass accelerated her development. “They’ve been in different leagues for so long, they have great experience. I took on board whatever they had to say. Mistie was definitely a leader on court and if she saw anything she thought I needed to work on or that I could do better, she would speak up.”

Jordan Hooper also provided something of a template for Magbegor, who would often sub in for the Nebraska native. “That was a motivation for me, I always stepped in thinking I needed to be as focused as she was and play as hard as she was playing.”


Magbegor joins giants of the game such as Lauren Jackson, Laura Hodges and Abby Bishop as winners of the Betty Watson Rookie of the Year. (Photo: 5 Foot Photography)Magbegor joins giants of the game such as Lauren Jackson, Laura Hodges and Abby Bishop as winners of the Betty Watson Rookie of the Year. (Photo: 5 Foot Photography)

Magbegor joins giants of the game such as Lauren Jackson, Laura Hodges and Abby Bishop as winners of the Betty Watson Rookie of the Year. (Photo: 5 Foot Photography)

On joining the Capitals, Magbegor said she was relishing the opportunity to reunite with Paul Goriss, who had previously coached the Centre of Excellence squad when she was there. She says she appreciates his patient, encouraging approach. “I also enjoy his focus on individual performance, he really knows what you have to work on.”

Magbegor has signed with the Diamond Valley Eagles for the upcoming SEABL season. The UC Capitals would love to have her back for another campaign, though the lure of college looms large. Blue-chip programs like UCLA, UConn and Oregon are all reportedly interested in recruiting Magbegor, though she has been able to avoid getting caught up in the hype.

“My main focus was on the WNBL and not to stress over (college recruitment) or what I would do in the second half of the year. It was something I was able to put to the back of my mind.”

If she needs any advice on life as a college baller, she need look no further than brother Ovie, who has taken up a scholarship with the University of West Georgia.

“We talk quite a bit” Magbegor says of her sibling. “He found it a bit hard to adjust at the start because he went over not knowing anyone.”

“But he’s settled in now and I can just tell when I speak to him that he’s more comfortable. Now that the season has started, he’s enjoying the experience.”

 

WNBL18: Q & A with Townsville Fire coach Claudia Brassard

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Chasing a return to the grand final series after a semi-final exit last year, Townsville Fire have compiled a 9-5 record and have only lost to Sydney (once), Perth (twice) and Dandenong (twice).  


Townsville Fire captain Suzy Batkovic has put up 20 and 10 a game in another productive campaign.Townsville Fire captain Suzy Batkovic has put up 20 and 10 a game in another productive campaign.

Townsville Fire captain Suzy Batkovic has put up 20 and 10 a game in another productive campaign.

With the evergreen Suzy Batkovic again in MVP contention and the returning Cayla George helping out with both points and rebounds galore, the Fire are in second place as the league approaches its final leg. They have clamped down on sides in defence and have crashed the boards, leading the league in total rebounds. At their best, they have been brutal, walloping Adelaide by 42 and putting together a faultless 3-0 record against pre-season favourites Melbourne, Here, coach Claudia Brassard reflects on a mainly successful campaign to date, touches on the Fire’s deep rotation and sees room for improvement in her veteran squad.

It’s been something of an up and down season for Townsville, but is it fair to say that the Fire’s best has been as good as anyone’s?

Yeah, it’s definitely been a year where it’s hard not to be a bit up and down with the league being how it is. We have to travel the most, more than Perth even, the season goes 13 weeks and we’re on the road 10 of those. So, it’s been that little bit harder this year to be consistent week to week.

That leads into the next question. How have you dealt with the condensed schedule this year? Have you been tempted to use the second unit a bit more?

We prepared for it as best as we could, we’ve got some of the older players now, but we recruited for that and we definitely wanted to go ten deep. Other teams can get a bit weary. If you look at Sydney, they tend to play Katie-Rae (Ebzery) 38 minutes plus and at Dandenong, they are playing Steph (Blicavs) 38 minutes plus. Hopefully we can have a bit more depth and take advantage of that.

One thing Townsville are doing well is defence, conceding less than 70 points per game. But do you think there is even more improvement to come on that end?

Yeah, we would like to think so. But one thing that we’ve talked about is our defensive rebounding and we agreed that we need to do better there.

Perth Lynx are probably the team that have given you the most trouble this year. Do you see them as the main contenders at this point?

Yeah, I think so. They’ve been very tough. Nobody has really worked them out, have they? I think they’ve won nine in a row now and they’ve been very dangerous and obviously they have those very dominant guards.

Townsville were only seventh in fast break points last year, but are up to second this year and are also first in points from turnovers. Was this something that you specifically worked on?

It wasn’t something that we initially looked at, but I think that’s come about from how we put our roster together. We can defend and be really physical and put pressure on teams and we can go ten deep. We wanted to have that depth.

How have the two imports (Laurin Mincy and Sydney Wiese) done in terms of adjusting to the league and how it is officiated?

Their attitude has been great and they’ve fitted in really well, they’re definitely digging into some Australiana now. They’ve been great, in terms of attitude and working hard and buying in, so we’ve been really happy with them actually.

Townsville are only 7th this year in 3 point percentage. Is it a matter of not getting open looks or are the shots just not falling?

We certainly struggled at the beginning of the season with hitting those shots. At first, we just weren’t hitting them but we went back and looked at the videos and we felt that we did get good looks, but they just weren’t going down. Now, they are, thankfully. Hopefully that continues and that percentage can improve.

With some teams having fallen out of the finals race is there a danger of complacency when you come up against them?

Yeah, I think so. Both of those teams, Bendigo and Canberra, they actually have very solid starting fives. They’ve just had some unlucky things go against them and that’s why they’ve ended up on the bottom of the ladder. We spoke about that today, making sure we show up hungry and motivated every game –  otherwise, they will get ya. We’re coming up against Bendigo this weekend and we have to think about Adelaide first, we won’t get to train before we get to Bendigo.

But Bendigo is a bit of a danger game, they will have been sitting at home for five days waiting for us and we have to make sure that we are mentally ready and that we can adapt to their different style.

Zitina Aokuso has got fairly limited game time, but how have you see her growth?

She’s been great. The league’s getting bigger and teams have been trying to get players to combat Suzy (Batkovic). Certainly, that’s a big part of Zitina’s role – defending Suzy at training, bodying up on her and trying to beat up on her, she’s certainly done that. It’s been tough for her getting minutes with our roster, but she’s definitely learned a lot from our bigs. It’s been a pretty big learning curve for her, she only came to basketball late, but she’s taken it in stride.

How has the team found the return to television with Fox?

Look, I think it’s great for the sport. It’s great for the Townsville fans, they really love watching us on TV when we go on the road. So, I think it’s been good and hopefully it continues.


Oregon State alum Sydney Wiese has been a good fit for the Fire.Oregon State alum Sydney Wiese has been a good fit for the Fire.

Oregon State alum Sydney Wiese has been a good fit for the Fire.