Women's Basketball Preseason Notebook
October 21, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 21, 2009
By Bobby Hundley, UNC Athletic Communications
The North Carolina women's basketball team hit the court for the first time this fall Friday night for some dancing and a light scrimmage at the annual Late Night With Roy event, but the first official practice came a day later when the Tar Heels gathered at the Smith Center.
It was the first practice of a shortened week that was capped by an early-morning workout Wednesday before the university's fall break. The team will go its separate ways until Sunday, when the group will get together for an evening session.
Patience Key Early: With the largest freshman class in recent memory making up one-third of the Carolina roster, head coach Sylvia Hatchell knows that there will be some growing pains. But don't expect that to be an excuse, as she has great expectations for this team.
"You just have to be more patient, but realize that with patience comes great rewards, especially with a group like this," Hatchell said of the freshmen Monday. "They are paying attention, they are learning fast, they've already improved in three days. It's fun to work with a group like this."
Keeping it simple early on, Hatchell says, is the best way to approach such a young team.
"Repetition, fundamentals, just realizing that they are going to make some mistakes. We're very athletic, it's just going to take some time."
Spark Still There: Now in her 24th season in Chapel Hill and 35th overall in college basketball, Hatchell shows no signs of wearing down or burning out.
"I could hardly even sleep Saturday night because when you have a young group like this with so much potential, the anticipation of working with them and watching them get better, especially when they have such a good attitude and are working so hard," Hatchell said.
Size And Length Could Be A Major Factor: With four of the five freshman checking in at 6-feet or taller and all but three players on the roster at least 5-10, size looks to be a major asset of the 2009-10 Tar Heels.
"We've had some tall teams, but I'm not sure we've had one like this," Hatchell said, mentioning that the 1994 NCAA title squad compared with size in the form of Sylvia Crawley, Gwendolyn Gillingham and Charlotte Smith. "Especially as athletic as this team is, this group can move, they can go. This would have to compare with any of them we've had in the past."
Throughout the preseason, TarHeelBlue.com will bring you updates on the Carolina women's basketball team as it prepares for the 2009-10 season. The Tar Heels will begin game action on Nov. 5 with an exhibition against Francis Marion.