Syracuse women’s basketball coach Marianna Freeman began talking about SU’s opponent at Tuesday’s practice. Still, she remained unsure of who would take the floor for her own team.

Freeman said Tuesday she still hasn’t decided on a starting lineup for Friday when the Orangewomen open play against Siena in the preseason WNIT.

‘No starting lineup has been established,’ Freeman said. ‘It’ll probably be like when I came out on the floor for our exhibition game (last Thursday). I’ll make the decision right at the last moment.’

That 83-71 victory over Team Concept Inc. featured a starting lineup of Julie McBride, Shannon Perry, Rochelle Coleman, Tierra Jackson and Maja Omanovic. Those same five scrimmaged together during yesterday’s practice.

But Freeman insisted that fact is meaningless. While McBride, Perry and Coleman are considered probable starters, the status of both Jackson and Omanovic remains uncertain. Each said she has received no indication from Freeman whether or not they will start.

‘She hasn’t told any of us anything about starting,’ Jackson said. ‘She’s basically just told everybody that we have to work hard in practice, and we’ll play.’

Though playing against considerably bigger and stronger players, Jackson impressed with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds against Team Concept. Omanovic had two points and three rebounds in 13 minutes.

Junior-college transfer April Jean played 29 minutes off the bench while replacing Omanovic. She scored eight points and had two rebounds.

‘April Jean came in and gave us quality minutes,’ Freeman said. ‘She’s progressed further then we had anticipated.’

If the 5-foot-10 Jean replaces Omanovic, SU’s starting lineup would lose six inches. But SU might need a smaller and quicker unit on the court to counteract Siena’s athleticism.

‘They’re a good team, they’re a veteran team,’ Freeman said. ‘We have to come out with a bang.’

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Sidelined

Freeman does know three players who won’t start. Marchele Campbell, Awa Diop and Chineze Nwagbo won’t even play.

Campbell is a three-point ace who is forced to sit out the entire year for academic reasons.

Diop’s condition has yet to be diagnosed, but it made her very weak and caused her to collapse because of dizziness at practice last week.

‘She’s still day-to-day,’ Freeman said. ‘She’s feeling pretty good, but she’s still day-to-day.’

Diop, a 6-foot-4 transfer from Western Nebraska Community College, was the nation’s top-ranked junior-college center in last year.

Nwagbo, a junior, tore her anterior cruciate ligament in last year’s Big East tournament win over West Virginia. She has been rehabbing all offseason, and during her time off the court has participated in a lifting regimen to improve upper-body strength.

Nwagbo is expected to run with the team this week and begin playing around mid-December.

Freeman takes an optimistic view about not having her projected starting center healthy at the season’s outset.

‘This is a whole new year,’ Freeman said. ‘We’re a team without her. It’s not like we lost her. It’ll be great when we get her back, but we can’t look at ourselves as disadvantaged.’

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Inside and out

Last season, SU lived outside the three-point line, relying on deep jumpers to win games.

The Orangewomen attempted about 17 three-pointers a game last year.

This year, Freeman is focusing on an inside-outside offense.

‘We are a much more balanced team this year,’ Freeman said. ‘We will probably get points from the inside, which is something we haven’t had in a very long time, and from the outside. Last year, we were strictly a perimeter-shooting team. This year, we have a few more weapons. I really like the makeup of this team offensively.’

Freeman is working to make sure her vision is realized. Every forced outside shot at practice is followed by Freeman instructing her team to be patient, look inside and get a high-percentage shot. Sometimes, she even demands 10 push-ups from every player.

Freeman also tells her team, ‘We don’t need saviors,” implying that instead of pulling up for three when SU needs points, she wants the Orangewomen to find better shots.

The Orangewomen have players with enough versatility to play in a multiple-threat offense. Jean can play anywhere but point guard. Coleman, a sophomore forward, has an outside touch and toughness to score in the post. Perry came off the bench to play every position last year.

‘This year, we should be a well balanced team, inside and out,’ Omanovic said. ‘We’re not just perimeter or just inside, but we have good players on both ends, so it should be a balanced team.’

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This and that

Friday’s game will be the SU debut for new assistant coach Jennifer Bednarek, who most recently compiled a 45-65 record as the head coach at Maryland-Baltimore County. … McBride was named to the preseason All-Big East second team. … Syracuse’s recruiting class was ranked No. 15 in the nation. … The Orangewomen have placed high expectations on themselves this season, with McBride forecasting a Top 25 finish. But the Big East coaches have selected the Orangewomen to finish ninth in the 14-team conference.

Published on November 12, 2002 at 12:00 pm