New faces abound for UAB women's basketball team

The UAB women’s basketball team will feature plenty of new faces this season, but that’s not scaring fourth-year head coach Randy Norton.

“We’ve got eight players that have never played college basketball before, but the thing that is exciting is that they are very talented and very coachable,” Norton said.

Many of those eight, including seven true freshmen and redshirt freshman Bailee Wolfe, will be counted on to contribute immediately. Micah Scheetz and Imani Johnson each started the season opener, with three others (Miyah Barnes, Rachael Childress and Angela Vendrell) making their debuts early on.

“Some people might look at it as difficult, but we see it as exciting because we’ve spent a lot of time with these recruits,” Norton said. “They are talented. They are young, but they’re learning fast and on a daily basis. That is the exciting thing about it.”

The budding talent is obvious.

Scheetz is a two-time Miss Basketball winner in the state of Tennessee, was a finalist for the award an additional time, and led the Webb School of Knoxville to a pair of state championships. The Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame named her the 2016 Female Athlete of the Year. She averaged 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 2015-16 as she finished second on the program's all-time scoring list with 2,303 points.

Johnson was an all-district selection in high school. Katelynn Thomas, a graduate of local Shades Valley High School, averaged 12 points, with six rebounds and three blocks per game for a state championship team.

Childress was a knockdown shooter from deep in high school, and burst onto the scene with a dominant performance in the three-point contest at UAB’s preseason event, Hoops on the Green, defeating Nick Norton of the men’s team.

Barnes was a three-time all-district player at Central High School in Memphis, Tennessee, and made an appearance on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays with a halfcourt shot in the Blazers’ exhibition contest against Tuskegee. She was named Conference USA Freshman of the Week after scoring 14 points per contest in her first two collegiate games.

Lea Kerstein scored over 1,000 points in her high school career at Montini Catholic High School in Illinois. Vendrell comes to the Blazers from Alicante, Spain.

Deanna Kuzmanic was one of those highly touted freshmen just a season ago, and has quickly transitioned into one of the team’s leaders after a strong campaign last winter, averaging 12 points per game, tops of all conference freshmen.

“It’s definitely a big change,” she said. “But coming in as a freshman, I had seven seniors teaching me the way and that is what I am trying to do for these seven freshmen.”

Kuzmanic sunk a team-high 74 three-pointers a season ago, sixth most in UAB history. But she has made a pointed effort to round out her game.

"I've definitely tried to improve my mid-range shot a lot," she said. "With the three, a lot of times you can either live or die by it but it's not going to be there every game. I'm really trying to create for other players as well while working on my mid-range."

Norton understands that with this young group – much like in traditional school -- one style does not fit all. Some pupils are better for suited for more individualized teaching, while others grasp concepts more quickly.

“The basketball court is our classroom and everybody learns a little differently,” Norton said.

On the court, Kuzmanic can pass along an abundance of knowledge learned through her initial college experience.

“The intensity of the game at the college level and how long the season is and how important it is to take care of your body throughout the season,” she said of the things she has conveyed to this year’s newcomers.

Kuzmanic admitted that she has ‘wow’ moments regularly while practicing alongside the freshmen.

“Every day I see something new in them and it’s exciting to see it come out,” she said.

While the younger group should form a strong core in the years to come, the upperclassmen for the Blazers will certainly play a big role during the 2016-2017 season.

Whytney Singleton and Keonna Farmer each were penciled into the starting five to begin the year, and Janeka Williams, Kara Rawls and T’erra Lewis each saw action in UAB’s season-opening tournament in Chicago.

“Between (Kuzmanic), the juniors, and our one senior (Williams), they understand what we have to get done everyday in practice. Their leadership has been enormous for us,” Norton said.

He continued, “I think that our team is just going to evolve as the season progresses. We are going to get better week by week, game by game.”