Lady Shockers-2013-14 Edition: What will we look like and where will we be picked?

[flyingMoose]

I heard Assistant Coach Kirk Crawford has moved on to Texas Tech. I thought he was a nice addition. I haven't seen any official announcements, but I didn't see those when Guffey moved on either.

No announcement on the Tech site yet, but there is a new head coach who is putting together her staff (two announcements, so far), so Coach Crawford leaving is certainly plausible.

[oldtimewomen's hoopcoach]

No announcement on the Tech site yet, but there is a new head coach who is putting together her staff (two announcements, so far), so Coach Crawford leaving is certainly plausible.

My sources still give me accurate info. See below:

LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech women's basketball coach Candace Whitaker added to her inaugural staff Thursday with the hiring of Kirk Crawford as an assistant coach and Melissa Maines as the program's director of operations.

Crawford arrives at Tech after spending the 2012-13 season at Wichita State while Maines returns to her hometown and alma mater after spending 10 seasons in similar roles at both Florida and Auburn.

"We are excited to have Kirk and Melissa join our Lady Raider staff," Whitaker said. "They both bring a wealth of experience at the Division-I level and will complement the rest of our staff well. I believe both of them will help us continue to grow the tradition of Lady Raider Basketball."

In his one season at Wichita State, Crawford helped lead the Shockers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after claiming both the Missouri Valley regular season and conference tournament titles.

The Shockers ended the season with the most wins (24) and Missouri Valley Conference victories (15) in program history while also posting the school's best defensive scoring average all-time.

Crawford boasts over 30 years of coaching experience on both the men's and women's sides as he has also served stints at Drake (2011-12), Air Force (2008-10), Southern Mississippi (2004-08), Providence (2002-04), Portland State (2001-02), the University of Portland (1999-01) and Southern Utah (1996-99) among others.

In addition to his work on the collegiate level, Crawford has also assisted in the development of players from both the NBA and WNBA at the IMG Academy in Florida. He also served as a NBA scout in between his stints at Air Force and Drake.

A 1978 graduate of Western State College in Colorado, Crawford was a two-sport athlete with the Mountaineers, lettering in both basketball and baseball. He went on to play baseball professionally in the Oakland A's minor league system.

"Kirk is a tremendous asset on the floor with both game planning and player development," Whitaker said. "He adds strong midwest and international recruiting ties that will greatly benefit our program."

Maines, meanwhile, returns to Lubbock for her second stint as the program's director of operations as she also held the role from 1998-2000 before moving over to be Tech's regional director for women's athletics.

She remained in that position until 2002 when she joined the University of Florida staff as the assistant to head coach Carolyn Peck. From there, Maines moved to Auburn where she spent eight seasons as the Tigers' director of operations.

Maines earned her undergraduate degree in exercise and sport science from Tech in 1998 and then completed her masters in sports administration in 2001. She is the daughter of Steve and Debbie Maines. Steve Maines is currently the coordinator of events and facilities in the Tech athletics department.

"Melissa's Lubbock ties and contacts make this a special hire for Lady Raider Basketball," Whitaker added. "She has over 10 years of experience as a director of operations at the BCS level, so we are fortunate to have her on staff."

Crawford and Maines add to a staff that already includes assistant coaches Brett Schneider and Damitria Buchanan along with graduate assistant Layne Reeves.

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[1972Shocker]

Not sure what to think of Kirk moving on after only 1 year. Seems like a good guy. However, he doesn't seem to hang around very long at any of his stops. I wish him well.

I suppose the move to a Big 12 program is a step up in prestige.

[oldtimewomen's hoopcoach]

Not sure what to think of Kirk moving on after only 1 year. Seems like a good guy. However, he doesn't seem to hang around very long at any of his stops. I wish him well.

I suppose the move to a Big 12 program is a step up in prestige.

Two thoughts: Very tough to coach with the very demanding Jody and more money. Our assistants are on a peanut butter and jelly salary.

[mumdaddy316]

How are our ladies looking/doing during this summer. I hope they are putting in the work that needs to be done an that the upperclassman are teaching

[oldtimewomen's hoopcoach]

How are our ladies looking/doing during this summer. I hope they are putting in the work that needs to be done an that the upperclassman are teaching

I'm not able pop in as much as I did last year, but had a chance recently. Based on conditioning, Kelsey is in the best shape, Alex and Kelsey are in the best basketball shape as well. The big kid, Morgan, I believe is on her own program it appears as she is not in shape. The younger Dapprich can shoot, but is slow of foot. Ali has lost weight and it doesn't appear her knees are bothering her. I see a couple of guards with some quickness and aggressiveness, but have a long way to go. Michelle is Michelle, plays hard on every play. I can't even suggest what this team might look like. All I see is new faces and a lot of work to do to be able to compete in the MVC. Alex doesn't push herself very hard, but her game is solid as we would expect.

[mumdaddy316]

Recruiting for next year is going to be very interesting to watch,we need aggressive guards and some big 6'3,6'4 guards to get in that paint and bang. Far as this year I'm looking for bonner to be huge for us,need upperclassmen to handle their biz and lead by example

[WstateU]

Recruiting for next year is going to be very interesting to watch,we need aggressive guards and some big 6'3,6'4 guards to get in that paint and bang. Far as this year I'm looking for bonner to be huge for us,need upperclassmen to handle their biz and lead by example

"big 6'3,,6'4 guards"?

[oldtimewomen's hoopcoach]

Recruiting for next year is going to be very interesting to watch,we need aggressive guards and some big 6'3,6'4 guards to get in that paint and bang. Far as this year I'm looking for bonner to be huge for us,need upperclassmen to handle their biz and lead by example

Having some big bangers inside can help. With the new 10 second back court rule in women's basketball, I'm guessing we will be pressing like crazy. Hopefully we have at least one guard who can break the press and distribute the ball. Alex did this effectively. Time will tell. Last year it was easier to get excited this early. This summer is a mystery other than Michelle, Kelsey, Michaela and Alex. Ali didn't play long enough to know if she will be a factor.

[flyingMoose]

... the new 10 second back court rule in women's basketball ...

For those of us who were clueless,

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2013-06-24/ncaa-playing-rules-oversight-panel-approves-rules-updates-n

[1972Shocker]

Alex doesn't push herself very hard, but her game is solid as we would expect.

I think Alex is one of those athletes who plays harder than it looks, but they kind of just glide around the court. Plus if there is anyone on this year's team that we need to pace herself it's Alex. I anticipate she will be leaned on vrery heavily by Jody this year and will be playing a ton of minutes.

The one area I would like to see Alex improve on is her 3-point shooting.

[SubGod22]

It's about time they brought the 10 second count back. That's a lot of what makes the press effective and I never understood why they took it away.

[1979Shocker]

It's about time they brought the 10 second count back. That's a lot of what makes the press effective and I never understood why they took it away.

It was never really taken away. This is the first time a 10-second rule has been implemented for the women since the NCAA took over administering the women's championships over 30 years ago.

[oldtimewomen's hoopcoach]

I think Alex is one of those athletes who plays harder than it looks, but they kind of just glide around the court. Plus if there is anyone on this year's team that we need to pace herself it's Alex. I anticipate she will be leaned on vrery heavily by Jody this year and will be playing a ton of minutes.

The one area I would like to see Alex improve on is her 3-point shooting.

Alex plays very hard in games. I only saw this one practice and I have come to learn if you don't go hard beyond belief in practice, Jody's dog house is not far behind. Much of the new kids learning curve will be how hard lady Shockers train. Very tough!

[SubGod22]

It was never really taken away. This is the first time a 10-second rule has been implemented for the women since the NCAA took over administering the women's championships over 30 years ago.

Seriously? What the hell? I admit that I never paid much attention to women's basketball up until I knew a girl on the WSU team, but I'd thought it was something they'd change a few years back for some reason.

I hereby change my comment to it's about time the brought the 10 second count to the women's game. That a lot of what makes the press effective and I don't understand why they never had it. :D