Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Ten Days of A-Sun Basketball makes it back to the Music City for a look at the Lipscomb Lady Bisons. Last season Frank Bennett often sounded more like a medical doctor than the head coach of the Lady Bisons basketball team. Injuries and illnesses were both chronic problems for the squad all season long, contributing to a 6-21 record overall and a 5-15 finish in the Atlantic Sun Conference. After making two appearances in postseason play, including an A-Sun Tournament Championship and an NCAA berth in 2004 the Lady Bisons did not make the trip to Dothan, Ala., for the conference tournament.

Coach Frank Bennett on the Lady Bisons

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SEASON PREVIEW - (Courtesy Lipscomb Media Relations)

It was the worst season in terms of losses for Bennett, who is starting his 27th season as head coach of the Lady Bisons.

“We are at the bottom and we are moving up,” said Bennett. “We are trying to instill a positive environment and a winning attitude. When you have a difficult year like we had it is easy to follow bad habits. We want to rebuild a passion for the game. We have a lot of determination to have a better season. We don’t have any superstars on our team. It is a matter of team over self. We have to decide who is a 3-point shooter and then try to get that player open for her shot. We have to see who is good at posting and get them involved in the low post. We want the players that are good at driving to get in situations where they can drive to the basket. It is a matter of learning roles and being unselfish.”

The Lady Bisons were picked to finish eighth in a preseason poll of the A-Sun coaches and seventh by the media.

“I was a little surprised we were picked as high as we were because of the season we had last year,” said Bennett. “The A-Sun poll has never correctly predicted the champion in the league. We feel like we have a great chance to be competitive and to finish much higher in the league this year.”

Bennett has 13 players returning from last season, but that number quickly proved to be unlucky as junior forward Kaleigh Grossman will miss the season due to surgery to correct an injury sustained in preseason workouts. Ten of those returning players started at least one college game.

“We have emphasized individual responsibility,” said Bennett. “Our slogan is “If it is meant to be it is up to me.’ Each player can pick up her play a little bit. We have some experience and we want to try to put it to work. Each player has to do her job. We are also emphasizing internal leadership. We only have two seniors, but we have four fourth-year juniors. We have seen some really good signs. The players decided on their own to take a ropes course for team-building and team bonding. Our players have to be the kind of players their teammates can rely on off and on t he court. It is all about accountability.”

Read the full season preview

10 Days of A-Sun Basketball Schedule
Oct. 16 - Belmont
Oct. 17 - Campbell
Oct. 18 - ETSU
Oct. 19 - Gardner-Webb
Oct. 20 - Jacksonville
Oct. 23 - Kennesaw State
Oct. 24 - Lipscomb
Oct. 25 - Mercer
Oct. 26 - UNF
Oct. 27 - Stetson