Head coach Brenda Frese and players spoke to the media Monday.
Maryland women’s basketball held its media day Monday morning. Head coach Brenda Frese, as well as Maryland players, talked to the media ahead of Frese’s 23rd season in charge of the program.
Here are three key takeaways.
Integration of transfers
The Terps experienced an abnormal amount of roster turnover this offseason. As a result, Frese brought in seven transfers, many of whom are poised to be important parts of the team’s rotation in 2024.
Frese spent a lot of time addressing her excitement about her new portal additions, as well as the process of incorporating them into her team.
“For us it was being able to go after where we had some deficiencies last year,” Frese said. “You can see that with the size, the rebounding, the depth.”
Frese’s team looked undersized at times last year, particularly in their final game of the season in which Iowa State center Audi Crooks scored 40 points en route to eliminating them from the NCAA Tournament.
Four of the seven transfers joining the program are listed at 6-foot-2 or taller — including Amari DeBerry from UConn, who will be the team’s tallest player by far at 6-foot-6.
Adding this many new faces brings challenges at getting everyone on the same page. Frese and the players emphasized the importance of their summer offseason trip to Croatia.
“We spent this summer getting really comfortable with each other on and off the court,” Frese said. “Being able to have 10 practices, games and a ton of bonding in another country is a chance of a lifetime.”
Media day also presented the opportunity for players to share why they wanted to come to the Terps in the portal. It was Saylor Poffenbarger, who transferred from Arkansas, second time changing schools.
“This time in the portal I was seeking competition,” Poffenbarger, a former member of the SEC All-Freshman team at Arkansas, said. “I wanted to win, I wanted to be pushed everyday.”
DeBerry, meanwhile, cited Maryland’s culture.
“Coming in and just knowing that they’re about family, they’re about open communication, and they really mean it,” she said.
The Terps head into the fall and the start of their season with a plethora of new options, and it will be up to Frese and her staff to deploy the combination that will give them the best chance to win.
Veterans take on large responsibility
With so many new faces in the building, the team’s veteran presence as leaders is only magnified. Of the team’s five returners, three standout as the team’s core: Shyanne Sellers, Bri McDaniel and Allie Kubek.
“To have that core coming back to uphold our standard and uphold our leadership and our values is really, really important,” Frese said.
Kubek was outstanding in Maryland’s loss to Iowa State to end last season, scoring 29 points and going 7 for 8 from beyond the arc. McDaniel, a junior, is the youngest of this group, but is embracing her new role.
“I take it with shoulders high and tilting my crown,” she said. “It’s a great experience, being able to help the freshmen or even the new transfers.”
The Terps brought in three freshmen, who are in the midst of acclimating to Big Ten basketball. Frese spoke to the difficulties freshman have in the transfer portal era.
“Nationally, freshmen are fortunate if they play 10 minutes a game,” Frese said. “The biggest thing I’ve always said is you got to run your own race, and only worry about your journey.”
One of those freshmen is Ava McKennie, a four-star prospect out of McDonogh School in Baltimore County. McKennie talked about what she’s learned from Maryland’s veterans.
“It’s them passing down those little bits of information that can help me be a better player sooner,” McKennie said.
Terps are staring down a gauntlet
Frese and Maryland fans hope that the Terps spent the offseason improving, because their conference certainly did. Through the addition of No. 5 UCLA and No. 3 USC, the Big Ten took a big step forward as a conference.
“Every game in conference play is going to feel like the NCAA Tournament,” Frese said.
She also detailed how the conference realignment has made it so teams only play each team in the conference once, except for one team against whom they will play a home-and-home series.
She made the point that while some team’s might reap the benefits of playing a weak team twice, Maryland will be matched up against No. 14 Ohio State.
In addition to that, Maryland’s out-of-conference schedule is highlighted by games against No. 4 Texas, No. 11 Duke and Syracuse. The Terps will have to navigate cross-country travel throughout a long season, as well as some really difficult matchups.
“These [teams] are contenders for later in the year,” McDaniel said. “This is something to get your feet wet for later, for the postseason.”
Many players, such as McKennie, said they have never traveled all the way to the West Coast for a game, and are excited for the experience.
Frese’s new-look roster is ready for its new-look conference, but her primary concern after dealing with a bevy of injuries in 2023 is availability.
“The biggest thing this season for us is staying healthy,” Frese said. “If we can stay healthy, it’s going to be exciting to see where we’ll end up.”