Columbia Head Coach Jay Butler's sophomore season may not have been the season of dreams but it was a season for building.
"We didn't do some of the things I was expecting us to do and that hurt us, but we're in our third year now and for the first time we have a true continuity of staff, players and leadership. These three things will allow us to compete at a higher level," Butler said.
Behind the playing of rookie sensation Shawnee Pickney and upperclassmen like Rose Jackson and Emily Roller the Lions have started something that Butler hopes will translate into a winning season.
"Shawnee did some great things for us last year, "Butler said. "We're anticipating her to improve, she just needs to work on her consistency. We will be looking to players like Rose Jackson and Emily Roller more this year," Butler said.
"Rose will be needed to give us a quick jolt of energy at the start," Butler commented. "She finished last season with confidence and it's going to be crucial that she show the ability to step up in both scoring and defense. Emily is going to have to come out next year with a scorers' mentality. We're going to need her three-point shooting ability.
Pickney led the lions in points (249) and rebounds (199), averaging 9.6 and 7.7 respectively and was named to the All-Ivy Rookie Team. Rose Jackson and Emily Roller each made their own contributions to the Light Blue with Jackson having 220 points and leading the team with 37 steals. Roller shot her way into the record books as she tied Jennifer Beubis with 104 career three-pointers made and had 45 on the season. Roller also led the team with 59 assists.
The Lions are strong in the guard position for the upcoming season. With players like Katie Sherwin, Catherine Tubridy, Brie Cokos and Manju Chacko returning along with one newcomer in Meredith Loffredo (Toms River, NJ).
"All of these players will be fighting for quality minutes in the back court," Butler said. "Having these four players returning should add great competition in practice and allow them to rise to another level of competitiveness."
With only one post player returning, Trinke Vaughan, the big question mark for the Lions will be who will play the post?
Erin Erdman who was effective for the Lions suffered an ACL injury in the spring and is questionable for the season. Alissa Niemi, a newcomer who showed great promise will not be returning. "The brunt of the post game will rest on the shoulders of players who didn't have much of an opportunity to play, like Renee Jackson and Lori Anderson," Butler said.
Butler also commented that the Lions are looking to newcomer Megan Bramlett (Flossmoor, IL) to add some depth at the post position.
With the Lions losing only one player Butler is looking forward to working with the same team for another year.
"The team has chosen captains who have been with this program for four years and who truly know the expectations of what they need for success," Butler said. "Our starting five are returning and we have a strong nucleus coming back, we're excited.
"This team was disappointed by last season and they've made a new commitment to turn this program around," Butler said. "We'll still utilize our uptempo, full-court mentality and with the increased level of commitment through conditioning, this will allow us to do what we need to be competitive.
There's true parity in the league this year and Butler feels that will add to what the Lions hope to accomplish.
"I'm excited for this coming year,"' Butler said.
"The Parity of the league will definitely shine through this year.
Several teams lost some quality players so that means that each Ivy game
played becomes very important. Each game will be crucial because
it's going to be tough to figure out who's going to come out on top at
the end of February. Maybe this will be the year that we finally
break through."