WBB Practice Report: Oct. 12

When strength and conditioning coach Kaelin Jackson began pre-practice warmups for the Oregon women's basketball team Saturday, the clock read 8:57 a.m.

Very early for a bunch of college kids on a weekend. But some of the Ducks had been up for hours already.

Saturday saw ESPN's "College GameDay" produced from the University of Oregon campus, and thousands of students were on hand well before the show began at 6 a.m. Somewhere amid the throng were UO women's basketball teammates Sofia Bell and Ari Long, former AAU teammates now reunited in Eugene.

"We went a couple hours before, we made posters — it was a fun time," Long said once Saturday's practice had concluded, in time for her and her teammates to make it to Autzen Stadium for the UO football game against Ohio State later in the day. "I think that's so important, having fun on the court but also off the court. Actually wanting to hang out with each other. Because great teams have great chemistry."

Coming off a couple of difficult seasons, the Oregon women are looking to be a great team again. They'll need to build great chemistry with a roster that includes nine newcomers — Long among them — and six returners, including Bell.

So far, UO coach Kelly Graves likes what he sees. He called Saturday's workout "definitely one of our better practices, if not the best one we've had" since practice began Sept. 27.

"There's depth at every position, and so there's competition, which, iron sharpens iron," said Graves, who is entering his 11th season at Oregon, a run that has included five NCAA Tournament appearances. "It's fun to see. You see the energy that we're playing with, and the joy and the passion. It's really been a fun group."

The Ducks will rebuild this season around post Phillipina Kyei, the only player to start all 32 games last year, although she's been rehabbing an injury this preseason. Also back are 21-game starter Bell, reserves Sarah Rambus, Filippa Tilliander and Sammie Wagner, as well as Peyton Scott, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the 2023-24 season.

Among the nine newcomers are seven transfers, including Deja Kelly from North Carolina, Nani Falatea from BYU, Amina Muhammad from Texas and Long from Washington. The Ducks also added a pair of talented freshmen in guard Katie Fiso and forward Ehis Etute.

For each practice, a plan is prepared by the coaching staff that lists points of emphasis for the day's workout. Given all the newcomers, perhaps not surprisingly the top points Saturday related to chemistry — listed first for offense was "spacing," and for defense was "loud communication."

"I think it kind of helped with there being a lot of transfers coming in, because we can all relate to the same things," Long said. "And then obviously the returners have just been so welcoming, just with open arms. So we're all learning together."

Saturday's practice was heavy on team drills, in groups of three and five. At the end there was a long 5-on-5 period to work on team offense and defense, and in 3-minute scrimmages.

Late in practice, there was a "next basket wins" situation. Transfer Elisa Mevius stole the ball at one end, but then Kelly blocked a shot at the other, the tension rising with each possession. There was controversy about an out-of-bounds call, and the intensity rose even higher.

Finally, Falatea drilled a three-pointer, winning the drill for her side.

"I thought offensively for a good portion we were really on point," Graves said a few minutes later, as players left the court after practice had concluded. "We're making the extra pass, which is always fun to see. That means they're playing unselfishly, but smartly. And then the defensive energy, the talking, the intensity — I thought we were pretty good today, on both sides of the ball."

Other highlights: The coaching staff tracks stats like rebounds, assists, defensive disruptions and fouls drawn throughout practice, along with negatives such as turnovers and missed box-outs. Kelly was the leader Saturday at plus-13, followed by Etute at plus-11 and Rambus at plus-eight. … Long made a couple of big three-pointers over the course of practice. The stakes for one was a shorter period of conditioning in the middle of practice, and the second was to give her team possession for the start of a scrimmage period. "Whenever the ball is in my hands, I just try to do whatever the team needs in that moment," she said. "My teammates and coaches give me so much confidence, and that's what keeps me going. They trust me." …

Fiso showed off her diverse skills in a 3-on-3 period, drilling a three-pointer and later in the drill feeding fellow freshman Etute for a layup. … The Ducks did a shooting drill in which they had five minutes to accumulate 250 points, with three players shooting at the same time and bonus points awarded if all three connected during the same round. They got to 257 on Saturday.

Other observations: Though Graves was running the show for practice, he had his assistants run certain drills. New assistant coach Jerise Freeman in particular set a fiery, intense tone. "I just thought we needed kind of a fresh start," Graves said. "So it's coaches, it's players, it's managers — even me. I had to get myself back up and rejuvenated. But it's mainly these players. You can tell they're glad to be here, and they're playing like it." …

Kyei is participating in some shooting drills as she recovers from an offseason procedure. The Ducks don't open their regular season until Nov. 4. … Kelly, who has aspirations of a career in broadcasting when she's done playing, also attended "College GameDay," getting behind-the-scenes access while shadowing ESPN employees. … Among the attendees at Saturday's practice were Greg Graham, a "Kamikaze Kid" for the UO men's team in the 1970s and later a UO assistant, who has been a mentor to Graves; and also former UO football offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia, who is a rookie with the Kansas City Chiefs and who is married to Falatea. The two met after Suamataia transferred to play at BYU, where she began her career before joining the Ducks.