WASHINGTON -- Ivy Wolf did not need to be reminded how crucial a week of off-season practice was as her coach Tamika Williams-Jeter, made sure to write on her practice plan that it was the “Week of the Wolf”.
Williams-Jeter wanted Wolf to take the reigns and the feedback helped both grow together as the Dayton Flyers prepare for a season in which expects to see clear improvement.
“I challenged Ivy to talk more, and I put it on the practice plan so she had to look at it every day,” Williams-Jeter recalled. “Every five or 10 minutes of practice it was, ‘how’s Ivy doing, is she talking?’ They would either give the gladiator thumbs up, or here (down). Nicole Stephens gave her one of these (sideways) one time. I think Ivy doesn’t give herself credit of how big of a leader she is, and how much the team does follow her. I think this year is her year to really experience that. She became very talkative, very vocal that week and it’s really helped us out.”
The new-look Flyers roster features five transfers and three freshmen. Williams-Jeter believes she has a completely different team that added both talent and winning.
“Our energy looks totally different in practice, every drill is competitive and they don’t have to harp on us or tell us to get on the line because we’re not talking enough,” revealed Wolf. “Our mentality and attitude is a lot better than it was last year, so we have some competitive kids so that makes practice fun and we get a lot more out of it. Sometimes we get into little fights on the court but they’re usually handled before we leave practice. It just makes it fun. Practices are going by faster, two hours are done already.”
Here’s a look at how the Flyers stack up this season.
Coach- Tamika Williams-Jeter 3rd season
Last Year- 12-19/5-13 A-10
They’ll Miss- Destiny Bohanon (9.9/82.3% FT), Anyssa Jones (8.5 ppg/4 rebs), Mariah Perez (6.9 ppg/5.8 rebs/44.7% FG)
Impact returners- Ivy Wolf (11.9 ppg/94.7% FT/62 3’s), Arianna Smith (9.2 ppg/10.6 rebs/ 54.4% FG), Shannon Wheeler (4.8 ppg/43% FG)
Newcomers of note- Rikki Harris (4.4 ppg at Ohio State), Nicole Stephens (4.4 ppg at Columbia), Ajok Madol (2.1 ppg at Minnesota)
Reasons to be optimistic-
The winning coming in which Williams-Jeter referred to, starts with both Rikki Harris and Nicole Stephens.
Harris, is a transfer from Ohio State who has competed in the Elite 8 and Sweet 16, while winning multiple Big Ten championships. Her talent, versatility, passing and grit will help the Flyers take a jump.
As for Stephens, she assists the Flyers in having a true point guard, which was desired area to fill. Williams-Jeter loves her makeup, a high-IQ player from Columbia who played in an NCAA Tournament and won multiple conference championships.
“It’s a different feel and vibe now in our gym having added these two with Ivy,” Williams-Jeter revealed. “They were eating breakfast the other day and called me up after a scrimmage against our male practice players. They’re really taking that leadership and ownership very seriously, and that’s something we didn’t have and needed to add. We needed to be more talented, and we did that.”
Williams-Jeter also highlighted one of the incoming freshmen in Molly O’Riordan, who has earned the nickname “Baby Jokic”. She has the ability to shoot from three-point range, can pick and pop, play with her back to the basket and be versatile.
X-Factor-
In addition to a healthy Wolf, Dayton has some post returners in Eve Fiala, Arianna Smith and Shannon Wheeler.
“If you watched us late in the season (Eve) had a great rush in the second half of A-10 play as a post,” Williams-Jeter determined. “She was rookie of the week one week from a kid who has not had a lot of experience, she’s been doing well. We played a scrimmage and she’s making hook shots and doing things, running the floor like a deer, really taking on her sophomore season, so I really think she’ll put an imprint, especially by the time we get to A-10’s.”
Smith is capable of putting up a double-double on a nightly basis and did so 11 times a season ago. She was top 10 in rebounding in the country.
Wheeler has been a ‘steady Eddie’ of sorts. Her ability to do the little things sticks out to the coaching staff.
Circle the dates- Nov. 14 Dayton hits the road to face a Duke team which won 22 games and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2023-24. A Dec. 19 home contest against Vanderbilt, poses a second test against an NCAA Tournament team
Bottom line- Last season was undone by some injuries as players were in and out of the rotation, but this Dayton team addressed some areas of need, has a lot of fight and has a lineup which can challenge anyone on a nightly basis.
“This year we want to really make a statement, and we have the talent and experience on the roster to do that,” Williams-Jeter concluded.