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2014 Cloverdale Girls' Basketball Preview
CLOVERDALE -- A 3-5 start last season for Cloverdale's girls' basketball team fizzled out by the end of the year after the Clovers closed the season 2-10 and were knocked out of the IHSAA tournament in heartbreaking fashion by South Putnam.
"It didn't finish the way we wanted to finish it," Clover coach Langdon admitted. "There were some chances at some wins in there but we didn't do what we needed to do and that's what we've really been talking about this year, about trying to improve as the year goes along.
"I think we peaked early, almost peaking at the county tournament last year, so what we're working on is that no matter where we start at the beginning of the year, we have to continually get better and we need to be playing our best basketball at the end."
Cloverdale's returning group of players features nine juniors and seniors and while there are holes to fill from graduation and players not returning, Langdon said the team would go even deeper than last season.
"This group has a lot of juniors and seniors and we'll have a couple of freshman and sophomores that are really going to step in," Langdon said. "We know that we're a smaller team in size, so we have to be the best conditioned team and run and gun a little bit this year.
"We're going to go a little deeper into the bench this year. You have to have a solid bench if you're going to try and push the tempo up a bit more."
Among the returning players, Langdon said that the team would be pulled along by 2013 Putnam County Player of the Year Bailee Stevens and senior Laura Worthington.
"We have some good senior leaders in Bailee and Laura who return for us," Langdon said. "Bailee has done a lot of good things for us and Laura is a hard worker on the court.
"With that leadership and our juniors having another year of experience, I think we're looking forward to a good year."
Stevens, when asked about being named player of the year, credited her teammates, school and community for their support but also was quick to note that more was expected from herself this season.
"It was pretty much the greatest feeling in the world to me because all the hard work I've put in over the years, especially last year, has paid off," Stevens said. "I got a lot of support from all the teachers at the school, my teammates were all very proud of me and I really owe it to all of them for pushing me and my parents for transporting me until I got my license.
"This year, it's going to be a lot more about me taking responsibility for things instead of saying that the team needs to do this. I need to be able to look at things and say, "I need to do this to make the team better.'"
Langdon agreed with Stevens but stressed that the rest of the squad needed to try and match her efforts.
"I think Bailee is looking for improvement herself," Langdon noted. "She understands that was a great honor but she's not content because she has many things in her game she can improve on.
"I talked to the other girls and told them that they need to be ready to step up. Bailee needs to make other players around her better, but the rest of the girls need to step up, take some more shots, be bigger contributers, be confident and not be passive this year."
Alongside Stevens and Worthington, Haley Hamm, Payton Dorsett and Kimmy Winders return with varsity experience while Mariah Huge, Anna Spencer, Angela Pieper, Abby Walker and Laureen Meek looking to get significant minutes throughout the season.
"When you've got a smaller team, you try and push the tempo up and it gets hectic," Langdon said. "You have to be able to push the ball but be disciplined on defense and I think for us this year, it's going to be about finding a balance.
"Last year, we averaged around 40 points-per-game but at the same time, our defensive average really suffered. We can't give up 50-plus points a game and expect to win that many games."
On the other end of the floor, Langdon said that the squad would look less at set plays and more to the players to help create scoring chances for one another.
"Any time you potentially have five guards on the floor at a time, we have to have confidence in the girls that they're going to create their own shot, and we've not had that a lot in the past," Langdon said. "A key for us will be spacing on offense.
"If a girl gets the ball on the wing, we need to give her the space to shoot the ball or drive. We're going to try and use those strengths of keeping the floor spaced and keeping the lane open because we may not have that back to the basket post player."
Cloverdale's biggest obstacle will be a distinct lack of size along the front court and Langdon said that outworking the opposition would be important to canceling out height advantages.
"We have to be disciplined inside," Langdon said. "We've seen that size doesn't always matter, considering Bailee Stevens was fourth in rebounding in the WCC last year and was one of the smallest girls, so it can be done.
"Being undersized, it's about hard work, conditioning and putting more effort in on every single play, even at the beginning of the year, that will pay off for us."
Cloverdale opens the season against new opposition this season with a trip to North Central (Farmersburg) and a home game with Sullivan on tap, but it would be at the Putnam County Tournament where Langdon said the squad would get an idea of where they stand.
"Having talked with some of the other county schools, we know that, right now, Greencastle is the standard," Langdon pointed out. "We know that if you can compete with Greencastle and give them a run, you're going to have a chance for a county championship and a conference championship."
Worthington echoed her coach's thoughts.
"I think we have a chance of beating Greencastle in county this year," Worthington added. "We were close with them last year but I think we'll have a really good shot of winning against them this year.
"I think we'll be good by sectionals and if we keep pushing ourselves and work hard the whole season, we'll be playing our very best at the end of the year."
Stevens was also in agreement about Cloverdale's chances within the county and conference.
"I honestly think we have a very good shot at county and conference," Stevens said. "All the teams, including ours, have lost a lot but I also think our team has worked more in the offseason than most teams have.
"I think it's going to really pay off this season and we have a really good shot at everything this year."
While drills were continuing in the background to get the squad ready for the season ahead, Langdon mentioned that by the time sectionals rolled around this season, he wanted the squad to have no regrets about the season that had just transpired.
"After sitting down at the end of the year the last couple of seasons, there has been some regrets about games that we might have given away," Langdon said. "We don't know who those opponents are going to be but I'm pushing for the girls to put it all on the court.
"The soreness and tiredness are all worth it if for a couple of extra wins at the end of the year. I want us, by the end of the year, to sit back and say that every game we should have won, we won."