SEATTLE — Something about this year’s University of Washington women’s basketball team brings out the schoolgirl in Tia Jackson.
Just watching this year’s Huskies practice gets the UW head coach’s blood running.
“It was exciting (watching Monday’s practice). I get goose bumps,” Jackson said during her Tuesday press conference. “I’m like: I can’t wait to watch this.”
If only the rest of the UW campus felt the same way.
Due in large part to an 8-22 season that included nine losses by margins of 20 points or more, the Huskies have very little buzz as they embark on their first home game of the 2009-10 season. UW (0-1) hosts BYU at Hec Edmondson Pavilion tonight at 7 p.m.
National championships in softball and cross country, a new football coach and a national ranking in men’s basketball have put those programs at the forefront of the campus’s attention in recent months, while the women’s basketball team has slowly faded into near obscurity.
“Women’s basketball has never been a hot topic on school campuses — unless you’re UConn,” said basketball player Kristi Kingma, a sophomore from Mill Creek. “It’s something where people are always like, ‘Oh, did you guys lose again?’
“But it doesn’t bother us. We know what goes on every day. We’re out here working hard every day, and we don’t let anything bother us. If we did, we’d be a mess.”
What has UW’s Jackson excited is that this year’s team has brought a fresh attitude to practices. Even after a season-opening loss in heartbreaking fashion — Portland State hit a shot at the buzzer to beat UW 67-66 on Saturday — the Huskies showed no sign of surrender. In fact, Monday’s practice was even more energetic than previous ones.
“I think the energy factor, the competitiveness and the change in attitude have been refreshing,” Jackson said.
While stringing a few wins together would be the best way to bring the buzz back to a struggling women’s basketball program, Jackson said that the way this year’s team plays could win over a few fence-sitters.
“We’ve got to showcase some fun, exciting basketball,” she said on Tuesday. “That’s really it. When you have energy out there, it branches out into the audience and the fans, and then it becomes contagious all around.”
One method Jackson has used to help pick up the intensity is team unity. She went against her usual method of choosing team captains, opting instead to let all the players take equal responsibility for how this year’s team fares.
“I wanted each player to take ownership out there and not (have) one person feel like they have to take the burden,” Jackson said. “Because we’ve been preaching that we’re family, we want to make sure that everybody has a voice.
“Usually, if you appoint someone, generally that means that’s the only person who can speak. Now, they feel like they all have a voice.”
The fans will get to hear, and see, what the 2009-10 Huskies are all about tonight. After one of the worst seasons in program history, and a month’s worth of practices, UW finally gets to make its Seattle debut.
“We’re excited to be back out here playing in front of our fans, and our parents and friends,” Kingma said. “But more than anything, we’re just fired up about the (weekend) loss.”
Said Jackson: “It’ll be nice in front of our fans to really show how much progress we’ve made.”
Young to have surgery
After meeting with doctors, it has been determined that senior forward Lydia Young will have surgery for tendinitis in her right knee and will miss the rest of the season.
“It saddens all of us that Lydia has suffered a knee condition that will not allow her to successfully participate at this level,” Jackson said in a statement. “We intend to use her leadership, experience and enthusiasm to help guide our team throughout the rest of season.”
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