Kornacki: Michigan Looking to Win 'By Any Means'
10/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
• Michigan Holds Media Day Wednesday
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- You might hear it in a team huddle, during a practice drill or when intense focus is required by the University of Michigan women's basketball team: "BAM!"
It's a combination of the first letters of the three-word motto these Wolverines have adopted: "By Any Means."
Point guard Siera Thompson said: "Our motto this year is: 'We have to do it by any means.' That's a lot to put on ourselves, but I think we're ready to do it. It's my senior year, and I want to go out with a bang.
"We can't have any excuses this year. The past few years, we've missed it by a hair, and I don't want to hear any excuses this year."
Michigan has won at least 20 games in each of Coach Kim Barnes Arico's four previous seasons. But, despite making runs to the WNIT semifinals in each of the last two years, the Wolverines haven't made the NCAA Tournament field the last three seasons or finished higher than sixth in the Big Ten in that time.
Their goals this season are to reach the NCAA tourney and finish at least fourth in the conference.
"Yes," said Barnes Arico, "those are our aspirations for this season, and that's what we're working toward. We feel like we're really close."
Thompson added: "Those are big expectations that we've put on ourselves, and with expectations comes work. If you're going to talk, you have to do it."
Michigan was 21-14 overall and went 9-9 to tie for seventh in the Big Ten last season.
The top three scorers return in All-Big Ten first team guard Katelynn Flaherty (22.1 points per game), sophomore forward/center Hallie Thome (14.4 points, 5.4 rebounds) and Thompson (9.4 points, 5.1 assists) and so do the top two rebounders in Jillian Dunston (4.4 points, 5.5 rebounds) and Thome.
Madison Ristovski (8.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists) and Kelsey Mitchell (6.2 points, 4.6 rebounds) both picked up their games as seniors last season, and Thompson (described as "our best defensive player" by Barnes Arico) and guard Danielle Williams (who worked with a trainer and lost 20 pounds) are looking to do likewise this year as seniors.
Barnes Arico also has added four talented freshmen -- led by Michigan Miss Basketball Kysre (KY-zer) Gondrezick, who averaged 40.5 points at Benton Harbor High and has a father (Grant) and uncle (Glen) who played in the NBA -- and Wolverines volleyball standout Abby Cole, who will join the team when her fall sport concludes in December.
"There are few who can come in and have the IQ of a college player," said Barnes Arico,"and Kysre has shown that already, and that's exciting. She can see the game and understand the game. She has the ability to score. She can get to the basket and finish. She's shown the ability to give us another scorer from the outside."
Cole averaged 13.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 7.9 blocks as a senior at Grand Haven (Michigan) High, where she finished third in Miss Basketball voting. Barnes Arico described Cole as "Junior Brittney Griner" after seeing her in high school, referring to the Baylor three-time All-American who became the first NCAA player to score 2,000 points and block 500 shots.
"She was able to affect the game with her length and blocking shots," said Barnes Arico of Cole. "If she can ever be near Brittney Griner, that would be tremendous for us. Her athleticism and her length alter games, and that's incredible. To have a 6-5, athletic kid who can change the game or give Hallie Thome (also 6-5) a break and maybe have the opportunity to play both of them together. It's the opportunity to have something special."
BAM!
Thompson said the team's core leadership group -- Dunston, Flaherty, Williams and her -- formed the BAM approach.
Barnes Arico loves the motto.
"BAM!" she repeated with a smile and chuckle. "Coming into this year, we challenged the team to come up with something we could say or do that was meaningful to us. The players came up with that and felt it would show our growth and help us make the next steps by finishing out the things where we fell short last year.
"This year, by any means, we want to figure out a way to finish the deal. I like it any time they have a strong opinion on something, and if they feel strongly because of all the thought and reasoning that went into it, that is special to me. It didn't come from the coaches. They have ownership."
How does BAM apply to individual players?
"It means just get it done no matter what," said Thompson. "Whatever is in your way, you have to find a way to get it done. That's how everyone's mindset is this year, and so we're very confident in that we will fight through whatever is in our way to get it done this year."
Gondrezick said: "No matter your mood, how fatigued you are or the circumstances on a given day -- you had better find a way to get it right."
Thompson added: "It stands for BAM, and there is no questioning doing it by any means to do what needs to be done, whether it's on the court or in the classroom. On a break, the whole team will say, 'BAM!' Then we remind ourselves when something is getting hard or difficult: 'BAM!' Or Coach (Barnes Arico) will just say, 'By any means you've got to make it happen.' "
Sophomore guard Boogie Brozoski said, "By any means, you get this win. By any means, you get this stop. No matter what it takes, don't stop until you get it."
And what does it mean to Barnes Arico?
"It means we're going to figure out a way to get it done down the stretch," she said. "There were a few games last year when we were up with four minutes to go, and we let it slip by. So, how can we finish? 'By any means' is a way to figure out how to finish things we weren't able to do last year -- whether that means working harder or coming early and staying late or extra time, not having a social life during the season, whatever was a distraction for them, they are going to let that go and focus on us being the best team we can be."
The season opens Nov. 11 against Oakland University at Crisler Center.
"We have goals," said Flaherty. "We want to be top four in the Big Ten and make the NCAA Tournament. If everything goes as expected, that's very attainable. If you look at the teams and players returning, there are some open spots.
"If things go your way and you work hard, you can fall into those places and be very successful. So, we have a good chance this year."
Thome added, "To be able to have those goals means a lot. We come to practice to work on the little things that will separate us from other teams in the end."
BAM!
