PH South backcourt will power Panthers

Park Hill South’s 11-15 record in the 2010-11 season was a big improvement from their single digit win season the previous year, but this year is what head coach Jenny Orlowski is branding as a ‘fresh start’ yielding to the theme of the Panthers’ season: New year, new team, new attitude.

Confidence is high in the Panthers backcourt as they return their two starting guards from last year in sophomore Samantha Roy and junior Courtney Claassen as they will be a strong part of what Park Hill South does in the 2011-12 season. According to their coach, both have played well in practice leading up to the season opener with Roy improving her shot over the summer and Claasen building on her previous two varsity seasons.

A defensively solid Brandi Weymuth will serve as the Panthers only senior on a generally young team overall with post player and junior Jessica Lee joining Weymuth and Claasen as the only three upperclassmen on the squad.

“We’re young, so we have that fresh start kind of attitude,” Orlowski said.

Five of the team’s top eight will come from the sophomore and freshman ranks. Roy is joined by sophomore Morgan Keesee and freshmen Mackenzie Stout, Anna Courtney, and Madeline Homoly. While the freshmen will likely work their way more into the complete rotation as the season goes along, they’re very seasoned compared to most first year varsity players with the competitive AAU basketball experience they bring to the table. Still, how that past play translates into varsity results is yet to be seen.

“We don’t know where we’re going to be until those first couple games, right now we’re just looking to get experience early. We could have three or four players on the floor at any given time that haven’t played varsity before,” Orlowski said.

While depth and experience may not be a bedrock for Park Hill South, quickness and speed will be. Orlowski says her team has shown a desire to run in preseason workouts, something that plays well to their lack of a tall post presence.

“Quickness is definitely something we’ll have this year that we haven’t had in recent years,” Orlowski said. “We’re going to get up and down the floor a lot faster this year, our posts are generally shorter, but they’re quick defensively.”

Fresh starts come with their share of trial runs, but the Panthers hope it’s the new attitude along with their fast paced style of play that give them a chance this season at taking a step up from last year’s improvement.

“We’re really young and we’ll probably make some mistakes right out of the shoot, but I think we have potential on any given night,” Orlowski said.