Hobson bolsters Tigers’ depth

When women’s basketball coach Tony Hobson saw his team’s preseason ranking, he wasn’t surprised to see his Tigers jump a couple of teams that finished above his team in 2008-2009.

Fort Hays State University was picked fifth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association preseason coaches’ poll and sixth in the media poll.

The Tigers jumped ahead of the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Missouri Southern State University in the coaches’ poll. UNO finished the season with three more conference wins than FHSU, while MSSU had four more conference wins.

“They might think we have had a great recruiting year, and we do have a lot of people back,” Hobson said.

However, Hobson said the polls are not an exact science.

“Look at last years’ (poll) for instance,” Hobson said. “They picked us last, and they were four spots off. (This year) I would say that they would have to be four spots off one way or the other, so we should finish between first and ninth.”

Whatever his team is ranked, Hobson said his team has set goals to move up in the conference standings. He said one of the team’s goals is to finish in the top four of the MIAA and win a game in the MIAA tournament.

“We don’t want to be one and out again,” Hobson said.

If that happens, Hobson said his team has a shot to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

FHSU returns its top four scorers from last season, including senior center Erica Biel, an All-MIAA first team center and All-Defensive player.

Biel averaged a double-double, scoring 15.9 points and 11 rebounds per game. She also averaged 2.3 blocks per game shot 55.3 percent from the field.

The Tigers also return senior guard Naomi Bancroft, who averaged 15.4 points per game. She anchored FHSU at the 3-point line, nailing 110 of the team’s 209 3-pointers.

“It is really nice to have that kind of experience coming back,” Hobson said. “Not just experience, they are good players.”

Last season, the Tigers struggled due to a lack of depth. Six to seven players rotated through the lineup, forcing players like Biel to play an entire game with injuries.

Hobson addressed this during the off-season. He said he has recruited at least six new players who will make an impact on this team and add some needed depth.

Juniors center Kara Champlin and forward Shelby Hillman transferred to FHSU after playing the past two seasons for Cloud County Community College and Barton Community College, respectively.

Hobson said four freshmen would receive a large amount of minutes. Freshmen forwards Kara McFarland and Traci Keyser are battling for starting positions, while freshmen guard Whitney Taylor and forward Kelsie Sorenson will enter the rotation.

With the added depth, Hobson said it would allow his team to play faster and more man defense.

“There were times where we played 40 minutes of zone,” Hobson said. “We are not going to be forced to do that this year because of lack of depth and trying to rest people. You should see a little bit higher level of intensity on defense for the whole game.”

Junior point guard Jacie Hoyt, a transfer from Wichita State University who started the past two seasons, would have added even more depth, but she tore her ACL during a scrimmage — her third ACL tear of her career.

“(Hoyt) was our best ball handler by far,” Hobson said. “She could really handle it. You can’t take it away from her. She was great passer, and her intensity level was off the charts.”

Hobson said he plans to experiment with his guards and will try Bancroft and sophomore guard Tallia Miller at the point guard position. He also said Taylor could see some minutes.

However, Hobson said he is hesitant to play Bancroft there because of her skills as a shooting guard.

“The thing you run into with an injury is that if you move someone else to the point that is good at another position, then is it worth it?” Hobson said. “For instance, do you want to move Naomi Bancroft to point when she might be the best off-guard in the conference?

“Even though she might be your best point guard, do you have another option that might not be quite as good but would leave her at her position?”

Hobson said his team will have another scrimmage to mix and match before deciding on a starting lineup for its first exhibition game at Kansas State University on Nov. 3.