With Senior Leaders Gone, New Players Step Into Spotlight

By Lisa Lewis Columbia Daily Spectator

November 9, 2007

New York, NY (CSTV U-WIRE) -- With every great basketball team, there's a story of a great leader.

A great leader is more than just a team captain or flashy player. A true leader is something of an enigma-someone who can be dominant but doesn't dominate, someone who can score but who also shares the ball, and someone who can both motivate and criticize her teammates.

For the Lakers in the 1980s, that standout leader was Magic Johnson. He was famous for his vision of the court and how selflessly he played the game. While he was a dominant presence on the scoreboard, he also excelled at rebounding and at finding the open player with his "no-look" passes. His asset was his ability to share the ball and create scoring opportunities for himself and the rest of the team.

A different kind of leadership can be seen from Spurs' current center Tim Duncan. An unassuming player, Duncan is known for solid, consistent play during games. His true strength, however, lies in his belief in his own team. In an interview following the 2005 NBA Finals, he was described as carrying the entire team on his shoulders en route to the NBA championship.

Each leader is known for her ability to cultivate and sustain winning seasons with winning teams. For teams that boast slightly-less-than-impressive records, a great leader may be the element that makes or breaks each season. For the Columbia women's basketball team this season, leadership is a key concern.

Last year, the team was led by the dominant co-captain Megan Griffith. Over her four years, she had become the player that Columbia depended upon to make big plays, set the offense in motion, and represent the team. The team relied on scoring from the perimeter, and when Griffith was covered, it sometimes looked as if the team was without a backup plan. If she was taken out of the equation, it was more difficult for the Lions' offense to get the ball to go anywhere-to post players inside or to other guards and small forwards on the outside.

As the season progressed, the Light Blue had to adjust its offensive strategy to adapt to two factors: one, that Griffith was going to have heavy coverage and would have to work even harder to become available, and two, that no other aggressive and effective scoring threat had emerged on the team. As soon as a post player such as then-senior forward Becky Hogue or this year's sophomore center Chelsea Frazier would get some momentum, it was never sufficient in itself to win the game.

Columbia's offense had always been designed around a principle of balance, but the balanced offensive effort couldn't be sustained if both the inside and outside scoring weren't working together. Whenever just one element of the offense was shut down, the games suddenly became out of reach.

This season, there are some big shoes to fill. Not only did Griffith graduate, but so did her fellow guards Shasta Henderson and Brooke Carey-three major perimeter scoring threats. What's more, Hogue's emotional, up-tempo post play is gone from the court.

"Last year the leadership was definitely more individual-oriented," Columbia head coach Paul Nixon said. "We had two strong senior captains, and the team looked up to them as leaders. It was difficult for some of the first-years, even when it was their turn, to take a leadership position on the court because they were used to deferring that role."

Three rising seniors may be able to fill the void. The first key returning player is the team's leading three-point shooter, guard Brittney Carfora. Despite her impressive season statistics, Carfora rarely started for the Lions last season. Her asset was her burst of energy, and the points she could bring off the bench to spark Columbia's offense. This year, Carfora will be required to play a different role. As a senior and the secret weapon of Columbia's offense, she will take up a similar role to that of Griffith last year-all-purpose scoring and perimeter play. This year will be a chance for her to prove herself with far more playing time and more team responsibility.

The other surprise in Columbia's offense will be guard Michele Gage. Incapacitated for all of last season with an ACL injury, Gage has only her senior season left to play and will need to come out of the gates strong to make up for a lack of playing time.

Nixon has high hopes for her now after her recovery. "Michele should be able to step in and fill some of that shooting void," he said, speaking of the offensive deficiency left between the losses of Griffith, Henderson, and Carey.

The final senior that may take up the leadership gap is forward Cate Taylor. She, similar to Carfora, was used sparingly by Columbia and with quiet success over the season. But with no seniors on the current team known for offensive domination in the previous seasons, it looks like Columbia won't find itself a Michael Jordan.

In fact, the Lions' version of leadership currently seems to be more unitary.

"The seniors have been willing to allow the underclassmen to be leaders at times," Nixon said. "So far, this team has participated in a collaborative effort-more leadership by committee-and that's a situation that they really embrace. They're really working well together right now."

While a positive and team-based mode of operation is fine for the pre-season, it may simply be that Columbia is experiencing the calm before the storm. After the team tips off against Oakland today and the season commences, expect to see personalities start to emerge and help characterize the team.

One of those personalities may be in the head coach himself. Nixon, known as soft-spoken and honest in press conferences, may need to assert himself to bring the team together. While egos can be costly to a team if individuals run rampant, players do need someone to rally around, look to for advice, and depend upon in intense situations. In those last-second plays to clinch a game, it's more difficult to have faith in the team when the team is young, inexperienced, or lacking the kind of leadership on the court to see it through to the end. And that's what this season will bring: the evolution of a leader, from somewhere within the roster of the women's basketball team.