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In his nine years as the West Virginia women’s basketball head coach, Mike Carey has had his share of talented teams.
The coach has made the postseason five times – three of which were in the NCAA tournament.
He’s has had just one losing season when the Mountaineers went 15-16 in 2005-06.
Despite his success at West Virginia, Carey feels this season’s team has the most talent of all of them.
"I love this group and I’m excited about this group," he said. "I think this group can do something special because of their work ethic and their attitudes – they want to get better.
"This is the best group I’ve had since I’ve been here."
Last season, West Virginia struggled through three season-ending injuries and times when its bench featured just six players to a 18-15 finish including a second round exit in the WNIT to St. Bonaventure.
Two positives that emerged from last year, however, are junior guards Liz Repella and Sarah Miles.
Repella led the team last year, averaging 16.5 points while leading the team with 8.1 rebounds per game. Miles finished third on the team with 12.2 points per game and 5.3 rebounds.
Center Natalie Burton also gained a year of experience as a true freshman – a year in which she planned to redshirt.
The Perth, Australia native averaged 28.7 minutes per game and had 4.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
"We’re hoping that because of the experience, they can share it with the other players and be leaders of the team," Carey said.
The Mountaineers will also return Madina Ali, Jessica Capers, and Vanessa House – all of whom were injured for most or the duration of last season.
Capers tore her ACL in the summer, House tore her ACL during the eighth game of the season while Ali’s season ended when she had to have surgery on her shoulder early in the year.
"Having Madina back will add depth to our size, Vanessa will help as a shooter and Jessica will bring defense and aggressiveness," Miles said. "It’s going to be really exciting."
Another positive from the 2008-09 season was when Carey signed a nationally ranked, top 20 recruiting class according to several recruiting services.
Leading the way for the true freshman is 6-foot-4 center Asya Bussie who was rated the 14th-best post player and the 47th overall player by ESPN.com. In her senior year of high school in Randallstown, Md., Bussie averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds and had 71 blocks.
Freshman Antisha Wright and Akeema Richards, meanwhile, were both top 100 recruits.
"A disadvantage is that some of these players have not been in a college setting on the opponents floor when you can’t hear and communicate," Carey said. "They come in here hungry and want to learn, and they’re excited to be here and get started and learn what the Big East is about."
After sitting out last season in compliance with NCAA transfer rules, junior Korinne Campbell will play her first season at West Virginia. The Princeton, N.J., native played at Minnesota during her freshman year where she averaged 6.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest.
A deeper bench is the first thing Carey said will improve his team. At the end of last season, the Mountaineers had only eight healthy players, five of which averaged over 28 minutes per game.
"All 10 of our players can play," Carey said. "In the past, I usually am five or six deep and when I go to the bench, we go way down.
"We have several players who can play several positions, which gives us flexibility to put people in different positions."
For the second consecutive year, West Virginia was picked to finish ninth in the preseason Big East Conference Coaches Poll. The team will also play in the preseason WNIT Tournament for the first time in school history when they host Towson on Nov. 13 at the WVU Coliseum.
But while they may begin the season in the WNIT, the team has its sights set on returning to the NCAA Tournament.
"We want to get to the NCAA Tournament," Repella said. "We’re focused on that. With six people last year, we went to No. 5 Louisville and beat them, so anything can happen," Repella said.
"If we continue to work hard, we can compete with the top of the Big East."
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