MOUNT PLEASANT— The Central Michigan women’s basketball program is ready for a fresh start.
Last season, they won just six games, for a 6-23 overall record, and a 4-14 conference record.
But this isn’t last season. Now, the Chippewas have a new head coach in WNBA 9th overall draft pick and Michigan State women’s basketball legend, Kristin Haynie. Haynie has also managed to recruit new staffers for the program, retaining just one in team-favorite Micaela Kelly aka “Twin.”
“10-out-of-10 staff,” Central Michigan forward Nadége Jean exclaimed in Thursday’s press conference. “They care about us as people outside of the court... it’s the little things like that that matter to me.”
According to the staff and players, this season will be built on trust. On a roster of just 10 players, their relationship with each other is key.
“This will be a season that’s full of committee,” Haynie said. “We won’t just have one great player scoring 29 points, it’ll be by committee, which is good. It’s harder to guard, harder to scout, if we have several players averaging double figure scoring. That’s what we have a feel for at the moment. The girls are buying in and trusting the system coming back to a new staff.”