Bringing 10 new players into the fold, Colorado women’s basketball coach JR Payne didn’t really know what type of chemistry her team would have this season.
There has been one major positive so far, though.
“I tell everyone we don’t have a single jerk on our team,” said Payne, entering her ninth season as the Buffaloes’ head coach. “Like everyone is supportive, they work hard, even some that are still struggling to figure out the offense and things like that, they come with a positive spirit every day. So that part is really great.”
The on-court chemistry will take a bit longer to form, but that work is underway and now that the Buffs have a schedule in place, the road map is in front of them. CU’s 29-game schedule wasn’t announced until Thursday, but Payne said it’s a good slate for her team, which has 10 newcomers among the 14 players on the roster.
“I think it’s great, I really do,” she said of the schedule, which includes 11 non-conference games and 18 contests in the Big 12. “Variety of styles (of opponents). We have 10 new players, so I definitely think whoever’s playing us early, like they should lick their chops.”
Not that Payne lacks confidence in her team, but she knows the Buffs will need some time to build cohesion on the court. CU will host Colorado Mines in an exhibition on Oct. 27 and open the regular season at Wyoming on Nov. 4.
“I think, you know, as the season goes on, we’ll get better and better as new teams do,” Payne said. “But I like the schedule. There’s some challenges on the road, like at Wyoming right out the gate is really tough. But I think we have enough veterans that we can be as prepared as possible.”
CU began practices on Sept. 23 and about a week in, Payne is happy with the progress.
“We’re just really trying to lock in offensively and defensively schematically,” she said. “Where am I supposed to be? What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to be looking at? What is my read? If they do this, I do that – that kind of thing.”
The Buffs will certainly continue working through all of that into the season, which makes the non-conference portion of the schedule “absolutely” more important than in recent years, Payne said.
“Even in practices, like we have scheduled scrimmages with our (practice) guys, and we need to play more,” she said. “The interesting thing about, let’s say, a team with tons of experience like last year versus a new team is … good, bad or indifferent I knew what to expect from (the veterans last year). Whether we go on a run, our opponent goes on a run, I know how they’ll react.
“I have no idea with this year’s team, and that’s the fascinating, scary, awesome part of it. It’s all of those things, so we’re just trying to dial up our learning about each other and how we respond in different situations.”
