Freshman class brings depth, energy to squad

Mix six college freshmen, six pounds of sugar and a basketball together. Let them condition from June to October, rising as early as 6 a.m. to run stairs at Memorial Stadium. Then give them a chance to compete for as much playing time as they can, and what will they do? \nEarn it.\n“I think we’ve got a couple of kids on our team that are really pushing the envelope to make that argument (for playing time),” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. \nThose “kids” are six freshmen who joined a team that returns only four players from last year’s 19-14 squad. Legette-Jack said her freshmen know she needs exceptional effort from each of them this year, and she said they have so far shown a willingness to do anything they can to get better. \n“I always tease them and say, ‘I need you guys to be sophomores by November,’” Legette-Jack said with a smile. “They’re not going to sit back long. … They’re gonna want to be out there.”\nLegette-Jack said she and her staff looked for the best student-athletes as possible when they recruited this class without worrying about specific roles each would play. \n“We’re going to get the players first, and put them in positions when they get here,” Legette-Jack said. \nFreshman guard Haylie Linn said she was attracted to IU both by the coaching staff and the tradition of the sport. \n“I really liked the coaching staff and the direction they were taking the program,” Linn said. “It’s Indiana basketball and it’s the Big Ten, one of the best conferences in the country.”\nLinn is joined by guards Jori Davis, Whitney Lindsay, Andrea McGuirt and Lydia Serfling – a junior who walked on this fall and has freshman eligibility status – as well as forwards Ebony Jackson and Georgia Follmer. \nMcGuirt, who hails from Atlanta, said having such a large freshman class has helped her settle into a school so far from home.\n“It’s great to be able to rely on each other,” McGuirt said. “I’m far from home, and I know I can lean on them. It’s like a second family.”\nLegette-Jack said she expects her freshmen to contribute, and she said the best players will play, whether they are freshmen or not. \n“I’ve always been that kind of a coach,” she said. \nMcGuirt said she already recognizes how hard it will be to crack the starting rotation, and how big of a change college basketball is from high school basketball.\n“It’s a lot more intense,” McGuirt said. “You have to bring it every day, and you can’t have an off day. You have to bring your A-plus game, because everyone else is going to have their \nA game.”\nSo far, it would seem the freshmen have. All saw significant playing time in the team’s short exhibition season, and several notched strong performances.\nJackson netted 11 points, six rebounds and three steals against the Showtime Skins, and Lindsay tallied six assists and three steals while spelling sophomore guard Jamie Braun at point. Davis had two strong preseason performances, and Follmer pulled down 10 rebounds in two exhibition games. \nLegette-Jack has been high on the class since the season started, however. She praised their energy from day one.\n“I never thought that we could recruit kids that have the same kind of energy that I have,” Legette-Jack said at Hoosier Hysteria. “Well, I really think my six freshmen take a pound of sugar and just pour it back. They have so much energy and passion.”\n-IDS staff writer Brian Buckey contributed to this report.