Insider Notes from Baylor Women's Basketball Early-Season Open Practices

Baylor women’s basketball hosted an open practice in late September, which consisted of some shooting drills, some scramble drills, ball-screen defense practice, offensive variations that end in a continuity ball-screen look and a scrimmage against the scout team. Here are notes written by Owen Miller, who will be helping cover women’s basketball this season.

Forward: Bella Fontleroy (Sr.)

Senior forward Bella Fontleroy is a proven player at this point, and she looked like what we have come to expect. Fontleroy did not have her best day from the perimeter, but did have some plays that flashed, including curling a ball screen to a nice scoop layup in a scramble style drill. Fontleroy also had a lot of freedom roaming on defense, switching up and down. She has become one of the team’s leaders.

Forward: Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (Sr.)

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs also looked like what we expect from her as well — a great athlete with a high motor, with some shooting woes. She had some bad misses from deep, but also nailed a quick catch-and-shoot left-wing three during the scrimmage session. She also had some freedom as a ball handler, using a middle ball screen from Kyla Abraham to get downhill and finish in late transition, then rejected an Abraham ball screen in the early half-court for another right-side layup later during the scrimmage session.

Guard: Ella Brow (RJr.)

Transfer Ella Brow looked like the clear backup point guard. She was comfortable initiating the offense, which was a great sign with her turnover issues at SMU. She also shot the ball well, which was another great sign, considering her career percentage from deep being under 30%. Brow’s release is smooth and quick.

Guard: Ines Goryanova (RFr.)

Ines Goryanova was not 100% health-wise at practice, as Coach Collen asked if she could do some of the drills. She did not participate in the contact drills and missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL. Her shot release is very low, and while her release is quick, I do wonder if it could be difficult to get her shot off against longer guards.

Guard: Jana Van Gytenbeek (6Sr.)

Sixth-year senior Jana Van Gytenbeek wore a knee brace, as she is recovering from an ACL tear, but she was a full participant throughout practice. She looked comfortable moving and did not seem to be experiencing lingering effects of her injury. Van Gytenbeek had some really crafty assists, including two back-to-back passes that were fit into a very tight window to Abraham in a four-versus-three drill. She did try to thread a couple into very congested windows, but if her turnover rate is lower than her previous seasons, you can live with those for her creative upside.

Forward: Kayla Nelms (So.)

Sophomore forward Kayla Nelms had a good scrimmage, with a couple of baskets as a roller, assisted by Brow. She also got on the offensive glass. It’s yet to be determined if Nelms will play a sizable role this season, but she had a solid practice.

Forward: Kiera Pemberton (Jr.)

Junior forward Pemberton is a hard worker who knows how to be in the right position. The North Dakota transfer has a very upright running style and is not the most natural mover. Pemberton also has a unique ball path on her jumper, where she starts with the ball low and far right, but she had a solid day shooting the ball.

Forward: Kiersten Johnson (Sr.)

Either Kiersten Johnson or Abraham needs to step up at the five this season, and I liked what I saw from Johnson on the day. She is very athletic, and from how Collen made the scrimmage lineups, she could see some action at the four next to Abraham. The Oklahoma transfer had a nice post-up in the scrimmage that resulted in a tough bucket. However, similar to Abraham, she was blown by in a possession where she found herself guarding the perimeter during the scrimmage session. I think she should and will mainly play the five.

Forward: Kyla Abraham (RJr.)

Abraham did not have her most memorable practice, but she did set a couple of good pin-down screens that led to open 3-point attempts for Littlepage-Buggs and Yuting Deng. She did get blown by when switching up to the perimeter later in the scrimmage. Abraham is the only player on the team not attempting 3s in the shooting drills. She also finished second to only Van Gytenbeek in sprints.

Guard: Marcayla Johnson (Fr.)

True freshman Marcayla Johnson was one of my favorite surprises of the day. She looks like a true six-footer and is a solid athlete with a quick first step. Physically, she looks ready to contribute right away. She will be someone who will be difficult to keep out of the rotation if the game starts to slow down. Collen got on her a few times for some mental lapses. Johnson’s shot has a long load-up and is very much on the right side of her body, but the ball comes off her hand well. I think she will find her way into a big role next year as a sophomore.

Guard: Taliah Scott (RSo.)

Taliah Scott had a rough day shooting the ball, but she moves with a ton of fluidity and is slippery getting downhill. The Auburn transfer got downhill and finished at the rim multiple times throughout the practice, in the scrimmage session and in some of the more situational drills against a scrambling defense. She had a nice off-hand and-one, and a tough right-hand layup in the scrimmage session. I am not putting a ton of stock into her off day as a jump shooter, as Scott has quite the track record as a volume scorer. She did look like a true two-guard, as the passing left something to be desired.

Guard: Yuting Deng (So.)

Deng was really impressive as a shooter. She easily has the prettiest and most effortless shot form on the team and is who I think will lead the team in 3-point percentage. Collen wants her to be more aggressive and use her shooting gravity to get downhill. The Auburn transfer received a lot of praise from Collen when she got downhill off a zoom ball-screen and finished at the rim.  Deng does need to improve as a finisher, however.

Other Misc. Notes

Collen worked with the offense and on different actions. The team began by working on transition scenarios, focusing on moving into drag ball-screens, zooms, flares, and other actions. Collen then moved into drilling different half-court looks, starting with “Fist”, which the team used as a standard continuity ball-screen breakdown after actions such as flare screen-the-screener, UCLA screens and zoom, with most having some form of variation.

Associate head coach Tony Greene worked with the defense and focused on a variety of looks.  He started by showing how he wants to guard Iverson action into a pin down, and followed that up with ballscreen coverage, detailing how he wants players to move when hedging and switching. He emphasized that the hedging defender should contact the ball handler chest-up, and the on-ball defender should slide under the hedging defender when recovering.

The main question this season will be the center position. I liked what I saw from the group, but it is also hard to draw many conclusions from an open practice. This team should fight for a protected seed in March and will be led by the players at the 2-4.