Last season was a year full of highs for head coach Brandon Schneider and the Jayhawks. Two of their starters, Zakiyah Franklin and Taiyanna Jackson, were selected for the All-Big 12 Conference team, while a third, Holly Kersgieter, earned an honorable mention, as they helped lead a championship run in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
All three of these super-senior starters returned this year, along with senior Wyvette Mayberry, as the Jayhawks look to build on last year’s success in a challenging upcoming season.
One of these building blocks, as Kansas searches for an even better end result, is freshman S’Mya Nichols, who is the school’s first five-star recruit in over 20 years.
“Before I got here, Kansas basketball, especially the women, were already on the come up,” Nichols said at the team’s media day Wednesday, “so I think it’s a blessing to be able to join something like that and participate in the uprise of women’s basketball here.”
Nichols and her teammates are confident that her aggressive playing style will transfer over well to the competitive atmosphere of college basketball.
“It was a big adjustment coming from high school to college and the speed of the game,” Nichols said. “It’s a lot more intense and aggressive, which honestly I think is helpful. I think I’m pretty well-adjusted.”
One important part of the team’s development since last year was their overseas trip to Greece and Italy, where they all became closer and had a chance to adjust to playing with Nichols.
“We’re so happy to have S’Mya, she’s a great addition,” Mayberry said. “I feel like we were missing some pieces last year, and I feel like she fits that piece. “She’s a joy to be around and I’m happy that she’s my teammate, and I feel like I can speak for my whole team whenever I say that.”
More opportunities for improvement
Along with the addition of Nichols and the return of four of last year’s starters, the team feels confident in its ability to take another step this season but still sees areas for potential growth.
“We have probably five starters that can compete with a lot of people,” head coach Brandon Schneider said. “I think where we really need to take the next step is what happens when we go to six, seven, eight and hopefully nine.”
He mentioned super-senior transfer Ryan Cobbins, freshman guard Laia Conesa, and junior transfer Skyler Gill as important pieces that elevate the team’s depth chart.
Nichols and Schneider think of the team’s overall dynamic similarly, with Schneider describing the group in two words as “tough and connected.”
“On the court, we’re competing, we’re trying to make each other better, but off the court it’s a loving team,” Nichols said.
That togetherness will be put to the test as Kansas will have a few big challenges early on in its season, which is much different than its nonconference schedule in years past.
“Good starts are always important, but we really have to remind ourselves that our nonconference slate is designed to prepare us to compete for a Big 12 Championship,” Schneider said. “It’s the toughest schedule we’ve ever put together.”
The Jayhawks will begin the season against Northwestern State at home before matching up with Virginia Tech and UConn, two legendary women’s programs with exquisite reputations, at the Cayman Islands Classic — well ahead of the start of Big 12 play. In most cases, nonconference schedules offer team’s a chance to get in a groove before big conference competition begins, but Kansas took a different approach when crafting its schedule this year by going straight into a challenge rather than giving itself a smooth start to the season against smaller opponents.
“We’re very excited,” Nichols said. “They’re both great programs and their history speaks for itself. We’re excited and humbled to have that opportunity and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Describing the process of choosing a tougher schedule this season, Schneider emphasized his desire to improve from the get-go.
“Learning what we do well and identifying things that we need to improve on prior to starting (conference play) Dec. 30 is really the goal (with our schedule),” he said.
After a bit of a disappointing end to the regular season that saw them miss the NCAA Tournament, the Jayhawks are hopeful and confident that their heights this season will be greater than a run in the WNIT.
“Our players are hoping that the momentum created in last year’s WNIT championship run would really show itself when it comes to early season crowds,” Schneider said.
The addition of Nichols along with great returning leadership on and off the court makes Kansas a team that the nation should be watching going into the season, after last year’s growth and success gave a new identity to Kansas women’s basketball.
