Full Speed Ahead to 2023-24
Apr 07, 2023 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Jeff Mittie came into his office shortly after the sun rose over the Little Apple on Thursday morning. Phone calls, Zoom calls. He also reviewed film of several prospective players who are in the transfer portal. At 11 a.m., the Kansas State women's basketball coaching staff would have a meeting. Meanwhile, graduate transfer Gabby Gregory and junior Serena Sundell arrived early to join their teammates for their third weight-lifting session of this current training period. Later, Sundell planned to go house hunting in the Manhattan area to hopefully find the perfect place for her and a few teammates to live next year. Gregory planned to have lunch with her parents. Then Gregory will finish up her weight-training regimen.
Things are quiet inside the Ice Family Basketball Center lobby, but behind closed doors the offices bustle with activity.
"Things are just flying like crazy," Mittie says, sitting on a couch in the Ice Family Basketball center Thursday morning. "Things are moving fast this time of year."
Mittie began meeting with his current players shortly after the Wildcats concluded their 2022-23 season in the postseason WNIT. Mittie and each player discussed this past 19-17 season, their individual strengths, and goals going forward.
"You have to re-recruit your own players and talk about their vision and their improvement," he says, adding that senior-to-be Taylor Lauterbach and sophomore-to-be Mimi Gatewood entered the transfer portal. "Then you say, 'How can we improve ourselves in the portal if the right player becomes available?' A year ago when we added Gabby and Gisela Sanchez and Sarah Shematsi, all three were players we targeted and all three filled a need for us. Gisela obviously sat out the year with an injury, but we feel good about who we added in the portal a year ago and we'd like to have that same opportunity this year."
One of the biggest stories in women's college basketball this offseason is who K-State has coming back for Mittie's upcoming 10th season in Manhattan. Namely, the fact that All-America senior center Ayoka Lee, who missed last season while recovering from knee surgery, is expected to be back on the court next season. Lee, the 6-foot-6 phenom who set the NCAA Division I record with 61 points against Oklahoma on January 23, 2022, is the second player in school history with 1,600 points, 850 rebounds and 225 blocks. She'll be joined by Gregory, Sundell, and Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn — a formidable lineup that features five scorers and boasts a vast array of talent.
ESPN women's basketball expert Charlie Creme has taken note and put K-State, which missed out on the NCAA Tournament this season, at No. 26 in his early poll for the 2023-24 season.
"Most of the people who are in the women's basketball business certainly know with Lee coming back that we'll have an opportunity to be pretty good," Mittie says. "The game is getting a lot of attention now and viewership is way up, so people are paying a lot of attention. From a recruiting standpoint every little bit helps."
Gregory, who during her first season at K-State finished second in the Big 12 in scoring (18.5) and was a 2023 Drysdale Award candidate, isn't content with the early ranking.
"Wish it was No. 25 (national ranking)," she says, smiling. "That's really exciting. As it should be. We're returning a lot of people and adding Yokie to the mix and Gisela to the mix. It's going to be a lot of fun."
Exactly how fun?
"It'll be very tough for people to play against us because you'll have five people on the floor who can all score," Gregory continues. "Every single person on the floor is going to be able to score the ball in several different ways. It won't just be one person who can do this. You'll have Yokie inside, but how are you going to cover her — and cover Serena, Jaelyn, Brylee and me? It'll be a lot of fun and tough for people to guard."
K-State made strides despite Lee's absence. While Gregory, who transferred from Oklahoma, fit in brilliantly with current K-State players, Sundell and Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn all expanded their games during their sophomore seasons.
"Gabby's ability to score the ball was crucial for this team," Sundell says. "Her experience, leadership and fire that she has, you could see that linger into everybody along with that confidence and swagger."
K-State's 2,524 total points ranked fifth in school history and its 21 games with at least 70 points marked its most since 2001-02. K-State featured five players with at least 20 3-pointers for the third time in school history while its 265 total 3-pointers were second in school history.
Sundell, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Maryville, Missouri, set career highs in points (13.9), rebounds (4.8), assists (5.1) and steals (1.9). Her 184 assists set the school record for assists in a sophomore season and she set school records for free throw attempts (206) and made (165).
Sundell particularly came on strong during the final two months of the season with six 20-point performances, including a career-high 33 points against Oklahoma on March 1.
"She put a lot of pressure on herself with losing Yokie," Mittie says. "You could tell that she felt a great responsibility to be perfect at all times. When Serena cuts loose, she's going to make mistakes, but she's sure going to make a lot more plays. You saw that the last four to six weeks, her playing freer."
Jaelyn Glenn averaged career highs in points (11.3), rebounds (5.4) and steals (2.5). Her 91 steals led the Big 12 and marked the most steals by a K-State player since the 1986-87 season. Brylee Glenn played a majority of the season while battling a nagging ankle injury. Even so, she finished fourth on the team with 8.3 points per contest.
Asked whether he could envision what a Lee-Gregory-Sundell-Glenn-Glenn lineup could present next season, Mittie replies, "I like that thought."
"As up and down as this season was, I saw good growth in Serena, the Glenn twins, and I saw Gabby continue to gel with that group, so, yes, I absolutely can imagine that (lineup) and feel like we have a good vision for what that looks like going forward," Mittie says. "We're excited about that."
Mittie likes that his three sophomores — Sundell and the Glenn twins — had to take "big" shots alongside scoring demon Gregory, the tough guard who isn't afraid to post-up but can score at all three levels on the court.
"Just going inside and posting up was something that we all had to do as bigger guards to have more of a presence inside," Gregory says. "Obviously, we want that to carry on into next year. We'll have Yokie, so it'll be a little different but I don't think it'll change the way we play too much.
"Having her will honestly probably open it up a little more. How can people come down and double-team Serena if Yokie is on the floor? It'll be really fun to watch us play."
Mittie looks for the offense to "keep the pace up."
"We want to have that marriage of our pace being up but also knowing with Lee coming back that we have to get touches inside," Mittie says, "so I'm anxious to put those pieces together."
K-State got contributions this past season from a variety of up-and-comers, including 6-foot-4 sophomore-to-be forward Eliza Maupin (4.1 points, 2.9 rebounds).
"Eliza Maupin has a really high ceiling," Mittie says. "She's worked really hard in her individual work in improving her ballhandling and skillset. People are going to be really excited about Gisela (who missed the season due to injury). Last year, we wanted more size at the four spot and Gisela is a 6-3 player who can shoot the 3 and has good agility. Obviously, people saw a glimpse of Eliza this year, but what she doesn't have right now is a go-to move and an offensive skillset where you say, 'That's what she's going to do.' We're going to develop that this offseason."
For now, the Wildcats continue to weight train while preparing for summer workouts. The return of Lee will come at some point this summer, but Mittie isn't going to rush her back onto the court.
"We knew this type of surgery was going to be a longer extended recovery time," Mittie says. "I'm hoping we get to mid-summer and we get into the non-contact work with her on the court. She's progressing great and is pain free for the first time in her career here.
"That's the most exciting thing."
Jeff Mittie came into his office shortly after the sun rose over the Little Apple on Thursday morning. Phone calls, Zoom calls. He also reviewed film of several prospective players who are in the transfer portal. At 11 a.m., the Kansas State women's basketball coaching staff would have a meeting. Meanwhile, graduate transfer Gabby Gregory and junior Serena Sundell arrived early to join their teammates for their third weight-lifting session of this current training period. Later, Sundell planned to go house hunting in the Manhattan area to hopefully find the perfect place for her and a few teammates to live next year. Gregory planned to have lunch with her parents. Then Gregory will finish up her weight-training regimen.
Things are quiet inside the Ice Family Basketball Center lobby, but behind closed doors the offices bustle with activity.
"Things are just flying like crazy," Mittie says, sitting on a couch in the Ice Family Basketball center Thursday morning. "Things are moving fast this time of year."
Mittie began meeting with his current players shortly after the Wildcats concluded their 2022-23 season in the postseason WNIT. Mittie and each player discussed this past 19-17 season, their individual strengths, and goals going forward.
"You have to re-recruit your own players and talk about their vision and their improvement," he says, adding that senior-to-be Taylor Lauterbach and sophomore-to-be Mimi Gatewood entered the transfer portal. "Then you say, 'How can we improve ourselves in the portal if the right player becomes available?' A year ago when we added Gabby and Gisela Sanchez and Sarah Shematsi, all three were players we targeted and all three filled a need for us. Gisela obviously sat out the year with an injury, but we feel good about who we added in the portal a year ago and we'd like to have that same opportunity this year."
One of the biggest stories in women's college basketball this offseason is who K-State has coming back for Mittie's upcoming 10th season in Manhattan. Namely, the fact that All-America senior center Ayoka Lee, who missed last season while recovering from knee surgery, is expected to be back on the court next season. Lee, the 6-foot-6 phenom who set the NCAA Division I record with 61 points against Oklahoma on January 23, 2022, is the second player in school history with 1,600 points, 850 rebounds and 225 blocks. She'll be joined by Gregory, Sundell, and Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn — a formidable lineup that features five scorers and boasts a vast array of talent.
ESPN women's basketball expert Charlie Creme has taken note and put K-State, which missed out on the NCAA Tournament this season, at No. 26 in his early poll for the 2023-24 season.
"Most of the people who are in the women's basketball business certainly know with Lee coming back that we'll have an opportunity to be pretty good," Mittie says. "The game is getting a lot of attention now and viewership is way up, so people are paying a lot of attention. From a recruiting standpoint every little bit helps."
Gregory, who during her first season at K-State finished second in the Big 12 in scoring (18.5) and was a 2023 Drysdale Award candidate, isn't content with the early ranking.
"Wish it was No. 25 (national ranking)," she says, smiling. "That's really exciting. As it should be. We're returning a lot of people and adding Yokie to the mix and Gisela to the mix. It's going to be a lot of fun."
Exactly how fun?
"It'll be very tough for people to play against us because you'll have five people on the floor who can all score," Gregory continues. "Every single person on the floor is going to be able to score the ball in several different ways. It won't just be one person who can do this. You'll have Yokie inside, but how are you going to cover her — and cover Serena, Jaelyn, Brylee and me? It'll be a lot of fun and tough for people to guard."
K-State made strides despite Lee's absence. While Gregory, who transferred from Oklahoma, fit in brilliantly with current K-State players, Sundell and Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn all expanded their games during their sophomore seasons.
"Gabby's ability to score the ball was crucial for this team," Sundell says. "Her experience, leadership and fire that she has, you could see that linger into everybody along with that confidence and swagger."
K-State's 2,524 total points ranked fifth in school history and its 21 games with at least 70 points marked its most since 2001-02. K-State featured five players with at least 20 3-pointers for the third time in school history while its 265 total 3-pointers were second in school history.
Sundell, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Maryville, Missouri, set career highs in points (13.9), rebounds (4.8), assists (5.1) and steals (1.9). Her 184 assists set the school record for assists in a sophomore season and she set school records for free throw attempts (206) and made (165).
Sundell particularly came on strong during the final two months of the season with six 20-point performances, including a career-high 33 points against Oklahoma on March 1.
"She put a lot of pressure on herself with losing Yokie," Mittie says. "You could tell that she felt a great responsibility to be perfect at all times. When Serena cuts loose, she's going to make mistakes, but she's sure going to make a lot more plays. You saw that the last four to six weeks, her playing freer."
Jaelyn Glenn averaged career highs in points (11.3), rebounds (5.4) and steals (2.5). Her 91 steals led the Big 12 and marked the most steals by a K-State player since the 1986-87 season. Brylee Glenn played a majority of the season while battling a nagging ankle injury. Even so, she finished fourth on the team with 8.3 points per contest.
Asked whether he could envision what a Lee-Gregory-Sundell-Glenn-Glenn lineup could present next season, Mittie replies, "I like that thought."
"As up and down as this season was, I saw good growth in Serena, the Glenn twins, and I saw Gabby continue to gel with that group, so, yes, I absolutely can imagine that (lineup) and feel like we have a good vision for what that looks like going forward," Mittie says. "We're excited about that."
Mittie likes that his three sophomores — Sundell and the Glenn twins — had to take "big" shots alongside scoring demon Gregory, the tough guard who isn't afraid to post-up but can score at all three levels on the court.
"Just going inside and posting up was something that we all had to do as bigger guards to have more of a presence inside," Gregory says. "Obviously, we want that to carry on into next year. We'll have Yokie, so it'll be a little different but I don't think it'll change the way we play too much.
"Having her will honestly probably open it up a little more. How can people come down and double-team Serena if Yokie is on the floor? It'll be really fun to watch us play."
Mittie looks for the offense to "keep the pace up."
"We want to have that marriage of our pace being up but also knowing with Lee coming back that we have to get touches inside," Mittie says, "so I'm anxious to put those pieces together."
K-State got contributions this past season from a variety of up-and-comers, including 6-foot-4 sophomore-to-be forward Eliza Maupin (4.1 points, 2.9 rebounds).
"Eliza Maupin has a really high ceiling," Mittie says. "She's worked really hard in her individual work in improving her ballhandling and skillset. People are going to be really excited about Gisela (who missed the season due to injury). Last year, we wanted more size at the four spot and Gisela is a 6-3 player who can shoot the 3 and has good agility. Obviously, people saw a glimpse of Eliza this year, but what she doesn't have right now is a go-to move and an offensive skillset where you say, 'That's what she's going to do.' We're going to develop that this offseason."
For now, the Wildcats continue to weight train while preparing for summer workouts. The return of Lee will come at some point this summer, but Mittie isn't going to rush her back onto the court.
"We knew this type of surgery was going to be a longer extended recovery time," Mittie says. "I'm hoping we get to mid-summer and we get into the non-contact work with her on the court. She's progressing great and is pain free for the first time in her career here.
"That's the most exciting thing."
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