West Virginia State women's basketball coach David Smith knows exactly the position University of Charleston women's coach Adam Collins and his Golden Eagles find themselves in right now. He remembers days when the injury bug wouldn't just bite, but turn his roster into its personal all-you-can-eat buffet.
"About six years ago at Bellarmine, I had five [ACL injuries] in one year," Smith said. "From our first game, I lost every one of those starters. We were starting walk-ons. The thing of it is, you get afraid to practice."
Smith feels fortunate his Yellow Jackets aren't facing those same hurdles. Actually, they're starting to rally, already matching last season's win total. But when the Yellow Jackets and Golden Eagles face off at 5:30 p.m. today at the Civic Center, State isn't sauntering onto the court assuming a victory over shorthanded UC.
The injury situation for Charleston (5-11, 3-7 Mountain East Conference) isn't exactly as dire as the one Smith faced at Bellarmine, but it's close. Of the players Collins considers his top six, five are on the shelf. Three of those players - Monet Saunders, Chelsea Chambers and Ashley Milligan - likely are out for the season with knee injuries. Marissa Koob sprained her ankle against West Virginia Wesleyan and is out three to four weeks.
The most crucial absence is leading scorer Chyress Lockhart (19.3 points per game), who suffered a partial tear of her surgically repaired anterior cruciate ligament. Collins said she would return sometime during the season, but didn't have a target date.
"It's just a matter of when, and we don't know when," he said. "She's got to build strength back in her leg. She's been out for a while, so she has to build the confidence back."
It can be an emotional drain, Collins said, because the team is watching Chambers, Lockhart and Milligan miss part or all of their senior seasons. Then there are games like Monday's against Glenville State, where the Golden Eagles had the Pioneers on the ropes and came up just short.
But Collins has seen some good work from guard Olivia Nicholas, who has played point guard since Lockhart got hurt, and Kiara Johnson, averaging 11.5 points. Former Hurricane star Abby Watson has been seeing plenty of playing time as a freshman.
"The girls we have are good players," Collins said. "I hate for them that anyone wants to say it's OK to fight hard and come close because you don't have all these players. I believe in those girls more than that. And when they start believing in themselves, they'll understand this team can figure out a way to win, too."
The Yellow Jackets have stayed healthy but still are getting major contributions from new faces, like leading scorer Laura Szorenyi (16.8 points per game). Szorenyi may just be a freshman, but Smith said she owns more basketball experience than the average freshman.
"That was our hope, that she would be able to come in and be a scorer," he said. "The thing you have to remember with her is she's 20 years old. She's played international ball and tournaments all over Europe with older players."
While State is rounding into form, Smith said there's still plenty of room for improvement. He'd like the players to become more comfortable in the offense and learn how to move and be effective without the ball, rather than need it in their hands in order to make a difference.
"It's just taken some time," Smith said. "We're working new people in. It's just taken us time to learn how to play together. We're still not really very good at it."
Yet they've been able to stay injury free for the most part, much more than UC can say. Collins can see the confidence build among his healthy players, hoping that can lead to a couple of wins. Smith knows Charleston won't throw in the towel. He's been in their shoes and remembers how his former teams handled it.
"You're trying to win," Smith said. "You're trying to go out and try to do the best you can do and put them in a position to give them their best opportunity to win."