![\"healthyStart\"](\"http:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/healthyStart.jpg\")
<\/a>\nGetting healthy has been priority one for the 2011-2012 women\u2019s basketball squad.<\/p>\n
Having finished up last season with a total of 11 major injuries, six surgeries in the off-season, and inconsistencies in the starting line-up, head coach Rusty Cram says that the staff has been focused on getting his team members through all their physical rehabilitations so that they will be back to 100 percent by the season\u2019s tip off.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically we shut down the majority of the spring and summer just so they can get healthy again, because that\u2019s our biggest problem,\u201d Cram says.<\/p>\n
On the flip side to all the injuries and downtime, Cram says he is excited about the players he has returning, along with the three incoming freshman.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor three years we\u2019ve changed our offense and it\u2019s been a slow process in getting to the point where we have the type of athletes who can run that offense the way we expect it to be run,\u201d Cram says.<\/p>\n
Highly recruited freshman Kayla Upchurch will be joining the squad this season as a point guard. Cram expects her to get playing time immediately since former starting point guard, Jamie Navarro, will not be returning.<\/p>\n
Anna Claire Knight, from Dublin, Ga., will also join the program as a freshman.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s coming in from the 3,000 point club out of high school. She can score the basketball. She comes highly recruited and she\u2019s the epitome of a student-athlete,\u201d Cram says.<\/p>\n
Tashayla Steede will complete the list of new additions to the program and will be a post player who Cram is expecting to bring impact minutes inside the paint.<\/p>\n
Cram says for his squad to improve over last season, they are going to have to get better defensively and be more consistent at swapping out between nine or 10 players without skipping a beat. But the biggest area for improvement would have to be the post game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to score more with our big people than we did last year, because we have to start from the inside and work out,\u201d says Cram.<\/p>\n
To implement the changes necessary for a winning season, Cram plans on keeping the team\u2019s \u201cflex\u201d offense by having some quick shooters and isolating certain players who continue to demonstrate an ability to score.<\/p>\n
Cram plans for senior Janay Wilson to be an integral part of the team\u2019s new strategy. Wilson was out all of last season due to an injured ACL. Cram expects her to bring speed, experience and a sense of leadership to the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know she\u2019s going to be able to get to the rim and open up some shooters. We didn\u2019t have that last year,\u201d Cram says.<\/p>\n
The entire coaching staff returns with Regina Days-Bryan, Amy Krach and Mary Perry.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt our level, when you\u2019re at the mid- Division I level, anytime you can keep a staff together every year it\u2019s a bonus. There\u2019s a pretty big turnover with assistant coaches,\u201d Cram says. The squad opens up against Arizona in Hanner Fieldhouse, followed by Georgia, and then on the road against Alabama.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe throw them to the wolves early. And, they\u2019re going to realize \u2013 especially these incoming freshmen \u2013 that they\u2019re not in high school anymore,\u201d Cram says. \u201cHow many people can say they played Arizona on their home floor? These are teams you get to see on TV playing for the Top 20 and for national championships, and we get them right here on our floor.\u201d<\/p>\n