January 24, 2007
NEW HAVEN - They are a runaway train in what is one of the best Division II women's basketball conferences in America, the Northeast-10. The natural progression in thought makes Joe Frager wince.
"Don't say it," smiled Frager, the extraordinary coach of the Southern Connecticut State women's basketball team that is 19-0 and ranked fourth in the country.
Sorry, Joe. This is a team with a lot of components, a relentless will, and a focus that mimics its head coach. There's no reason to think that this Southern team can't bring home national glory - and it's Frager's job to keep his team's head on straight long enough to make sure it takes nothing for granted.
The Owls ripped 21st-ranked Stonehill 72-47 Tuesday at the Moore Fieldhouse, the team that was tied for second in the NE-10 prior to the game.
"I'm not complaining, but the way this conference is, it's so unpredictable," he said. "I refuse to even think about (beyond the NE-10 season). There's a heckuva lot of basketball to be played. Just because we've won 19 games, it just takes one game to not advance."
Frager has done a superb job building the Owls into a national power and over the last three years, including 2006-07, he has posted a better winning percentage than even Geno Auriemma in Storrs (.880 to .830 winning percentage).
"Ah, but I don't have Tennessee on my schedule," offered the modest Frager, whose assistants include former UConn standout Maria Conlon. Frager coached Conlon for two years at Seymour High, and it's fair to say they attracted more attention there than Southern has during this remarkable run.
Frager is bothered by the lack of attention only to the point that he feels bad that his players might not get their due. But he controls what he can, and that is to keep the focus of his Owls incredibly high at a time when they could easily go into cruise control.
"No matter how good you are, the next day can be a bad one," said Babette Noah, the Owls' leading scorer Tuesday with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting. "We always think about the next game as a challenge. When you think you've got an easy game, those are the most difficult ones. By the time you decide to at least run the floor, the game is lost."
Noah said that Frager is a machine when it comes to inspirational speeches, rattling off one after the next to keep the Owls from looking too far ahead.
"You just want to jump off the bench when we talk before the game," Noah giggled. "We're so pumped. It's like football."
There's nothing more boring to hear than teams talk incessantly about the playing one game at a time, but it's music to the ear of a coach, especially one sitting on a runaway train that is logically expected to get past the regional final - where the Owls lost to AIC last year. Three of Southern's four losses last year came against AIC, so there was no question who was the better team.
This year, despite losing two starters, both superb defensive players, the Owls have meshed behind a starting five of underclassmen that consists of Noah, Kate Lynch (16 points Tuesday), Shamika Jackson (15 points, six assists), Michelle Martinik and Kaylie Schiavetta.
"I think the whole team has grown a lot since (the NCAA loss to AIC)," Noah said. "I had my doubts before the season ... not about the girls, but about the changes in the team. I was so happy at the start of the season to see how much my teammates had learned since the year before. I got emotional, like you can do this now, and you can do that now! The freshmen (now sophomores), all of them grew so much. They're just so much more confident."
That comes with good coaching, the type of coach that develops talent.
"We've been fortunate that one or two guys don't play well, we've had that third or fourth kid step up," Frager said. "And if we're going to continue to win, we're absolutely going to have to have that. We know how quickly it can end, so we don't get caught up in all the (hype)."
Whether he likes it or not, the hype is coming on fast, like a runaway train.