UVa. pinning hopes on rookie of the year

It’s been a few years since a phrase like women’s basketball power was used to describe Virginia’s program. The Cavaliers haven’t finished first in the ACC since the 1999-00 season. And they haven’t advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since that same season.

But there was a time – the early 1990s in fact – when Virginia regularly rode roughshod over the rest of the ACC. Some think the program can get back to that level, but there are whispers that Debbie Ryan has lost her magic touch.

That’s what makes this season so important. There’s a new state-of-the-art arena and some top recruits considering Charlottesville. There’s also some promise for this season. It’s not likely that Virginia will beat out Maryland, Duke or North Carolina this season, but there is talk of a return trip to the NCAA Tournament after playing in the WNIT last season.

Players like Sharnee Zoll and Siedah Williams will certainly be key to any success Virginia has this year, but the Cavaliers may be pinning their hopes – for this season and the future – on a freshman that turned down Tennessee, Connecticut and North Carolina to play for Virginia.

“They just welcomed me with open arms. It’s just been a great experience so far. I’m just ready for the season to start,” said Monica Wright, who, coming out of Forest Park High School in Woodbridge, Va., was ranked as the second-best guard and 11th-best player in the nation by Blue Star Basketball.

Wright, voted ACC preseason rookie of the year, has already become comfortable in the program after spending the summer in Charlottesville working on her game. That work ethic, combined with her attitude, has everyone excited about just what she can accomplish.

“A lot of first years come in and, when somebody tries to tell you something, especially of her caliber … you think somebody is going to come in here and be like I know it all and you can’t tell me anything,” Zoll said of Wright. “But anything we tell her, she’s receptive to it. We tell her something about a play, she’s looking right at you and the next play she does exactly what you just said. I really admire that about her. She really wants to learn.”

Ryan offers a word of caution though.

“Obviously, as a first-year player, you have to prove yourself,” Ryan said. “You can’t just walk in here with a bunch of hype and say, Well, I’m all that. She was a great person coming in because she never expected anything. She’s had to work hard for what she’s going to get and she’s really going to help this team. But at the same time we all have to remember she’s just a first year player. It’s going to take her just a little bit of time to get everything under her belt. Probably by January she’s going to be feeling really, really comfortable. She’s comfortable now, but I think she still has a little ways to go in learning the process and learning the program.”

As for Wright, she said adjusting to the pace of the college game has been difficult, but her work over the summer and during the preseason has helped her get used to what to expect on the court. In her one exhibition game this season, Wright scored eight points in 13 minutes before fouling out.

“The team we played, they were a good team,” Wright said of Virginia’s 102-67 win over Team Concept. “I was just so excited to be out there playing with my teammates in front of fans. It wasn’t that big of an adjustment because I’ve been playing with them, working with them for so long. It wasn’t that big of a jump because we’ve been going way harder than that in practice.”

But things get started for real Friday night when Virginia travels to Rhode Island. The Cavaliers open at home Sunday afternoon against Old Dominion.

- Patrick Hite