Colorado University Athletics
Lappe Says Buffs To Return To 'Colorado Way'
October 08, 2015 | Women's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — With five fresh faces on the floor and a disappointing 2014-15 season now firmly in the past, Colorado basketball coach Linda Lappe has decided to hit the reset button.
It's time, Lappe believes, to get back to the “Colorado way.”
“We've strayed from that,” Lappe said Wednesday as her team wrapped up its third practice of the season. “I want to get back to who I am as a coach, what our team is built on and what our foundation is.”
Lappe, entering her sixth year at the CU helm, knows that foundation. She was a standout player in one of the most successful stretches in CU history, one that produced three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, including two Sweet 16 appearances and one Elite Eight trip.
She brought that foundation with her when she took over as CU's head coach in 2010, leading the Buffs to the WNIT quarterfinals her first year, the WNIT semifinals in her second season and the NCAA Tournament in her third year. That ended a nine-year NCAA drought for the program.
But the ensuing two seasons didn't follow that upward trajectory. In her fourth year, the Buffs missed the NCAAs but were invited to the WNIT. Last year, they missed the postseason entirely for the first time in her CU coaching career, finishing with a 15-17 record — the first losing season in her eight-year head coaching career.
Thus, the reset button.
“When you think of the Colorado way, you think of discipline, toughness, playing together, playing hard, being composed, getting up and down the floor, man-to-man defense," Lappe said. "That's what you think of when you think of Colorado basketball, and that's who we will be this year.”
The timing, Lappe believes, is perfect, as roughly a third of her roster — four freshmen and a transfer — is new to the program.
The reset will start, of course, with defense.
“Last year was our worst defensive team I've ever coached,” Lappe said bluntly, “with the end result being the worst team I've ever coached. It was the best offensive team I've ever coached — which goes to show you how important offense is. Offense is fun, and we want our offense to be good, obviously. We spend time on our offense.
“But we need our defense to be solid. Very solid. We're learning how to get our defensive presence back.”
The Buffs have two starters returning from last year, senior Jamee Swan and junior Haley Smith. Swan led the Buffs in scoring (13.2 per game) and rebounding (7.9) a year ago.
But Lappe isn't concerned right now with scoring averages or playing time. Instead, she's focused on finding ways to win the close games the Buffs lost last season, particularly those in which they couldn't hold a lead down the stretch.
To address that deficiency, her team engaged in a rigorous offseason training program, one she believes has them in much better condition than in years past.
“We couldn't wear teams down last year,” Lappe said. “This year we will wear teams down. We will find a way to win in the last few minutes of a game because we're going to be in better condition and stronger.”
“The other thing is, our returners haven't been where we need them to be defensively. We're learning everything, and they're only learning the right way to do it.”
Lappe knows it's early, but thus far, she's been pleased with what she's seen in practice. The newcomers, she said, have brought a renewed sense of enthusiasm and effort to the Coors Events Center floor.
The newcomers include four freshmen — guards Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson and forwards Monica Burich and Makenzie Ellis — plus sophomore transfer Ariana Freeman, who must sit this season out.
Already, Lappe said, they've had an impact on CU's practices.
“The newcomers bring a competitive fire,” Lappe said. “They're talented and they want to win, and they want to bring that mentality to our program. Quite frankly, that has been lacking the last couple of years. It's been exciting to see the energy that we have and the confidence that we're gaining every single day.”
The Buffs will play a Nov. 7 exhibition game against USC-Aiken in Boulder, then open non-conference play Nov. 14 in Boulder against Loyola Marymount. They'll host the Omni Classic on Nov. 27-28 that will include Florida, Ball State and UMass, then play at rival Colorado State on Dec. 2 in a rematch of last year's double-overtime game won by CU in Boulder.
Other non-conference games include Missouri at home (Dec. 12) and Wyoming on the road (Dec. 21) before the Jan. 2 Pac-12 opener vs. Washington.
The Buffs finished with a 6-12 mark in conference play last year, but Lappe said last year is not a concern.
“One, we have five players who really don't know anything about last year,” she said. “Two, the last couple of years were not us. We're going to bring the toughness mindset back and not worry about the things we can't control. We have a great foundation now, and we're going to build on that — brick by brick.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
