UF coach Cam Newbauer mugs with four of his new transfers (from left: Danielle Rainey, Paige Robinson, Zada Williams and Kiara Smith), each of whom figures prominently in the team's plans for the 2018-19 season.
Transfers Aplenty in Coach Cam's Roster Overhaul
Wednesday, September 26, 2018 | Women's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In racking his brain for a common theme to brushstroke his second Florida basketball squad, Cam Newbauer wanted to find the right word or phrase to label this group of Gators' diverse origins, and at the same time pay homage to the way his players have embraced this UF makeover via an impressive work ethic.
"I'm trying to describe them ... and I hate to use a word like 'misfits,' but … ," Newbauer said.
The hesitation was understood, but there's a connotation there that is easily misconstrued. It can also be a term of endearment. After all, more than half of the players on the 2018-19 roster went somewhere else first and then went looking for something better. Cam Newbauer
Now, they're here.
That's a testament to Newbauer and what he is building.
UF has 12 players on the roster and seven of them are transfers. There are three freshmen, each of them have come from west of the Rockies. There are just three in-state products, one of them a walk-on. Four come from other countries.
Maybe instead of "misfits," let's refer to them as eclectic adventure-seekers who share the same vision as the one who brought them here.
"Coach Cam expects the same out of everybody, whether you're a veteran, a freshman, a transfer or what," said junior guard Delicia Washington, one of two starters and the only remaining player on the roster who took for the floor for former coach Amanda Butler. "He wants effort and wants energy, and now we have both high effort and positive energy that seems to be going up as time goes by."
For that to be the case, the players transitioning from elsewhere— especially when talking 58 percent of the roster — need to buy in. So far, that's been the case. One of the reasons Newbauer came to Florida from mid-major Belmont was because he sold Athletic Director Scott Stricklin on his blueprint for a culture.
When he got here in March 2017, Newbauer was playing, metaphorically speaking, from 20 points down in the second half when it came to UF and its recruiting inroads, both regional and nationally. Developing those was going to take time. What Newbauer and his new staff immediately could control, however, was the culture, and that meant finding players who didn't just want to be at Florida, but were willing (more importantly) to do things the Newbauer-Florida way.
One 11-19 season (including a 3-13 mark in the Southeastern Conference) and an overhauled roster later, the Gators are completely different in 2018-19. How they'll play is something to be determined — especially after losing size, productivity and leadership in senior forwards Haley Lorenzen and Paulina Hersler — but Newbauer and his coaches believe their makeover yielded an interesting mix of athleticism, scoring potential and, with the transfers, an element of experience, even if its experience from elsewhere.
"Traditionally, transfers can bring a certain level of maturity, both on the court and off of it," UF assistant Kelly Rae Finley said. "What they've experienced so far is probably very different from what they will here, but we'll build on those experiences to help make us better."
CHARTING THE GATORS
A glance at the seven transfers on the UF women's basketball roster this season.
One who should help right away is Kiara Smith (aka "KiKi"), who led her Upper Marlboro (Md.) District Heights High team to a pair of state titles — one recruiting service rated Smith the No. 17 overall prospect in the nation — and last year averaged 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and nearly five steals per game at ASA College in New York City and helped guide that team to the national junior college tournament.
"I'm like a lot of players here, just trying to make a fresh start," Smith said. "Everybody is new."
A pair of Division-I transfers, third-year sophomore guard Danielle Rainey (Texas Christian) and fourth-year forward Zada Williams (Miami), did not play much at their previous stops, but figure to have much bigger roles in their new venue.
Two years ago, Rainey appeared in just 11 games and scored 19 points for the Horned Frogs after showing up there as a top-120 recruit. She transferred to UF last winter and will have to sit out the first semester's games, per NCAA rules. The 6-foot-2 Williams played two seasons for the Hurricanes, but barely saw the floor (4.3 minutes). Along the way, however, she shot 55.8 percent from the floor.
Forward Paige Robinson, who goes 6-4, came to UF by way of London, but with a stop along the way at Midland (Texas) College, where she averaged 5.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Smith is the only one who hasn't been at Florida and practicing with the team the entire calender year (if not longer).
"We will each, most definitely, be doing something to help this team," Williams said. "We're new, but we're sort of like a big big freshman class that has already played in games. That experience can only help us."
Guard Funda Nakkasoglu transferred to Florida from Utah State. How'd that work out? Hopefully, similarly to what's in store for the next wave of transfers who figure heavily in Coach Cam Newbauer's 2018-19 plans.
Fifth-year senior guard Funda Nakkasoglu was a transfer once, as well, having sat out the 2016-17 season after coming to UF from Utah State. Last season, she debuted with the Gators by leading the team in scoring (14.9 points per game) and the SEC in 3-pointers made (76).
She knows what her teammates have put in to get to this point.
"I don't think there will be an adjustment because I've seen how hard they have worked," said Nakkasoglu, who's from Australia. "I think they're going to come in with guns blazing and ready for everything. The only thing I would say to them is to be confident and stay confident in yourself. Trust yourself, trust your teammates and coaches, trust the process."
In time, maybe the perfect theme will attach itself to this bunch; this all new crew, if you will.
Hmmmm. "The All New Florida Crew."
Kind of catchy.
"These are kids we recruited, we got to know and who picked us because they believe in us and are excited to be at Florida," Newbauer said. "Every year is a new chapter in the book you're writing as a coach or a player. The enthusiasm these kids have to be part of something bigger than themselves — a new beginning for a lot of them, for whatever reason — is exciting for me and definitely exciting for them."
