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Jul. 20—Editor's note: This is the second story in a multipart series examining the offseason for the Gonzaga women's basketball program.
No Gonzaga women's basketball player had a more significant freshman season than Lauren Whittaker last year.
Whittaker, a 6-foot-3 forward from New Zealand, was a walking double-double machine. It makes one wonder what Whittaker can do as an encore.
GU coach Lisa Fortier believes the best is yet to come.
Whittaker set a high bar right out of the gate.
"For Lauren, it's continuing to be consistent. Improving her field -goal percentage or 3-point percentage are areas where she wants to develop. Continuing to develop her attack moves and the way she gets to the rim and what she does when she gets there."
Gonzaga is in the individual development phase of its offseason training. The Zags won't begin to know what they collectively look like until preseason practices begin in late September.
Whittaker led Gonzaga with 19.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game last season, and she was the runaway selection as the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
She scored in double figures in 31 of 34 games. She broke two freshman season records for most points (649) and rebounds (348), and set the record for most rebounds in a season.
Whittaker was named the WCC Tournament most outstanding player. She was named WCC Player of the Week and was named National Freshman of the Week twice.
Fortier knows Whittaker has proven herself on the court. Now, Fortier wants to see growth in leadership.
"That's an area where she really wants to grow and she's been trying to focus on," Fortier said. "She's very interested in being that leader for our team and being a person who is steady all the time."
Even though the Zags embark on a new conference, Whittaker will be an early favorite for player of the year.
"She just needs to keep putting in the work that she's done," Fortier said. "For part of the season (last year), we tried to limit her minutes (coming off knee surgery)."
Interestingly, Whittaker finished second among the Zags in minutes played.
"It's going to be a bonus for her to have her fully healthy as she goes through summer workouts and just seeing how much improving she can do," Fortier said.
While overjoyed with Whittaker's accolade-filled first season, Fortier said the best is yet ahead.
"She's got a really high ceiling," Fortier said. "She's already a good player, but she's going to be a great player. It's not a stretch to say that the best is still coming."
A good super hero needs a sidekick. And junior-to-be point guard Allie Turner filled that bill well last season, and the Whittaker-Turner duo will get much attention from opponents again this year.
Turner — who has started since arriving at Gonzaga from St. Louis — is poised for more growth this season as most multiyear starters mature measurably at Gonzaga.
She averaged 14.8 points, second behind Whittaker, and 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds.
The Zags led the nation in 3-point percentage and Turner was a big reason why. She shot a team-best 47.1% from 3-point range, making 89 of 189. She set a single-season record with 105 made 3s as a freshman.
"We want her to have that mindset that no one can stop her but herself," Fortier said. "We'll continue to work hard on that piece."
Like Whittaker, Fortier expects Turner to have a big hand in leadership.
"We're going to challenge her to lead more," Fortier said. "That's something she needs to do better."
Another area where Fortier wants to see improvement from Turner is defense.
"We're going to challenge her to guard and just play physical," Fortier said.
Both Whittaker and Turner are surrounded by capable players. Guards Zeryhia Aokuso and Teryn Gardner should force opponents from focusing all their attention on Turner on the perimeter, and forwards Jaiden Haile and Taylor Smith are ready to share the load with Whittaker inside.
"We didn't start last season off with what we call a Batman and Robin — which is what for many years our forwards have had," Fortier said.
Not having an established second forward going into last season allowed teams to sag inside on Whittaker, often double- and triple-teaming her. Fortier hopes using Smith and Whittaker in high-low sets and putting Haile on the court with Whittaker will make it difficult on opponents.
"Taylor did a really good of finding Lauren when there were opportunities and Jaiden really came on towards the end of the season," Fortier said. "Honestly, Jaiden commands a lot of attention herself. I don't know who you choose to double if you have Lauren and Jaiden in the game at the same time. So you might start to see a little more of that. It was something we were hoping to do with (Yvonne Ejim) and Lauren before Lauren ended up redshirting."
If the Pac-12 coaches announce a preseason team, Whittaker and Turner have to be in the mix.
They certainly should be by season's end.
Continue reading...
No Gonzaga women's basketball player had a more significant freshman season than Lauren Whittaker last year.
Whittaker, a 6-foot-3 forward from New Zealand, was a walking double-double machine. It makes one wonder what Whittaker can do as an encore.
GU coach Lisa Fortier believes the best is yet to come.
Whittaker set a high bar right out of the gate.
"For Lauren, it's continuing to be consistent. Improving her field -goal percentage or 3-point percentage are areas where she wants to develop. Continuing to develop her attack moves and the way she gets to the rim and what she does when she gets there."
Gonzaga is in the individual development phase of its offseason training. The Zags won't begin to know what they collectively look like until preseason practices begin in late September.
Whittaker led Gonzaga with 19.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game last season, and she was the runaway selection as the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
She scored in double figures in 31 of 34 games. She broke two freshman season records for most points (649) and rebounds (348), and set the record for most rebounds in a season.
Whittaker was named the WCC Tournament most outstanding player. She was named WCC Player of the Week and was named National Freshman of the Week twice.
Fortier knows Whittaker has proven herself on the court. Now, Fortier wants to see growth in leadership.
"That's an area where she really wants to grow and she's been trying to focus on," Fortier said. "She's very interested in being that leader for our team and being a person who is steady all the time."
Even though the Zags embark on a new conference, Whittaker will be an early favorite for player of the year.
"She just needs to keep putting in the work that she's done," Fortier said. "For part of the season (last year), we tried to limit her minutes (coming off knee surgery)."
Interestingly, Whittaker finished second among the Zags in minutes played.
"It's going to be a bonus for her to have her fully healthy as she goes through summer workouts and just seeing how much improving she can do," Fortier said.
While overjoyed with Whittaker's accolade-filled first season, Fortier said the best is yet ahead.
"She's got a really high ceiling," Fortier said. "She's already a good player, but she's going to be a great player. It's not a stretch to say that the best is still coming."
A good super hero needs a sidekick. And junior-to-be point guard Allie Turner filled that bill well last season, and the Whittaker-Turner duo will get much attention from opponents again this year.
Turner — who has started since arriving at Gonzaga from St. Louis — is poised for more growth this season as most multiyear starters mature measurably at Gonzaga.
She averaged 14.8 points, second behind Whittaker, and 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds.
The Zags led the nation in 3-point percentage and Turner was a big reason why. She shot a team-best 47.1% from 3-point range, making 89 of 189. She set a single-season record with 105 made 3s as a freshman.
"We want her to have that mindset that no one can stop her but herself," Fortier said. "We'll continue to work hard on that piece."
Like Whittaker, Fortier expects Turner to have a big hand in leadership.
"We're going to challenge her to lead more," Fortier said. "That's something she needs to do better."
Another area where Fortier wants to see improvement from Turner is defense.
"We're going to challenge her to guard and just play physical," Fortier said.
Both Whittaker and Turner are surrounded by capable players. Guards Zeryhia Aokuso and Teryn Gardner should force opponents from focusing all their attention on Turner on the perimeter, and forwards Jaiden Haile and Taylor Smith are ready to share the load with Whittaker inside.
"We didn't start last season off with what we call a Batman and Robin — which is what for many years our forwards have had," Fortier said.
Not having an established second forward going into last season allowed teams to sag inside on Whittaker, often double- and triple-teaming her. Fortier hopes using Smith and Whittaker in high-low sets and putting Haile on the court with Whittaker will make it difficult on opponents.
"Taylor did a really good of finding Lauren when there were opportunities and Jaiden really came on towards the end of the season," Fortier said. "Honestly, Jaiden commands a lot of attention herself. I don't know who you choose to double if you have Lauren and Jaiden in the game at the same time. So you might start to see a little more of that. It was something we were hoping to do with (Yvonne Ejim) and Lauren before Lauren ended up redshirting."
If the Pac-12 coaches announce a preseason team, Whittaker and Turner have to be in the mix.
They certainly should be by season's end.
Continue reading...
