ORONO, Maine — There was plenty of excitement in the Alfond Family Lounge on Monday night when it was announced that the University of Maine women’s basketball team will play the University of Texas on its home court in Austin at 6 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Perhaps the most excited person was Black Bears assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Jhasmin Player, because she is returning to her home state.
Player is from Houston and played at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Waco is 102 miles from Austin and Houston is 146 miles from the state capital.
Player also knows Texas head coach Karen Aston, who was an assistant at Baylor.
“I played for Karen for one year,” Player said.
Texas assistant coach Tina Thompson is the WNBA’s leading all-time scorer and led the Houston Comets to four league championships.
“I’m a big Tina Thompson fan,” said Player, who explained that Texas assistant George Washington also is from Houston and assistant coach Jamie Carey is a former Longhorns point guard who played in the WNBA.
“It’s really fun to go back and play against people who were your idols for so long,” said Player.
She said the best parts about going home are being able to see her family and coaching a team that is making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2004.
“It’s exciting to go home but it’s more exciting to have this team, my team, in the NCAAs. I don’t care who we play, I don’t care where we go. It’s special to play in the NCAAs,” Player said.
Player, a 2009 Baylor graduate, who was a two-time team captain. The All-Big 12 second-team pick and an All-Defensive team selection competed in four NCAA tournaments.
“I’m really excited for her,” said UMaine head coach Amy Vachon. “Her family will get a chance to watch her coach and watch our team. That’s a really cool thing for her.”
Baylor went 6-3 against Texas during Player’s college career.
“They were good then but not as good as they are now,” said Player. “They have gotten back to near-dominance and it’s good to see for the state.”
“They have really good bigs, really good guards. They’re really athletic, they’re long, they get out and run, they rebound the ball really well,” she said. “They’re exactly what you’d expect to see from a top 10 team.”
The Black Bears (23-9) will be at a distinct height disadvantage against the Longhorns (26-6). Texas has six players who stand at least 6-foot-3 and UMaine has two in freshmen Kira Barra and Kat Williams, both of whom played sparingly.
“We’re going to have to rebound and we’re going to have to get back in transition. Those are two things we’re going to have to do to make the game competitive,” Player said.
UMaine has played four NCAA tournament teams this season in Mississippi State, Ohio State, Duke and Miami (Florida) so they have been exposed to quality opponents.
“But the issue is we haven’t played those teams in a long time,” Player said.
The most recent game was Dec. 19 at Duke.
“We’re a completely different team now. We’re more mature. So it’s different,” she said.
“It’s also NCAA tournament time so just as motivated as we are to play our hardest. So is Texas, especially at home,” Player said. “We have to make sure we take care of ourselves and do the things we can control.”
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