After seeing two of her guards transfer from her program in the
past six months, UCLA women’s basketball coach Kathy Olivier
will be looking to add some warm bodies to her back court to fill
the roster. Freshman Ashlee Trebilcock, a highly touted prospect
coming out of nearby Hart High School, left the program after only
four games in the 2005-2006 season. Sophomore Lauren Pedersen was
granted her release from UCLA on April 7. Trebilcock was projected
as a three-year starter, at the very least, while Pedersen was
going to be splitting time at the shooting guard rotation after the
graduation of seniors Nikki Blue and Lisa Willis. But the swift
exit of Pedersen means there are only three returning guards on
next year’s club ““ junior Shaina Zaidi, freshman Tierra
Henderson and All Pac-10 standout junior Noelle Quinn. As a result,
Olivier will be looking to recruit as many as five players in next
year’s class, with a focus on perimeter players.
“We’ll be looking to bring in players, but not just
guards,” Olivier said. “Ideally we’ll recruit a
few perimeter players and a couple of post players because
we’ll be losing Noelle, Amanda (Livingston) and Julia (Pitts)
to graduation next year. “Usually I’ll try to recruit
three players in a year, but next year is one of those classes that
needs to rebuild the program a little bit.” Olivier is
optimistic that next year’s incoming recruiting class will be
able to step in and contribute right away, alleviating some of the
pressure for the 2007 and 2008 classes. The top incoming recruit is
Monique Alexander, a 6-foot-5-inch post player out of the IMG
Academy in Brandenton, Fla. Alexander will be competing for playing
time with Livingston and freshman Chinyere Ibekwe, filling none of
the holes in the backcourt. Incoming freshmen Erica Latimer and Amy
Horton are less heralded than Alexander, but may prove to see
significant playing time. Quinn will assume Blue’s role as
starting point guard, but the shooting guard position is open to
competition. “You really play seven or eight players
consistently and have 11 who you can count on to play at any given
time,” Olivier said. “We need to recruit for depth, but
the toughest job is finding that recruit who will be the face of
your program for the next few years.”
PEDERSEN LOOKING AT HER OPTIONS: Pedersen is
narrowing down her options of schools to attend after transferring
from UCLA at the conclusion of spring quarter. Pedersen is
considering transferring to San Diego State or UC Santa Barbara,
Olivier said. However, it is still early in the process and
Pedersen has not yet cemented her decision, according to
Olivier.