*Heading into this season the biggest question mark in my mind and I think the coaches minds was if Ilse was going to get cleared by the NCAA clearing house. This was an unknown until a couple of days before the season started. Coach Box told me that she had done everything she was asked to do but they never could get a ruling. I had waited to say anything about this situation, but Coach Box talks about it in today’s video.
Looking at our roster, we really only had 3 girls who could play the 4 or 5 spots and Katey Richason suffered ankle injuries twice last year, keeping her out for 3 or 4 weeks each time. However, with her we do have enough depth there to get through the season and I feel really confident now that we will be one of the best teams in the MAC this year. About Ilse, she is 6-3, athletic and smooth, almost graceful. I would say she has a very high ceiling and will just keep getting better this year. She seems to be very coachable. Looking back, the last time we had a 6-3 girl with this kind of potential was Savannah Kluesner, and Ilse is probably a year ahead of where Savannah was at this point. It is hard to find girls of that size and athleticism to come to a MAC school.