Whenever a football team has to replace its star quarterback, there is always a little tension as to how the team will run next year. The same can be said about basketball and the point guard position.
As the floor general, the point guard occupies arguably the most important position on the team. That position calls out the offense and is filled by the player who handles the ball more than anybody. So when the Utah women’s basketball team lost Leilani Mitchell this year due to graduation, there were many questions concerning who would take over the spot. Coach Elaine Elliott still doesn’t have an answer set in stone as to who will take over full time for the best point guard in the school’s history, but the answer is becoming more clear.
The Utes are considering two freshmens to run the team this year. Janita Badon and Hannah Stephens will compete for the starting spot, while both are expected to platoon for the majority of the minutes throughout the season.
“As of right now, Hannah Stephens is leading the competition for who gets to start,” Elliott said.
Badon is expected to make a push as the season goes on.
Unfortunately, Badon has missed a few practices due to personal reasons and is a bit behind the learning curve. However, Elliott expects Badon to make up a lot of ground in the next few weeks once she gets back in the swing of things. Both freshmen point guards will lack experience heading into the season, but both will bring a lot of talent to their spots.
Another option the Utes have on their roster would be Hennasea Tokumura. She can give the Utes a few different looks at the point guard spot when she is in. Tokumura appeared in 25 games last year and averaged 1.1 points per game.
While the Utes have quite a few options this year for the point guard spot, one shouldn’t expect any of them to take over right where Mitchell took off. Mitchell was the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, orchestrating her team to a perfect regular season conference record. Her 7.5 assists per game ranked No. 1 in the league. Her defensive contributions were also outstanding, as she was No. 2 in the conference in steals at 2.56 per contest.
Badon and Stephens won’t be alone in filling Mitchell’s void. Returning senior and first team all-conference guard Morgan Warburton is expected to play much more of a leadership role. Her scoring ability and experience should minimize the loss of Mitchell.
“With Leilani on the court, she had such a presence,” Warburton said. “I learned a lot from her and I hope I can fill those shoes for my team.”
This Saturday at 5 p.m., Utah will take on Southern Oregon in an exhibition match at the Huntsman Center. The play of Badon and Stephens in this game should go a long way in determining who gets the start in the season opener against Jackson St.