New coach steps in to guide team with six returnees

Valencia Kelly (24), one of Fort Scott Community College's six returning sophomores, was the second-leading scorer in the Jayhawk Conference last season, behind only graduated teammate Leondra Doomes-Stephens. Kelly averaged 17 points a game.
(Tribune file photo)

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In both cases, Couch came on to the job late to replace a coach who left late. And she dealt with low expectations from the rest of the conference while having a short bench.

But under those circumstances at Neosho County, Couch found success. She's looking to duplicate that here.

"My first year at Neosho County, I got hired two weeks into the school year," Couch said Friday morning. "We only had nine players, got picked to finish 10th. We wound up finishing sixth and I've used that with our kids here."

The Greyhounds, 15-16 last season under the departed Stasha Richards, have just nine players.

Despite the fact that there are six returning sophomores, including the conference's second-leading scorer last season, Valencia Kelly, and two transfer sophomores, the coaches picked the Greyhounds to finish last in the Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division.

Just to compare, Allen County has 12 freshmen and were picked to finish eighth.

"I, personally, was upset for the girls," Couch said of the pre-season prediction. "Not for me. I'm coming into a new program and I know how coaches think. But those six players returning have been through a lot. They finished sixth last year. Their expectations of what people thought of them were higher and for them to be picked 10th, some of the sophomores were upset by that. It fired them up. Last is not where I see Fort Scott and it hasn't been like that for a while."

Couch spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Newman University in Wichita, which had just completed the process of transferring from the NAIA to NCAA Division II.

Before that, Couch was the head coach at Neosho County for three seasons. She came to Kansas in 2001 to become an assistant coach at Independence under Jim Chambers.

Before coming to Kansas, Couch assisted at Brevard Community College in Florida. One of those seasons, she also assisted a high school program. Her coaching career started with six years at the high-school level, starting in 1996 at her alma mater in Titusville, Fla.

Couch's road to Kansas actually went through Illinois, where she met Chambers during a trip with some of her high-school players. He was impressed with her and offered her a coaching job, which she couldn't take at the time.

When Chambers got the job at Independence, Couch went there.

"He gave me two days notice and I packed my car and got up here," Couch said. "And I haven't left."

Couch was hired in August but had some obligations to finish up at Newman and wasn't able to start at FSCC until mid-September. She wasn't able to recruit but there were 10 players waiting when Couch was finally able to take over.

The primary difficulty so far is in trying to get caught up on pre-season work. Since Richards' assistant coach also left, there wasn't anyone to oversee any workouts while FSCC looked for a new coach.

"It's still almost like a freshmen group in a way," Couch said, "because of the fact that there's a little change in style in this offense and defense. They're learning me while I'm learning them. We really started cold. Even though we started practice in October, we were still conditioning two weeks in because of the late start."

In addition to Kelly (5' 6", Brunswick, Ga.), the other returning sophomores are Chioma Okoronkwo (5' 9", Topeka), Tashanda Jackson (6' 2", Parsons), Joy Hathaway (5' 11", Rose Hill), Shadara Hampton (5' 6", Houston, Texas) and Sherokee Bloodworth (5' 5", Topeka).

"Their understanding of the conference has been a great benefit," Couch said. "They're trying to help the three others understand where we need to be. So I think the level and effort is higher than a freshmen group but the learning pace is almost like having all freshmen. Being sophomores, they understand all the challenges we have. Sometimes though, I think small numbers can unite and become a big force."

The transfers are Kasey Teich (5' 4", Conroe, Texas), who comes over from Neosho County, and Brittany Demery (5' 10", Oklahoma City), who played last year at Division I Texas-Pan American.

The lone freshman is Kendra Mattox from Erie (5' 9").

Fort Scott had the sixth-highest scoring offense in the conference (second in the East) last season, averaging 71.5 points per game. But the Greyhounds also had the worst scoring defense in the division (18th overall at 68.8 points). While Couch would like to continue to use a run-and-gun style, she also feels that different times in the game and different opponents may call for a different approach.

"I'd love to run and gun but we can probably only do that about 50 percent of the time," Couch said. "So it's going to have to be a mix. I'm looking to play a style of ball that's going to mess up our opponent. I don't have one set tempo. We have a wide variety of offenses but the main thing is not to get into the habit of just catching and throwing the ball because that will only work a few times before the defense realizes what's going on.

"Defensively, we're going to be aggressive. Defense has been a mainstay of any program I've been at. If you can stop a team from scoring, you have a better chance of scoring yourself. It's going to be a team style of defense."

Although there are only nine players, the experience of the sophomores helps some with depth issues except maybe in the paint as Jackson is the only true center on the roster.

Kelly's assets are well known as a scorer as well as picking up a few steals last season. Hampton, Bloodworth and Teich are also guards.

"I saw Shadara would have a double-digit game one night and then sit on the bench the next," Couch said. "I don't know the philosophy behind that but we're looking for her to lead our team this year and hoping she fits right into that starting point-guard position.

"Sherokee can shoot the ball. She still needs to grow in some aspects of the game but we're looking for her to help us a little more. Kasey is a great shooter. She's probably one of our hardest workers."

Hathaway, Okoronkwo and newcomers Demery and Mattox are all listed as forwards. The first two experienced varying amounts of playing time from game to game last season. They might start a game or two, then see barely any action for some time.

"Chioma is really versatile," Couch said. "We're still trying to find her niche. She's athletic and can rebound. We're trying to find the position she can fit for us. Joy is a great kid and has a nice outside shot. We think she can do more than what she's done and we're challenging her to become more of a factor.

"Brittany is explosive near the basket and we're actually trying to help her expand her game a little bit more. She's going to be a big factor this year if she does what she has to. Kendra ... is a coach's player. She's outgoing, strong, detailed and not afraid to tell her teammates what she thinks at any time."

Jackson also fell into an area where she might play quite a bit in one game and barely at all in the next. When she got a chance for some extended time, she showed that she is a good rebounder.

Tashanda is doing really well in the post," Couch said. "We're trying to work on her strength. She has such great size and presence."

Couch emphasizes team play, particularly a belief that helping to make one's teammates better makes the team better as a whole.

"The hardest thing for us is buying into a new style and trusting the staff that we're going to do what we can to make them better," Couch said. "The quote that we've been using lately is 'Set yourself up for success; set your teammate up for success.' It goes for everything. Like passing; why give them a bad pass? They can't do anything with it. Our concentration has been on making each other better so that we're better as a whole."

The Greyhounds begin the season Thursday with a road game against the St, Mary JV in Leavenworth. Saturday, they will face Barton County in a 4 p.m. game at Arnold Arena.

NOTES -- Earlier in the year, it was announced that former Allen County assistant coach Kimya Murray was going to be Couch's assistant. Due to unforseen circumstances, Murray could not take the position. So Couch looked back to Newman and found a former player, Katasha Bledsoe.

"Katasha Bledsoe played for me at Newman the last two years," Couch said. "She worked for me in the fitness center. So I always told her, 'You've been taking orders from me the last two years, how about you come work for me for another one?' She's been doing a great job here. She's been able to relate to the kids. She's been in the conference as well (Pratt), she been through this already. She's been a great asset."

Bold -- Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division game.

(a) -- Allen County Classic, Iola

(b) -- Pratt Classic

(c) -- Jayhawk Shootout, Coffeyville