Whenever a team has a change in coaches, there is never a guarantee that the change will please everyone. The typical collegiate scholarship athlete attends a university because of the head coach. They would all like you to believe that it is because of the institution, but in reality, it has a great deal to do with who the coach is. All one has to do is look at Texas Tech and see what happened to that program when Bobby Knight took over.

The University of Dayton changed both men’s and women’s head basketball coaches at the conclusion of the 2002-2003 season. One moved on because he was successful. One moved on because she wasn’t. One program was stocked with enough talent to make a second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament, the other had just lost a number of players from an underachieving senior-laden team. One program was destined for success, one was not.

Within three months of Jim Jabir being named the head coach of the woman’s program, three players decided to leave. On the surface, this might be viewed as a problem within the program and in some ways it was. It was a program that could not bring in top talent and was not developing the talent it had. It was a program that did not push its athletes to where they needed to go to be successful. When Jabir took over, that changed immediately. An athlete playing for Jabir would have to work and work hard. As a result of this and for personal reasons, three players left the program and another would follow one third of the way into the season.

Those that stayed worked hard. Those that stayed experienced more losses than they would have ever imagined. Those that stayed grew more that they would have believed. By the end of the season, only six scholarship athletes would often dress for games. Yet, this group of players played hard every minute they were on the floor and took several more talented teams to the end before running out of gas. This was a team that learned a lot about basketball and even more about life.

Early in the season, the Flyers played the University of Cincinnati and it was just one piece of the learning puzzle. It was a game that would end in defeat, like so many this season. Yet, Jabir would use this time on the court to teach and to make better players. You will now get an opportunity to understand a piece of what was experienced that day.

12:54 PM Coach Jim Jabir begins writing pre-game strategies on the locker room white board in preparation for the 2:00 PM home game against the University of Cincinnati. This will be a difficult game against a team with two potential All-American candidates. This is the hardest time for Jabir. Virtually all of the preparation has been completed, yet there is over an hour before the game begins. This is a hard time for any coach. They can’t go out and shoot around like the players can to get loose. They have to sit back and wait for the action to begin.

Jabir has viewed the game films himself, but like any good coach, uses his assistants well. They have each put in 10-14 hours of specific preparation for this particular game in addition to the normal practice work. One has put together the offensive plan, while another has put together the defensive schemes.

1:00 PM Jabir does his pre-game radio show with WHIO. The stands begin to fill with early birds looking for the best seat in the house. The women continue to shoot before the game.

1:10 PM Jabir interrupts his pre-game preparations to speak to one of the ball girls whom he recognizes from one of his camps. He just can’t stop being Mr. Niceguy and makes the young lady’s day.

1:13 PM We move back to the locker room and I take the opportunity to ask the coach if he was satisfied where they were at that point in the season, not withstanding the poor record. Ever so honest, he related that he was disappointed with their progress. He felt that there should have been more leadership from the seasoned players, better shooting from the entire team, and more of an inside presence. He felt that they had, in fact, taken a step back. All coaches are never happy, but I could read a real disappointment in his words.

1:15 PM It’s only a few minutes before the players come back to the locker room and Jabir is going over what has been written on the white board, including a statistical summary of each game and how they compared to pre-season goals.

“You always worry about everything, but when you are good you are at another level. You are looking at mismatches, you are looking at what you can exploit. Here, you are looking at your ten fingers and are trying to fill all the holes in the dam. I wish I could just worry about their two stars, because my two stars can match up pretty well. We have to compensate, compensate, compensate.

“You have to remember when you are building that it is a learning process. You still continue to aim high, but you also have to remember where you are. It doesn’t do you any good to be a fatalist and constantly be negative,” related Jabir.

1:18 PM This will be the fourth time the team goes over assignments. This is the last rehearsal. Stacie Terry puts down the defensive assignments that each player needs to be keenly aware of. Jabir and the rest of the assistants finalize their thoughts before the players return. They know the tendencies of each of the opposing players, they can only hope that it has sunken in to their own players.

1:23 PM The players return and Jabir goes over the five starters for UC and talks about the match-ups. He emphasizes that there have been times over the last few games where they get lost on the court and the strengths of each opposing player is forgotten. Every player is quizzed on what they should do under several scenarios.

“Know who the shooters are when they are in the game. As long as we contest the threes, we will be OK. It is not one-on-one out there. It is five on one. We need to know not only where our player is, but where the ball is. Help out. When Humphries doesn’t have the ball, she is just like anybody in the stands, she can’t hurt us.

“I don’t want you to stop shooting, but if we are running and have a wing open, do not stop here (at the top of the key), hit the open player, take it to the basket. We have to start hitting these shots. If she is not there (on the wing), then I’ll be mad at her. But if she is, you have to get her the ball.

“Turnovers are killing us. It has gotten better since our trip out west, but we have to get it down to 18 or less. What really kills us is when we steal the ball and turn it right back over. I want to go really fast, but I don’t want to hurt us. Do you understand the difference? Make sure you have a target and make sure that they get there before you make your move. We have to control it on both ends. I don’t want Merrill going off and getting five or six offensive rebounds. We can’t have Young go from the three to the four and use her athletic ability to hurt us. We need to be quick to switch off on her. Don’t be robots, be aware.”

It is obvious from the looks on each of the players faces that they have heard this all before, but that doesn’t keep each of the coaches from throwing in their own input. This is a big game in the sense that UC is a better team and an intrastate rival. A win for the Flyers could get their season back on track and show that they can beat a talented team at the Arena. Everything from what to do when a certain player goes to her left, to knowing who will penetrate and who will not, to having the bench mimic the opposing coach when she yells out a play. There is nothing like having the opposing players on the court think that you know what play is coming.

Jabir closes with, “Cincinnati is an NCAA team, they go every year. They are 6-1 and we are 1-4. They know they are going to win this game. We have to use that to our advantage. We cannot back down, I don’t care who they are. You have worked hard and we are getting better every day. Is there anybody outside this room that thinks we can win? I don’t think so, but that is OK. We know we can win. Just keep going at it and going at it and going at it. Let’s have some fun.”

With that, the team says the Lord’s Prayer, puts all of their hands together and yells, “The Flyers are number one.” It is now 1:38 PM and they only have 22 minutes before they get to expel all of this built-up energy. Back slapping and random shouting can be heard from down the hall as they jog back to the court to continue warming up.

1:39 PM As the Flyers near the court, the Flyer Pep Band blares out the UD Fight Song. It is now 20 minutes before the opening tip and just 100 people are in their seats. This is the plight of a women’s program that has not won consistently in almost 20 years. If this were the men, the game would be sold out and the stands would be buzzing. It is easy to see that Jabir has an uphill battle to fight and not just in regards to the talent pool.

1:45 PM The pig-tailed and pony-tailed ball girls are chomping at the bit for something to do. The referees meet with the captains from each team at center court to go over rules.

1:50 PM UC returns to locker room.

1:52 PM UD returns to locker room.

Jabir appeals to each of their competitive natures. “I don’t care what the score is at the end of this game. I want them to know that we came to play and they had to give it everything they had every minute of the game. Let’s show them who we are. They only way that you can do that is to never back down.”

1:59 PM Jabir shakes each of the officials hands and just before game time, everybody is everybody’s buddy.

2:00 PM The pre-recorded national anthem is played, the players are announced and the seven cheerleaders give it their best.

2:03 PM Jabir gives his last minute instructions and does his best to get them fired up. They run out on to the court and Jabir does the Sign of the Cross.

2:05 PM The Flyers control the tip and it is time to see if all of the preparation on and off the court will help upset the heavily-favored Bearcats. It doesn’t take long and the turnover bug rears its ugly head. Bearcats’ ball.

2:07 PM UD rebounds own miss and take a 2-0 lead.

2:10 PM UC finally scores, but UD hasn’t taken advantage of their poor play and the score is 2-2.

2:11 PM Papa John’s excites the crowd far more that it should and lukewarm cheese pizza is once again glorified by one and all.

2:15 PM UC’s point guard commits her second foul and Harvey enters in her place. Immediately the coaches yell, “Shooter, shooter.” Thirty seconds later Harvey drains a wide open three.

2:25 PM Robinson pops a 22 footer and the Flyers trail 15-12 as both teams continue their ugly play.

2:30 PM It is easy to see that UC’s athletes are quicker and stronger, yet they only lead 15-14 with six minutes left in the first half. Maybe, just maybe, Jabir can pull off a miracle. At each media timeout, he pleads with the offense to be patient and work the ball inside. He compliments their defensive success, but spends more time talking about switching and talking on defense than he does on offensive efficiency.

2:31 PM Strong goes down hard on a fast break attempt, gets fouled, and makes both ends to give UD what would become its last lead of the game at 16-15 with less than six minutes to go in the first half.

2:36 PM UC 17-16 with 4:03 remaining in the first half, Jabir calls a full timeout. He uses virtually the entire timeout to preach the advantages of actually trying to rebound the basketball on both ends of the court. Too many times he has seen the basketball hit the floor after a missed shot with UC continually grabbing each free ball. This is not the type of pep talk that a soccer coach gives his six-year-olds.

2:45 PM UD continues to miss free throws and shots in the paint. Robinson, although one of the more athletic Flyers, prefers to take 25 foot three pointers that fail to connect. It’s 25-21 at the half and UD stays close only because UC has forgotten that the point of the game is to actually hit an open shot now and then. The Flyers retreat to the locker room with a real chance to win the game however.

2:46 PM As the players have an opportunity for a quick trip to the restroom, the coaches discuss potential offensive improvements while waiting in the hall. When they all gather around the white board, Jabir is not happy.

“Is there anybody on this team that can shoot the ball? We are giving up lay-ups on your side in transition Katie (Butler)! You have to play up to this level! You are doing a good job, but that is the part that you need to get better at, OK?! Don’t run out at them like they are shooters and then allow them to drive by you for lay-ups. They can’t shoot the ball!”

As he shows them what their first half shooting numbers are, “What do you think you should be doing when we take a shot? Think of it as an assist. Go get the ball and put it in. We are taking one shot and we are out. That has got to get fixed. We played Young very well. She did not score in the half. I’m sure that has never happened to her before. But, Jen (Strong), I noticed that you were relaxing a little toward the end of the half. You were more straight up and down, not in a good defensive position.”

Although not a panicky time, a great deal of information is given to each of the players. There seemed to be only a slight variation in the thought pattern presented at the beginning of the game. Although technique was discussed, the game plan was not changed. This is a time when the coaches dominate; not a two-way street. The players sit and listen for the most part. They were only down four so only slight improvements were needed to make this a win.

2:58 PM Back out on the court and ready for an interesting game. Much like the first half, Dayton struggles from the floor.

3:06 PM UC ups thelead to 33-24 as the first media timeout of the second half approaches. At the time out, Jabir stresses getting the ball down low and being smart on offense. Still not panicked, yet there is concern in his voice because he realizes that this type of a lead is significant when a team is not shooting the ball well.

3:11 PM UD continues to turn the ball over and UC responds by stretching the lead out to 40-28. Only 13 minutes remain as Jabir is forced to take a timeout to stop the bleeding. As is the norm, defense is the main topic. The hope is that good defensive pressure can force turnovers and create some offense. There isn’t a person in the building that doesn’t realize that Dayton is scoring at a pace of less than one point per minute on the game clock. Tough to cut into a 12-point lead with no leader on offense.

3:17 PM Dayton is on a mini-run and forces UC into a timeout, 40-33. Stull is showing some cobwebs as she comes off the bench, but it is easy to see that she is the best rebounder on the team. Eleven minutes and some change remain.

3:19 PM Dayton continues to chip away and at the media timeout, the lead is down to 42-36. The increased defensive pressure has shown results, as UC seems befuddled on their end of the court.

3:21 PM Stull drops in a little left-handed hook to drop the lead to four and the crowd senses that Dayton is taking over the game.

3:25 PM Eight minutes to go and UC ups the lead to eight and UD responds with yet another turnover. The game is slipping away.

3:29 PM UC literally stands flatfooted to get another offensive rebound and doesn’t even have to jump on the ensuing lay-up for a 10 point lead.

3:33 PM The lead moves to 50-38 and you can see it in the Flyers’ eyes that the game is over. They had an opportunity but let it slip away. Jabir keeps coaching, but it is difficult to know if it will make a difference on this day. They seemed to have devised ways to get open, but can’t throw the ball in the ocean. No offense looks good when lay-up after lay-up is missed.

3:40 PM Two minutes remain and UC gets their 19th offensive rebound with little difficulty and lead by 20.

3:45 PM The game finally comes to a close as UC wins 62-40 after outscoring UD 20-2 in the game’s last 10 minutes. Just one time of many that UD would play a team even for most of the game, only to have a 5-10 minute stretch when the basket was about the size of a thimble. Back to the locker room with some final thoughts by Coach Jim Jabir.

3:50 PM The coaches go over the final stats and talk about the positives and negatives produced by this rather young UD team. Amazingly enough, there is no wailing and gnashing of teeth. Calmness prevails.

“Get your heads up! I’m really proud of you guys today. You played your butts off. You all followed the plan. You had hearts this big today (hands spread apart). I’m really proud of all of you guys. We had a five or six minute stretch when we kind of imploded. As a coach, you try to teach that we are going to do this and this and this. You then hope and pray that somebody actually does it. We have this beautiful Arena with perfect 10-foot rims. We have basketballs that are perfect for shooting. Instead of sitting and watching TV, we need to get out there and work on our shooting. I don’t know what we shot, but I’m thinking that if we shoot 10% better we are in this game.

“Do you understand what I am saying to you? The hard part is doing what the coaches lay out to do. You are doing that. You played hard today. The shots are going to fall. We need to wear out those basketballs.”

President Dan Curran has been standing in the adjacent room and that fact is not lost on Jabir. “President Curran, we can get new basketballs if we wear these out, can’t we?” After an affirmative head shake, “See, just go wear them out. I’m proud of you guys! Don’t be satisfied. We didn’t do anything. Flyers are one — one, two, three.”

The team circles with their hands in the middle and in unison shout, “Flyers are one!”

Sadly, this team never learned to shoot the ball. The team shot 37.5% for the season. They turned the ball over 100 more times than the opposition. They played several games with only six or seven available players. This was a team that could have quit early in the season, but fought in each game like it was the last game of their careers. This was a season filled with losses, but a season filled with learning. Sometimes we forget exactly what a university is supposed to do.