Dayton has ‘something to prove’ as first season for Williams-Jeter approaches

If there’s one other thing everyone on the roster knows for sure, it’s that there will be plenty of opportunities to earn playing time. Dayton has 10 scholarship players on the roster plus walk-on Eleanor Monyek.

“I think we all have to be able to be versatile because we’re limited in numbers,” said Ohio State transfer Anyssa Jones, a 5-10 guard from Westerville. “We’re working hard. They’re placing us in positions to play multiple spots. I think we’re going to be in a good spot.”

Dayton started practice Sept. 26. It can go as many as 30 times in the 42-day period leading up to the season opener Nov. 7 at Providence. It is practicing at UD Arena instead of the Cronin Center on campus. That’s where the interviews took place Tuesday.

A group of male UD students is helping Dayton practice, going against the women’s players every day. Williams-Jeter said the students love women’s basketball and wanted to help.

“It’s going pretty good,” Williams-Jeter said. “We’re a little dinged up here and there but nothing too crazy, so that’s always good. Getting the guys in the gym makes things go a little bit faster, a little bit tougher, which I really like. We’re defending at a high level. We’re small, so we really scatter and scramble and we’re working on that and getting to the ball defensively. Offensively, we want to get up the floor quickly and implement some of our offensive actions and free-flowing stuff.”

Freeman and Jones are two of seven newcomers on the roster. Jones left Ohio State after making 15 appearances in two seasons. Williams-Jeter was an assistant coach at Ohio State in her freshman season before taking the head coaching job at Wittenberg in the 2020-21 season.

“Tamika believes in me,” Jones said, “and she gave me the opportunity to showcase my skill and what I can bring to the team. I think we all play a really important role on this team. I don’t think anyone stands above the others. We’re also a team that has something to prove. We’ve all been in positions where we haven’t played much.”

One thing Williams-Jeter has noticed about this team is it’s about 85% full of introverts. They’re highly competitive, she said, but quiet. They react differently on the court to plays than she did during her career. She meets with each of the players one on one every two weeks to get to know them better and is seeing progress on the court.

“Coaches always talk about each team being so different,” she said. “This team is different now. It’s way more energetic because they had to get to know each other off the court.”

By leaving scholarships open this season, the coaches have more flexibility in recruiting. They have received two commitments from 2023 recruits and one from a member of the 2024 class. Williams-Jeter can’t talk about recruits until they sign but credited men’s coach Anthony Grant with some assists in on-campus visits.

“So right now, my official visits are going to go as follows,” Williams-Jeter said. “Eat breakfast. Go see coach Grant. Go home. Committed. Simple. I know he’s busy, too. He’s got a ranked team, and I love watching his teams play and his guys are very respectful and honorable. I love him. I tell him that. Whatever I need, he’s always been there. He always tries to look out for the program, which is really awesome. He’s been a great backbone.”