—A new roster, run-and-gun strategy, and high-stakes early games set the stage for an exciting year.—
University of West Florida Women’s Basketball Coach Stephanie Yelton stopped by the “(We Don’t) Color On the Dog” podcast to discuss her team’s ambitious plans for the upcoming season. With a dramatically reshaped roster and an aggressive playing style, the Argos are poised to keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Built for Speed
This year’s team looks vastly different from last season. “We’ve got seven freshmen on our team. We’ve got one returner from last season and six transfers,” Yelton explained. But the changes go beyond just new faces—the expanded roster is specifically designed to support her up-tempo approach.
- The team has grown from 11 players last year to 14 this season, a strategic move that allows for constant substitutions. “I think it keeps a lot of players engaged when you’re playing up and down and you’re subbing in a lot,” Yelton said. “Players understand that they need to be ready because they are going to get in the game.”
Teaching Players to Think, Not Just Execute
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Yelton’s coaching philosophy is what she calls “conceptual basketball”—empowering players to make their own decisions rather than following rigid play calls. This represents a fundamental shift in how she coaches.
- “I knew when I wanted to go to this style of play that I was going to have to relinquish some of my control over what’s going on in the basketball game,” Yelton admitted. “We have a few play calls, but once the play kind of gets rolling, the players are making their choices on the basketball court.”
For freshmen accustomed to high school systems, the adjustment can be challenging. “There’s a lot of our freshmen, when they first come in, they ask a ton of questions because they want to be told where to go and what to do, and we have to retrain them out of that mindset.”
How Compete at This Level
Yelton was candid about the requirements for college basketball success. “We always say in our program, you can’t be short and slow in the sport of basketball. You can be small, but you’ve got to be dynamic at something if you’re small,” she explained. “You’ve got to be super fast. You’ve got to be a great ball handler or a great defender or be able to knock down shots.”
Beyond physical skills, mental toughness matters. “There’s the things that don’t show up on a stat sheet, the intangibles of I’m willing to be coached. I can be coached hard. I can overcome adversity,” Yelton noted. “And that’s becoming harder and harder to come by.”
High-Stakes Early Season Schedule
The Argos face a grueling November with seven games in 16 days, including road trips to Orlando for the WBCA Showcase and Puerto Rico. But the most crucial games may be this weekend’s matchups against Palm Beach Atlantic and Eckerd College.
- “At the end of the season, it came down to comparing us and Eckerd College for an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. And because we beat them in the very first game of the season, we got the nod into the NCAA tournament,” Yelton revealed. “That’s how important these early-season games are.”
The first home game tips off with a unique Tuesday morning game at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 18 against Tuskegee, with local elementary schools invited to attend.
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