The Maryland women’s basketball team has come under fire during its preseason practices this year — and not just from the coaching staff pushing the players or from alumni playing hard against them on the scout team.
The Terps have been hit with some friendly fire.
“Just making sure you don’t get hit in the head,” guard Kristen Confroy said. “[Guard Ieshia Small] really likes to throw no-look passes, and a lot of people have had difficulty with that.”
Small, who transferred from Baylor last season and took an NCAA-mandated redshirt year, will make her debut as a Terp in Wednesday’s exhibition against Bluefield State. In her first few months of full participation, the Terps feel she’s made significant contributions on and off the court.
“Her vision on the court is something I’ve never played with,” guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough said. “I’ll be standing, thinking I’m guarded, and she’ll give me a pass. I’m wondering how in the heck she saw me open and got through her defenders.”
Though her passes may sneak up on teammates, Small rarely does.
“You hear her when she comes into the room,” Walker-Kimbrough said.
That boisterous personality has helped the Miami native adjust to a unique position on the team this year.
The Terps have the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, and those six rookies bolster the team’s 14-player roster. Small isn’t part of that class, but she’ll be a newcomer in Maryland’s game day action.
“You could see her as one of the leaders of the new people,” freshman guard Sarah Myers said. “She kind of knows her way around the ropes and everything, but she also still hasn’t played in a game yet, like the rest of us.”
Myers has asked Small about how the team would set up for pictures at media day last week. Freshmen Destiny Slocum and Jenna Staiti regularly ask her simple questions about what to do and how to approach plays.
Last season, Small was the one asking those questions while she grappled with her sideline role.
“It challenged who I was as a player and as a person,” Small said. “It was a long year.”
After committing to Baylor as a top-20 recruit in the class of 2013, Small played in 65 matchups over two years. But she transferred to Maryland after her sophomore season and had to adjust to her reduced responsibilities.
“I always was known as the player on the team, or playing or starting or stuff like that,” she said. “This time I had to encourage my teammates and get them involved in the game.”
The team lauds the amount of energy Small brought last season. She drove herself to some away games and offered pointers to her teammates from the bench.
“I came at peace with it,” Small said. “I had a great time sitting out and learning everything and getting to know the coaches and teammates.”
While working with the scout team, her vision and versatility sharpened the Terps’ defense for the opponents while helping her build familiarity in the system.
This year, instead of Small’s no-look passes buzzing by helpless teammates as she practiced against them, they’re hitting the Terps — ideally, in the hands, not the head.
And after a year on the sideline, the team’s oldest new player is ready to step onto the court in a Maryland uniform.
“I don’t think you could tell by my face — I’m so excited,” Small said, smiling. “The overall outcome I think is going to be great.”
