By Kim Doss, Her Hoop Stats
What happens after an alumna who coached your program for six years and took it to unprecedented heights decides it’s time to retire? How about when the same program’s all-time leading scorer and the Missouri Valley Conference’s career leader in made three-pointers exhausts her eligibility after suffering a career-ending injury the same year? The Bradley Braves are ready to find out in 2022-23.
Bradley is moving on to the next era after former head coach Andrea Gorski and leading scorer Gabi Haack both ended their time in Peoria, Illinois last season. New head coach Kate Popovec-Goss and last year’s MVC Freshman of the Year Caroline Waite now hope to lead the Braves into the next era of success on and off the court.
“Losing a lot of players from our roster is always hard, especially knowing you're close with them and it’s difficult,” Waite said. “But we have a really great group of girls this year…and we all have good relationships with each other and we're building that chemistry. So I really love this team this year too. It makes up for losing players from last year.”
That group of players is learning together. Popovec-Goss has introduced her own system which both returners and newcomers are mastering.
“We're putting in a whole new defense which I’ve never ran before,” Waite said. “So that'll be different and our offense will be different. We’re doing a lot of read and reacts for offense. So we're putting in offense just to use what we know about basketball. Just play the game. It's not super structured. It allows us to be very free in what we do and has less sets.”
Popovec-Goss was hired off Joe McKeown’s Northwestern staff in April. She inherited a team that does not feature a lot of returners. In one way that’s positive, since the system is undergoing so many changes. On the other hand, she had to delve into the portal quickly because she inherited a team of seven that included five post players.
“I'm 6-foot-4, so I love my bigs and I love post players,” Popovec-Goss said. “But, as we know, having two guards on a roster isn't going to really help you win a lot of games.”
The fact that Waite is one of those returning guards is a huge win for the first-year head coach, as Waite had a huge impact on the Braves last season.
Although Haack technically led the Braves in scoring last season with 17.1 points per game, she only appeared in 10 games before she tore her ACL in early January. Waite’s 13.0 PPG were second on the team. Her 32.4 minutes per game were third on the team and first among returners.
That production wasn’t what the sophomore guard expected when she committed to Bradley, but it has helped her in ways that could be critical to a team that has undergone so many changes in just a few months and is looking to rebound from a difficult season.
“I didn't really expect my role to be what it was,” Waite said. “It's what I wanted, for sure. I wanted to come here and have an impact right away. I wanted to play. I wanted to do things. I had a lot of goals, and it was great to be able to do that. And I'm very grateful that I was able to have the opportunities and the experiences that I got. And I learned a lot last year that I think can help me a lot this year. Growing as not a player but a person, especially as a leader last year, I think really put me in a position this year to be a leader.”
That leadership role will also fall heavily on the lone returning senior on the team, Veronika Roberts. The 6-foot-1 forward is already someone Popovec-Goss has come to rely on.
“Her role may not jump off a stat sheet all the time, but to me, she embodies exactly what I've asked people to do,” Popovec-Goss said. “Every single day, she just puts on her hard hat and brings her lunch pail and she's kind of the heart and soul of our team. She won't show up in a stat column, but she's gonna get her teammates open with the screen. She is communicating on every single thing that we do, and she's gotten herself into tremendous condition and shape. So for me, it's those types of kids that I enjoy coaching because they don't always get the shine, but they are the ones that help you win games.”
The praising of a player who won’t show up on the stat sheet aligns with lessons Popovec-Goss learned from McKeown while at Northwestern. They will be important for her long-term success as she sets out on her own.
“Joe is a tremendous coach, but also he embraces people,” Popovec-Goss said. “You win with people. You win with the people that are touching your department in a variety of ways. And I think that that's something that I wanted to bring into the culture of our program is we can all get comfy in our office. For the girls, they get comfy in [Renaissance Coliseum], going to the gym, going to lift weights, going to academics, but there are so many different people throughout campus and the athletic department that touched your experience and they help you win. So for me, that's the biggest thing I took from him is making sure that everyone that is a part of your program feels value in their role because when people feel valued, that's when I think everyone is going to give you everything that they have.”
Popovec-Goss brought other things with her that contributed to the changes, as well. She got married to Ollie Goss in August. Goss, who spent six seasons on the staff of both the women’s and men’s teams at Northwestern, now serves as one of his wife’s assistant coaches. In addition to planning and holding a wedding, the couple purchased their first home.
“It's been a whirlwind of six months, but I think in terms of transition and Bradley, it's obviously been a lot of fun,” Popovec-Goss said. “And I think the best thing that I could have asked for was I got a great group of girls. They're really bought in. They're excited. And it's been a lot of fun to grow together throughout the process. So we really enjoyed it. And it definitely comes with a fair share of challenges. I always tell my girls I'm really transparent, and I'm never going to act like I've got it all together, everything's perfect. But certainly, it's been a joy and it's been a journey so far, and we're finding that joy in the process.”
Her top player agrees. It’s what she mentioned first as she laid out her goals for her sophomore season.
“I would say just to enjoy it more, enjoy the process and enjoy playing the game,” Waite said. “Winning a lot more games is definitely a goal, but it's not what matters most at all. It’s a rebuilding year. I think we all know that. But I would say just enjoying the game, developing my game to be better for the team, and just stepping up in roles that I need to.”