By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
When asked his biggest concerns about the 2007-08 Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits, coach Carl Buggs had to think awhile, then came up with "injuries and team chemistry."
That's just short of saying their "sneakers and socks."
The point is that there are few concerns.
But then, when you're the two-time defending California state Division I champion and return national Player of the Year hopeful Jasmine Dixon (signed to Rutgers) and Washington State-bound point guard April Cook, that's not ground-breaking news.
What was to Buggs was that USA Today picked Poly as the No. 1 team in the country in its preseason rankings.
"Wow, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing," he said. "That definitely puts a bigger `X' on our back."
That `X' was added based largely on the big back of 6-foot-3 junior center Monique Oliver, a transfer from Cheyenne (Las Vegas), who last year averaged 26.7 points and 13 rebounds per game.
The Jackrabbits (36-1 last year) haven't been blessed with a dominant post during their recent dynasty under Buggs, who isn't particularly worried about Oliver slowing down his always tenacious and up-tempo squad.
"From what I've seen, she can handle the ball, play in the open court and has 3-point shooting range," Buggs said. "We won't be slowing down. But it might be an adjustment for her."
That's because Oliver was used to doing everything at Cheyenne. Buggs' system is based on spreading the wealth and the ball. The 5-10 Dixon, for instance, averaged only about 17 points per game last year "though she could score 25 or 30 a night if we needed her to. We won't need 20 points a night from Monique. The one thing she'll definitely do is open up the perimeter for us. We'll be able to get a lot more open 3s."
An ankle injury might slow down Oliver in the early going - the team opens the season Dec. 6 at the Northwest Nike Shootout in Beaverton, Ore. - but the Jackrabbits have plenty more firepower with Cook (5-7), sophomore Thaddesia Southall (6-2), junior Kelli Thompson (5-10) and sophomore twins Ashley (5-7) and Brittany Wilson (5-7).
"We're young," said Buggs, noting two freshmen and four sophomores are among his top 12 players. "But we're talented. We'll see how that translates."