2010-11 Preview
Diandra Tchatchouang

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By Milton Kent
AOL Fanhouse

For Maryland, the offseason resembled an extended episode of "The Biggest Loser," as the team – players and coaches – dropped more than 120 pounds collectively.

However, Maryland coach Brenda Frese thinks the Terps may be ready for a repeat of their appearance in "The Biggest Winner," as in the 2006 season when her starting lineup of a junior, two sophomores and two freshmen won the national title.

Frese has evoked the memory of that year in talking about the 2010-11 edition, which features four juniors, four sophomores and the nation's No.2 freshman recruiting class.

That talk might be a bit lofty, but the Terps may have more top to bottom talent on the roster than in any of Frese's eight previous seasons in College Park. Three of the juniors – center Lynetta Kizer and guards Kim Rodgers and Anjale Barrett – saw extensive time two years ago when Maryland reached the Elite Eight. Kizer was ACC Rookie of the Year that season and only improved on those numbers last year, while adding a three-point shot. Barrett and Rodgers, meanwhile, have combined to shoot 39 percent from three point range.

Lynetta Kizer

Frese is counting on last year's group of precocious freshmen to move further along in their maturation. Forward Diandra Tchatchouang, a French native, was the only Maryland player to start every game last season and landed on the ACC All-Freshman team. Meanwhile, forward Tianna Hawkins was eighth in the ACC in rebounding and second in field goal percentage. Guard Dara Taylor finished third in the league in assists and set the school single season record for assists.

The component that may take the Terps from the WNIT, where they landed last year, to the NCAA Tournament is a deep group of talented recruits, led by 6-foot-2 forward Alyssa Thomas, a first team Parade All American, and 6-foot guard Laurin Mincy, a two-time New Jersey Player of the Year. In addition, 6-foot-4 center Alicia DeVaughn will provide support upfront behind Kizer and Hawkins.

 
Head Coach Brenda Frese
Entering her ninth season at the helm of the Terrapins, Brenda Frese has made a remarkable turnaround of the Maryland women's basketball program that won just 10 games in her first season ... Coming off a 2006 Terp squad that won a school-record 34 contests and captured the ACC's second-ever NCAA crown, Maryland finished 28-6 overall in 2007 and 33-4 in 2008, the third and fourth consecutive 20-plus win seasons ... Frese guided the Terrapins to a 21-13 mark in 2010 – their sixth 20-plus win season – and reached the third round of the 2010 Women's NIT…After earning a No. 1 final ranking in 2006 for the first time, Maryland garnered its first-ever No. 1 preseason ranking in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll ... Frese's success continued through 2009 as the Terps finished the season 31-5 and captured the program's first ACC title in 20 years ... Frese has guided the Terps to the NCAA Tournament six of the last seven seasons and has advanced to at least the second round of the Tournament for the sixth time in as many seasons ... Prior to becoming the third head coach in the history of Maryland's women's basketball program, Frese was named the 2002 AP National Coach of the Year and Big Ten Coach of the Year ... She led an 8-22 Minnesota team to a 22-8 season the next year (2002), one of the best one-season turnarounds in NCAA history ... Frese took the Gophers to what was only the school's second NCAA appearance, where they defeated UNLV in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before being eliminated by three points in the second round by North Carolina ... Frese started her head coaching career during the 1999-2000 season at Ball State, a program that had gone 66-169 in the nine seasons prior to her arrival ... Frese guided the Cardinals to a 16-13 showing in 2000 and garnered Coach of the Year honors in the Mid-American Conference ... She led Ball State to a school-best 19-9 mark in 2001, capturing the second back-to-back winning seasons in Ball State history ... Frese launched her Division I coaching career in 1994 as an assistant coach at Kent State University, helping the Golden Flashes to records of 20-8 (1994) and 17-10 (1995) during her two years there ... The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native then joined Bill Fennelly's staff at Iowa State as the Cyclones' recruiting coordinator, where she assisted in another impressive turnaround, helping ISU to three NCAA Tournament appearances in four years.