Rico Albarracin/ Asst. Sports Director
If there is one thing that can be said about the current Panthers’ season, it is that sophomore Jerica Coley is a star.
Coley is currently the team leader in points and rebounds, averaging 24.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. With her current scoring output, Coley is in the top five in the nation. FIU is 10-5 on the season, although they are 0-2 in Sun Belt conference play.
Things seem to be pointing up for the team. If the Panthers want things to continue to improve, as well as make a run at the SBC title, there will need to be some improvements to make.
The way the team is currently built, the Panthers will most likely finish in the top three in the conference, with Middle Tennessee possibly winning the East division and North Texas winning the West division.
The teams are so close in terms of talent that the title is up for grabs to any team that can make the right adjustments, which brings the issues that the Panthers face.
Outside of Coley, only two other Panthers average double figures in points; redshirt senior Fanni Hutlassa and junior Finda Mansare. Hutlassa and Mansare are currently averaging 13.6 points and 10.6 points per game, respectively.
With an 11-point differential between Coley and the next best scorer, Hutlassa, it shows that the offense goes exclusively through Coley.
It may not necessarily be a bad thing, since Coley is such a prolific scorer, but the ball must be spread around between different players.
The Panthers can’t count on Coley to score 24 points every single night. There needs to be higher production from the rest of the starting line-up, such as Mansare, Hutlassa, Zsofia Labady and Carmen Miloglav.
Although there is points coming from Mansare and Hutlassa, almost nothing is coming from the shooting guard and small forward positions.
Labady is currently playing 31.1 minutes per game, yet only averaging 4.1 points per game. Adding to that, she only puts up roughly four shots per game, making it seem as though she does not do much on the offensive end on most possessions.
Beacon File Photo
The weakest link in the starting lineup is Miloglav. Averaging 30.5 minutes per game, Miloglav is averaging 3.3 points on four shots per game while shooting 31 percent from the floor, her assist-to-turnover ratio is at an even one, averaging 2.9 assists and 2.9 turnovers, and she has committed the second-most turnovers on the team this season with 43, second to Coley’s 54.
Although most of what Miloglav does, such as sacrificing her body for loose balls and taking charges, is not measured by stats, there needs to be an increase in production from multiple positions to make it easier to win games.
What may help her is having her move to the point guard position and let Coley focus on the shooting responsibilities. It would give Miloglav a chance to contribute more often when FIU has the ball.
Not all is bad for the Panthers. FIU is first in the conference in multiple categories, including scoring, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounding defense and blocks, while being ranked second in defense, defensive field goal percentage and assists. Hutlassa is tied for third in the conference in steals, while Coley is first in blocks with 2.6 per game.
The team has the capability of being the best in the conference. A few adjustments can be the difference between finishing in the top three in the conference to winning the championship.
Email at rico.albarracin@fiusm.com.
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