Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
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Covington, Badgers working to get in tune LUCAS AT LARGE MIKE LUCAS • UWBADGERS.COM C anton Jones. Nicki Minaj. Lecrae. Anya Covington had a song in her head, if not her heart; multiple songs and artists. "I had to make the warm-up CD for our home games,'' said Cov- ington, a senior on the Wisconsin women's basketball team. "We had to text the whole team and get everyone to send suggestions. "After downloading all the songs on iTunes, we put it together in the right mix so at the beginning we have music we really like and at the end there's stuff that the audience gets excited about also.'' Did first-year head coach Bob- bie Kelsey get to suggest any of her own music? "There's not too much old school, which I'm a fan of,'' Covington said, "and I would say she's old school, too. But we're going to try and get her up to our speed.'' Turnaround is fair play since that has been Kelsey's mission — to get the Badgers up to speed. "It's been smooth, it's been excit- ing,'' Covington said of the transi- tion. "I was ready when it hap- pened. It was actually a blessing in disguise for everyone that's part of this program.'' Kelsey wants to play at a higher tempo than previous UW teams. She also wants everyone to get touches and share the ball. "That's awesome for our person- nel,'' Covington said. "She told us from the start, 'If you can't shoot, you won't play. If you can't run, you 10 » VARSITY NOVEMBER 3, 2011 "I define leadership by doing what you say and being able to influence your teammates to go in the direction that they need to go.'' won't play.' I think everyone got the memo. She's very demanding but we need that — we need that structure.'' Kelsey made a good first impres- sion with Covington. "She's pas- sionate, she's trustworthy, she's a player's coach,'' Covington said. That was her view shortly after Kelsey was hired to rebuild the Badgers. "I feel the same about her to- day only deeper about all of those things,'' Covington said. "It's very important to trust your coaches and to have a relationship where you can go to them. "And not only with basketball but with other things and they're going to keep it separate so that when you step in-between the lines, it's about what's in-between the lines and nothing else.'' It's quite obvious that Coving- ton has become a team leader, and enjoys the responsibility. "I love it and I take a lot of pride in it,'' she said. "I define leadership by doing what you say and being able to influence your teammates to go in the direction that they need to go.'' Covington, who hails from Ed- wardsville, Ill., has been working in concert with co-captains Ashley Thomas, a senior from Glenview, Ill., and Taylor Wurtz, a junior from Brandon, Wis. Acknowledging that the Badgers are shorthanded — in terms of scholarship players — Covington said, "We're going to outwork other teams because that's what we have to do.'' Expectations are understandably low given the graduation losses. "But that's alright,'' Covington stressed, "we like being the under- dog.'' Transitions can be difficult. But there have already been some en- couraging signs in advance of their exhibition opener Thursday night at the Kohl Center. Since the first day of practice, Covington said, "We've improved so much. Coach has used an anal- ogy of a baby being born. At first, it's not the prettiest thing you've ever seen. "But after a few months, it starts to look better. We're at that stage of looking better.'' She said that knowing that the growth of this program will be mea- sured in baby steps. "We're all relying on each other,'' Covington said. Music to Kelsey's ears.