Retaining this crop of players was a tall order in itself and free agency was shaping up to be a busy time for Bendigo. Head coach Kennedy Kereama told the The Next: “Teams evolve. You look around the league and a lot of teams have evolved and made changes and we’ve gone through that same process. Typically you can’t go into the market and figure out what you want to bring in until you know what you’ve retained. So that retention piece is pretty important.”
Departures of Whitcomb and Burton put the Spirit on the clock early into proceedings, leaving the team with gargantuan holes to be filled. “Once we knew that Veronica was going to be staying in the U.S. and Sami had an offer overseas in Europe, then we knew we had to find replacements for for both of those players,” Kereama said.
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Of the Spirit’s three All-WNBL selections, only Griffin remained, signing in Bendigo alongside Tolo. Kereama shared, “We were able to re-sign Tolo and that was announced pretty early and KG was fairly similar. Once we had those two, well we knew were pretty good in the forward departments.”
The two are reliable defenders, combining for four-and-a-half stocks (steals plus blocks) and 16.5 rebounds per game. Griffin averaged 12.7 points per game on 45% shooting and Tolo was an elite play finisher with 14.3 points on 57% from the the field. The pair work in perfect symbiosis with an eager back court and laid out Bendigo’s blueprint when they each decided to re-sign.
Told told The Next, “Once I saw Kelsey was in, it definitely makes it more enticing to come to a team when you have such a great leader and amazing person to be around. You know, every time that you go to practice and games and it makes life a lot easier and more enjoyable to have someone like a really good friend that Kelsey is for me. I think that is a big part of why I play basketball is because I love connections, and I love team sport in that sense.”
Griffin then interjected, “She’s just saying that because she dominated me at one-on-one the other day.” The two shared a laugh before Griffin continued, “I very much tried to not leverage my friendships in the recruiting process. I want people to join a team because they want to be a part of the team and it’s in their best interest. But as soon as I found out she was going to go around, I was ecstatic.”
Tolo added, “I don’t think we even really chatted about it.” This would be an indictment on most teams, yet Bendigo is easily able to trust in what they are building, such that the players don’t actively have to canvass each others interest.
The Spirit were also able to retain Wehrung and Samuels, who shot 39% and 34% from 3-point range, respectively, and both on high volume. The two have been solid contributors as Bendigo has navigated a heap of roster turnover at their top end over the past three seasons.
Wehrung spoke on her decision to stay with Bendigo, telling The Next: “It was a bit of a no-brainer for me. Especially at the point in my career that I’m at — Bendigo just feels like home and like the right fit for me. I really value the friendships and the connections that I have with people at the club there and in the team. And obviously, you win the championship, you don’t really want to go anywhere.”
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Wehrung’s decision was perhaps the most emphatic, as the 3-point specialist has also turned herself into one of the league’s best defenders. Her selflessness allowed her to shine in a role off the bench, although she’s clearly capable and worthy of a starting role in the league. The idea of the team being larger than the individual isn’t just something said by members of the Spirit. In fact, you’ll barely hear anyone say it — they’ll just show it.
“We kept in touch [over the offseason],” Wehrung shared, “Not so much about basketball, but just life in general. I do really value the friendships and the connections that I have with those people. That’s what made last year so special. We just really, really appreciated everyone as human beings away from basketball as well.”
The Spirit have a healthy balance of life and basketball, with life always coming first. This focus also led to Bendigo domination on-court even if that wasn’t an explicit priority, which has led to a dominant free agency.
Kereama circled back to elaborate on his replacements for Whitcomb and Burton, saying, “That process was a fairly thorough one. Obviously Sami being Australian, it was about finding a comparable Australian player that could effectively fill that position. So [general manager] Dan [Jackson] and I spent a good amount of time trying to put the best pitch we possibly could to [Izzy] Borlase.”
Left unsaid in this quote was that the same process was being undertaken for Burton, and the Spirit were able to land Megan McConnell. McConnell wrapped up an impressive college career at Duquesne with an exceptional senior year this past NCAA season. She led the Atlantic 10 in points, assists and steals per game, at 18.4, 5.0 and 4.1, respectively. She also led the conference in minutes per game in each of her last two seasons, graduated with three All A-10 and two All A-10 Defensive team selections, as well as the title of Defensive Player of the Year.
McConnell, who played for the Phoenix Mercury until she was waived on June 26, spoke on her decision to sign in the WNBL with The Next, sharing, “When I re-signed with Phoenix, and I went back out there, obviously, I got injured, unfortunately. But I think that’s kind of what helped me because, when I was in training camp I had some offers from Sweden and other places. But, once I got re-signed to Phoenix, I think that’s really what made it happen.”
“My agent was in contact with a bunch of people and he said this was probably my best option. And then he texted me and said they wanted to sign me. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so exciting!’”
McConnell played with Whitcomb in Phoenix and credited her guidance during her time in the WNBA as a catalyst to make the move to the WNBL. McConnell joins the Spirit with a similar play style as Veronica Burton.
“I think having that high level IQ as a point guard is something that I’m hoping to bring to the team,” McConnell said. “Then obviously my defense, just being able to get steals and more possessions for our team, I think, is going to be huge. And then, just creating open shots for other girls coming off of, dribble hand-offs or pick-and-rolls, I play really well out of those two. I’ve already talked to coach [Kereama] and we’re going to be running a lot of that stuff.”
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The Bendigo Spirit are returning with a similar team profile to last season. While they are the reigning champs, they aren’t buying into the pressure of defending that title. When asked if the chance to defend a championship played a part in Griffin’s decision to re-sign, she said:
“To be honest, it didn’t. My view of success and what success looks like has changed as I’ve gotten older and experienced more of life and basketball and being a professional athlete. The championship was incredibly special but the reason it’s important is because of how we did it, the way it did, the time and energy involved. When I look at the defense of a championship, I guess championships are more like a finite outcome. What I’ve come to learn, is that if that’s my sole focus and the only thing that I prioritize in a season or over my career, there’s going to be a lot more, I guess, unfulfilling seasons. Even seasons where you do win, if I’m not going about playing basketball and having basketball integrated into my life in a sustainable way, I’m not going to be happy anyway.
“What this upcoming season is going to look like for me is going to be very similar to what I’ve done for most of my career, which is trying to help build a sustainable team that impacts the community, impacts young athletes, young people, and does it in a really positive light. … That’s what success looks like for me.”