2022-23 Wilbur Wright Lady Rams Basketball Season Preview

The 2022-23 basketball season is officially back on Sunday, as the Wilbur Wright Lady Rams open their season at the Rock Valley College Jamboree in Rockford, Illinois.

Head coach of the Lady Rams, Vaporia Smith, is going into her second season as coach of the team and is looking to bounce back after last season’s 1-12 record, which resulted in them finishing last in the conference.

I had the chance to speak with coach Smith about this upcoming season following her teams practice Wednesday evening. She believes last season taught her a lot and believes she has made the necessary changes to accomplish the team’s main goal, which is to win a championship – bringing a banner back to Wright College.

(“Player Keila Marte (far left), reporter Brady Bauer (left), player Jaysha Roman (right) and coach Zaporia Smith (far right)”)

When asked what changes were made in the offseason, Smith said: “We added 14 new players to the team, 12 freshman and two sophomores. I also added a trusted assistant coach to the staff, who follows the same basketball philosophy as me. Last year I was the only one coaching the team, so having the extra help makes a big difference.”

Some things that Smith said she looked for when recruiting the players, was for them to be “smart, disciplined, good charactered, hardworking, aggressive and passionate girls that are able to buy into my defense first mindset.” Smith preaches defense to her team, and believes it is the teams strongsuit. Smith speaks from experience on that end of the court, as she is the current all time steals leader for the Lady Rams.

Smith prioritized Freshman during recruiting process because it gives them two years with each other opposed to just the one. This season’s recruiting period opened earlier than last year’s, giving Smith the chance to attend high school and other college’s games, hold open gyms and give campus tours to different recruits that she was after.

(“Smith’s set up for recruits to take their commitment photos”)

Smith doesn’t just look for athletes, she also looks for students. She cares deeply about each player on the team and besides having the goal of winning a championship, she also wants to see each of her players walk the stage at graduation. “More than half of the team is made up of Star Scholars” Smith said. “I have spent more one on one time with my players this year, checking in to make sure that they are on top of their work and have even started weekly progress reports to keep them motivated.”

The message of winning a championship that Smith has been preaching all offseason has seemed to pay off as the players have bought into it. Two players that I also spoke with at practice, Freshman Keila Marte and freshman point guard Jaysha Roman, both echoed coaches' goal of winning a championship. Both said they will continue their basketball career and pursuit of their degree ideal future career path, regardless of how their season goes.

(“Roman (left) and Marte (Right) after practice”).

Marte is a freshman and first-year college basketball player, who plays as a power forward. She comes from a successful basketball program at Uplift Community High School. During her career in high school, Marte contributed to two conference championships and a trip to state. Despite a notable high school career, at first Marte wasn’t going to play at Wright, but she was inspired by her mentor, Maria Llopiz. “[Llopez] constantly was on me, about joining the team and kept telling me that this was a great opportunity that could potentially lead to a bigger stage of basketball” Marte said.

The words that Marte’s mentor preached rang true, as Marte now has interest from Lewis University to pursue her basketball career as well as her academic career.

This season, the main goal for Marte is for the team to be the best that they can be, and for it to culminate in a championship. She believes they will reach these goals based off of the principles of communication, chemistry and defense that Smith has been preaching to them.

When asked what game she was looking forward to most this season, she said “Malcom X, because they are a very well coached team, and it would be a good measuring stick game”. Marte added that “all of the Wright students should get to that game and support the Lady Rams.”

Roman, a point guard, is another one of the 12 freshmen on the team. In her senior year of high school she averaged 5 points and 8 assists a game and took home her conferences three-point contest competition title. However, she isn’t just a three-point shooter, with Smith adding that “she can do it all on the court and is the leader and the heartbeat of the team.”

When asked what makes her trusted by her coaches and teammates on the court, Roman said “I’m always motivating the team and making sure that everyone gives all they have, and I guess I lead by example on the court.”

This season Roman’s goal is to win as many games as possible and continue to build up her grades to hopefully graduate in a couple years. After her basketball career at wright, she hopes to follow it up by playing at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and says she is prepared to continue her academic career their as well even if basketball doesn’t work out. This season the game that Roman is looking forward to most is against Harper college, because she believes that last year’s team should of beat them, and that this year they have a strategy in place to slow them down.

Smith, the coaching staff and the Lady Rams are ready to prove the rest of the conference wrong. This season Smith said, “being a young head coach, just in my second year of coaching, I believe that there are a lot of people that I have to prove wrong, and I think with team I have this year, we are going to do just that.”

Asked what she wants fans to know about the Lady Rams, Smith said she wants the Wright Community to know that they are all welcome to the games. Smith also said that she is pushing everyone on the team to pursue their individual and team goals, to accomplish what they set out to do this season and to win a championship and bring the banner home.

If you are interested in following the Lady Rams during their pursuit to the championship, their Instagram can be found @lady_rams_wbb. Their first game action is Oct. 16 at the Rock Valley Jamboree, and the first official regular season game is Tuesday, November 1 and the schedule can be found here. They ask that you out and support the team.