Lady T-Birds begin '02 season
By P.J. Javaheri
For the Mesa Legend

It's that time of year again, the time when our T-Birds lace up their sneakers to hit the hardwood for yet another exciting season.
Last season, the Thunderbirds finished with a mark of 19 wins and 16 losses.

The 35 game season, including the tournament saw the T-Birds finish 7th Nationally overall.

The strong finish by the Thunderbirds came to many people as a surprise, simply because they had received a very low preseason ranking.

This season, the critics have again looked passed the Thunderbirds, as they were ranked 17th.

Head coach and assistant athletic director Pam Olerich believes such a ranking is "bogus."

She says, "they don't know how we play, they haven't seen us play."

Olerich went on to say, "right now, every year is a rebuilding year for us, we have many new players and we have to see how they respond to the new system."

Olerich wants to see her Thunderbirds finish with at least 20 wins, which would most likely put them back into the playoffs.

The Thunderbirds will feature seven Freshman's and five Sophomores, three of which will be returning with last years experience.

The team also features players from all over the country such as Illinois, Utah, California, Washington and Alaska.

Recently MCC held the annual preseason Basketball Jamboree that features many teams from around the State.

The Jamboree let's coaches and players try different combinations and at the same time see each other play.

Coach Olerich says, "the Jamboree went exactly as I expected it to, it gives me an indication on our weaknesses and what we need to focus on."

T-Birds superstar Kim Campbell does not believe in preseason rankings.

"We'll do well, we have a lot of new people, but we have a lot of talent too" says Campbell.

Originally from Redmond, Washington Campbell brings with her a savvy and leadership mentality that will definitely be needed for the T-Birds.

Campbell knows the road ahead will not be easy, but that's just the way a leader likes it.

She mentions teams such as Phoenix Community College, Central Arizona, and Arizona Western.

These will be teams that will present challenges and the Thunderbirds will hold their ground to it.

With many talented players such as Kim Campbell, Alexis Crank and the 6 foot 2 inch tall volleyball star Nikki Revling, Olerich believes it will be very difficult to choose a starting lineup.

Whatever the case may be the season will get tip-off on Thursday Nov. 14, against John A. Logan here at MCC.

This is sure to be another fun and exciting season that will have MCC proving all of the critics wrong once more, so come out with you're friends, bring the noise makers and have fun while supporting you're T-Birds.