Loralyn Murdoch is adding three - and possibly four - Prince George players to her roster for next season.
Murdoch, head coach of the UNBC Timberwolves women's basketball team, will have guards Cassie Rerick, Mavia Nijjer and Chantel Nicholson in her lineup and may also bring post player Emily Aase on board. Aase's exact status is yet to be determined.
"She's a player who we've identified and we're going to work with in the spring, with the intent of her coming to UNBC," Murdoch said. "She's a recruit, but she's got some work to do.
"Her size is something that we can't teach," Murdoch added. "She's got great hands and she's athletic. The fact that she has now taken that step to speak to me and say that she wants to train and play basketball at the next level, she has all the tools to do it."
Aase is playing for the PGSS Polars this high school season.
As for Rerick, Nijjer and Nicholson, they may not see a ton of game action in the 2013-14 Canada West campaign but are projected to take on significant roles later in their careers.
"Typically, young players coming into Canada West, it does take two to three years before they become impact players and they're all capable of coming in and practicing hard and getting better," Murdoch said. "I think that's more what I'm looking for, is the potential to become that player. How long it takes to develop that is very individualized."
This season, Rerick fills a point guard spot for the Duchess Park Condors.
"Cassie's been on our radar for quite a few years now," Murdoch said. "She has done everything that she can possibly do, from a very early age, to let us know she wants to play basketball. She's done the Junior Timberwolves, she's done the provincial team thing, she's done the club program and she's just a really good kid. In this last year, she has really committed to PacificSport and their training program and we've seen a big improvement in her and how she plays."
Nijjer is a shooting guard for the Polars. Murdoch calls her a Lone Ranger type of player, because she has done much of her learning outside of an organized setting.
"She's always in the gym and she's always trying to get better," Murdoch said. "We've really seen in the last year, just through her own determination, that she has developed into a very nice player. She has now bought into the PacificSport program and is doing that on the side. She's going to start doing some individual training with some of our coaches up here. She wants to keep improving and she doesn't have to do it on her own. We're willing to help her get to where she wants to go and I think she's going to be a really great player."
Nicholson, meanwhile, is a backcourt leader for the College Heights Cougars.
"Chantel came on the radar later and has developed quite nicely over the last few years," Murdoch said. "She has the ability to be very competitive and we're going to see if she can carry that over to the practice environment."
Murdoch is continuing her recruiting efforts and, with her future needs taken care of, wants to add players who can step into game situations next season and be difference-makers.
"I'm not looking for any more people to come in and practice," she said. "We've got four additional players committed and our numbers are fine. I need to get some people that can possibly come in and be impact players right away."
The T-wolves, 4-8 in their inaugural Canada West season, will tip off against the 5-8 University of Winnipeg Wesmen Thursday at the Northern Sport Centre. The game will start at 6 p.m. and will be followed by men's action at 8 p.m.
