When the UPSHOT League season began two months ago, 13 players made up Charlotte’s opening night roster.
Now, as the Crown sits at the exact midpoint of the campaign, only seven of those 13 players remain.
Those moves haven’t been random shuffling, though. They’ve all been a part of the plan.
“I think each piece that we’ve taken away and each piece, more importantly, that we’ve added to the roster, has been beneficial,” said head coach Trisha Stafford-Odom. “And it shaped the overall perspective of what I envision the Charlotte Crown as being – a fast paced team, intellectual, with good size and physicality.”
The Crown were slow coming out of the gate, dropping six of their first seven games of the season, and pulling out of that funk was an early driving force for Stafford-Odom’s maneuvering.
“I think each piece we’ve added has filled in a gap that we didn’t have early on in the season,” she said.
Two of the biggest additions to the squad came in the form dominating post presences. Michelle Onyiah joined the roster three games into the season and gave the Crown a lethal threat in the paint, immediately forcing her way into the starting lineup.
Then at the start of June came Schaquilla Nunn, a veteran forward who provided a spark right away.
“Shaquila Nun has impacted this team this last month so incredibly,” said Stafford-Odom. “She’s balanced us in offensive rebounds – giving us the opportunity to get more shots – and blocks and steals. She’s amazing.”
Nunn – who is the reigning UPSHOT League Player of the Month – came to Charlotte with a wealth of professional experience under her belt, lending the team a commanding presence on and off the court.
“Coming with the stats is also just a refreshing personality with no qualms about what a coach asks her to do,” said Stafford-Odom. “Even though she’s already attained and achieved success in her career, she gives me no questions about anything I ask her to do. She relays the message, she does it herself, and she does it with a smile.”
Dropping Nunn into the lineup was one of several key tweaks that helped right the ship for the Crown, who clawed their way out of the cellar of the standings up to second place, where they sit and boast both the best defense in the league and the second-best offense.
But while the acquisitions have worked in the Crown’s favor thus far, there is still plenty of thought that goes into them. Particularly the delicate art of maintaining a positive environment in the locker room.
“That’s something that I always question myself, prior to making a move,” said Stafford-Odom. “They’ve been my moves, and in some regard, it is definitely rolling the dice. I believe I know what I’m getting or what I have or what I’m dismissing, but you don’t know until the pieces are here how well they fit and if it will be a disruption of chemistry. I’m dealing with a very sensitive group of caring players who really form sisterhoods the moment somebody comes in. So it does affect them. When they wake up the next morning and one of their sisters is no longer a part of the roster, part of the team, it hurts.”
Harshness aside, business is still business for Stafford-Odom.
“I try to remove my emotional side out of it and be not just a coach, but the general manager,” she said. “Understand from an aerial perspective what the best move is long term for where we’re going. You have to be professionals, and I try to bring it back into perspective that this is a profession. And if you worry too much that it affects what you’re doing, you may be on the outside and that’s the harsh reality of it. Do your job. You don’t have time to worry about why that person’s not here or why coach let that person go.”
To Stafford-Odom and her staff’s credit, though, the roster churning has produced results – a testament to their vetting process.
“I’m pleased that I think I have a little bit of perspective and insight as to the players that I bring in and who they are as people,” said Stafford-Odom. “And the one non-tolerable would be coming in and messing up the chemistry and disrupting the vibe of the Crown. In the residence hall, in the locker room, on the court, I don’t want anybody to come in and disturb what we do have because I like the heart of who we are. Good people who work hard.”
The current version of Charlotte’s roster features even newer additions – Nicole Gwynn and Kiki Jefferson hopped on in mid-June while Kylie Kornegay-Lucas and KK Deans have signed deals in the past week – mixed with a solid core comprised of captains LeLe Grissett and Deja Kelly, veteran AD Durr, perennial starter Reigan Richardson, and depth pieces Quinzia Fulmore, Cori Lard and Janay Sanders, all of whom have been with the Crown since game one.
And this iteration of the Crown is clicking, as evidenced by their last outing – a gutsy win over the powerhouse Jacksonville Waves.
“I’m pleased, especially coming off of a win over the top team in the league,” said Stafford-Odom of the 90-82 road victory last weekend. “They’re probably the favorite by record and the fact that they have the most exposure being the team of the headquarters of UPSHOT. Mentally now we’ve come over that hump. I know that we can beat them. We can compete with them and beat them.”
With 17 games down and 17 remaining, things appear to be settling down when it comes to the Crown’s makeup. But that doesn’t rule out any more shuffling down the home stretch.
“I like where we are,” said Stafford-Odom. “I don’t want to just cut the limbs that are not functioning. If we can heal the limbs, that would be better. But if there’s something deeper than that, that I don’t foresee being able to change and be of assistance, then I’m not opposed to bringing in something different. But right now, I am pleased.”
It’s taken some time, but the Crown appear optimized to make a run at their ultimate prize – an UPSHOT League title.
“The goal is to be in that championship game at the end of August and be a really, really heavy contender for the champion of the inaugural season. I think we’re right where we want to be as far as that goes.”