I tried my best to do a deep dive into the possible starting lineup for the ‘24-25 Zags in last week’s article and today, I’d like to shift our attention to the frontcourt players that may not start, but will feature on this team at various levels.

So without further ado, let’s’ jump in!

Backcourt

#35 Bree Salenbien

Junior (RS) – Guard / 6’1”

After tearing her right ACL for the third time in February 2024, fans should not expect to see her on the court for quite some time. It takes about 9-12 months for most individuals to regain full strength in the quadriceps post-surgery and this is considered an important step in returning to sporting activity. As such, I’m not expecting to see Bree on the court until about January at the earliest.

At the risk of sounding too sentimental, I’m just excited to see Bree continuing her career in sports and, regardless of how much court time she sees this season, I hope that she is enjoying herself.

It’s hard to remember that she is only a junior so this year could an opportunity to complete her recovery, catch some floor action, and head into the offseason ready to train for her senior season.

Prediction: 10 minutes, 2.5 points, 1.5 assists, 2 rebounds, 0.3 steals, 0.1 blocks

#8 Ines Bettencourt

Junior – Guard / 5’9”

This pick depends on how the coaching staff deploys Tayla. If Fortier elects to play the ex-Gael primarily at point guard, then I envision Ines being the first guard off the bench with ball-handling responsibilities. However, if Fortier rolls with a hybrid system akin to how the Truong sisters played together, then I could see Ines potentially earning a starting role alongside Tayla and fulfill a larger distributor role.

I haven’t watched Ines in action so my analysis of her playing style only comes from highlight clips like this from her ‘22-23 season.

Highlight clips obvious don’t tell the whole story about a player, but the above video looks to show an agile player with an ability to change directions at least an above average level and find teammates after breaking down the defense. She takes a little longer on her shot release than I’d like, but not everyone can be Brynna Maxwell so I’ll give that a pass here.

At the end of the day however, I’m picking Claire over Ines in this year’s starting roster prediction exercise for a couple reasons. First, I trust that with her additional time in the program, Claire will have a better understand of Fortier’s system and this will give her an edge over Ines. Second, after a promising freshman year at UConn, Ines did not have a great ‘23-24 campaign that saw all of her stats, with the exception of turnovers, worsen.

How much of that relates to Paige Bueckers return from injury resulting in limited playing time for Ines compared to a regression in her development, I have no clue, but the dip does leave more questions than answers so I’m dropping her to the second unit.

Prediction: 18 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.1 blocks

#2 Vera Gunaydin (and) #11 Allie Turner

Junior – Guard / 5’9” (and) Freshman – Guard / 5’8”

I’m slotting Vera and Allie Turner in the same category because they’re previous playing statistics suggest persons that will play the 2 spot and because they’re both total unknowns to the majority of readers, including myself. For Vera, how will she adjust to the speed of NCAA ball compared to the JuCo level. For Allie, the same question is asked, but instead of JuCo, high school.

I’ve already covered Vera in as much detail as possible with the information available in this article so I won’t rehash that whole discussion. What I will do though, is remind you all of this Lisa Fortier quote describing the staff “were immediately drawn to Vera because of her ability to shoot the ball from a distance”. As we saw with last year’s team featuring the likes of Brynna, Kaylynne, Kayleigh, and even Eliza, having someone that can unlock a defense from deep could propel her into getting more minutes.

I covered Allie last year in a Fanpost, but wanted to provide some additional details that I could find from her final high school year. After helping her team win the Missouri Class 5 District 2 Championship, Turner doubled down to lead her squad to the ‘23-24 Class 5 State Championship as well as the the #22 spot in the nation on MaxPres Top 25. In that State Final matchup, Allie did not wilt as she dropped 24 points on 8-13 shooting with 3 from deep, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. So it looks like the Zags got a player with some scoring chops and possibly that swagger that only a champion knows. This link features some of her highlights on Hudl, but I can’t embed any videos since they’re not https.

Combo Prediction: 10 minutes,

#12 Christabel Osarobo

Freshman – Guard / 5’11”

This prediction could also go to Allie Turner, but I’m selecting Christabel for the redshirt because I think there will be a greater level of adjustment for her having relocated from England and not playing basketball in America before her arrival in Spokane. It’s possible that Esther, who also hails from Ipswich, helps Christabel’s transition, but she’s going to have to out-compete at least three players above her to get minutes.

That being said, I’m excited to see Osarobo. She’s got pretty good height for a guard, and looks super long, so it’s possible, depending on her versatility, that she could slot in at the 3 spot, which is a position on the thinner side at the moment. Additionally, she dropped some pretty impressive numbers during her final year in England.

Playing for Ipswich, Christabel played in 23 games, starting 19 of them, and averaged 29.3 minutes, 11.2 points, 40% overall shooting and 19% from deep, 10.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks. She helped her team win the Junior National Cup and won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. This BBC article describes how important she was to her team’s success.

Despite being listed as a guard, those numbers scream wing. Let’s see what the coaching staff can do with this freshman. Here’s a highlight video to wet your appetite:

Prediction: redshirt