In Joaquin Wallace’s first season as the Gator women’s basketball coach he had only two players returning to the team from the previous year. The number grew to three the next season and to eight this year, a sign of a coach building a program and hoping to experience his most successful season to date.

Coming off a six-win season, and dropping this season’s first two exhibition games to the University of Santa Clara and the University of San Francisco, some would expect Wallace’s outlook to be bleak, but that is not the case for the Gator’s season.

Wallace is now the veteran in a trio of opponents—San Diego State, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State L.A. have all hired new coaches. Typically, the coach said, it takes at least 2-3 years to turn a program around, and Wallace said he is hoping those years are ahead of him.

The Gators boast four returners in Zalisha Oliver, Krystle Brown, Jessica Hout-Freeman and Brio Rode to join second team All-CCAA forward Krystle Mays as the teams top returners. The Gators led the conference in steals last year and ranked in the top 20 in the country in forced turnovers per game. Eight of the team’s 21 losses last year were by a 10-point margin or less.

Wallace said his team is more passionate about basketball and consider themselves basketball players rather than people who play basketball. The distinction between the two may seem small but not to Wallace.

“Basketball players practice the game, understand and have a feel for the game,” he said. “They have a passion and enjoy it. People who just play basketball play the game and may love the game but they are not consumed with it.”

Sophomore forward Zalisha Oliver said, “This year’s team has more players dedicated to the game. We are able to juggle school and athletics, which is hard to do and wasn’t done in the past.”

Freshman guard Kate Simpson said the team is on the same page off the court. The chemistry should bring them together to win more games, she said.

“I think on paper we have a better team and I think it will translate into wins,” said Wallace.

First year assistant coach Toni West also has high hopes for this team to be something special.

“The team as a whole group of players is on the same wavelengths. The basketball I.Q. is higher with this group.”