EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of a three-part series dissecting the 2019-20 UTC women's basketball team. Today we'll break down the playmakers; next are the shooters and finally the inside threats.
Lakelyn Bouldin has seen enough basketball in her life to know not all change is good.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior guard, on the same hand, understands when change is necessary. The changes within the 2019-20 Mocs, Bouldin quickly points out, should make for a more UTC-like season.
"We bring a fresh new look," the three-year starter said. "We have a lot of new faces to go along with returning faces. I feel we have a more diverse, versatile group. I think we'll have a pretty deep rotation if we can keep everybody healthy. We have a lot of different looks within our rotations that could present some difficulties for teams."
UTC will open its season Wednesday night at Belmont. The Nashville program's roster includes senior forward Maddie Wright, a former Boyd Buchanan standout and the daughter of UTC football coach Rusty Wright.
The most notable change for the Mocs is in their backcourt, where the veteran Bouldin has ample help - so much so that she will, coach Katie Burrows hopes, spend most of her time as a shooting guard to take advantage of her skill.
Either way, few offensive sets will conclude without going through her.
"Good things happen when the ball is in her hands," Burrows said. "It's not necessarily to score, but she can break the defense down and they have to pay attention to her. It keeps them honest when she has the ball because they have to guard her."
That was also the plan last season, Burrows' first as head coach after eight years as an assistant, but injuries and inexperience ultimately led to Bouldin spending most of the time at point. She still managed to average 13 points and 4.4 rebounds while leading the team in 3-pointers with 54 made and assists with 60.
The versatile Van Buren High School graduate believes she will enjoy her multiple roles.
"My role is whatever is needed during any game," she said. "If it means running the one (guard position), that's OK, if it means handling the two or even the three, I'm fine with that.
"We've got multiple players who can bring the ball up the floor to start the offense, which makes it tough for a defense."
Therein lies the key. NaKeia Burks, who missed 2017-18 with a knee injury and was limited to 10 games last season, is healthy and is in line to start at point guard in her senior season.
"Lakelyn is comfortable with everything we throw at her. I would say the same for NaKeia, even though she hasn't had a ton of minutes on the court," Burrows said. "Her maturity and being her fifth year, it allows me to say something and they can just do it.
"They know me and they understand what I'm looking for. With Lakelyn, we rely on her a lot for scoring, but with NaKeia, we want her to score a bit here and there, but defensively we want her to put pressure on the ball with her length and her speed."
Also returning is New Zealand native Pare Pene, who appeared in 11 games as a freshman last season. Burrows expects her to be a regular part of the rotation after taking steps forward in several areas.
"Pare has a year under her and feels more comfortable now," Burrows said. "She's improved her shot over the summer. She hit a step-back 3 the other night in the exhibition game, and I don't know if she would have had the confidence to shoot that last year. It was a big learning curve for her."
A new addition is West Virginia native Dena Jarrells, a 5-foot-6 point who helped lead her high school team to a pair of state titles as a four-year starter. She won't be asked to do too much offensively, but Burrows believes she's quite capable of running the team right now.
"Dena exudes quite a bit of confidence for a freshman," she said. "What I need from her is (to be) a floor general. I need somebody who is going to come out and bring the ball up the court quickly. She's got some things to learn defensively - something we have to deal with with every freshman who comes in.
"Eventually, I have no doubt, she's going to make a big difference for us."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.