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 [February 13, 2025]
By Mike Brohard
FORT COLLINS Forget the milestone because Ryun Williams certainly
bypassed the thought. He's kinda busy at the moment.
But it does suggest he has a pretty decent idea of how to handle
what he's currently in the middle of, this being his 13th season at
the helm of Colorado State's women's basketball program. All of it
has been educational, this season near the top of the list of having
to be at his most studious.
With Wednesday being Education Day, with 5,000 elementary students
from the Poudre and Thompson School districts being in attendance,
all of the knowledge gained paid off in a 72-54 victory over Utah
State at Moby Arena.
It just so happens it is the 250th victory of his career at CSU
562 in his 30-year career.
"I don't. And I won't. I'm not wired that way," Williams said. "I'm
a game-by-game type of guy, but we've had really good players here,
we've had really good coaches here. They've kept me here a long
enough time to be able to do this. Just very, very fortunate, but
those 250 aren't' just mine.
"I'm not going to put a lot of thought behind it, to be honest with
you. Air Force is right around the corner, and they're a barracuda
for us."
Game-by-game isn't a clichι this season, it's been a fact. In the
game, No. 25 on the season, Williams trotted out his 11th different
starting lineup. Some of it stems from Sanna Strom's injury forcing
change. A lot of it has to do with the versatility of his lineup,
the blend of sage experience and shocked youth.
He's viewed each player and what they can bring, then matched it up
with who they are playing, leading to an 18-7 season, 9-3 in
Mountain West play.
His role as coach has made him a bit of a puppeteer this season, his
players feeling they are at the end of a yo-yo at times. Three key
components in the victory Hannah Simental, Kloe Froebe and Brooke
Carlson have all spent the season starting and coming off the
bench. Froebe has started 18 games as a freshman, just not in the
past three. Simental, the graduate transfer, has started 10,
including the past six. Carlson has started nine, doing so against
the Aggies after coming off the pine the past two.
After a tight first stanza, it was Simental who ignited the path to
a comfortable win. As a team, the Rams had missed their first four
3-pointers, then she hit two in succession, part of an eight-point
frame which was all part of a 15-0 run to start the second.
All the while, Froebe was starting to find her spots, and so too was
Carlson. That was important as Simental would eventually get into a
bit of foul trouble and leading scorer Emma Ronsiek was a bit off
target.
While Simental was on the bench, she was getting yelled at for
things she hadn't done by Williams, who said the mistakes were her
fault because they need her on the floor. He calls her the team's
calm, and she's also a pretty good sniper, having scored in double
figures seven of the past eight games, finishing the day with 13.
Somebody had to be the spark, and this was her turn in the rotation.
"Never matters. I had some go in tonight and got the momentum going,
so that was a lot of fun," said Simental, who hit 5-of-6 from the
floor, 3-of-4 from deep. "The energy was fun with all those kids
too; whenever anybody hit a shot, everybody's screaming. It was a
lot of fun; we needed it at that time, and they were going in."
[to top of second column] |
Carlson picked her spots throughout the game to
drive the lane what Williams said was needed to break up the
Aggies' pressure and extended defense finishing with 14 points. By
the end of the night, however, it was Froebe's show.
Like she watched Simental do the quarter prior, she
scored eight in the third, and at the time, she sat just two rebound
shy of her second double-double. She reached it by grabbing her
final three rebounds off the offensive glass, getting putbacks in a
20-point, 11-board night.
Being a freshman is tough. Being one with an ever-changing role is
challenging.
She also called it beneficial, particularly with a support system of
family and coaches picking her up.
"Yeah, there's been a lot. Going from the 1 to the 5 and all over
... It's been nice to be able to know all the plays from every
position," she said. "Whenever my number is called for any position,
I can go out and help my teammates."
Where the outside world may see a bit of chaos or uncertainty, the
Rams have found a rhythm through the season. It's not just who is
starting and who isn't, it's who is coming off the bench, and when,
and where they are playing.
The team will tag it as versatility paying off, and there within,
it's been rather consistent if you look through the microscope.
"Whether you're coming off the bench or you're playing 40 minutes,
you just have to be ready. I think that's something Kloe has done,
that I've done, just do whatever is best for the team," Simental
said. "We're in the gym working hard, and when you're number is
called you just have to be ready. Thankfully, I have gotten into a
little more of a rhythm. That helps when you're feeling it a little
bit better, but every game is different, matchups are different, and
you have to trust the coaches they'll make the right call."
The milestone does mean something because of what it represents.
That's 13 seasons leading the program, where Williams could write in
a consistent five and go forth each and every game. Others, like
this season, not so much.
To reach 250 at one school, he's needed eight years of 20 wins or
more, one where the Rams posted 31. How you get there isn't
important. It's just finding the wins.
"I think we kind of figured out early it was going to be and it
kinda always is but we felt with this group a game-by-game type of
rotation," he said. "I think some kids have solidified some spots
here. We've started two freshmen in games; there's going to be ups
and downs. Every game is so crucial. That's my job to put the best
unit out on the floor that's going to give us a chance to win this
game. I really appreciate the fact they're unselfish about it.
"They're all about what it takes, and when their number is called
and maybe it's not for a lot of minutes they've produced. That
just tells me they're ready and that speaks to their character."
Being in the moment allows one to reach milestones. It also affords
them the grace to stay in the moment to make the next one possible.
[Matt Brumley
Assistant Director for Strategic Communications & Brand Enhancement
Colorado State University Athletics]
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