City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2022-23 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here)
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Cindy Griffin didn’t know exactly what she had in her incoming 2021 freshman class. It was a group she put together during the pandemic, getting to see Talya Brugler at Nazareth Academy pre-COVID but without an in-person look at Mackenzie Smith or Julia Nyström, having to scout the girls from Canada and Sweden, respectively, on tape and by phone.

It didn’t take her long in person to figure out she had a special group brewing.

“We really hadn’t seen them live, but just through conversation, they were leaders, they were very hard workers [...] based on what we were told and what we saw on film,” Griffin said. “We just knew that they were just great people, first and foremost, and they’re great competitors — and great competitors always rise to the occasion.”

One year later, that unknown group has established itself as the core for Griffins’ Hawks over the next three seasons, almost certain to play a major role in whatever success the Hawks find before their collegiate eligibility runs out.

Brugler, a 6-foot-1 forward was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, averaging a team-leading 10.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game while making more than half of her shots and 35% of her 3-pointers. Smith, a 5-11 guard from Nova Scotia, averaged 9.1 ppg and 3.7 rpg, shooting 38.6% from deep; Nyström, a 5-7 guard averaged 4.6 ppg, making 36.2% of her 3-pointers. 

The trio combined to make 71 starts, played more than 2,200 minutes as freshmen, scored more than 40% of the Hawks’ points a year ago. And that was just Year One.

“It definitely surpassed my expectations,” said Brugler, whose older sister Tessa Brugler starred at Drexel last year as a grad transfer from Bucknell. “I did not think that it was going to be that way, but I’m really glad that it was, that I can use that experience to help me grow in the future, and help my teammates as well.”

“It was pretty exciting,” Smith said. “I don’t think any of us expected it, but we’re very grateful to have that experience now under our belts.

“I came in with no expectations, I came in to learn and just develop myself and this group and I had no expectations,” the sharpshooting guard added. “When (Griffin) put me on the floor for the first time, I’ve never been that nervous in my entire life, I was so scared. I just didn’t think I was ready for that role, and she put me in there and she bet on me.”

That wasn’t apparent from Smith’s college debut, where she was 3-of-3 from deep to help her to 12 points in 16 minutes against Maryland-Eastern Shore. That same night, Brugler scored 14 points and grabbed three rebounds; Nyström dished out three assists and was in the starting lineup within a couple weeks.

Opening night aside, Brugler actually got off to a slow start to the season, averaging 4.4 ppg and 3.6 rpg through the next eight games. She turned it on in A-10 play, averaging 13.0 ppg and 7.3 rpg during 18 league games.

“In the middle of the A-10 play. I got myself into a rhythm and my teammates and I all started playing really well together,” she said. “I was just more confident getting into the game, I was coming off the bench towards the middle of the season and then it was just [being] more confident in myself and my teammates.”

Brugler, Smith and Nyström were three of four freshmen who played big roles for St. Joe’s last year; a fourth, 6-2 forward Laila Fair, averaged 8.6 ppg and 4.7 rpg while starting 15 games, but transferred to league favorite UMass in the offseason. They have one other classmate, Griffin’s daughter Kaylie Griffin, but she didn’t make an appearance last year.

The trio of returning sophomore starters suddenly form the nucleus for a Hawks program that’s in its 22nd year under Griffin but had been spinning its wheels for a few seasons, without a 20-win season since going 23-10 in 2013-14. Now, with impressive youth and some intriguing newcomers, there’s hope.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a responsibility,” Smith said, “Altogether we’re just a really strong group. I’m really looking forward to seeing all of us work together.”

Though all three had strong debut seasons, they all know there’s plenty to work on. Brugler and Smith both talked about working on their mid-range games, both mentioned they noticed Nyström’s improved court awareness and passing abilities, both praised the team’s overall culture and acknowledged they were starting to take some leadership roles, as well.

“I think on the court, we’re a lot older,” Smith said. “We have a lot more experience now, I think we see things now better than your typical (sophomores) would, I’m just really excited to see how we all fit on the court together.”

The Hawks were picked to finish sixth in the 15-team Atlantic 10, a four-step improvement from their preseason placement a year ago and one spot ahead of where they finished in 2021-22, a 13-17 (7-8 A-10) record still good enough to have them in the top half.

But they ended the year on a positive note, winning five of their final eight regular-season games and then two at the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington to reach the A-10 semifinals. 

“We were so young last year that at times it was like, you knew they were going to get it, but they just weren’t getting it then, and you wanted it to hurry up,” Griffin said. “And by the time the season came, at the end, we were starting to click — and then unfortunately we had to stop. 

“What I’m really happy with is we’re picking up where we left off last year.”

This year’s group will be built around the three sophomores, along with sixth-year senior Katie Jekot and a host of newcomers, including 6-1 Hartford transfer Paula Maurina and 6-2 Danish freshman Laura Ziegler. They’ve got good size across the front, guards with experience in Jekot, Olivia Mullin and Emma Boslet, a favorable schedule that opens with four of five at home, eight non-league games at Hagan Arena in total.

But there’s no doubt that the trio of Brugler, Smith and Nyström, and the step they’ve taken since last year, will be the biggest factor in their success.

So far, Griffin is encouraged.

“They’re faster, they’re stronger, their basketball IQ is better,” Griffin said. “Everything is moving faster, and as you would expect it to be with them, just a little bit more crisper. They know what to expect [...] and they understand the level of which we want to compete at.”