Finding her stride

Rockets head coach Tricia Cullop has a knack for recruiting international talent.

One of her recent finds is 6’0” sophomore forward Janice Monakana, who made the trip across the pond from London, England to play in the Glass City.

Now in her second season as a Rocket, Monakana has made the transition from bench player to a member of the starting five. It is a switch that occurred just eight games ago and one that has netted UT instant benefits.

“Janice is one of the most athletic players on our team,” Cullop said. “Both her and [senior] Inma [Zanoguera] bring a lot to our team. They can score inside and out and create their own shot.

“It has been fun to watch Janice grow.”

Monakana is second on the team behind Zanoguera with 9.8 ppg and 6.4 rpg. She is also finding success at the charity stripe, shooting 83.3 percent on free throws this season.

“In England they practice just a few times a week total,” Cullop explained. “It is fun watching the kids not used to that practice six days a week plus preseason workouts. She really has a lot of ability and you can see her grow almost every practice.”

One of five international students on UT’s roster, Monakana entered a program with a coach accustomed to dealing with transitioning players into American-style basketball.

“You can see potential when recruiting them,” Cullop said. “They are very talented at the level they are [playing at]. Knowing that they haven’t practiced as much as they are about to, that gets you really excited for what they will be doing in the future.”

Monakana’s growth as a player has netted the Rockets victories. Toledo has won six of the eight games in which the English transplant has started.

With Monakana in the starting lineup, UT even managed to come dangerously close to dethroning Mid-American Conference East Division foe Akron (14-2, 4-1 MAC) in a shootout that ended 102-101 in the Zips’ favor.

The maturation process, however, hasn’t always been easy for Monakana.

“It’s slow at the start of the season for the international players,” Cullop said. “Once they get used to how we practice and get past that adjustment, it starts to get easier and they start blending in with all the other players.”

Not only did Monakana need to learn how to play at the increased pace of American basketball, she also had to learn a new position.

“I had to embrace a new role,” she said. “Most of the guard positions were taken and we needed a four. Just embracing and learning a lot more about it was important, execution in practice and showing them I could play it and be efficient at that spot.”

With the new spot and new country came more contact than Monakana was used to in London.

“The pace of the game is much slower over there,” she said. “Here you’re on offense and then on defense very quickly and that took a lot to get used to.

“I had to learn how there’s more physicality in this basketball than in Britain and that was an adjustment thing. Now, I am not minding the contact and can play through it better.”

At times, Monakana plays through contact too well.

“I love that she has been hitting the boards the way that she has been,” Cullop said. “But I need her to protect herself and not get into foul trouble. When she goes out of the game, it affects us. I need her to watch the contact, but I am very impressed with her maturing from last year to this year, on and off the court.”

Playing with consistency has been a major factor in Monakana’s improved level of play.

“Being constant all around was something I needed to work on,” she said. “I am better at scoring and rebounding compared to last year. Some games I would score and others I wouldn’t.

“Now I know my role and I am doing it better.”