With Sunday’s 5 p.m. season-opening home game against Edward Waters quickly approaching, University of West Georgia women’s basketball coach Craig Roden said his team has plenty of work ahead of it to be ready for the season.

He said his team is not a good bunch just yet.

“We’ve got some glaring weaknesses that we’ve got to fix and cover here with maybe the toughest schedule in the history of the school facing us,” Roden said.

He also noted that this group, which lost five seniors to graduation, isn’t yet on par with the teams that won the last two Gulf South Conference East Division championships.

“We’re just very green right now,” Roden said. “And we’re not going to come out of the blocks blowing and going and looking like we have the last couple years.”

But don’t mistake Roden’s realistic appraisal of a team finding its identity as gloom and doom. With time, Roden expects the Wolves to be a very dangerous team.

“We may struggle early and then go on a run and win a lot of ball games in a row about Christmas or after,” Roden said.

The leadership of returning seniors ReNate Lopez and Alexis Pace give Roden a solid foundation as he welcomes nine newcomers, who include former Bowdon standout Thomassian Wyatt and Amy Horton, who graduated from Haralson County before short stints at UCLA and Georgia Tech. Roden said both could make significant contributions once they adjust to the Gulf South Conference.

Jacksonville State transfer Charlease Williams gives UWG a player with potential to be a prolific scorer as the season wears on, while Florida Gulf Coast Community College transfer Kim Jones could end up being one of the most dynamic post talents Roden has had at the school as he enters his 14th year at the helm for the Wolves.

So, in Roden’s estimation, the talent is there.

“We’ve got a good group of basketball players,” Roden said. “What we don’t have is an experienced team.”

Roden said his team must find its niche to be successful, something that won’t be easy against a demanding schedule which will put West Georgia on the floor for 13 games by Dec. 20.

“When you’ve got a new team, you’ve got to nurture them along,” Roden said. “And, you know, our schedule’s not a nurturing schedule.”

While it’s still early, Roden sees improvement each time his Wolves hit the court.

“I enjoy having a new team and trying to see where they’ll go,” Roden said. “I mean, I still very much enjoy that part of the game.”

He’s not sure just how well this year’s team will finish up, but if it can find some success against its unforgiving schedule, Roden said West Georgia may just have a shot to get back to the NCAA Tournament.

“If we can find a way to hammer out 16 or 17 wins, our strength of schedule may be good enough to get us in the tournament,” Roden said.