MSU women’s head basketball coach Joanne P. McCallie is in the midst of doing what most coaches wouldn’t be able to do.

She is turning around the women’s basketball program. What makes it even more unimaginable are the players she is doing it with.

The 11 players are not the greatest group to ever step on the hardwood floor, but they’re not the worst. They’re somewhere in between, but that doesn’t matter to McCallie.

She has her team believing they can win every game. Yes, they don’t win every game, but they can.

Junior forward Syreeta Bromfield said McCallie has imbedded winning in everyone’s mind.

“I feel it too, and I know the rest of the team knows that we can go to the NCAA Tournament,” Bromfield said.

After finishing 10-18 last year, including a dismal 4-12 mark in conference play, McCallie has MSU on track for something big.

Her method of coaching is simple. She will let the players know what they are doing wrong, and she will expect them to make the change.

The team is on a two-game skid. Both games included excellent first-half performances, followed by second-half collapses.

McCallie realizes that with one senior on the team, the Spartans will lack leadership this season and possibly next season.

But she won’t use that as an excuse.

Once again, just another thing that makes her a great coach for the MSU program.

She won’t enter into denial when questions fly her way about the team. She is blatantly honest, as indicated by comments following a 67-55 loss in Indiana Sunday.

“We had very poor leadership,” she said. “Our team is very young in their maturity.”

Those are two blatant statements toward her team. Keep in mind, the Spartans are not following the same path they did last season as far as their win-loss record goes.

The team is 14-9 overall, eclipsing last year’s win total. MSU also has earned some huge wins against then-No. 8 Georgia and then-No. 15 Wisconsin. However, with a 4-8 conference mark, the NCAA Tournament picture is dim.

McCallie probably would have written her script for the season differently, but she can’t be all disappointed by her team’s performance so far this year.

She has received a level of play from her players that few people expected and some still have trouble comprehending.

McCallie said the goal of the team is simple - make the field of 64.

“The mind-set for me and my staff is to get to the NCAA Tournament as soon as we possibly can,” McCallie said. “Only then can you compete for championships.

“We had that in our thoughts our first year, obviously it didn’t turn out to be probable. But I think that’s what you coach for - the objective of playing for a championship at the end of the season and playing in March.”

Though they may not be playing in March this season, with McCallie at the helm, the Spartans will be taking the floor in March 2003.

Chris Mackinder is the women’s basketball reporter and can be reached at mackind8@msu.edu