Heal to ease star import into WNBL debut

Flames coach Shane Heal expects new recruit Rennia Davis to take some time before being fully fit and firing for the WNBL season.

Davis, the new Brydens Sydney Uni Flames’  import forward, arrived in the country during the week and has been training ahead of her likely debut for the Flames against the UC Capitals on Wednesday.

Drafted ninth overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2021 WNBA draft, Davis was one of the best players in the NCAA in her colligate career but sustained a stress fracture to her left foot in May. The injury forced her to miss her entire rookie WNBA season.

Davis has now fully recovered from her foot injury and is now working on her conditioning to get herself ready for her WNBA debut and be in game-shape for the rest WNBL season.

“The injury is fine. So, it’s not without sort of managing an injury as such, it’s more just trying to manage her getting back into some sort of game shape,” Heal said.

“She [Davis] hasn’t done a lot of training and hasn’t played games now, virtually since March. So, she’s a long way off. She’s probably six weeks off from her best basketball, I would have thought.”

With only pick-up basketball games and training sessions under her belt, Davis will spend the first part of her season focused on her conditioning. That comes with minute management and shorter bursts of action on the court.

“It’s going to be smaller minutes to start with, and as we see she is starting to improve and getting used to what we’re doing. especially with our intensity on the defensive end,” Heal said.

Coach Heal envisions Davis as a power forward.  She averaged 8.1 rebounds per game in her four years of college and close to nine per game in her final season.

Davis is a highly decorated scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game in her collegiate career and can score from anywhere on the court.

Heal says that Davis will fit the Flames’ philosophy perfectly.

“I think she’s really going to pay dividends for us,” Heal said.

“We’ve signed her as a four-man, we know she can rebound and we know she can defend. She’s also a really crafty scorer on offence. We feel like her athleticism is going to help us with our up-tempo defensive style.”

The Flames take on the UC Capitals in Canberra on Wednesday with tip-off from 6 pm.

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