Digna Strautmane positioned herself on the wing during a recent Syracuse practice and flicked passes to the elbow. Then, she rotated to the low block and battled against other forwards as assistant coach Adeniyi Amadou watched.

Five days prior against Pitt, Strautmane guided SU with a season-high 22 points. She knocked down all four of her 3-point attempts, and during the Orange’s 82-50 win on Jan. 22, was the player that Amadou expected her to be when he recruited her from Latvia.

Yet, Strautmane didn’t tab the Pitt game as an exemplary performance. It was just another step in the “three-year process” that Amadou hopes will turn Strautmane into an all-around forward. After catching a ball on the block, she lowered her shoulder, squared Raven Fox and went to work.

“I feel like I have to improve on something,” Strautmane said. “If I’m shooting better, there’s still rebounding that I have to improve. It’s always something. It’s never a perfect game. It’s still going to be a lot of hard work.”

Prior to the season, Amadou and head coach Quentin Hillsman asked Strautmane for decisiveness. She’s answered, averaging the fourth-most points per game (9.4) for No. 13 Syracuse (15-3, 4-1 Atlantic Coast). Strautmane’s registered double-digit points in six of her last eight games. Even her poor performances, like a 3 for 12 shooting output in SU’s most-recent loss against Georgia Tech on Jan. 20, are categorized as “outliers” by Hillsman.

In a bolstered forward group that has struggled at times this season — No. 9 recruit Emily Engstler’s season has been a “roller coaster,” and both Kadiatou Sissoko and Miranda Drummond have missed practice time due to injuries — Strautmane is one of the few Orange players that can post and shoot, achieving the “balance” Hillsman looked to create this season.

“(Strautmane’s) been really good,” Hillsman said. “She’s really shot the ball well with the last three or four games.”

The sophomore’s progression started in the offseason, when she played for the Latvian national team and averaged 10 minutes over the squad’s three games. On a roster full of larger forwards, Strautmane said she filled in as an energy player that dove through the paint and around the 3-point arc.

Strautmane’s role with Latvia was a preview of what would await her this season as SU brought multiple new bigs, including Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi, Engstler and Sissoko. Last year, Strautmane was one of two true-bigs which forced her to play a more traditional center role in SU’s one-in, four-out offense. This season, Strautmane’s operated as an “inside-out” player.

Every morning before the start of the Orange’s season, around 5:45 a.m., Strautmane would hurl shots from different spots on the court at the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center alone. Sissoko, Djaldi-Tabdi and others eventually joined her.

While on the court, she watches SU’s offense from the wing and gauges whether or not to post up her defender. With Djald-Tabdi scoring 10.4 points per contest on 59.1-percent shooting, Strautmane’s typically played from the perimeter, where the Latvian has shot the third-most 3s (29) on the team.

“We had more opportunities to throw the ball inside and teams would be less likely to help if we have shooters on the perimeter,” Hillsman said. “For us, it’s about creating space. (Strautmane) is a byproduct of that.”

Back on the practice court, Strautmane ended her position work and chatted with Hillsman near a set of stationary bikes. Around her, others trickled out of the gym. Strautmane’s presence will be crucial for Syracuse to defeat a Miami team that received votes in the recent AP poll and features forward Beatrice Mompremier (15.9 points per game). But for now, Strautmane grabbed a ball, walked to a far court and shot.

“I just have to keep working on it, keep being consistent,” Strautmane said. “If I can improve on that, I’m going to be a better player.”

Published on January 22, 2019 at 10:48 pm

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