Christina Quaye, Danielle Kamm, Jasmine McCullough and Efueko Osagie-Landry are gone.,”After the Golden Eagles suffered a crushing defeat to Oklahoma in the second round of last season's NCAA Tournament, Krystal Ellis, a sophomore at the time, knew one thing for certain: Things were going to look a lot different next year.

Christina Quaye, Danielle Kamm, Jasmine McCullough and Efueko Osagie-Landry would graduate. Four seniors who each saw over 20 minutes per game had to be replaced.

Ellis had just finished her first season as the team's leading scorer and starting point guard. While she had a full year's worth of experience leading the team from the point, she also had gotten used to always having four other voices giving her direction.

"When I was a freshman, I had Carolyn (Kieger) who was the point guard, and I knew that she was the leader of our team," Ellis said. "So I knew I didn't have to do anything like that. Then my sophomore year the coaches told me, 'You have to be a leader because you are the point guard,' but I also knew I had four senior leaders who would lead us the whole way, so I knew then I didn't have to really be the leader. And now that I'm a junior I'm like, man, I really have to be the leader."

Ellis must show her ability to pilot this team now more than ever, but what might prove an even more daunting task will be doing so from a different position.

Head coach Terri Mitchell already has said that the team will be moving away from the scheme that was so successful last season. Ellis will see many chances on the weak side away from the ball, instead of at the point guard position. This is something that both Ellis and Mitchell are very excited about.

"There is a lot to be said for strong-side defense and how much defense focuses on the strong side," Mitchell said. "And to give Krystal opportunities on the weak side, when the ball is skipped to her or passed to her through the post to make something happen. We are excited about that because she didn't get that opportunity a lot. She always had to create off of the strong side."

Last May when Ellis was cut from the 2007 USA Women's Pan American Team, she was told that she needed to be more offensive-minded and not to just sit back and wait for scoring opportunities. This scheme switch might be just the chance she is looking for.

"I like the wing position," said Ellis. "I'm a lot more comfortable playing it because the pressure is not totally on me. But I've learned since last year that I also like the pressure. I like to be in the face of the team. I'm the one on the court that sees everything, and I like that."

With Ellis now free to make plays away from the ball much of the time, there is going to be a hole at the point guard position. That's where freshmen Angel Robinson and Tatiyiana McMorris will get their share of looks.

Both are extremely quick off the dribble and have displayed the ball handling skills necessary at the point. Plus, you can bet that Ellis has done everything she can to prepare Robinson and McMorris for Big East play.

"She pushes us in practice," Robinson said. "If we are messing up, she'll let us know so that we don't make the same mistake again."

According to Ellis, while she'll push Robinson and McMorris, they aren't afraid to push back.

"Tati (McMorris) and Angel (Robinson) are people that will get in your face," Ellis said. "They are always up on you, touching you and they prepare me for the game. It's really exciting to be with those freshmen because they don't back down to any of us, and I like that."

Mitchell likes that too. One thing she feels better about this year is the depth she is now able to work with in the backcourt. Mitchell said that last season if the opposition was able keep Ellis from getting the ball, the team wasn't very successful.

"Now we have two freshmen, who in these first three weeks of practice have really demonstrated that they can handle the point," Mitchell said. "I think that will take some of the pressure off of her (Krystal) to feel like she's the only ball-handling guard on this team."

Mitchell's excitement over her new point guards is also based in the fact that Ellis will never be far away. According to Mitchell, the team has been running a lot of two guard outlet where whichever guard gets the ball brings it up.

"There will be times when we say, 'Krystal, you're just the point guard period,'" Mitchell said. "But other times we're going to let Angel and Tati do it, because they're very capable. They just need experience. Can't speed that up; wish I could."

Despite Ellis' move away from point guard, the obvious position of leadership, there is still no doubt that she is the one player on the team that everyone looks up to. But perhaps what is most important is that Mitchell doesn't see the move effecting how Ellis leads.

"Krystal just needs to be comfortable leading how she leads," Mitchell said. "One thing that we have told her is that all of us can lead together. We're not going to put the burden or responsibility clearly on her. We want her to lead with her effort; we want her to lead by example."

As the team's leading scorer from a year ago, Ellis knows how to lead by example. This time around, not only will the eyes of the nation be firmly planted upon her, but more importantly, the eyes of two young point guards will be following her every move.

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