Jane Albright has worked blue-collar hours to put the pieces in place. On Nov. 28, she’ll find out how her NIU women’s basketball team fits in the 1987-88 season.

She lost point guard Val Leitzen. Albright went to Minnesota and bagged Denise Dove. Forward Shelly Roberts also graduated. Albright added 6-foot-3 Hoosier Diana Wingis.

Lisa Foss will return with her wicked shot. Tammy Hinchee will welcome the return of 6-foot-2 Carol Owens from knee surgery and the addition of Wingis to form a towering frontcourt. And sparkplug forward Gena Stubbs will re-open her daredevil act.

Albright hears the voices in the wind. The deck is full, coach. Let’s see what you can do with it.

“They’re more excited than I’ve ever seen them,” Albright said of her players. But those voices, coach. “People in town are more excited than I’ve ever heard them. People are saying, ‘Hey, is this women’s basketball team as good as I’ve heard?'”

Actually, the answers to DeKalb’s questions should come in the first half of the season when the Huskies square off against the Big Names. After the opener at Butler, Ohio State comes to NIU, followed by South Carolina and a slate of giants in the fifth annual Fastbreak Fest.

But don’t expect Albright to push any panic buttons if the bullies beat them up. Although she says she’s “very optimistic with this group of people,” there’s something to be said for a realistic attitude.

“If we get beat by Ohio State, we’re just going to say, ‘Hey, we didn’t beat them, but there’s about nine teams that could have, and we did our best,'” Albright said.

Albright and her revamped staff—assistants Debbie Patterson and Kim Duppins—came into the preseason with three givens: Foss at off gaurd, Stubbs at small forward and Hinchee at the other forward.

There was some question, but not much, if Owens would be able to bounce right back from the reconstructive surgery she underwent just short of a year ago. All doubt was removed as Owens got stronger and more comfortable with the brace she will wear on a regular basis.

Owens’ resurgence left one question mark—the point. Leitzen left big shoes to fill. Albright looked at Dove, Toby Meeks, Nikki Dallas and Kris Weis before giving the starting nod to Dove. But then, Albright said nothing is set in stone.

“I think we’ve got the best of both worlds with Toby and Denise, and Nikki, for that matter,” Albright said. “Denise is going to start. That doesn’t mean she’s going to start 28 games for us. But the strength Denise gives this team is she does not turn the ball over—at least from what I’ve seen.

“I don’t see either (Dove or Meeks) starting all the time. Toby will see some action and Nikki will see some action.”

Albright frowned when asked if Dove’s selection signaled a leaning toward a half-court offense. Meeks is known for her speed. But Albright said Dove “is a full-court point guard.” Translation: the Huskies will run on offense.

Defense was the problem a year ago. Averaging 74.6 points per game is fine, but not if you give up 77.6.

“We gave up way too many points on defense last year,” Albright said. So she had the team working on a full-court press as the practice season opened. But the Huskies will need to tighten up inside if they expect to improve on last year’s performance.

Albright enters her fourth year with a roster she pieced together with all the care of a Detroit autoworker. Now the Huskie ship must sail.