Through Cotie McMahon’s freshman season at Ohio State, plenty was said about the first-year player – both positive and negative – but one thing that could not be said was that McMahon did not give it her all every time she was on the court.
It showed in that McMahon started right out of the gate for Ohio State and eventually finished second on the team in scoring with 15.1 points per game, and also finished third on the team in minutes behind Taylor Mikesell and Taylor Thierry. But it also showed in that McMahon finished with 102 personal fouls and fouled out of five contests in her freshman season, as well as turned the ball over a team-high 103 times.
“My game was just very aggressive all the time, and I’m never going to turn that off,” McMahon said Tuesday. “But it’s just learning when to be that aggressive self and when to ease up a little bit and then go right back into my aggressiveness. So kind of just learning when to use my full strength and when to use that full ability is kind of what I’ve been working on.”
In addition to harnessing that aggression into something more consistent for Ohio State, head coach Kevin McGuff is also looking for more consistency as a shooter for McMahon, specifically on the perimeter. The Buckeyes are looking to replace serious three-point shooting ability in Mikesell, and with McMahon just 26.3 percent from deep last season, that’s an area McGuff is looking for her to take a step.
“She had a great first year, obviously. She played extremely hard, was really impactful for us,” he said. “I think just a little more consistency from the perimeter in terms of her shooting. I think also a little more under control, less charges around the basket. I love her aggressive nature, and we’ll never do anything to take that away, but just just avoiding some of those charges.
“Then I think lastly, just being a dominant defender,” he continued. “With as hard as she plays with, the intensity she plays with, the athleticism and toughness that she has, she should be a dominant defender.”
All of that – from improving her defensive and three-point shooting, as well as limiting her turnovers and charges – are part of the onus she feels this season to take on more responsibility. She’s entering just her second season at Ohio State but is a clear leader for the team, and it’s likely that the Buckeyes will go as far as McMahon does this year.
“Yeah, I definitely do (feel more pressure),” she said. “Having the season that I had, I feel like a lot of the pressure is on me, and so I feel like my teammates count on me a lot more than they would count on a sophomore, usually. Just making sure that even on my bad days I focus on why I’m here, and I’m not here for myself. I’m here for my team to have a good practice and make sure everybody gets through, have fun and at the end of the day, have a lot of energy.”
