Lady Razorbacks counting on production from Ervin

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Lauren Ervin made her mark in the SEC last season. Now she's being marked.

Ervin, Arkansas' 6-3 senior center, was named by media members to the preseason All-SEC second team, it was announced Wednesday.

"It's a great honor to be thought of like that in the preseason, when we've barely even touched a basketball yet," Ervin said.

Ervin earned second-team All-SEC honors at the end of last season, her first at Arkansas, by ranking among the top 25 nationally in field-goal percentage (56.6), rebounding (10.3 per game) and blocks (2.45). She also led the Lady Razorbacks in scoring (12.7).

"It was kind of shocking because SEC post players are so athletic, so strong and so quick," Ervin said. "But knowing that I can hang with them, and knowing that they didn't get 40 or 50 points on me, it does put my mind at some kind of ease."

Arkansas Coach Tom Collen said Ervin has to prove she can maintain that productivity while being targeted by opposing defenses.

"I think everybody knows she's a focal point and everybody's going to try to stop her," Collen said. "That's an even bigger challenge than proving you can play in the SEC."

Arkansas was picked to finish ninth in the team voting largely because the Lady Razorbacks don't have any proven perimeter scorers. That also means Ervin will have to find ways of helping Arkansas other than scoring and rebounding.

"The question mark will be whether we can take her game to another level, not in terms of what she's able to do with her points production, but whether she can become a great post passer and assist person because I think she's going to draw a lot of doubleteams," Collen said.

"If she can do that, and thenthe players that she's throwing the ball to step up and make some shots, then I think we have a chance to be a pretty good basketball team."

Ervin said she knows teams will be ready for her this season.

"There's no doubt it's going to be tougher this time around," she said. "It's like if you're a greatthree-point shooter, you're not going to keep getting those open looks night in and night out.

"I'm going to have to work harder on the offensive end and the defensive end. I'm going to have to bring it every night. There can't be any slacking off."

Not now that she's a marked woman.