University of Wisconsin women's basketball coach Jane Albright didn't put the onus of a topsy-turvy 1998-99 season on the shoulders of her inconsistent guards.

There was plenty of blame to go around for -- among other things -- a 6-12 midseason swoon which all but ended the Badgers' dreams of a fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in five seasons.

But with the 1999-2000 campaign within view, can we expect Albright to harp on her guards to pick up their play?

"(Albright) hasn't come out and said, `You guys have to play better,' '' UW senior guard Kelley Paulus said after Monday's practice at the Kohl Center. "I think that's just something we know we have to do. It's just kind of a given.''

With first-team All-Big Ten pick LaTonya Sims at small forward, 1999 conference freshman of the year Jessie Stomski at power forward and national prep player of the year Nina Smith earning time at center, it's safe to say the Badgers will feature one of the top frontcourts in the nation.

Nonetheless, if the UW guards don't improve their shooting and ball-handling skills from a year ago, the Badgers could be in for another up-and-down season.

"We've always had a good team, but it's a matter of us putting it together and playing together and us being able to know how to play with each other,'' said senior point guard Dee Dee Pate.

In conference play a year ago, Wisconsin was last in the Big Ten in turnovers per game (21.3), last in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.63-to-1), last in 3-pointers per game (2.44) and last in 3-point accuracy (32.2 percent).

Albright won't be asking her guards to take control of the games this season, but those numbers must improve if Wisconsin hopes to be a nationally ranked team.

"Basketball is a numbers game,'' said Albright. "When we get scouting reports, we look to see what guards are shooting, we look and see what posts are shooting. And last year early on, our guards were shooting 30 percent -- and some of them even worse than that. And automatically, that tells the opposing coach what to do.

"Now I know my guards can shoot, they just have to make really good decisions on when to get a shot off and score it and when to pass.''

That's the challenge. Now, it's up to the UW guards to meet those goals.

"If we don't hit our open shots in the beginning, then other teams are going to know that they can double down on the post all the time,'' said UW sophomore guard Kyle Black, who shot a solid 41.3 percent from 3-point range in conference games a year ago. "So we have to make sure we do our part so that they have to play us honestly, giving our posts a better look at the basket.''

Although she may lack a standout, Albright has a deeper collection of guards to go to this year than at any other time in her six seasons in Madison.

At the point is Pate, who had an outstanding run in the WNIT after a frustrating first half of the season. She averaged just 3.6 points per game and shot only 33.9 percent from the floor a year ago. But she provides veteran leadership, is the team's best ball-handler and finished with more assists (107) than turnovers (100) a year ago.

Sophomore Tamara Moore can play either the shooting guard, point guard or small forward positions. And her size (5-foot-11), athleticism and ability to play defense will earn her plenty of playing time. She had a team-high 80 steals and averaged 10.8 points and 4.9 rebounds as a freshman. If she can cut down on her team-high 147 turnovers, she still has the potential to be an all-Big Ten player.

"Tamara may not be the best offensive person at any spot, but she is the best defender, so that puts her in the (playing) rotation,'' said Albright.

Paulus will provide senior leadership and instant offense at the shooting guard spot with her driving pull-up jumpers. She averaged 9.7 points per game a year ago, but shot just 39.4 percent from the floor overall, and 27.9 percent from 3-point range.

Despite shooting 39.4 percent from the floor last year, Black is the team's best pure shooter and she averaged 6.1 points per game as a freshman. She had mixed results when inserted into the lineup as a backup point guard, but will likely play exclusively as a shooting guard this season. She has excellent range from the outside.

"I think Kyle has had a really good preseason of just scoring,'' said Albright. "I think just flat out, if you look at everybody's numbers, just charting everybody's numbers in shooting drills, I think her numbers are better than anybody's.''

Also in the mix at guard is freshman Leah Hefte, a good shooter from McFarland, and former walk-on Judy Ebeling. Hefte will likely see some action as a 3-point-shooting zone buster, while Ebeling will likely play some at the point.

The status of freshman point guard Candas Smith, who suffered facial injuries in an auto accident in late August, is still unknown. Smith, who was expected to push Pate for the starting point guard duties, could be cleared to return to practice as soon as next week. But she could also redshirt.

For Smith and the rest of her UW backcourt teammates, only time will tell how the season unfolds.

"I think it's going to be a great year for us,'' Paulus said of the guards. "Everybody says we have to be so much better, but I don't think it's so much that, it's just that everybody is going to key on the posts, and it's going to open up tons of opportunities for us. We just have to make our open shots.''