What is a 'road runner' in women's basketball? Fairfield explains its unique position group
The Fairfield Stags are one of the best women’s college basketball teams in the country this year, and that’s not hyperbole. The team coached by Carly Thibault-DuDonis is ranked 25th in the latest AP Top 25 Poll and they have won 29 straight games – a winning streak this season that is second only to the undefeated 33-0 South Carolina Gamecocks.
And a big part of Fairfield’s success this season has been because of their road runners.
Now, you might be wondering: What’s a road runner?
If you take a look at Fairfield’s roster, you’ll notice that there are guards and road runners. There are no forwards, no centers, no posts.
The road runners range in size from 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-2. And they do the things you would want a forward, center or post to do – like score efficiently inside, block shots and grab rebounds – but, hence the name, they also run the floor too. And they pass. And they get steals. And they do it all extremely well.
It’s best to let the Stags explain, which they did on Friday in Bloomington, Indiana, ahead of their NCAA tournament opener against the Hoosiers:
“Our road runners are just stupid athletic,” said Janelle Brown, who is not a road runner, but a guard. “Like, just they can defend, they can play offense. It don’t matter. They’re just everywhere. Meep-meep.”
What's a 'Road Runner?'
Answer #WeAreStags pic.twitter.com/mc1IlXPayL
— #25 Fairfield Women’s Basketball (@StagsWBball) March 22, 2024
Emina Selimovic: “So, we’re not your typical forwards or posts. Yeah, you know, we have length and, you know, inside we can – we have our game, but we can also run the floor and stretch the floor. And I think that’s what a road runner is, as Coach Blake likes to call us. We aren’t, like I said, your typical post that just stays in from block to block and just, you know — we can stretch the floor, and we’re almost like a mixture of a guard and a forward.”
Thibault-DuDonis later explained that a program like Fairfield is typically not going to be able to land the same type of post players that a major conference school like Indiana can, like the Hoosiers’ 6-foot-4 forward Mackenzie Holmes.
But the Stags could get players like Selimovic who are, while undersized, very versatile and probably a bit faster than your typical Power Five post.
“So, we knew that, A, we wanted that group to buy in to that identity; and, B, when we go recruiting, nobody wants to be a post player anymore. Some do. Very few,” Thibault-DuDonis said. “And knowing that we would be able to go recruit the type of player that we wanted and knowing that they could come in not be limited on what their role would be and what they can do.”
The term “road runners” for Fairfield’s special position group was actually coined by Blake DuDonis, assistant coach and husband to the Stags’ head coach. For short, they are “the Meeps.”
We do things a little differently here at Fairfield
For "posts" or "forwards" who want to play fast and be developed both inside and outside, being able to take advantage of your full skill set: this is the place for you!
Come join the Roadrunnin' Stags!
Meep meep! pic.twitter.com/j5ou1OEr14
— Blake DuDonis (@BlakeDuDonis) December 9, 2023
I was encouraged by @CTbow to create an identity for our posts, one they could buy into & aligned with how we want to play. Allow me to introduce:
The Roadrunners.
We are fast, quick, powerful, strong, & we keep on coming. Like the cartoon says, “meep meep!”
We are the Meeps! pic.twitter.com/DERkkDtNcx
— Blake DuDonis (@BlakeDuDonis) November 2, 2023
The best of the Meeps is arguably freshman Meghan Andersen, just one of four players in the country this season averaging at least 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal per game. She does it all, which exactly what Fairfield wants out of its road runners.