Oct. 22, 2008
Q: Coquese, how have things been going to far and what have you seen from this team since they've come back?
A: So far things are going pretty well. I guess the things that I've seen that I like is their fight and their competitiveness. They obviously worked over the summer on some of the skill work that we wanted them to get better at. The conditioning seems to be pretty good. We have to continue to work to get in game shape but the conditioning is pretty good so I like where we are.
Q: How do you treat the last 12 games of the past season?
A: We're zero and zero.
Q: Are there things that you can build off from those games or do you just totally erase that out of their minds?
A: We haven't talked about it since March 6th or 7th. We moved forward and started talking about what are goals are. We're not looking backwards. Certainly we were disappointed at the way we finished the season but we didn't dwell on it. We knew there were some things that we needed to get better at and started to improve on those in the off season and during the summer and coming back this year. Last year was last year.
Q: So what are some of those things that you concentrated on?
A: The mental toughness was a big one. Our defense, getting better and getting more aggressive. We have to be a better defending team this year. We have to be a better rebounding team. Our conditioning, we kind of got worn down last year. Once we got into conference play we started to wear down. Some of those things you can work on individually in the off-season to get better and we focused on those things.
Q: Do you personally feel more pressure now considering its been a full year under your system now?
A: Nope. I think I probably put more pressure on myself then anybody. I like to win. I'm used to winning. So there isn't more pressure for me this year then there was last year. For every coach in every sport you want to win every single game and that's what we focus on, just getting better. I don't feel anymore pressure, any less pressure. My expectations are to be great and how to get this team excellent. There's no more or less pressure more me because that's the pressure I put on myself everyday.
Q: Who are some of the players who have come back and shown improvement and what impact do you expect the freshmen to have this year?
A: Quite honestly for me to pick out one or two people would really do a disservice to all the players that are returning because we can all tell that they've gotten better. Some of them it might have been just a mental change that has reflected in more aggressive play. For others it's certain skill work that has gotten better. For me to pick out one or two players would really do a disservice to the team. To answer your second question, I expect the freshmen first and foremost are going to give us a little more depth. All three are pretty quick and pretty athletic. Initially they'll impact us defensively rather then offensively. I think they'll impact us defensively to get into our transition game and get us points on the board that way.
Q: Could you talk about Brianne O'Rourke coming back for her fourth year and what kind of leadership she brings.
A: She's really the heart and soul of our team this year. Her competitive fire really rubs off on the rest of the team. She's the one who's going to be the voice of the team. She's probably the loudest voice. She's definitely an extension of me out on the court. So I think her play and her attitude are going to be truly vital for our success this year.
Q: What kind of things can you do to instill that mental toughness in some of these players? What do you do?
A: Run the crap out of them (laughs). We had a really intense off-season conditioning program and they really got after it in the weight room and on the court. We talked about just getting in shape and got on the track, which we hadn't done in awhile. We put strong expectations on them to be tough and tough things out.
Q: What kind of things do you expect from your post players and your big players this year?
A: In some ways that's a loaded question. I think our post players have gotten stronger. I think they got a little quicker, but unfortunately they haven't gotten taller. They haven't gained a whole lot of weight. One of the challenges for our post players last year was physiological. We gave up 30 pounds some nights and two to four inches. Those are things that are tough to overcome. So I think some of the things that we have to see out of our post players in a little more confidence and I'm hoping that we'll see that this year from our post play. Pretty much all of them got some experience last year and I would like them to play with a little more confidence. Some of their struggles have nothing to do with basketball. It has everything to do with their parents. They're just not as tall in conference play. We have to have great team defense to help them out. We can't leave them on an island by themselves and ask Janessa Wolff to guard Jantel Lavender one-on-one. That's not a good match up for us. We've got to have better team defense and team rebounding. It's got to be a group effort.
Q: Getting back to the depth and conditioning from last year, how much can the freshmen prevent them from getting warn down in conference play?
A: I think that's the goal. The sooner they can feel comfortable going out there and understanding and knowing what they're doing and being a positive when they come in the game, I definitely think they'll help us at the end of the season.
Q: How important is the guard play this year since you guys are small and pushing/setting the tempo right from the getgo?
A: Guard play is really important for us. It's our strength and strong point. Our guards are creative. We have a good mix of shooters, slashers and point guards. We're putting the onus on our guards to carry the offense in particular.
Q: How about the non-conference schedule, Pitt, Texas A&M, UConn. Is that going to help you prepare for the mentally and physically tough Big Ten later in the season?
A: In some ways yes and in some ways no. The Big Ten Conference is a conference that plays differently. The style of play is much different than some of the other conferences like the SEC and ACC, even the Big East. Those conferences tend to get up and down a little bit more and play to the style we want to play. When we get into conference play the style changes and as we saw last year it's very post intensive and much more slowed down game. It'll prepare us in some ways because we're playing games but in other ways the style of play in the Big Ten is different and we've got to balance it out.
Q: Can you talk about Mashea? What do you expect from her this season?
A: She was able to get as healthy as she could get in the off-season. She and Meggan Quinn probably didn't run as much. They did more of their conditioning on the bike and in the weight room just because of their bad knees. Mashea really got in great condition and lost a little bit of weight which takes some pressure off her knees. I'm hoping she's back to where she was at the beginning of last season. She had a quick first half, being able to get to the basket and being able to transition. If she can feel that way for the season, I think she'll be a big help. Again if the freshmen can come in and give her a minute so she's not playing as heavily in intensive minutes as she did last year, that's definitely going to be a help for us.
Q: Most of the players are going to be back from last year, but what does the loss of (Kam) Gissendanner mean and how do you recover from that?
A: The thing that Kam brought to us is she could really score with the ball and she rebounded the ball very well. I think we're going to miss her rebounding more so from anything just her toughness down there. She was our leading rebounder last year and playing the four spot while being under-sized. That was her contribution on the board. I think that's where we're going to miss her the most. We have to have Julia Trogele, Meredith Monroe, Renee Womack and Ty Grant pick up the slack in the rebounding category and also the scoring category. They have to pick up what we are going to miss by loosing Kam.
Q: How much transition offense would you like to run this year and how important is defense in the transition game?
A: The defense is critical. I'd like to run as much as we can. We don't want a slowed down game. We don't want to have to walk up the court and pound it out. We want to get the game going to our tempo. The more we can do that, the better. Defense is critical, but also rebounding. We've got to rebound the ball. You can't run if you don't have the ball. We found last year, that when we were able to get the score in the 80s, we were in every game and when it was in the 50s, it didn't work out for us. We definitely want to run and get more possessions with more opportunities at the basket.
Q: Can you discuss the relationship you have with Tyra Grant and what her personality is like from the coach's point of view?
A: Tyra has really matured over the last year and a half. Academically she's gotten a lot better and more consistent. Her work ethic has definitely improved. She and I have a really good relationship. So much to the point now that I don't have to talk to her as much as I used to. When I first got here I saw Tyra every single day about something. Now I don't talk to her as much. I don't see her as much, which I think, is a good thing because she's maturing and able to take care of things on her own without the extra encouragement from me. She knows and understands what the demands I have on her. She knows that I'm going to ride her in practice and that I'm going to demand that her work level and ethic continue to get better because I think she's one of the more talented players in this conference. We're going to work to get everything out of her. She understands that and appreciates that.
Q: Can you talk about the leadership on this team with Brianne and how that will help develop some of the younger players that are coming in this season?
A: In addition to Brianne's leadership I would say a couple people have really stepped up in the off-season. Meggan Quinn has really stepped to the forefront in terms of leadership. She's kind of taken over Kam (Gissendanner)'s role as the mother hen by making sure everybody's taken care of is where they're supposed to be at the right time. Janessa Wolff has also really stepped up as a leader even though she's only a sophomore; she's definitely a vocal leader, the voice of positivity. Mashea Williams continues to lead by example. Her courage and what she brings when she plays ball. Everybody knows how much pain she's in the whole time. The fact that she goes out everyday; she's really an inspiration for the team. I would say those four people have really stepped up as Kam has moved on. I feel we're in good shape with our leadership.
Q: Can you talk about your comfort level going into your second season on the job? Things maybe you learned from last year and things you can build upon.
A: I think the biggest thing that I learned is patience. It takes time to change perceptions of yourself with our team. It takes time to really embrace a different philosophy. I've learned a lot of patience in dealing with the team. I definitely feel a lot more comfortable going into the second season. I still think as a team we're still learning each other. The players are definitely still learning me and I'm still learning them. We're a lot further a long this year then we were last year at this time.
Q: When you say perceptions, do you mean team perceptions or outside perceptions?
A: No, definitely team perceptions and how you view yourself and how athletics can impact how successful you can be. Me having the patience to help the players work through that and understanding that it takes awhile. You can take three steps forward and then two steps backwards. It takes awhile, especially when you haven't had a lot of success. It doesn't change overnight with one, two, or three wins. The scales take a long time to balance, especially with teenage girls. They might already have a lot of self-esteem and self-perception problems and challenges across the board. This is not just about women's basketball players but teen girls. They're still trying to find themselves and learning how to be confident in themselves and learning how to feel positive. Then when you add ontop of that not having the success as a college athlete that you expected to have. One win against Duke doesn't erase all that. So for me, just being patient with this process and been a big lesson for me.
Q: Eighteen months into this, I'm sure you had a plan going in, how far along on that plan are you with recruiting, conditioning, and creating the type of culture you want to create with lady lion basketball that you want?
A: I think we're probably right on target. Last year I would have guessed that was about how we would have finished. I just didn't think it would be all the wins at one time and then all the losses at one time. That was about par for the course. I think we are probably ahead of schedule a little bit on recruiting. I think coming into this season we're right where we want to be. The attitudes are better. The confidence is a little better. The competitive nature has gotten better. A lot of those things have gotten better, so I think we are right on track for where we want to be in a year or two.
Q: Where do you see this team fitting into the Big Ten this year?
A: I really have no idea. I know what our goal is and our goal is to be Big Ten champs and that's what we're working for. In April, where we're going to be, I have no idea. Part of that is because the Big Ten Conference this year is going to be really competitive this year. Personally I think there're are probably three teams that are a little bit above everyone else, Michigan State, Purdue, and Ohio State probably have a leg up on the rest of the teams in the conference but 4-11, who knows. It depends who gets on a run, who stays healthy. To predict where we'll finish, I really can't say. I do know what our goal is and what we're working for and that's to win it all. We've talked about that as a team and how hard it's going to be to do that. You don't go from 10 to one easily. It's not an easy task. It's not an easy journey and we've got to work and fight every day to get there. We're not going to fight for second place. We're not going to have a goal of finishing fourth. We're going to have the goal to be the best. That's why we're at Penn State, to be the best and that's what we're working for.
Q: Could you talk about your impressions about last year's Pink Day and how important is it to kind of continue that tradition.
A: I thought our Pink Day last year was definitely an impressive event. Anybody who was there had to be blown away. I think Penn State continues to be the women's leader in women's basketball or Pink Day festivities. We're probably the school that makes it an even more so than anybody else. This year we're going to continue to blow peoples minds in what we are doing with our Pink Day event. We've got a number of new sponsors. We've got a whole list or additional things we're going to do for Pink Day and our goal this year is to raise six figures and to raise more money than any other women's basketball program in the country. That's what we're working for and I think we have and outstanding committee or people who are committed to making it the best
Q: Is it an emotional day?
A: It's definitely an emotional event. Probably everybody in this room has been touched by breast cancer in some way shape or form. We have some of our own within our staff that have been touched by breast cancer so it's definitely an emotional day for us.
Q: In terms of rebounding in what Kam (Gissendanner) brought you last year, do you think Janessa Wolff is going to be the one who takes over that role on the glass?
A: I'm hopeful it's Janessa. I'm hopeful it's a number of people. I think Julia Trogele has a knack for rebounding. Between Janessa and Julia and some of the other players I named earlier, we're definitely going to have to get some big contributions on the backboard.
Q: Who do you see stepping up as the third scorer along with Brianne and Tyra?
A: Honestly I think we've got a number of people who are capable of scoring for us. Mashea Williams showed early on last year that she can put points on the board for us. I think Julia Trogele again, with the summer that she had being overseas playing, and her confidence has really soared. I think she's getting more comfortable being an aggressive player. I think Zhaque Gray is another person who can put the ball in the basket. It just depends as a freshman how long it takes her to get comfortable and acclimated to the college game. Janessa Wolff is definitely somebody who can put points on the board. Any one of those. If all four of them decided they wanted to score, that would be a thing of beauty.
Q: How important is it that somebody step up and create a third scorer for this team?
A: I think it's important. We saw last year when we had four people in double figures, I don't know what our win-loss record was, but it was pretty high. Even when we had three people n double figures we were pretty good. When we had one or two, we struggled. That's one thing we know. We have to have more than Ty and Bri putting the ball in the basket for us in order for us to be successful.
Q: Can you talk about having up-tempo style and the ability to be down low when need be. How important is it to be able to pick it up when need be, but to also slow it down when you have to on defense especially?
A: It's not that tough to find that happy medium. It's just what you want to emphasize. I think for us we want to emphasize running because that's our strength. We always talk about with the team, tying the score during the last five minutes of the game and making smart decisions. We'll always talk about those things. We don't want to come down and just jack up a shot. Given our druthers, we'd rather run.