UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- With just eight practices remaining until it takes the court for its season opener, the Penn State women's basketball team hosted its annual media day on Thursday afternoon.
Head coach Carolyn Kieger, who enters her second season at the helm of the Lady Lions, began her press conference with an opening statement that touched on her group's inexperience together, making her that much prouder of the progress she's overseen.
"Our team has been working extremely hard this offseason, and I'm amazed at how quickly our chemistry has been formed with this young group," Kieger said of her group that includes only three returners that saw time on the court last season. "We have so many new faces, and I'm confident our Penn State fans are going to fall in love with this team, their toughness and their resiliency."
Nevertheless, as an unprecedented offseason finally winds down, let's recap three key takeaways from this season's media day.
The "JUICE" is Flowing
If you sat in on one of the Lady Lions' practices, the palpable energy in the building would make you think that the Big Ten Tournament had already begun.
"We're ecstatic for games to be starting and for the opportunity to represent Penn State on the court again this season," Kieger said. "We have 16 incredibly unselfish faces who are focused on our mission, our vision and our core principles."
Kieger's instrumental role in driving culture change and preaching urgency has resonated with her young group, with a tangible example being team practices' demanding, yet electric environment. As a result, players such as senior transfer Johnasia Cash have embraced the challenge of attacking each workout, drill or team-building exercise with every ounce of energy she has.
"I'm always going to be bringing the juice to keep everybody up," Cash said. "And I feel like a big part of our defense is our communication and going all out."
"I give a lot of credit to the players," Kieger said. "They bought in immediately and we all can't wait to get out there and showcase the work we've been putting on this offseason."
For a team that is coming off a season in which it allowed an average of 76.2 points per game, a significant improvement on the defensive end will require far more than just mere adjustments regarding schemes, coverages or half-court sets; rather, it will entail the instillment of a collective commitment to "bring the JUICE" and spark the breakthrough.
If practices or press conferences can be considered any sort of early indication of this team's day-to-day energy, then it's safe to say that the culture change is well underway.
The Lady Lions are in Win-Now Mode
Entering the 2020-21 season, the Lady Lions find themselves facing a number of difficult challenges.
Coming off a tough 2019-20 campaign, the team has sought out to expedite its second-year head coach's rebuild while also battling all of the complications that have arisen due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I've been incredibly proud of this group's sacrifices and commitment to making this season a reality," Kieger said.
In the 2019-20 season, the Lady Lions finished with a record of 7-23, including a 1-17 ratio in conference play.
Any tough season followed by an unprecedented, ever-changing offseason may have been enough of a conjunctive devastation for the group to wave the white flag and hold off on its aspirations until next season.
However, it has been quite the opposite for this year's Penn State squad, with its leaders allowing the climatic circumstances to fuel the journey to reaching their high expectations.
"We do have a lot of new faces...doing all of this during a pandemic has definitely had its challenges, but you have to embrace those challenges and there are challenges that come along with it," sophomore Anna Camden said. "I like to find positives, so yes it's been challenging, but it's also a side note that it's benefited our team as well."
Being dealt an unfavorable hand, it would be easy for the Lady Lions to fold and deem the 2020-2021 season as one to focus on development, as opposed to wins and losses.
But there's something about this year's team that has its players sights solely set on cutting down nets in March.
"Our ultimate goal is to win championships," sophomore Makenna Marisa said. "We're trying to compete in the gym every day, and become the best players that we can so we can win."
"I expect us to kind of shock the world," senior Kelly Jekot said. "Yes, we have eight freshmen, but they're eight talented freshmen who have been maturing at a rapid rate."
Coach Kieger is a Bona Fide Unifier
In her brief tenure at Penn State, the coaching staff and student-athletes have placed the fate of their futures in the hands of Kieger by buying into her ideology and style of play.
With the addition of many versatile newcomers, the Lady Lions are eager to play a fast-paced style of basketball by creating and converting on opportunities in transition. In the half-court offense, Kieger remains set on recreating a system of positionless basketball, where all five players can therefore space the floor, attack off the bounce, penetrate gaps and knock down open looks.
"We're absolutely going to play positionless basketball," Kieger said. "That's always been my style of play. "
"We have a lot of better defenders this year, and we have shooters, so we're going to leave it all out on the court," sophomore Shay Hagans said.
"We are very versatile, and we are very hard to guard," Camden added. "We're going to rim run, we're going to play fast and we're going to be an exciting group to watch."
Kieger has not only impressed from a coaching standpoint, but there is something to be said for how the 2019 Naismith Women's Coach of the Year Award semifinalist has allowed her experiences and captivating demeanor to quickly surrounded a program that has struggled in recent years with such a positive atmosphere.
"I'm really on with Kieger and her culture," Hagans said. "She leads her players to championships, and I know she's going to help me get there."
Kieger has changed the temperature in the room and unified her players, who are all-in on the prospect of restoring success to the Penn State program by trusting and working for each other.
"These are probably the best teammates I've ever had," Cash said. "Man, this team is so special, so I can't wait to see what we're going to do."
Head Coach Carolyn Kieger Press Conference
Student-Athlete Press Conferences
