University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Women's Basketball Holds Annual Media Day Luncheon
11/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 2, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss women's basketball program held its annual Media Day Luncheon Monday at women's basketball house located in Sorority Village. Head coach Joye Lee-McNelis and the Lady Eagle players met with reporters to preview the upcoming season.
Southern Miss returns six letterwnners from a team that finished with a record of 20-12 after playing in their first Conference USA championship game in 2009. Senior Pauline Love earned her second preseason All-C-USA selection.
Southern Miss will play their second exhibition game on Thursday, Nov. 5 against Mobile in Reed Green Coliseum at 7 p.m.
Opening Statements
"As we finished our season last year, we learned the true definition of the phrase `Almost is not quite good enough.' That is the attitude that this team has taken on because we want to finish the play. Whether that play is a block out. Whether that play is a free throw. Whether that play is an easy shot. Whatever it may be, that's what we want to be able to do this year. We've really concentrated on playing and focusing on the little things because the details are the difference between winning and losing, and we all experienced that last year."
"Going into this season, there's a lot of unknowns and uncertainties. Losing four valuable players, like Kendra Reed and Amber Eugene, two four-year players who made a real commitment to come in and be a part of this program and make their mark in Lady Eagle history, and then Stephanie Helgeson, 6-foot-5, that was a part of this and really made a lot of special things happen for us. Andrea Barber, coming in as a junior and being with us for two years, definitely made her mark in the record book. We lost a lot, but I think we return a solid, core group. Pauline Love will lead that group and is a preseason All-Conference selection for the second time in a row. We return Tanesha Washington who played a lot of valuable minutes last year and was named "Six Player of the Year" in Conference USA and was truly a difference maker for us down that stretch. Also, we return Candace Rucker who became a star late in the season for us and was a true difference maker, particularly in the conference tournament. The three of them played a lot of minutes. The rest of our returners are our role players. I think the uncertainty is that it's their day in the sun and it's time to see how they will respond when the striped shirts go on and the whistles blow. In practice, they respond tremendously. They have really elevated their play and focus to be true difference makers this year."
"Then you throw in our newcomers. Geneshia Dunbar, a junior college player out of Pensacola Junior College, had success there as a player. Ashley Kelley, a point guard out of Florida Gulf Coast Community College, won the national championship as a freshman in junior college and was No. 1 all of last year, but got upset and did not make it to the national tournament. As a junior college player, she only lost 4 games. She knows how to find ways to win and that is very solid for us. Our two freshmen, Danielle Johnson, who put on a shooting exhibition a little bit yesterday, has battled some injuries since she's been here but has really continued to make strides as a player and gain some confidence. She is known for her shooting ability. We felt like, with the loss of Kendra Reed, she would be able to come in and fill that role. Our other freshman, Kassietta Brown, is that player like Amber Eugene. We felt like she could come in and help us replace that position. She can do a lot of things. She can shoot it, she can board it, and she can score on the block. We really feel like we have a lot of great things in place. I think the X-Factors are going to be if Robin Murphy steps up and plays to her ability; If Lauren Pittman goes back and plays the way she did as a freshman; If Erin Gatling and Ashley Kelley can handle the point guard position; I think those are the X-Factors. We know what we're going to expect out of certain players. You mix in the veterans with our new players; I think we're going to have a very good year."
"We talk about a good year. Does that mean 20 wins? Does that mean 18 wins? I'll be honest; I don't think you can put a number on it because obviously as a coach and players, when we take the floor, we want to win. Yes, our schedule is so much tougher than what it has been. This team will truly be battled tested. We go to Mississippi State. We go to Michigan. Georgia comes here for our tournament. We go to UNC-Charlotte and Alabama. Louisiana Tech comes to us, so that sets the stage for us for conference play. That is a very challenging schedule. I think if we look at the big picture and can having a winning record coming out of non-conference play, that's something to be proud of. We feel like we will be battle tested to play in Conference USA."
"My perception of Conference USA is that it's very different from the past. We're more than a one-bid league this year. You have the majority of our teams in Conference USA that were considered young teams and those players are all back and have had some great recruiting classes. As a group, from top to bottom, Conference USA is going to have even more parity than what we've had in the past. I just truly believe that the young players in our league have gotten that much better. I think the challenge is up."
On players adopting an "unfinished business motto":
"We talked about that at the very first team meeting we had in the spring, after we lost in the conference championship. We talked about the unfinished business and how we let it slip through our hands. It was important that they entered the spring with the mentality that `We have to finish the play. We have to finish our business this year."
On the importance of this being Pauline Love's senior season: "It's going to be a tough night on senior night. Pauline has been a very key ingredient in us rebuilding this program. We've had 20-win seasons. The two years she's been here, we've been able to set some records as a team, and this year I truly believe will be her best year ever. She and I kind of talked about not letting games go by without her getting a double-double. Every game has to be a double-double for her. She has got to have a double-double in every game she plays. That's her personal goal. I think that we can go into the game and I will believe that she will have a Double-Double. I'm that confident in her and I know when she sets out to do something, that's when she's at her best. Usually players that are kind of considered the team's best player are not always the teams best practice player. That's what sets Pauline apart from a lot of other players that I have coached. She practices like she plays everyday and that's why, as a coach, I'm very confident when she takes that floor that she's going to get her double-double."
On the task of replacing a number of starters:
"It's very challenging to do that. I've done it before. [It's tough] particularly when they are four starters that were key ingredients in rebuilding a program which just five years ago had nine-wins. Kendra Reed and Amber Eugene, in particular, were our first recruiting class and they took a chance on us in trying to rebuild this program. For them, more than anything, I wanted to get in the Dance. I really felt like they had worked hard enough to make that happen and that would have been a tremendous award for them. Unfortunately, we fell a little short. I truly believe that this team has made a commitment to get better. Trying to fill the spots of four very special young ladies, it's going to be that X-Factor, those returning players, to step in and have their day in the sun. When the lights come on in Reed Green, it's their opportunity."
"Tanesha and I have also talked about double-doubles and how important it is that she has a very consistent year. Her freshman year was very up and down. Last year, in the early going, was very up and down and inconsistent. Last year she got into foul trouble and we had to pull her. We talked about that. Her teammates say that she is a killer in practice, but I asked the referees yesterday in the exhibition to pay close attention to her. I told them she needed a lesson today on fouling. She didn't get too many fouls called on her yesterday."
On adjusting to the loss of Stephanie Helgeson:
"We feel very strongly about the overall athleticism of this team and that it is important that this game be played very up-tempo and that our offensive game be good in transition. Defensively, it's going to be important that we play the game at 94-feet whether its man, zone trapping, run and jump, even in our zone defense we're not going to set and wait for people to come. We've got to have an attack mentality defensively at all times so that we can create opportunities for easy baskets. We want our opponents to take rush shots. For us to be able to win ball games and have some success, we have to stretch it out. We may give up some shots and easy baskets in transition, but from the beginning of the game to the end of the game, we've got to make them rush shots and make shots they are uncomfortable making. We've got to keep them off the glass. We've got to find bodies and box them out. That's going to be the difference. I think we're more talented this year from top-to-bottom. Therefore, it's going to give us the opportunity to play a lot more people. I told them to lay it on the line for just four minutes because we have someone that can come in right after them."
Pauline Love, Senior, Forward
On the importance of the season:
"I don't like to think about this being my senior year. If I think about it, it makes me nervous. I try not to think about it too much. People are expecting a lot out of me because I'm a senior. I know that I have good teammates who can back me up, and like coach said, she has a lot of confidence in me and I'm happy about it. I know I will have bad games. No one is perfect. There may come a time this year where I may not get the double-double. I might be one rebound short this year, but I know that I have teammates that will be there for me and motivate me."
On taking on a vocal leadership role:
"Coach was telling me that I was really vocal in the scrimmage yesterday. That is usually not me. When you are senior, you have to take on that role. You have to let your teammates know how important it is to you if you want to win a championship. I can't believe when I look at other players and think that this is how I use to be, and now I'm telling them don't do this or don't do that."
Tanesha Washington, Junior, Forward
On the challenges of the schedule this season:
"It's going to be a pretty big challenge this year. We have new players so we have to build new chemistry. We all get along great though."
On her work in the offseason:
"I've worked on my three-point game and my spin move. Coach has been working with me on going both ways with left and right hand on that."
On playing the Post:
"It's been something I've had to get used to, but now I know I have to bring it and be strong every game."
Candace Rucker, Senior, Guard
On getting back on the court: "I've been anxious to get back on the court. Coach has a particular picture on her wall in her office and I've drawn my motivation from that. It's hard to look at but it's in the pass. I have to pick up where I left off last season."
Will your role change for this season? What do you see as your role? "I see a bigger defensive role for myself."
