Bree Horrocks does as much as she can to stay focused.
It's one of the reasons why the 6-foot-4 freshman is likely to have a place in Purdue's interior rotation for its opener, when the Boilermakers play at Ball State Friday night. She'll back up forward Liza Clemons and Whitney Bays. Sharon Versyp calls Horrocks a "cerebral" player, who has picked up Purdue's plays quickly during the last couple months of workouts and practice.
"She gets it. She really understands things," Versyp said." We correct her a couple times, and then she really understands everything."
Focus helps. Horrocks says she learned lessons at Buford High School in Georgia, that when attention wanders, bad results come quickly.
"You can get distracted so easily," she said. "You can stare off into space for what you feel like is five seconds and you've missed a whole play. And that's happened to be before and I missed a whole play. You just have to face up to it and be like 'I can't go in because I was staring off into space.' But focus, the second you start to drift off, bring yourself back.
"(To stay focused), I talk myself through things. If you were to watch practice, you'd probably think I'm schizophrenic because I'm always talking to myself but I will say what Liza or Whitney or whoever is in my position, I'll say what they're doing as they're doing it. I'll say it to myself when I go out there, it helps me learn faster."
Horrocks had a solid debut for the Boilermakers, scoring seven points with two rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench in Purdue's exhibition game last weekend. But she thinks she can be better, particularly on the glass. It's there that she feels she could be making a bigger impact, and perhaps it's the place too that Purdue needs the most help.
"Hold down the paint, that's my place," she said. "I can't let anyone in the paint. I need to rebound more. I know that's my main role, especially when they're out, because that's their best thing. And it may not be my strength right now, so I just need to tape in to it, learn from them and start doing it. That's what they need me to do when I go in for Liza or Whitney."
"With Liza and Whitney, I try to pick up all the little details, especially with rebounding. I just ask myself 'Why are they rebounding so well? And why am I not getting those rebounds? I watch every little thing that they do so that I can do it for myself."
Perhaps it's the thinking - while a positive in practice - that gets her a bit on game days. She says her movement could be quicker, more reactionary, if she'd not overanalyze what she was doing. But that might come with experience.
And the experience starts Friday night.
"I feel comfortable in the sense that my coaches are preparing me and they will have me prepared the best they could, and it's all up to me," Horrocks said. "I'm anxious. It's probably the longest week of my life. I thought the last four months were long, to get to last Sunday, but this is going by so slowly because I'm so excited to play my first collegiate game that counts."
This post was edited on 11/14 2:48 PM by Kyle_GoldandBlack.com
It's one of the reasons why the 6-foot-4 freshman is likely to have a place in Purdue's interior rotation for its opener, when the Boilermakers play at Ball State Friday night. She'll back up forward Liza Clemons and Whitney Bays. Sharon Versyp calls Horrocks a "cerebral" player, who has picked up Purdue's plays quickly during the last couple months of workouts and practice.
"She gets it. She really understands things," Versyp said." We correct her a couple times, and then she really understands everything."
Focus helps. Horrocks says she learned lessons at Buford High School in Georgia, that when attention wanders, bad results come quickly.
"You can get distracted so easily," she said. "You can stare off into space for what you feel like is five seconds and you've missed a whole play. And that's happened to be before and I missed a whole play. You just have to face up to it and be like 'I can't go in because I was staring off into space.' But focus, the second you start to drift off, bring yourself back.
"(To stay focused), I talk myself through things. If you were to watch practice, you'd probably think I'm schizophrenic because I'm always talking to myself but I will say what Liza or Whitney or whoever is in my position, I'll say what they're doing as they're doing it. I'll say it to myself when I go out there, it helps me learn faster."
Horrocks had a solid debut for the Boilermakers, scoring seven points with two rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench in Purdue's exhibition game last weekend. But she thinks she can be better, particularly on the glass. It's there that she feels she could be making a bigger impact, and perhaps it's the place too that Purdue needs the most help.
"Hold down the paint, that's my place," she said. "I can't let anyone in the paint. I need to rebound more. I know that's my main role, especially when they're out, because that's their best thing. And it may not be my strength right now, so I just need to tape in to it, learn from them and start doing it. That's what they need me to do when I go in for Liza or Whitney."
"With Liza and Whitney, I try to pick up all the little details, especially with rebounding. I just ask myself 'Why are they rebounding so well? And why am I not getting those rebounds? I watch every little thing that they do so that I can do it for myself."
Perhaps it's the thinking - while a positive in practice - that gets her a bit on game days. She says her movement could be quicker, more reactionary, if she'd not overanalyze what she was doing. But that might come with experience.
And the experience starts Friday night.
"I feel comfortable in the sense that my coaches are preparing me and they will have me prepared the best they could, and it's all up to me," Horrocks said. "I'm anxious. It's probably the longest week of my life. I thought the last four months were long, to get to last Sunday, but this is going by so slowly because I'm so excited to play my first collegiate game that counts."
This post was edited on 11/14 2:48 PM by Kyle_GoldandBlack.com
