Since WBB gets so little coverage, I will, at least for a little while, transcribe KG's show for those who don't want to listen to it. I think we are all curious what this next year will bring. It is more or less a complete transcription except for omitting a few extraneous comments and shortening some of the run-ons.. I occasionally add extras (Like positions, height, years played or the speaker's facial emotions etc.) and have tired to remember to put them in italics. I am sure there are errors as I am not a great typist. Take it for what it is worth.
Katie Gearlds Show
Nov. 1, 2021
Tim Newton (TN) and Katie Gearlds (KG) with guest Cassidy Hardin (CH)
TN: Katie asked me before we went on “Did you ever believe you would be saying ‘Welcome to the Katie Gearlds Show?” and I said I believe anything is possible.” It’s about time - 9 days until the opener.
KG: It’s surreal. The last time I came to this show was when Kristy was coaching. But it feels like home.
TN: The path that got you here. This was supposed to be a year in waiting and then take over at the end of the season. Coach Versyp retired early and you took over. It would be right to mention the impact Coach Versyp had on you as a player and also as a head coach.
KG: Yes, back in my senior year we were obviously heartbroken when Kristy left to go to Texas Tech. But my jersey hangs in the rafters because I had the opportunity to play for Sharon. She took me to another level. Ran me off a lot of screens. Same way I hope to do for Cass and _____ . When she approached me 4-5 yrs ago I wasn’t ready. This year it was something I couldn’t pass up.
It went really fast. The summer went fast. Six months later I was thinking I was going to coach alongside her and then BAM. But honestly, she told me “Katie you’re ready… You were born for this.” I really do think I was born to walk the sidelines in Mackey.
TN: You really weren’t sure coaching was in your future. When did you decide you wanted to coach?
KG: Two things - (1) I was playing with Sue Bird, one of the best point guards to ever play the game. In Seattle I was just being paid to come in and make a shot - not a lot of PT. And here she comes and she asks me “What do you see?” And I think if this woman thinks I know what I am doing, maybe I actually do. And then (2) I was playing in Spain and frankly didn’t have a great coach. So I got the team together and I changed his plays. (Hopefully my team here doesn’t get any ideas - she smiles/laughs.) And the plays were successful (but our coach took all the credit.) I think that’s when I realized I could coach.
TN: You then went to Marian University, an NAIA school. You won two national championships and had an incredible winning percentage. What did you learn there that you can apply here?
KG: Get really good players. I think that’s what it comes down to. No matter how dumb the coaches are really good players are going to win games for them.
TN: You also mentioned in your first year you had a lot of really close games and you had trouble winning those.
KG: My first year we lost 7 games by a total of 16 pts. I still remember all of them - what could I have done to win those games? We go 16-16 my first year. The next year we go 28-6 and the next year we go 36-6 and win the national championship. So I think I figured things out pretty quickly.
TN:You’ve always been driven by inner forces. In your frosh year you played Georgia in the (2004) Sweet Sixteen in Seattle and you had a chance to win but lost it late. And for the next year you had a screen saver on your computer of a Georgia player shooting a shot over your outstretched hand to motivate you.
KG: Yeah we were tied and she took two dribble to the baseline and shot over my outstretched hand that won the game for them. That team was really special and it hurt as I wanted so bad to win for “Reek” (Shereka Wright) and “Beth” (Beth Jones) and “Erika” (Erika Valeck) and “Linds” (Lindsey Hicks). As humans we all want to be better but I am driven by past failures. I want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
TN: Your first (on-line) question - Are there any thoughts to adding Notre Dame back on the schedule?
KG: Why not? If you want to get back on the national scene you play anybody anywhere, right? We’ll ask Jaden if Coach Ivey is interested in getting that going again.
TN: You have a few days left before your exhibition game Sunday and 9 days left before you open up the season. What is the state of your team today, Nov. 1st?
KG: First of all my staff has been great for me, holding me down and keeping me in check. We are where we are right now. With Coach retiring in the middle of Sept… it probably set us back a couple of months. But we are getting better. Every day I see “OK, that’s what it’s supposed to look like.” And the squad is saying “Wow, okay, this is it.”
We’re going to fly around defensively and try to score some points on offense from the D. Right now we can be stagnant in the mid-court but if we can get some things going in the open court that’s what we would prefer right now. We are going to expect a lot from Madison (Layden) - a second year player who was All-Freshman. She’s going to have to be aggressive and come in and score, not settling for 3PT shots. She has to put the ball on the floor, take mid-range jumpers and get to the foul line. And create for other people.
Cassidy Hardin has been shooting lights out. The other day she made 6 of 8 from the 3PT line. She kind of looks a little bit liberated out there… free to shoot the ball. I tell them all the time, and I mean it whole-heartedly, “Shoot it before you turn it over.”
TN: A lot of players are attracted to up-tempo play. I would think that would make recruiting easier.
KG: That’s the idea. Last year at Marion, we averaged 80 pts/game. I am not saying we will but that’s the idea. We want to be sure we are getting enough shots up to score the basketball but we need to make sure the right people are shooting. I am excited for what Jeanae Terry, a transfer form Illinois can bring to us and Abbey Ellis a transfer from CalPoly. We have some other pieces.
Those four(Layden, Hardin, Terry and Ellis) are who we are depending on but others will need to step up and contribute.
TN: You’ve talked about how much the college game has changed since you played. The Big Ten has changed and now the transfer portal.
KG: Yeah the portal is a double edged sword. Right now trying to get back to where we were. Looking ar the rafters in Mackey we haven’t won a BigTen Championship since 2013. That’s too long. Purdue has a recipe for success. Purdue sells itself and we just have to make sure, whether it is high school or portal, that we do our due diligence. We need to get the right kids in here that fit what the Purdue way is.
TN: You have had a closed “super-secret” scrimmage. How many players will you play and in a “perfect world” do you have a number you want to play?
KG: Right now we are still figuring a lot of things out - who fits best with whom. In a perfect world, 8 or 9. Because of the up-tempo we want to play, probably 7 is too few. At Marian because of the talent we had I could go 10 deep - not platooning but just keeping fresh bodies out there.
TN: An online question - On defense are you man-to-man or zone or both?
KG: What’s defense? I played here for four years - did anybody ever see me play defense? (Laughs) We are strictly man-to-man right now. We are going to get better and better at it. Eventually we will probably throw something else in there. But we can’t move on until we get our man-to-man down.
TN: Let’s talk about Jeanae Terry (5’11” guard). What does she bring to you?
KG: She brings us a playmaker out there. She can create for herself but more importantly for her teammates. We can play her 1 thru 4. She can battle inside but really it’s her court vision and her understanding of basketball and how it’s supposed to be played that makes her valuable. Yesterday we put her at point guard and she found Madison and found Cass and hesitated and then got to the rim with her strong body to score. Her energy and excitement and passion/love for the game of basketball. She is going to get a lot of “and ones.”
TN: And Abby Ellis (5’6” guard) comes from Australia. She’s the first Australian we’ve had in the program. Talk about her at the point?
KG: She is full of energy. Literally never stops running. Never stops moving. I talked to her today about over-helping sometimes. She’s always trying to fix everyone else’s problem and defensively trying to correct everything instead of trusting it. But she can score from the outside. She has this euro-finesse when she gets in the lane and the ability to create and score from different angles. She has a great mid-range game. Her ability to stretch the D and shoot the ball from the outside is going to be huge for us.
TN: You also brought in Mide Oriyomi (6’0” guard/forward) from Northeastern, another player that gives you a little bit of length in the front court.
KG: She is a versatile player. We can play her on the wing or bring her inside. She posts really hard. She runs the floor extremely well and can guard most positions. We’ll continue to work with her to stretch the D and shoot the ball off the bounce but right now it’s just her pure athleticism and the ability to guard multiple positions that will be helpful for us.
TN: Our guest will be Cassidy Hardin. What can you tell me about her and her ability to adapt to your style?
KG: Honestly if you think about the “Purdue Way” every coach dreams of having a Cassidy Hardin (smile on her face). If you had 15 Cassidy Hardins you wouldn’t have to worry about anything. She does it right on and off the court. She is going to be an anesthesiologist one day.
TN: An update on Purdue WBB players currently playing at the pro level:
TN: We are joined by Cassidy Hardin, a senior from Bargersville, Indiana. At Purdue she has played in 80 games with 11 starts, averaging 3.3 ppg and 1.3 RB’s/game. She is a Biochem major. In high school excelled in basketball and tennis. You won a state championship in doubles, right? What year?
CH: Yes, my parents put me in almost every sport. But tennis allowed me to still do AAU basketball which was a big time commitment. I won a state championship in my junior year in doubles.
TN: What aspects of tennis carried over into basketball?
CH: It was just helpful in general playing in a sport that had different movements. I used different muscles and needed quick bursts of speed and I think that helped me in basketball.
TN: Why biochemistry?
CH: Well I am planning on going to medical school and there are a lot of options at Purdue (for a premed curriculum) but I really liked organic chemistry which not a lot of people do so biochemistry seemed like the right fit for me.
TN: Have you started to apply yet. Actually you could play another season (as a Super Senior) - a lot of decisions have to be mad towards the end of the season. What does the next couple of years hold for you?
CH: I am currently in the middle of applying to medical schools. I have an interview lined up with IU (nervous laugh) which not a lot of people like that but…
TN: That’s alright. You have to go where the credentials are. What differences do you see in Coach Gearalds’ style and playing style.
CHL Coach wants to play fast and score a lot of points and get up and down the floor. I think energy is a big thing for her and that is something we are working on every day. Her mantra is to be really hard to beat, even if we might not have as much talent as the teams we are playing. If we play hard, play smart and do the things we are supposed to then we might get some wins people don’t expect us to.
TN: You came in with a reputation as a great 3PT shooter - 8th in Indiana high school history. You’ve taken a lot of 3PT shots here at Purdue. Talk about what you else you need to add to your game here.
CH: I’m definitely trying to be more versatile so I’m not so easy to guard. I have to dribble some and throw in some jumpers that people don’t expect. Also being a calming presence on the court getting everyone where they need to be.
TN: It was difficult last year without fans in the stands. What will it be like this year when you run through the tunnel in front of the Mackey crowd?
CH: It’s going to be amazing. Just from the energy standpoint. The fans support is always amazing and Mackey always draws a big crowd. Last year was really tough when we had to generate our own energy so I think having that support system back in Mackey is really going to make a difference for us.
TN: Give us a player or two who will surprise the fans this year. Someone who maybe is under-the-radar but you think will have a break-out year.
CH: I think we have some really good players that people don’t know. Jeanae who played for Illinois but now is playing for us. She will bring good things for us. And Abbey Ellis, people have not seen her play before. Both of them will surprise people and make a big difference for us.
TN: Has Abbey, being from Australia, forced anyone to try Vegemite yet?
CH: Not yet. But we tried Vegemite when we went to Australia two years ago. A definite thumbs down for me.
__________________
TN: Welcome back to Katie. Your have the exhibition this coming Sunday at home against Findlay. But what will you try to accomplish in the 9 days until the opener at Western Kentucky?
KG: These 9 days we are just focusing on getting better. We are going to put a little effort for Findlay but we can’t waste days doing anything but getting better. We want to win the exhibition game - it’s been awhile since fans have been in Mackey - but we have to get better to win against Western Kentucky. The whole focus is who we are and who we want to be.
TN: What will it be like walking out onto Mackey’s floor in a coach’s uniform and sitting at the head coach’s seat?
KG: Since coach retired I’ve actually had a countdown on my phone to that day. But every day just walking into Mackey for practice I still get these chills. I don’t think it will ever go away. You know the first time you fall in love that feeling is incredible and you never forget it and that for me is how it feels when I walk out on the floor at Mackey. I don’t want it ever, ever to go away.
TN: When you take over a program - you already did it at Marian - you have to do things step by step. Do you worry about doing things out of order or getting impatient? You are very competitive but you have to do things in the right order. Everyone wants to win right away but how do you maintain your calm to do that?
KG: You mean my sanity? (Laughs, then points to assistant coaches) It’s Alex (Guyton), Michael (Scruggs) and Beth (Couture). They do a really good job of keeping my head on straight. You know me. I’m a competitor. I’ve never had a losing season and I don’t intend to. I don’t think that is in the future for us. I think we are going to finish above .500. We’ve got a pretty good team. I think our schedule is pretty favorable, honestly. So we are going to finish above .500 and I am stupid enough to think we are going to make the tournament.
TN: You talked about your competitiveness. Was there are time when you realized you loved winning or was it that you found you hated losing?
KG: Oh, it was the hatred of losing. Especially against my brother - I hated that. When my brothers got a hit off me, man that ate me alive. I would come home after 18 strike outs but all I could think about was the two hits I gave up. It is ingrained in the Gearlds family that we are competitors. It’s in our blood.
TN: Are you a coach that get’s in official’s ears a lot or do you let them do their thing? What is your demeanor on the sidelines?
KG: I would say I am pretty calm. Refs are human and they’re going to make mistakes. The biggest thing is when they are not in the right spot. If they are not in position to make good calls, I am going to have a problem with it. At Marian they were a lot of times out of position. Sometimes I had to call a time out just so the refs could catch their breath. They would ask me “Do you want a 30 or full TO” and I would say “I don’t know. I called it for you - what do you need?”
We’ve had a couple of closed scrimmages now and I talk to the refs and they say “You’re awfully composed over here.” If I’m yelling you definitely have messed up.
TN: We still have two 3PT lines painted in Mackey Arena. Which one do you play?
KG: We play the one furthest one back. We just haven’t had to opportunity to take the other one off yet. It will be interesting to see how many women step on the sideline in the corner because it is a shorter corner
TN: This weeks game plan is about Purdue because that is who we are worried about. What will make you happy with the exhibition game as you come off the court?
KG: I think one thing is body language. If your teammate gets knocked down are you sprinting to her to help her up? We worked on that this summer. At practice, if someone gets knocked down all 12 or 13 players better be sprinting over to pick her up. It sends a message of unity. And I want the ball to move. You don’t always make shots but if the ball moves and you’re setting good screens, then you are controlling the controllable. You need to dominate the glass, you don’t give up second chance points and then you just don’t turn it over. If we can do those things right we’ll have a pretty good chance of winning most nights.
TN: I mentioned Aya Traore before. She’s been playing for quite awhile. What do you remember about her?
KG: We still communicate. Last week was my birthday and she texted me “Happy Birthday, Boo.” I had a player at Marian from Senegal and I reached out to her. She was a teammate that would do whatever it took to win. And now as a friend she is someone I talk to regularly.
TN: Thanks coach. The first of many for us I hope. And we will be back next week.
Note: The radio call for the exhibition game against Findlay on Sunday Nov. 7 will be on internet only (no local radio.) Go to the schedule on the WBB site at the Purdue Sports site to click on the “Listen” link. (It is also scheduled to be televised on BigTen+)
Katie Gearlds Show
Nov. 1, 2021
Tim Newton (TN) and Katie Gearlds (KG) with guest Cassidy Hardin (CH)
TN: Katie asked me before we went on “Did you ever believe you would be saying ‘Welcome to the Katie Gearlds Show?” and I said I believe anything is possible.” It’s about time - 9 days until the opener.
KG: It’s surreal. The last time I came to this show was when Kristy was coaching. But it feels like home.
TN: The path that got you here. This was supposed to be a year in waiting and then take over at the end of the season. Coach Versyp retired early and you took over. It would be right to mention the impact Coach Versyp had on you as a player and also as a head coach.
KG: Yes, back in my senior year we were obviously heartbroken when Kristy left to go to Texas Tech. But my jersey hangs in the rafters because I had the opportunity to play for Sharon. She took me to another level. Ran me off a lot of screens. Same way I hope to do for Cass and _____ . When she approached me 4-5 yrs ago I wasn’t ready. This year it was something I couldn’t pass up.
It went really fast. The summer went fast. Six months later I was thinking I was going to coach alongside her and then BAM. But honestly, she told me “Katie you’re ready… You were born for this.” I really do think I was born to walk the sidelines in Mackey.
TN: You really weren’t sure coaching was in your future. When did you decide you wanted to coach?
KG: Two things - (1) I was playing with Sue Bird, one of the best point guards to ever play the game. In Seattle I was just being paid to come in and make a shot - not a lot of PT. And here she comes and she asks me “What do you see?” And I think if this woman thinks I know what I am doing, maybe I actually do. And then (2) I was playing in Spain and frankly didn’t have a great coach. So I got the team together and I changed his plays. (Hopefully my team here doesn’t get any ideas - she smiles/laughs.) And the plays were successful (but our coach took all the credit.) I think that’s when I realized I could coach.
TN: You then went to Marian University, an NAIA school. You won two national championships and had an incredible winning percentage. What did you learn there that you can apply here?
KG: Get really good players. I think that’s what it comes down to. No matter how dumb the coaches are really good players are going to win games for them.
TN: You also mentioned in your first year you had a lot of really close games and you had trouble winning those.
KG: My first year we lost 7 games by a total of 16 pts. I still remember all of them - what could I have done to win those games? We go 16-16 my first year. The next year we go 28-6 and the next year we go 36-6 and win the national championship. So I think I figured things out pretty quickly.
TN:You’ve always been driven by inner forces. In your frosh year you played Georgia in the (2004) Sweet Sixteen in Seattle and you had a chance to win but lost it late. And for the next year you had a screen saver on your computer of a Georgia player shooting a shot over your outstretched hand to motivate you.
KG: Yeah we were tied and she took two dribble to the baseline and shot over my outstretched hand that won the game for them. That team was really special and it hurt as I wanted so bad to win for “Reek” (Shereka Wright) and “Beth” (Beth Jones) and “Erika” (Erika Valeck) and “Linds” (Lindsey Hicks). As humans we all want to be better but I am driven by past failures. I want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
TN: Your first (on-line) question - Are there any thoughts to adding Notre Dame back on the schedule?
KG: Why not? If you want to get back on the national scene you play anybody anywhere, right? We’ll ask Jaden if Coach Ivey is interested in getting that going again.
TN: You have a few days left before your exhibition game Sunday and 9 days left before you open up the season. What is the state of your team today, Nov. 1st?
KG: First of all my staff has been great for me, holding me down and keeping me in check. We are where we are right now. With Coach retiring in the middle of Sept… it probably set us back a couple of months. But we are getting better. Every day I see “OK, that’s what it’s supposed to look like.” And the squad is saying “Wow, okay, this is it.”
We’re going to fly around defensively and try to score some points on offense from the D. Right now we can be stagnant in the mid-court but if we can get some things going in the open court that’s what we would prefer right now. We are going to expect a lot from Madison (Layden) - a second year player who was All-Freshman. She’s going to have to be aggressive and come in and score, not settling for 3PT shots. She has to put the ball on the floor, take mid-range jumpers and get to the foul line. And create for other people.
Cassidy Hardin has been shooting lights out. The other day she made 6 of 8 from the 3PT line. She kind of looks a little bit liberated out there… free to shoot the ball. I tell them all the time, and I mean it whole-heartedly, “Shoot it before you turn it over.”
TN: A lot of players are attracted to up-tempo play. I would think that would make recruiting easier.
KG: That’s the idea. Last year at Marion, we averaged 80 pts/game. I am not saying we will but that’s the idea. We want to be sure we are getting enough shots up to score the basketball but we need to make sure the right people are shooting. I am excited for what Jeanae Terry, a transfer form Illinois can bring to us and Abbey Ellis a transfer from CalPoly. We have some other pieces.
Those four(Layden, Hardin, Terry and Ellis) are who we are depending on but others will need to step up and contribute.
TN: You’ve talked about how much the college game has changed since you played. The Big Ten has changed and now the transfer portal.
KG: Yeah the portal is a double edged sword. Right now trying to get back to where we were. Looking ar the rafters in Mackey we haven’t won a BigTen Championship since 2013. That’s too long. Purdue has a recipe for success. Purdue sells itself and we just have to make sure, whether it is high school or portal, that we do our due diligence. We need to get the right kids in here that fit what the Purdue way is.
TN: You have had a closed “super-secret” scrimmage. How many players will you play and in a “perfect world” do you have a number you want to play?
KG: Right now we are still figuring a lot of things out - who fits best with whom. In a perfect world, 8 or 9. Because of the up-tempo we want to play, probably 7 is too few. At Marian because of the talent we had I could go 10 deep - not platooning but just keeping fresh bodies out there.
TN: An online question - On defense are you man-to-man or zone or both?
KG: What’s defense? I played here for four years - did anybody ever see me play defense? (Laughs) We are strictly man-to-man right now. We are going to get better and better at it. Eventually we will probably throw something else in there. But we can’t move on until we get our man-to-man down.
TN: Let’s talk about Jeanae Terry (5’11” guard). What does she bring to you?
KG: She brings us a playmaker out there. She can create for herself but more importantly for her teammates. We can play her 1 thru 4. She can battle inside but really it’s her court vision and her understanding of basketball and how it’s supposed to be played that makes her valuable. Yesterday we put her at point guard and she found Madison and found Cass and hesitated and then got to the rim with her strong body to score. Her energy and excitement and passion/love for the game of basketball. She is going to get a lot of “and ones.”
TN: And Abby Ellis (5’6” guard) comes from Australia. She’s the first Australian we’ve had in the program. Talk about her at the point?
KG: She is full of energy. Literally never stops running. Never stops moving. I talked to her today about over-helping sometimes. She’s always trying to fix everyone else’s problem and defensively trying to correct everything instead of trusting it. But she can score from the outside. She has this euro-finesse when she gets in the lane and the ability to create and score from different angles. She has a great mid-range game. Her ability to stretch the D and shoot the ball from the outside is going to be huge for us.
TN: You also brought in Mide Oriyomi (6’0” guard/forward) from Northeastern, another player that gives you a little bit of length in the front court.
KG: She is a versatile player. We can play her on the wing or bring her inside. She posts really hard. She runs the floor extremely well and can guard most positions. We’ll continue to work with her to stretch the D and shoot the ball off the bounce but right now it’s just her pure athleticism and the ability to guard multiple positions that will be helpful for us.
TN: Our guest will be Cassidy Hardin. What can you tell me about her and her ability to adapt to your style?
KG: Honestly if you think about the “Purdue Way” every coach dreams of having a Cassidy Hardin (smile on her face). If you had 15 Cassidy Hardins you wouldn’t have to worry about anything. She does it right on and off the court. She is going to be an anesthesiologist one day.
TN: An update on Purdue WBB players currently playing at the pro level:
- KK Houser (2009-2014) - Playing in Poland. Thru 3 games she is averaging 9 pts, 4 RB, 3+ assists and 2 steals/game.
- Ae’Rianna Harris (2016-2020) - Playing in Belgium. Thru 3 games she is averaging just under 5 pts and 3 RB’s/game.
- Sam Ostarello (2009-2013) - Playing in Italy. Thru 4 games she is averaging 3.5 pts and 5 RB’s/game
- Aya Traore (2003-2006) - from Senegal and played under Kristy Curry. Now playing in Spain. She has been playing pro WBB for about 15 years and doing very well averaging about 16 pts and 6 RB’s/game.
- Adreona Keyes (2014-2018) - Has signed with a team in Romania and her season is about to start.
TN: We are joined by Cassidy Hardin, a senior from Bargersville, Indiana. At Purdue she has played in 80 games with 11 starts, averaging 3.3 ppg and 1.3 RB’s/game. She is a Biochem major. In high school excelled in basketball and tennis. You won a state championship in doubles, right? What year?
CH: Yes, my parents put me in almost every sport. But tennis allowed me to still do AAU basketball which was a big time commitment. I won a state championship in my junior year in doubles.
TN: What aspects of tennis carried over into basketball?
CH: It was just helpful in general playing in a sport that had different movements. I used different muscles and needed quick bursts of speed and I think that helped me in basketball.
TN: Why biochemistry?
CH: Well I am planning on going to medical school and there are a lot of options at Purdue (for a premed curriculum) but I really liked organic chemistry which not a lot of people do so biochemistry seemed like the right fit for me.
TN: Have you started to apply yet. Actually you could play another season (as a Super Senior) - a lot of decisions have to be mad towards the end of the season. What does the next couple of years hold for you?
CH: I am currently in the middle of applying to medical schools. I have an interview lined up with IU (nervous laugh) which not a lot of people like that but…
TN: That’s alright. You have to go where the credentials are. What differences do you see in Coach Gearalds’ style and playing style.
CHL Coach wants to play fast and score a lot of points and get up and down the floor. I think energy is a big thing for her and that is something we are working on every day. Her mantra is to be really hard to beat, even if we might not have as much talent as the teams we are playing. If we play hard, play smart and do the things we are supposed to then we might get some wins people don’t expect us to.
TN: You came in with a reputation as a great 3PT shooter - 8th in Indiana high school history. You’ve taken a lot of 3PT shots here at Purdue. Talk about what you else you need to add to your game here.
CH: I’m definitely trying to be more versatile so I’m not so easy to guard. I have to dribble some and throw in some jumpers that people don’t expect. Also being a calming presence on the court getting everyone where they need to be.
TN: It was difficult last year without fans in the stands. What will it be like this year when you run through the tunnel in front of the Mackey crowd?
CH: It’s going to be amazing. Just from the energy standpoint. The fans support is always amazing and Mackey always draws a big crowd. Last year was really tough when we had to generate our own energy so I think having that support system back in Mackey is really going to make a difference for us.
TN: Give us a player or two who will surprise the fans this year. Someone who maybe is under-the-radar but you think will have a break-out year.
CH: I think we have some really good players that people don’t know. Jeanae who played for Illinois but now is playing for us. She will bring good things for us. And Abbey Ellis, people have not seen her play before. Both of them will surprise people and make a big difference for us.
TN: Has Abbey, being from Australia, forced anyone to try Vegemite yet?
CH: Not yet. But we tried Vegemite when we went to Australia two years ago. A definite thumbs down for me.
__________________
TN: Welcome back to Katie. Your have the exhibition this coming Sunday at home against Findlay. But what will you try to accomplish in the 9 days until the opener at Western Kentucky?
KG: These 9 days we are just focusing on getting better. We are going to put a little effort for Findlay but we can’t waste days doing anything but getting better. We want to win the exhibition game - it’s been awhile since fans have been in Mackey - but we have to get better to win against Western Kentucky. The whole focus is who we are and who we want to be.
TN: What will it be like walking out onto Mackey’s floor in a coach’s uniform and sitting at the head coach’s seat?
KG: Since coach retired I’ve actually had a countdown on my phone to that day. But every day just walking into Mackey for practice I still get these chills. I don’t think it will ever go away. You know the first time you fall in love that feeling is incredible and you never forget it and that for me is how it feels when I walk out on the floor at Mackey. I don’t want it ever, ever to go away.
TN: When you take over a program - you already did it at Marian - you have to do things step by step. Do you worry about doing things out of order or getting impatient? You are very competitive but you have to do things in the right order. Everyone wants to win right away but how do you maintain your calm to do that?
KG: You mean my sanity? (Laughs, then points to assistant coaches) It’s Alex (Guyton), Michael (Scruggs) and Beth (Couture). They do a really good job of keeping my head on straight. You know me. I’m a competitor. I’ve never had a losing season and I don’t intend to. I don’t think that is in the future for us. I think we are going to finish above .500. We’ve got a pretty good team. I think our schedule is pretty favorable, honestly. So we are going to finish above .500 and I am stupid enough to think we are going to make the tournament.
TN: You talked about your competitiveness. Was there are time when you realized you loved winning or was it that you found you hated losing?
KG: Oh, it was the hatred of losing. Especially against my brother - I hated that. When my brothers got a hit off me, man that ate me alive. I would come home after 18 strike outs but all I could think about was the two hits I gave up. It is ingrained in the Gearlds family that we are competitors. It’s in our blood.
TN: Are you a coach that get’s in official’s ears a lot or do you let them do their thing? What is your demeanor on the sidelines?
KG: I would say I am pretty calm. Refs are human and they’re going to make mistakes. The biggest thing is when they are not in the right spot. If they are not in position to make good calls, I am going to have a problem with it. At Marian they were a lot of times out of position. Sometimes I had to call a time out just so the refs could catch their breath. They would ask me “Do you want a 30 or full TO” and I would say “I don’t know. I called it for you - what do you need?”
We’ve had a couple of closed scrimmages now and I talk to the refs and they say “You’re awfully composed over here.” If I’m yelling you definitely have messed up.
TN: We still have two 3PT lines painted in Mackey Arena. Which one do you play?
KG: We play the one furthest one back. We just haven’t had to opportunity to take the other one off yet. It will be interesting to see how many women step on the sideline in the corner because it is a shorter corner
TN: This weeks game plan is about Purdue because that is who we are worried about. What will make you happy with the exhibition game as you come off the court?
KG: I think one thing is body language. If your teammate gets knocked down are you sprinting to her to help her up? We worked on that this summer. At practice, if someone gets knocked down all 12 or 13 players better be sprinting over to pick her up. It sends a message of unity. And I want the ball to move. You don’t always make shots but if the ball moves and you’re setting good screens, then you are controlling the controllable. You need to dominate the glass, you don’t give up second chance points and then you just don’t turn it over. If we can do those things right we’ll have a pretty good chance of winning most nights.
TN: I mentioned Aya Traore before. She’s been playing for quite awhile. What do you remember about her?
KG: We still communicate. Last week was my birthday and she texted me “Happy Birthday, Boo.” I had a player at Marian from Senegal and I reached out to her. She was a teammate that would do whatever it took to win. And now as a friend she is someone I talk to regularly.
TN: Thanks coach. The first of many for us I hope. And we will be back next week.
Note: The radio call for the exhibition game against Findlay on Sunday Nov. 7 will be on internet only (no local radio.) Go to the schedule on the WBB site at the Purdue Sports site to click on the “Listen” link. (It is also scheduled to be televised on BigTen+)
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