Katie Gearlds Show for Monday 12/6/2021
Since WBB gets so little coverage, I am giving a summary of Coach Gearlds’ Monday Show.
These are the highlights of her more interesting comments.
(Sorry I am late this week - I had a busy Tuesday with family things.)
Katie Gearlds Show
Dec. 6, 2021
Tim Newton (TN) and Katie Gearlds (KG) with guest Beth Couture (BC)
Georgia Tech Game:
TN: Talk about the game:
KG
TN: GT beat a top 20 team Georgia on the road over the weekend.
KG:
KG:
TN: To play Ohio State and then go on the road to Maryland - welcome to the Big Ten. Ohio State was averaging almost 90 pts going in and leading the nation in scoring and 2nd in the nation in FG %. They were held to 24 pts in the 1st half.
KG:
TN: Still trying to figure out how you had 21 more shots than they did yet they out-rebounded you. That’s almost impossible.
KG:
TN: You went into half down by two but coming out in the 3rd Q they went on a run and got a double digit lead and then you had to play catch-up for the rest of the 2nd half.
KG:
TN: Rokia Doumbia made her season debut in the game. She hit a big 3PT shot and gave you some decent mins.
KG:
TN: Rickie Woltman, your 6’4” junior, has not seen a lot of action up to now but we are seeing her more and more. She seems to be finding herself.
KG:
TN: sometimes kids press if they only have a few mins in the game because they feel they have to make an impression.
KG:
TN: It’s also hard as a freshman coming in and trying to get playing time. It is a whole different game playing in HS where your natural ability carries you. Jayla Smith is going through that now.
KG:
Pro Boilers Segment following WBB Boilers Playing Pro
Aya Traore (2003-2006) in Spain even though her team lost the game had 25 pts and 6 rebs and she is averaging almost 15 ppg.
Adreona Keyes (2014-2018) - In Romania she had 18 pts, 16 rebs and 5 assists. You might think it was a shoot-out but the score was a 55-46 score so she had 18 of the team’s 55 pts. Her team is undefeated at 7-0 this season.
___________________
Guest Beth Couture - Associate Head Coach
TN: Beth is in her 5th season at Purdue. We were talking - this team is getting better and is fun to watch.
BC:
BC:
BC:
TN: What’s different about BB now from when you started?
BC:
BC:
BC:
BC:
BC:
TN: (Facebook Question) What about Skye Williams and Ava Learn?
KG:
KG:
TN: Beth Couture was talking about how to help kids who weren’t seeing a lot of PT. When I came over Jayla Smith was out on the floor shooting.
KG:
Maryland:
TN: There are five B1G teams ranked in the top 5 and at the top of that list is Maryland at #8. It is safe to say they are pretty talented.
KG:
KG:
TN: The Boilers will take on the 8th ranked Maryland Terrapins on Wed at 7PM EST and then back home in Mackey on Sunday with a non-conference game against Denver which tips off at 2PM EST.
Since WBB gets so little coverage, I am giving a summary of Coach Gearlds’ Monday Show.
These are the highlights of her more interesting comments.
(Sorry I am late this week - I had a busy Tuesday with family things.)
Katie Gearlds Show
Dec. 6, 2021
Tim Newton (TN) and Katie Gearlds (KG) with guest Beth Couture (BC)
Georgia Tech Game:
TN: Talk about the game:
KG
- When you compare GT’s roster to ours, “there are some grown women on that team. We battled.”
TN: GT beat a top 20 team Georgia on the road over the weekend.
KG:
- That helps our RPI
- They were a “big and thick” basketball team with lots of experience.
- They looked like a European professional BB team.
- For GT two different kids missed two FTs each in the last minute of the game.
- JT was lucky enough to get the rebound from the
- “Sometimes better lucky than good but we were lucky (missed FTs) and then JT was good.
- In game winning FG by Jeanae Terry against Georgia Tech, with 3.9 secs left, the intended option was to go to Shaya or then back to Madison. Neither were there and so JT “made a great play for us.”
KG:
- “She said she called “Bank.” (Coach laughs)
TN: To play Ohio State and then go on the road to Maryland - welcome to the Big Ten. Ohio State was averaging almost 90 pts going in and leading the nation in scoring and 2nd in the nation in FG %. They were held to 24 pts in the 1st half.
KG:
- “Our group just followed out game plan to ‘T’”.
- “We got them to turn it over and rebounded it - didn’t let them have 2nd chance pts.” We were pushing transition especially in the first half.
- In the first half we missed some bunnies and open looks - the lead could have easily been 12 pts at the half.
- Was happy with most of the 3PT shots - they just didn’t go in. Some went in and out and that’s how the game is sometimes.
- In 2nd half we got stagnant in our offense.
TN: Still trying to figure out how you had 21 more shots than they did yet they out-rebounded you. That’s almost impossible.
KG:
- “I think what happened is we forced 21 turn-overs.
TN: You went into half down by two but coming out in the 3rd Q they went on a run and got a double digit lead and then you had to play catch-up for the rest of the 2nd half.
KG:
- Yeah, in the 2nd half we started to feel the pressure and took chances we weren’t taking in the 1st half.
- I know you saw our press but we don’t practice it much because we haven’t had the time to do that yet.
- Even with that the press we used was pretty effective. We have some real athletes out there.
- Give our kids credit. We were down 60-44 but had a chance with the BB only down 8 with about 2 1/2 mins to go. We missed an open shot and they went down and got a 3PT - a 6 pt swing.
- Our kids battled for all 40 mins.
- I think we got them a little nervous at the end.
- Think about everyone in the Ohio State game - that is Hardin’s first Big Ten start, Abbey’s first Big Ten game, Shaya’s first Big Ten start, and Rickie hasn’t played a lot of minutes. Terry is really the only one who had Big Ten experience (besides Layden) and she is on a completely different ball team. Now we have that first one under our belt.
- I’m not saying we will win the Maryland game but we will go up there and compete.
TN: Rokia Doumbia made her season debut in the game. She hit a big 3PT shot and gave you some decent mins.
KG:
- Yes, we’ve asked her to play in the post (she is 5’9”) because we are limited there. She’s athletic to beat people off the dribble from the perimeter. She got some offensive rebounds late in the game for some 2nd chance opportunities which we weren’t able to capitalize on them.
- She still is recovering from her ankle. We need to keep getting her in shape.
- Playing Big Ten games right now is tough for us righty now because we are still a developing team. I think we will see our best BB in Jan & Feb.
TN: Rickie Woltman, your 6’4” junior, has not seen a lot of action up to now but we are seeing her more and more. She seems to be finding herself.
KG:
- She plays so hard every day. I told her how proud I am for how far she has come. She said “Coach, I feel comfortable. You put me in the right spots. I’m gong to do whatever I can to help this team win.”
- I told her and this is not a lie, in the last two season when she went into the game I held my breath but now I feel really comfortable when she goes in. She’s going to play D, she’s going to rebound, and she wants the ball.
- She’s kicked the ball out a couple of times and then re-posts and demanded the ball. That’s not something we’ve seen in the last couple of years. We are going to need her.
TN: sometimes kids press if they only have a few mins in the game because they feel they have to make an impression.
KG:
- Yeah, I tell them if you make a mistake you are not coming out. You are going to screw up and what does your body language say on the next possession. Rickie says “I got you, coach.”
- Nas (Nyagoa Gony) hasn’t got playing time much lately but we are going to need her. That kid has been locked in at practice and practicing hard and hasn’t complained a bit. We are working hard to get Shaya and Rickie but her time is coming. I really, really enjoy being around those two kids.
TN: It’s also hard as a freshman coming in and trying to get playing time. It is a whole different game playing in HS where your natural ability carries you. Jayla Smith is going through that now.
KG:
- She’s adjusting. The game just needs to slow down in her mind. The first couple of times you just saw her head spinning.
- She is our most athletic and explosive player. She is going to find her minutes.
Pro Boilers Segment following WBB Boilers Playing Pro
Aya Traore (2003-2006) in Spain even though her team lost the game had 25 pts and 6 rebs and she is averaging almost 15 ppg.
Adreona Keyes (2014-2018) - In Romania she had 18 pts, 16 rebs and 5 assists. You might think it was a shoot-out but the score was a 55-46 score so she had 18 of the team’s 55 pts. Her team is undefeated at 7-0 this season.
___________________
Guest Beth Couture - Associate Head Coach
TN: Beth is in her 5th season at Purdue. We were talking - this team is getting better and is fun to watch.
BC:
- You can see the difference day to day, drill to drill. So much fun to coach. They are embracing the philosophy and the change.
BC:
- I need to be a sounding board for Coach. And then on the administrative side with us not having an operations person. Katie loves BB and she wants to do coaching and scouting and game plans so we are taking the administrative side off the table for her.
BC:
- Just better players. That makes it easier. It’s fun to have them at any level if they play hard and that’s what you’re seeing on our team - they play hard.
- Also the higher you get the more management you have. When I started out I only had a volunteer assistant and now we have like 10 paid members helping us.
- When I was a head coach I just wanted a lot of opinions from my assistants. Just to challenge me if they saw something. I might not agree but you need to hear it.
- The biggest thing is to talk about practice and what the biggest things each person thinks we need to do.
TN: What’s different about BB now from when you started?
BC:
- The players have evolved as athletes. And I just have more fun now.
- I am so blessed to coach. People used to ask me what I would do if I weren’t coaching and I am so blessed that I never had to figure that out.
- Right now we are “all in” and that makes it so special and so easy to work.
BC:
- She has just evolved so much. She feels so comfortable. She always worked hard being at the gym early and studying film. I am so happy for her. If any player deserves it she does. She stayed with it those years she wasn’t playing and now it is paying off.
BC:
- Well, I coached at Butler and we played Purdue and they killed us. (Laughs) I don’t bring that up too much.
- And our paths crossed in recruiting and she was always gracious. She talked to me about Purdue when she didn’t have to so I knew what type of person she was before she came here as a coach.
BC:
- I think she’s brought “belief”. The kids are having fun. The whole team chemistry and culture has changed. She relates great to players.
- And she does a great job with our scouting reports and game plans - they are simple but direct and the kids understand them.
- I think that is why our defense is so strong. She knows we can’t stop everything so she picks and chooses what we need to stop to win. She is spot on and I’ve been very impressed with that part.
BC:
- Coming here I didn’t have a clue what W. Lafayette was or what Purdue was. But right away it’s family and for me it’s always been about that. It definitely was that here not only in the program but in the athletic dept. and in the community.
- It’s home. It’s honestly made BB fun for me again.
- I enjoy recruiting girls to a place like Purdue where they can not only have a great BB career but academic career also. Because one day that is what they are going to need. We recruit players that want both.
- You’ve got to let everybody know their worth, whether they are playing or not. I think our staff does a good job with that.
- Also you’ve got to work with them. Let’s make them better. Once they feel good about themselves you will see the best version of them.
- If one person is neglected and doesn’t feel her worth she will hurt the team.
TN: (Facebook Question) What about Skye Williams and Ava Learn?
KG:
- Skye had surgery on her ankle over the summer and then had a little set-back with it.
- I think the first semester academically kind of got them. Their grades are not poor. They are working their tails off. We wanted to give them an opportunity to finish the semester strong. They have one more week and then finals.
- They’ll be back with us soon.
KG:
- Jeanae does a good job of finding her. I am so happy for her because that kid bleeds black and gold. She bleeds winning. She is aboiut whatever it takes to win. She sacrifices her body.
- She guards the “European” bigs.
- I love, love, love coaching Cass Hardin.
TN: Beth Couture was talking about how to help kids who weren’t seeing a lot of PT. When I came over Jayla Smith was out on the floor shooting.
KG:
- Yeah, after the Ohio State game they were saying “Coach, we’ve got to do better. You guys work hard for us and we don’t shoot any better than that? We got to do better.”
- They want to get better. They are just believers.
Maryland:
TN: There are five B1G teams ranked in the top 5 and at the top of that list is Maryland at #8. It is safe to say they are pretty talented.
KG:
- We actually have some things planned when we get there. On Tuesday we will go to Arlington National Cemetery and on Wednesday we are going to the Smithsonian Museum of African American Culture and History.
- We have a group that wants to find ways to change the world. What better way than to go to those venues.
- And then we get a chance to play a top ten team n the road. Why not?
KG:
- Yes, Owusu is something special - she can take over a games whether facilitation or scoring.
- But we are gonna show up and play hard and be hard to beat.
- Our group is excited at the opportunity to play at top ten team.
TN: The Boilers will take on the 8th ranked Maryland Terrapins on Wed at 7PM EST and then back home in Mackey on Sunday with a non-conference game against Denver which tips off at 2PM EST.
