My Notes Sharon Versyp Show 12/2/19

[DocRon]

Sharon Versyp Show for Monday 12/2/2019
(with Tim Newton at 1910 hours)

1. Tim: Just back from Florida a few hours ago where it was about 40°-50° warmer and you saw the sun shine. Recap, in general, your overall experience. Coach: “It was absolutely great - exceptional on every level. It is a really well-run tournament and there are always great teams. Coaches are nice and friendly and the players are classy as well. They just do a good job of picking the right teams.”
2. Coach: We also were the only team (as we were four years ago when we went down there) who went to their Children’s Hospital. The team was with the kids coloring, playing basketball, handing out pencils & glasses, keychains and so forth just to put a smile on the faces of these young people. There was technology which was a work-in-progress four years ago when we were there and now it has come to fruition where there is animation on the floors and walls where you touch it and it comes to life. It was amazing. All of us were being kids experiencing it.
3. Coach: We were there for an hour to hour and a half. The captains, Terry, Nancy Cross and I all went up to the oncology unit and it hits you hard. Our kids were phenomenal. The kids we saw were up tp 16 or 17 years old so our girls could talk their language. It kinda uplifted their day. Now they are good fans and are going to follow us. We now have good fans. (Coach smiles)
4. Coach: There was this one really special boy who was 5 years old who had Down syndrome plus cancer and that was pretty tough. He had his hat on and put his sunglasses on and he enriched our life. He gave us so much joy. His mother stepped away and let her young son who “was having such a tough battle be around the players and staff and he helped us more than we helped him.” That’s one of the best things we do - give back and I’m glad we continue to do those types of things.
5. Tim ”The great thing about this tournament from a basketball side is that it is great training for the B1G tournament with three games in three days.” In the B1G you may have to play 3 to 5 games in a row without a break. Coach: Yes, but you hope you are in the top four (so you only have to play three.) For this tournament it was early as we had only played four games up to then. We were not in total basketball shape.”
6. Coach: Understanding the different styles of basketball - I think that is the biggest thing we learned from the tournament. “We learned about our team. Certain teams these kids can play and for another team other kids can play. It depends on the type of style. We played against three types of style. I thought we weathered it very well. I am very pleased. Obviously everyone wants to win a championship every single time. But for what we got out of that tournament and how we played I am very pleased.”
7. Tim: You opened up against Drake of the Missouri Valley Conference. They are a perennial 20 game winner. They score 80 plus points a game. But you held them in check with a 67-47 win. I think everyone was shocked not so much with your score but that Drake only scored 47. Coach: Absolutely. Drake has always been a top 25 team. They played Stanford who is in the top 4 in the country at Stanford and they went into OT. It was a great RPI win for us as they are in the 20’s.
8. Coach: “They spread you out and are all very good. We talked before about Hitner (G 6’0”) and Sara Rhine (F 6’1”) down low. We really got in Hitner’s head - she really struggled. We came out like gangbusters - knocking down shots and our defense was amazing. Everybody was pressuring the ball Everybody was moving. I was like ‘Wow, this is so fun just to watch.’” How we played in that game is usually the form we want to be playing in January. It was like “My God, this is the hint of everything to come. I know reality will set in but that was the excitement.” They were hard to defend because there are 5-out systems but all 5 of theirs could shoot.
9. Coach: We got some great offense too. McLaughlin knocked down some 3PT’s and Harris had a heck of an evening. Hardin came in and hit 3 3PT shots. Grant came in and scored 6. Neither Hardin nor Grant had played (much) and they came in and gave us a huge boost right away along with the rest of the players doing well. We got them on their heels and then the first 5 mins of Q3 they made a little run. I called at time out when they got the lead down to 14 and then we hit a 3PT and the lead just kept going up. We learned we could put the “pedal to the metal” when we had to.
10. Tim: You hit 9 3PT shots as a team and it is always an easier game when those 3PT’s go down. Coach: It is, because we didn’t hit them the rest of the time. It takes the pressure off people. Hardin hitting some takes some pressure off McLaughlin. She is playing great but the 3PT’s are not falling for her or the team yet.
11. Coach: We knew going into that, depending on the circumstances, who could or could not play but you never know. You put people in and if it works great and if it doesn’t then you find somebody. Hardin and Grant gave us good minutes and “then Gony came in and gave us 8 great minutes.” I mean she defended, she rebounded, she hit a two point 15’ shot. We got a lot of value from a lot of different people and that is what you want in these tournaments. They may shine differently at different times and we were able to do that.
12. Tim: Harris hit a milestone in this game and got her 300th career block. She is only the 5th B1G player to hit that mark. Coach: It was so much fun to watch her play in the first two games - because they let her play. You can’t emulate that in practice - you can’t emulate speed and a lot of different things. Harris is in a great space rebounding, scoring and shot-blocking and that just gets our team fired up and they trust that “Hey, if I get beat she is going to be there.” That’s where we’ve had some growth. It’s just fun… the teammates go crazy. They have a great time watching her.
13. Tim: The great thing now is you can be fans of the teams that you have played and beat because now the more Drake wins the better your RPI. Coach: You want Drake to win, you want Arizona State to win, you know... everyone we played. But Drake is going to win their conference or be one of the top two of their conference. Drake’s style of play is so different and very difficult to guard. I was so pleased we could sustain our defense through-out the game. We’ve given up leads like that and I was pleased we could sustain it. They only shot 28% and only made 1 of 19 3PT shots. It was pretty impressive.
14. Coach: But we were able to prepare for that game because we had 4 days leading up to it but after that it is like the B1G tournament or the NCAA tournament. We had to flip the page and play against a PAC-10 team which is a really good team.
15. Tim: I want to announce that Boilermaker Network is taking a fan bus to your first B1G game at Ohio State in Columbus. Deadline to sign up is Dec 14 and you can sign up at a table at the next home game against Kent State this coming Sunday Dec 8. The game is not being played at Value City Arena but in St. Johns Arena which is actually a very nice smaller venue for WBB.
16. Tim: Arizona State came out and you said they kind of “punched you in the mouth” early. They got up 18-8 early in Q2 but you were able to turn things around in that 2nd Q. Coach: “I said to you (Tim) Arizona State is ‘Rutgers X 2’.” They were so physical, so aggressive. Pressed you the entire time. Hard to allow the ball to get in. We didn’t get many assists but neither did they. We both kind of played the same type of game.
17. Coach: It was great - the officials let us play. It was PAC-10 against B1G - a very physical game. I think Traylor ran about 6 miles. She got pressured and pressured for all 40 minutes. We were back on our heels. They punched us first no question. They saw us the day before and saw how we played Drake. They played Maine and beat them easily because three of their top players were out injured. They were well-rested.
18. Coach: It was 16-7 and I called a time out and told them “We’re down on the mat - what are we going to do now? We’ve got to get up, we’ve got to keep fighting and be physical. Gradually we came back. They had great athletes and Tapley in the post is a phenomenal athlete. She can get it and take it at you - score the ball and rebound the ball.
19. Coach: I thought it was a good basketball game. ASU wants you to play ugly. We managed through that ugliness. They were making FT’s early but the key was in Q4 we were 7/7 from the foul line. We shot so-so in the first half but in the second we tightened up there. They were controlling the tempo but once we got it back, things opened up for us.
20. Tim: You knew going in that they were a different style of play - they were not going to spread you out like Drake - and that you could play a more traditional post defense against them. Coach: We did. Who came through for us was Diagne. She played phenomenal. She was a big body, she rebounded, she scored. She was running the floor. She played unbelievable that game. And that is going to give her a boost of confidence that she can play like that.
21. Coach: We had to lock down because we weren’t scoring the ball that easy so we had to play D. So Diagne, Farquhar and Harris came through. And Makolo came through for us big time. She hit a couple of shots for us that were big. And she locked down #11 for them - (Ryan who scored only 7 PTS). There’s a time when you just have to play D and she and Diagne stepped up. “And Farquhar was a beast - offensive board, offensive board, offensive board and one.” When you have that big a body something is going on in there and she finally got the call “and one.” And she made her FT’s.
22. Coach: Two nights, two completely different ways of playing.
23. Tim: And now we are recapping the final of the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Florida. You played against one of the top 25 teams in the country, Gonzaga. They are up to 18 in this weeks poll. They got off to an early lead and this time playing your third game in three days it was tough to push that rock up that hill.
24. Coach: No question, they were really in a groove. They played well and pressured us quite a bit. That caused us some problems. We had too many TO’s. Harris got into foul trouble and when she is sitting out for 15 mins that causes problems. There were a lot of swings where she should have had an “and 1” play and they called a charge. She goes between two people and scores but they call a charge. That would have made it a four point game and then we had to take her out for 5 mins. And they kind of took the lead because we just don’t have that type of interior. But you want “to play your horse.”
25. Coach: Then they started pulling up the pressure more. Their 1-2-2 caused us problems which I was shocked - but you could tell they’re probably fatigued. You know, when you get down… if I you’re making shots and everything is going well… but if you are struggling it gets hard. But we kept fighting. We got within 5, then their lead went back up, then we got it within 5 but in Q3 Harris got in some more foul trouble and then we obviously have to play a little differently. We are a good defensive team but not a great one yet. And with Harris you can do so much more on the offensive end because everyone is focused on her.
26. We were struggling getting into offenses. They played really well but they did not score a lot of points (63) so we still did some good things. If we had only shot our FT’s well - we shot poorly 13-21 and Harris was only 4-8 so you could tell she was extremely exhausted because that is unlike her. Oden shot 5-7 FTs. So with the TO's and missed FT's it made it pretty difficult. I could have been a lot closer if Harris had been able to play the full game. We still could have found ways to make it better.
27. Tim: You made one last charge with 7 mins to play you got it down to 52-47 but then they scored on their next possession and that was as close as it was the rest of the way. Coach: Yeah, we had a possession to cut it even more but didn’t score and then I think they got a 3PT shot and got the momentum back. But that is what it is.
28. Coach: I am very proud of this team. They played against two really good post players (for Gonzaga) - twins (Jenn and LeeAnne Wirth - both 6’3”). They were finesse post players but also money at the 15” shot. They could put it down on the ground - not really back to basket players. They played off each other - one would dribble and the other would rise and then the first kick it off and score. They were good. Their post play was a lot better than ours offensively. That was obviously difficult for us to play against two players like that. But we really learned a lot.
29. Tim: Both Oden and Harris were named to the All-Tournament Team. They are showing they are going to be two of your leaders this year as you need them to be. The other pieces will fill in as the season goes on. Coach: Yeah, when you have seniors they need to step up every game. They need to lead on both ends of the floor and help to teach others. And they have so far. That’s why you need seniors on your team. You can’t win much with just freshman and sophomores. You need juniors and seniors who understand the culture and know what it takes. I am really proud of both of them.
30. Coach: Before I go I want to applaud Coach Dave Shondell and the women’s volleyball team. We get to watch them and they have done an incredible job winning the games they need to. We are just so happy and excited for their program and backing them 100%. Tim: I was actually in Dave’s office a couple hours ago talking about how they won the last two matches on the road both in 5 sets. They were the last team (chosen) to host. He really didn’t think deep down that they would make it as his team had not been rising in the RPI. He didn’t know that, even if he won the last two games against Michigan and MSU, his team would host. He actually used those games to play different combinations of players and as it turns out not only did he win both but they get to host the first and second round here.
31. Coach: Yes, I was talking to him before we left and he was worried they would not choose 5 B1G teams as hosts but he deserves it and has earned it and does a phenomenal job. Tim: It will be a crazy weekend with VB on Friday & Sat, WBB home on Sunday at NOON and MBB at 5 PM plus home wrestling and track. Coach: One of best times to be a Boilermaker. It really helps to have to fans come out.
32. Tim: The nation is starting to notice your team and its 6-1 start. For the first time in the AP poll you got some votes and we think that will keep on going from there. Coach: We are just trying to stay the course. Play well and do the things we need to do.
33. Tim: Early happy birthday to Coach tomorrow.
34. Tim: B1G vs ACC this week. Always difficult because comes right after a holiday tournament. You get off your plane today and get back on a plane Wed. night. Coach: Yeah, we played our last game Sunday and VTech played only two game with their last one on Sat. We got up at 6AM today and just got back at 2:30PM. We have to prepare ourselves emotionally and physically.
35. Coach: Virginia Tech (6-1) plays a 5-out system but they are not all shooters. They have a great post player down low, a player that can take you off the dribble and shoots jump shots and then one who shoots 3PT shots real well from outside. Any time you play these teams they are going to have good or great players.
36. Coach: Our kids are dealing with the last week before finals. Tomorrow they go to class and then we will do walk-thru’s and a lot of therapy. Tim: Yes, Thanksgiving this year is as late as it can come and that means this week is dead week and next week is finals. Coach: We talked about it before we went to Florida and they listened. We do a great job with them. But still it is hard when you are in Florida, have three games, have obligations and it is nice outside… it is hard to stay inside and study. They were working on their projects. They are students and have to get their work in.
37. COACH”S GAME PLAN: We need to take care of basketball. We need to improve in different scoring positions on the floor. We need to reduce TO’s and make our FT’s. Keep them off the boards. There is a lot. I just mentioned 4 or 5 things but there is a lot. We’ll watch video tomorrow but you don’t have time to do everything with one day of practice. We’ll do a walk-thru and play. And we have to be mindful of their legs right now. And SLEEP. They’ve got to get sleep.
38. Tim: In terms of cutting down on turnovers, you want your play to be free and loose but you also need to value the possession. How do you draw that line? Coach: If we are running and pushing the ball - getting up and down - I am okay with those TO’s. But throwing it away at half court, I am not okay with those. I don’t know what we are seeing when we do that. Against Gonzaga they upped our pressure and we did not adjust well even though we talked to them about it. Again, you are not as quick on that 3rd day as the first day but still it was not good.
39. Tim: Kent State (4-2) is also a good team. If you look at their non-conference schedule they have some nice wins already. Coach. They have played Michigan and Ohio State and they are talented. I haven’t seen anything about them but their scores.
40. Coach: We try to schedule the teams that are always in the top of their conference. Drake will win their conference. ASU will be in the top 4-5 of theirs. Gonzaga will win their conference. And Kent State is greatly improved.
41. Tim: Well coach, I think you can say that the team that came back today is a better one than the one that left last Tuesday to play in the tournament. I hope you can say the same thing next week.