Women's Basketball Preseason Q&A with Head Coach Tammy George
11/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
2011-12 USC Upstate Women's Basketball Schedule
A-Sun Women's Basketball Season Preview: USC Upstate
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With the start of women's basketball season set to tip-off Friday night at 7 p.m. against North Greenville in the Hodge Center, USC Upstate women's basketball head coach Tammy George sits down with UpstateSpartans.com to talk about the upcoming season and her expectations for the 2011-12 squad.
This is Upstate's first year of full eligibility at the Division-I level. With the Spartans eligible for postseason play, have you noticed any differences in the effort the team has given during practice?
I think we're all excited; I haven't really noticed a big difference. I think the kids, even the past teams I've had, have worked hard and they have a lot of pride in the program, especially over the last two years since we've had back-to-back winning seasons. They take pride in that, so I don't think the possibility of postseason play is the reason why they're working hard. I think they want to work hard and they want to win. We're very excited about that opportunity, but I don't think that's why we're working so hard.
Of the eight newcomers for 2011-12, six are guards, what are your expectations of the backcourt, including your three returners in Tee'Ara Copney, Kendra Wallace and Logan Castlebury?
It's just an area where we felt like we really needed to enhance. We struggled last year a little bit with the point guard situation, having to move Tee'Ara Copney to the point, which kind of took her out of her natural position. We basically spent the whole recruiting season trying to find a point guard. We brought in a JuCo guard, Tyra Smith, who I think has a lot of experience at the JuCo level. She's coming from a very successful program and she's having to learn a new system, but she's showing a lot of progress. Hannah Ohl, again another transfer in the backcourt, is coming along and helping to provide some experience in that area. They're coming along and learning our system. We're making progress and I feel like we're getting better daily.
I think we all know what Tee'Ara can do and what she has done for this program. I think there are a lot of expectations on her to continue to do what she's done. I think expectations to be First Team All-Conference probably for her. I'm not going to put that kind of pressure on her. Hopefully, we'll just have a good year as a team and I think the individual accolades will come for her. Kendra Wallace is going through a lot right now, she's hurt. We're working on that and trying to get her healthy. I think we all know what she's meant to this program the last three years with the records she's broken as far as three-point shooting. She's been a consistent player for us over the years. It'll be nice to get her back by the time Christmas rolls around hopefully. Logan Castlebury is probably the most improved player. She's doing a lot of good things. She had two good scrimmages and did some really good things. Because there are no expectations on her, I think she can come in and surprise a lot of people. Again, right now I think she's the most improved player, just coming in and working really hard. She's shooting the ball really well, which is good to see.
Lauren McRoberts, Kim Roach and Madisen Webb all have a year or two of experience under their belts, what do you expect from those three players as well as the rest of the Spartan frontcourt?
Lauren and Kim are coming in with the most experience, but we do have some incoming freshmen that I think will show up at that position. Lauren and Kim are pretty steady right now. I think they are getting better and have improved since last year. Lauren is her typical self as she's doing what she's always done, she's a stat stuffer. She goes completely across the board; she might have three or four rebounds, three of four steals and a couple of points. Lauren is pretty much a stat stuffer and one of our toughest kids. She's typically the same. I think she's in a little bit better shape and that's always good to see.
Kim is getting better and improving. I'd like to see her become a go-to player for us, hopefully down the stretch. She's probably our most skilled back to the basket player. She's working very hard and I've seen a lot of progress in her. I'd like to get her minutes up a little bit more. I think last year playing behind Chelsea McMillian, she only played 15-16 minutes, but I think we're going to need her between 20-25 this year.
Madisen, once again is hurt, so we're struggling with that. We've got two quality returners right now that are dealing with injuries. I'm not sure what her status is right now, but hopefully we'll know a little bit more after she returns.
The squad boasts just five upperclassmen, what do you see as the main concern for the 2011-12 team?
The biggest thing for me thus far has been our chemistry. I think we're still learning each other right now. We had more turnovers in our two scrimmages than we would have liked and I think that's just getting a feel for each other. We need to learn what each individual likes to do and where each individual likes the ball and those kinds of things. In looking at the scrimmages, a couple of times on the court we had three or four people, sometimes even five people, that have never played together. When you mix the transfers and the freshmen with the returners, it's just been a lot of, "I don't know you very well yet." I think that will come. Again, I am seeing progress since the first of October when we started practice. That's been my biggest concern, just learning each other and building that team chemistry.
The 2011-12 slate is rather daunting with North Carolina, Duke, Vanderbilt and Auburn on the docket, how do you feel that will benefit the team in conference play and a potential berth in the A-Sun tournament?
Those games are what they are. It's an opportunity for us to go put our program out there, get known and be seen. We're just going to use those games, again try to get better. You're playing against good competition. They'll expose a lot of our weaknesses and show us what we need to work on. The kids are excited; I think they look at it as a challenge. Not many teams here are going to get the opportunity to go into Carmichael Arena and play against North Carolina. Again, these teams are ranked or very successful and have a lot of rich traditions. Hopefully, they'll show us what we need to work on and make us a better team. Playing against the best competition can only make you better, so that's kind of how we're viewing it. These games will give us a chance to get to know each other better before we step into conference play. Hopefully by the time conference rolls around, people will know their roles and we'll have some experience games under our belts.
I'm not going to say too much about the conference tournament. That's in March and right now I'm focused on North Greenville Nov. 11. We're just taking it one game at a time. We're focused on ourselves. I don't think a lot of people respect us right now or think we can do it. I think there are lot of questions without Chelsea McMillian and a lot of newcomers, so we're just focused on ourselves right now and just trying to get better.
What goals have you set for this year's squad?
Our goal is to be successful and have a winning season, which is something we've had the last two years. I think the returners want to keep that tradition going; they want to be a part of a winning season. They do want to take part in the tournament, but I tell them not to worry about what's down the road; just focus right now on one game at a time and trying to get better. I think they're buying into that right now and I really feel like we're getting better. Who knows what the future will hold for us.
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