Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Meet Media At Winter Sports Media Day
October 28, 2008 | Cowgirl Basketball
Cowgirl Head Coach Kurt Budke
OSU Winter Sports Media Day
Monday, October 27, 2008
Opening Statement
“Our crew, we are coming along. Since I talked to you last, we have had great practices. They are working hard and they think they are ready for a game. They aren't ready for a game and they are probably tired of me by now. Our veterans, Taylor Hardeman, Shaunte' Smith, Andrea Riley, have all been through it and they are probably ready for a game. The new ones are coming. What I have liked about the last few days of practice is the new ones really are coming and they are really starting to make a difference in practice. It is fun to watch them develop.”
On opening at Duke
“We have 14, maybe 15 practices left before we play at Duke. We don't have very much time to get ready. I told the girls yesterday that they better go into that game like its an NCAA Tournament game because that is how physical Duke is going to be from minute one in that game. I think we are right on schedule and we probably do need the exhibitions right now to get it on film, see the mistakes and see that the intensity isn't there. We are happy with where it is right now.”
On the starting lineup
“I wouldn't say it is solidified. There are some newcomers coming. We have had five stay in the starting lineup for about a week, but they are being pressured. That is good to see in practice every day.”
On the returners
“They have all taken another step. After last year, we weren't sure they could. Shaunte' Smith practices harder than everybody every day. Taylor Hardeman, you don't have to yell at her very much. She can run all day and has matured as a practice player. She has always been a game player and now she is getting better as a practice player. The veterans are good. We talk about those players, but talk about the kids that came off the bench last year. If you haven't seen Megan Byford, you need to take a look at her. She is really playing the best basketball of her life right now. Kristin Hernandez has had a good couple of days in practice. Shyvon Spears goes unnoticed. In our intersquad scrimmages, Shyvon has led us in rebounding. She is very active. Maybe we do need a game. It wouldn't be perfect, but maybe we do need a game to take another step.”
On how deep his rotation will be
“I think it is too early to tell that. You always want to go at least eight if you can. Once you get in those games, you'd like to go 15 deep. Once you get in those games you don't know with all of those T.V. timeouts and regular timeouts, you can settle with five or six and survive. Look at last year, Taylor, Shaunte' and Andrea never came out of the game much. That is one thing we know about this team is we have some gamers that can go 40 minutes if they need to.”
On the comparison of rebuilding jobs between Cowboy Football and Cowgirl Basketball
“We try to model ourselves after how they (OSU football) are building their program. They mix in a little junior college, but are mainly sticking with freshman if they can. I was down in the weight room the other day and there was a group of 10 guys working out and I was with (strength coach) Rob Glass and told him to tell them good luck. He said, ‘They won't play, they are redshirts.' These guys were all about 6-4, 330 down there. When you can start doing that, you know your program is being built. We are trying to do the same thing. As we sign this class in the fall, we will try to do the same thing. We will probably have at least five or six freshman we will try to sign and do the same thing, but we will never forget our junior college roots. It is kind of the same thing. I think a lot of pride is being built in all of the programs on this campus. Look at what soccer is doing right now. They are ready to win a Big 12 Championship.”
On the state of the program
“We are very pleased with where we are. There is no way we came into last year thinking this is a Sweet 16 team, we are going to win 27 games, we are going to play in the Big 12 Championship game. We didn't think that. We are in the toughest conference in America, so it truly is one year at a time. If we sit here and talk about last year much longer we are going to waste this year and be hoping for next year. It is time to move on.”
On his Tegan Cunningham and Kelsey Hatcher
“I think right now they are exactly what I thought. To be better than what I thought, they have to produce in the games. They are both getting comfortable with the system. Those are the two that have taken the biggest jump in the last week. They are getting comfortable. Both of them as new players worried about taking too many shots and not passing the ball enough. Now, they are starting to find where they can be successful. You are going to see a lot of minutes from both of them. They can both score. Tegan can really rebound and Kelsey can run the point also. I think they will be two very important players when we sit down and talk at the end of the year.”
On the Big 12
“If you look at last year and eight teams make the NCAA Tournament. All eight win in the first round. I think you will have eight or nine in this year. I think there is an opportunity for everybody to be in postseason this year. That is how good it is. In our league, especially in women's basketball, No. 1 never wants to go play on No. 12's home court. In women's basketball it is very tough. There is as much parity as you will see in any conference in America.”
On replacing Maria Cordero and Danielle Green
“That is one of our big questions. Can we do it? Those two were so important to our chemistry last year. You had two seniors that didn't care if Andrea Riley shot 15 or 25 shots. They were just going to do their job when it was their time to be that star, they were. Chemistry was a big reason we won. Hopefully, we will have the same type this year. I think our young kids will step up and fill those minutes and points.”
OSU Winter Sports Media Day
Monday, October 27, 2008
Opening Statement
“Our crew, we are coming along. Since I talked to you last, we have had great practices. They are working hard and they think they are ready for a game. They aren't ready for a game and they are probably tired of me by now. Our veterans, Taylor Hardeman, Shaunte' Smith, Andrea Riley, have all been through it and they are probably ready for a game. The new ones are coming. What I have liked about the last few days of practice is the new ones really are coming and they are really starting to make a difference in practice. It is fun to watch them develop.”
On opening at Duke
“We have 14, maybe 15 practices left before we play at Duke. We don't have very much time to get ready. I told the girls yesterday that they better go into that game like its an NCAA Tournament game because that is how physical Duke is going to be from minute one in that game. I think we are right on schedule and we probably do need the exhibitions right now to get it on film, see the mistakes and see that the intensity isn't there. We are happy with where it is right now.”
On the starting lineup
“I wouldn't say it is solidified. There are some newcomers coming. We have had five stay in the starting lineup for about a week, but they are being pressured. That is good to see in practice every day.”
On the returners
“They have all taken another step. After last year, we weren't sure they could. Shaunte' Smith practices harder than everybody every day. Taylor Hardeman, you don't have to yell at her very much. She can run all day and has matured as a practice player. She has always been a game player and now she is getting better as a practice player. The veterans are good. We talk about those players, but talk about the kids that came off the bench last year. If you haven't seen Megan Byford, you need to take a look at her. She is really playing the best basketball of her life right now. Kristin Hernandez has had a good couple of days in practice. Shyvon Spears goes unnoticed. In our intersquad scrimmages, Shyvon has led us in rebounding. She is very active. Maybe we do need a game. It wouldn't be perfect, but maybe we do need a game to take another step.”
On how deep his rotation will be
“I think it is too early to tell that. You always want to go at least eight if you can. Once you get in those games, you'd like to go 15 deep. Once you get in those games you don't know with all of those T.V. timeouts and regular timeouts, you can settle with five or six and survive. Look at last year, Taylor, Shaunte' and Andrea never came out of the game much. That is one thing we know about this team is we have some gamers that can go 40 minutes if they need to.”
On the comparison of rebuilding jobs between Cowboy Football and Cowgirl Basketball
“We try to model ourselves after how they (OSU football) are building their program. They mix in a little junior college, but are mainly sticking with freshman if they can. I was down in the weight room the other day and there was a group of 10 guys working out and I was with (strength coach) Rob Glass and told him to tell them good luck. He said, ‘They won't play, they are redshirts.' These guys were all about 6-4, 330 down there. When you can start doing that, you know your program is being built. We are trying to do the same thing. As we sign this class in the fall, we will try to do the same thing. We will probably have at least five or six freshman we will try to sign and do the same thing, but we will never forget our junior college roots. It is kind of the same thing. I think a lot of pride is being built in all of the programs on this campus. Look at what soccer is doing right now. They are ready to win a Big 12 Championship.”
On the state of the program
“We are very pleased with where we are. There is no way we came into last year thinking this is a Sweet 16 team, we are going to win 27 games, we are going to play in the Big 12 Championship game. We didn't think that. We are in the toughest conference in America, so it truly is one year at a time. If we sit here and talk about last year much longer we are going to waste this year and be hoping for next year. It is time to move on.”
On his Tegan Cunningham and Kelsey Hatcher
“I think right now they are exactly what I thought. To be better than what I thought, they have to produce in the games. They are both getting comfortable with the system. Those are the two that have taken the biggest jump in the last week. They are getting comfortable. Both of them as new players worried about taking too many shots and not passing the ball enough. Now, they are starting to find where they can be successful. You are going to see a lot of minutes from both of them. They can both score. Tegan can really rebound and Kelsey can run the point also. I think they will be two very important players when we sit down and talk at the end of the year.”
On the Big 12
“If you look at last year and eight teams make the NCAA Tournament. All eight win in the first round. I think you will have eight or nine in this year. I think there is an opportunity for everybody to be in postseason this year. That is how good it is. In our league, especially in women's basketball, No. 1 never wants to go play on No. 12's home court. In women's basketball it is very tough. There is as much parity as you will see in any conference in America.”
On replacing Maria Cordero and Danielle Green
“That is one of our big questions. Can we do it? Those two were so important to our chemistry last year. You had two seniors that didn't care if Andrea Riley shot 15 or 25 shots. They were just going to do their job when it was their time to be that star, they were. Chemistry was a big reason we won. Hopefully, we will have the same type this year. I think our young kids will step up and fill those minutes and points.”
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