Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Basketball Meets With The Media
October 20, 2014 | Cowgirl Basketball
Head Coach Jim Littell
Opening Statement
"We're ten practices into our workouts and feel very good about what we've seen so far. We're very optimistic about this year's season. We return three starters that started every game and then we return two other players that combined started 16 games. I'm sure we're like a lot of other programs around the Big 12 that we have some things we feel pretty solid about and then there are some other question marks we have to answer. Right now for us, it's probably who our fifth starter is, who is going to back up LaShawn Jones at the five spot. Those are a couple of question marks that we're trying to line out during the early practices. We return Brittney Martin, who had a great season for us last year. In the game against Purdue, she had 20 points and 20 rebounds. Liz Donohoe has started every game of her career here. She averaged about 11 points per game last year. And then we return LaShawn Jones who had a great junior season for us and kind of emerged as the x-factor for our team last year and had 18 points at Notre Dame and 16 points at Purdue. We'll rely on those three, and the development of Roshunda Johnson at the point guard position is also going to be crucial to our team."
On replacing Tiffany Bias
"Ro is a good point guard. She had big games last year at Purdue. She had 15 in an overtime loss to Baylor. She has a good skill set to her. She's got to get that high-intensity level at a consistency in her game every day. This has kind of been point guard university. You know, football was looked at for a long time as Tailback University and I think that's been a trademark of our team. Ro was a top 50 player coming out. As I said, she's got a very good skill set to her game. She can shoot the ball extremely well, has worked hard in the offseason and has some big shoes to fill."
On the fifth starter
"Katelyn Loecker is hurt right now. That was an option. She's out for a semester with an injury. That was probably our initial thought. Brittany Atkins, Rylie Swanson, a transfer from Northern Oklahoma Enid, we could go with a small lineup and play two point guards at the same time. Mandy Coleman, 6-4, young lady out of Stockton, Calif., has been very good the first 10 practices, so there are a lot of different candidates and it gives us options of playing different ways if we want to go a small lineup and press, four-guard lineup, or if we want to go with a big lineup. We may change it up pretty much the whole first semester depending on matchups and who we're playing."
On Loecker playing later this season
"Don't know that for sure. That's a doctor's call later on. What we're going to do is if we get her back in December and we can play her in conference play, we're going to bring her back because she's an important person and important piece to this puzzle. If it goes into January and February, I don't think its right for the young lady to burn a year of eligibility for just a few games."
On transfer Rylie Swanson
"Rylie will step in and play. She's got a toughness about her. She's a very competitive young lady. She's one of those players that does a lot of things that don't show up in the scorebook. She gets a lot of put-backs, loose balls, and rebounds and does a good job defending. She's trying to get acclimated to our system, but we've been very pleased with Rylie."
On being able to play a variety of lineups
"I like having those options because when you get in the Big 12, having that versatility to start different lineups is just a lot better for some of the matchups in the Big 12."
On contending in the Big 12
"I think it's pretty wide open. Texas loaded up, had a great recruiting class. They were picked to win the Big 12. Baylor returns a lot of pieces to the puzzle but lost the leading scorer in the nation. West Virginia, who was a very good basketball team last year and went to the second round of the tournament, returns three starters. Just the parody throughout the league, from top to bottom, you saw a lot of teams that weren't winning a lot of games that were beating people at the end of the year playing people tough. I think it's wide open for a lot of people."
On making the NCAA Tournament
"That's the goal every year here. When you return three people that started every game and then two people who got a lot of playing experience in the Big 12 and in the NCAA Tournament, your optimism needs to be high. Your standard and your expectations need to be high and that's never going to change within this program."
On player improvement
"I think Roshunda Johnson is one that has really improved her game. LaShawn Jones has continued to get better. I think Brittney Martin this year is going to embrace the role of being more of a scorer. Lakota Beatty worked very hard in the weight room, has changed her body. She's done well in the early workouts as well. Those are a few people that have returned that we've been very impressed with."
On Donohoe becoming more of a leader
On Donohoe becoming more of a leader
"Liz is a quiet young lady that probably leads more by example in her effort and her attitude on the floor. She's not that vocal type of kid that Tiffany was. That's an area we're going to have to have some leadership by committee out of all of those kids that returned that had major minutes."
On Bias winning WNBA title
"I think it's a young lady that was the face of this program for a lot of years. She was an exciting player here, brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to our program, helped take our program and elevate it each year from winning the WNIT to going to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to the Sweet 16. Anybody that gives that much to the institution and program, you're extremely happy for them and very proud."
