ACC Women's Basketball Media Day Quotes

Oct. 30, 2002

Some fan questions submitted last week on TheACC.com were used during Sunday's interviews. Check and see if your questions were answered.

CLEMSON

Question from Amy G. Franklin (Charlotte, NC) for Clemson coach Jim Davis: What impact has having Barbara Kennedy-Dixon, who is such an integral part of the Clemson Women's basketball family and history, had on your drive for success?

Davis' answer: "When I first became the head coach at Clemson, I kept seeing this picture as I rounded the corner going into my office of someone with a smile from ear to ear, so I asked the administration who that young lady was and where she was now. I actually hired her and brought her back to Clemson as an assistant coach for my first four years at Clemson. Just Barbara Kennedy-Dixon the person, she is such a dynamic young lady, such a caring lady. Absolutely genuine, there is nothing fake about her, she is as solid a person I've ever met in my life. She has a passion for Clemson University, a passion for Clemson women's basketball that does help to drive, not just me, because she's such a great role model for our young ladies, and as long as I'm at Clemson I want Barbara Kennedy Dixon by my side."

More Davis:
"Chrissy (Floyd) has been our leading scorer for the past three years. I really believe that we are so much better offensively than we were last year simply because we've got a couple of players that had to play out of position last year. Julie Aderhold, for one, sacrificed her 3-point shooting abilities by playing the power forward position. She's nowhere close to being a power forward, so we move her back out to her comfort zone where she can shoot 3s and spread the defenses. Maggie Slosser, we had to play her at the center position last year. At 6-1, barely, she was playing out of position. She fought her heart out while she's really a power forward. And Amanda White, even though she's only a freshman, I think she's going to be a force inside with offensive rebounding and putting it back in. Khaili Sanders, a redshirt freshman, has really nice shooting touch, and Kanetra (Queen) will be able to generate a lot of offense with her defensive prowess. We're a much better fast-break team with a lot of players that can finish."

"Where people pick you is other people's opinion of you and impression of your team; where you finish is what you think of yourself and your impression. We look at (being picked middle of the pick every year) as a challenge, but at the same time, it's news media and it's just opinion and we don't pay much attention to games that are won and lost on paper because we know they're won and lost on the hardwood. These young ladies are working extremely hard right now. This league's going to be as competitive as it's been maybe in my sixteen years in the league now, from top to bottom. I don't think there's an easy win, a gimme win in the whole conference. There will be 16 games that Clemson will be involved in, and any game can go either way."

"I can't picture anybody going undefeated throughout this league this year. As good as Duke is, that's a formidable task."

"We were so undersized last year, and that made it difficult to be a good rebounding team last year. Now we have seven post players, so we won't be undersized like we were last year. We have the quality depth like we did in the late 90s when we were making some waves in this league, and we've got the quality depth that makes us better."

"Clemson is quite unique in that of the four Clemson members of the 50th Anniversary team, three of them travel in our travel party. With Chrissy and Barbara Kennedy-Dixon and Itoro Umoh-Coleman.

Question from Kevin Floyd (Raleigh, NC) for Clemson's Chrissy Floyd: What are the one or two things you worked hardest to improve during the offseason, and what goals have you set for yourself this year?

Floyd's answer: Footwork, speed and repetitions shooting. As for team goals, I'd like to compete for the ACC Championship and compete for an NCAA Championship.

Quotes from Kanetra Queen:
"With the graduation of Krystal Scott and stepping into the point guard position, you have to bring a lot of leadership to the team. You lead the team, and the team follows in your path. At the same time, you have to bring the same intensity and passion for the game."

"Those players that aren't starting will come off the bench (because of our up-tempo style) and you don't miss a beat. It's an exciting thing to know that everybody on the team will be able to contribute in some way."

DUKE

Question from Rebecca Kratz (Arnold, MD) for Duke coach Gail Goestenkors: "When you were given the opportunity to assist the USA Basketball team, what was the valuable experience you gained? If given the opportunity again, would you assist or even coach a team of that magnitude (given it doesn't conflict with your coaching position at Duke)?"

Goestenkors' answer: "Coaching with the USA team was a tremendous experience. I feel like I learned a great deal, in particular, how to have a team prepared night after night for top-level opponents. We played nine game in 12 days, so it was such a quick turnaround. Having the players ready mentally and physically as well as keeping them fresh was very, very important. If I had the opportunity again, I would jump at the chance, as long as it didn't conflict with my own program."

Question from Lisa (Durham, NC) for Duke coach Gail Goestenkors: "Last year, Duke exceeded most people's expectations by making it to the Final Four. This year, most of the pre-season polls pick Duke No. 1 in the NCAA. How do you expect the change in other people's expectations to influence the team's quest for a national championship?"

Goestenkors' answer: I don't expect any change within our own program and with our mind set. Our goal last season was to win the national championship, and our goal this season is to win the national championship. Our goals, our expectations have not changes, and we don't feel pressure from the outside that people might place upon us with rankings. We understand that they're meaningless until the final game. The expectations and the pressure we feel all comes from within, and we've been dealing with those for several years now.

Question from Rhonda (Durham, NC) for Duke coach Gail Goestenkors: "Duke women's basketball is big-time! Will preparation for games with UCONN and Tennessee be any different then in the past?

Goestenkors' answer: No. I think we prepare basically the same for every opponent. Tennessee will be tough to prepare for because we play them so early in the season. We won't have game tapes on them, as opposed to Connecticut who we play later on, we'll have a lot of tapes to choose from. It works both ways, and we know each other pretty well from years past.

Question from Curt (Gastonia, NC) for Duke coach Gail Goestenkors: "How are the freshmen fitting in so far?"

Goestenkors' answer: Any time you have five freshmen, early on you spend a lot of time teaching. The freshmen are all trying to learn the system right now. When you run a five-out motion like we do, that's the most difficult offense to learn. But once you get good with it, you're very, very good with everything you do offensively. We've been doing a lot of teaching, but as the regular season approaches, we're really going to start to pick things up....I feel like they're all going help us in different ways, and right now it kind of depends on the day. One person will look really good on one day and someone else the next, so I think, as most freshmen do, they're going to have their ups and downs, but I truly believe that all five of them will help us through some form or fashion throughout the season.

More Goestenkors:
"Obviously we have more depth this year, so I want to utilize that depth. Press much more in full court situations, look to run even more than we have in the past, utilize the experience that we have while bringing the freshmen along slowly, allowing them to grow and develop so that come NCAA Tournament time, we're the best team that we can possibly be."

Question from Steve Bertram (Spokane, WA) for Duke's Alana Beard: "Alana, last summer you were competing with the U.S. Juniors and then went 'Down Under' with your Duke teammates to compete in Australia. How did this offseason compare? What did you do?"

Beard's answer:I took a lot of rest this summer, which was a new experience for me. I had certain things I focused on, but I stayed off the basketball court a lot. I did work in the weight room a lot. It was hard adjusting to the fact that I just wanted to relax this summer, and when it was all over and done with, it felt good.

More Beard:

I'm very impressed with our upperclassmen. We're being very patient with our freshmen, who are great. We're helping them along the way, and the best part is that we get to teach them. We feel like we know a lot. That's the best feeling to have because as a freshman, you don't know what to think.

The returning starters are having fun right now, but we're getting ready to get down to business.

Question from Cory (Charlotte, NC) for Duke's Michele Matyasovsky: Michele, you really seemed to come on later in the season last year. Why do you think that was the case?

Matyasovsky's answer: I just started to relax more at the end of the season. I tried to get more consistent. That's one thing Coach G expects of me, to stay consistent with my play, and I just ended up playing better. I (hope to start strong this season), and I know we have a lot of excellent players this year, so whatever my role is, I'll accept.

FLORIDA STATE

Quotes from coach Sue Semrau:

"We've got to play together. We have to be a selfless, tough group of people that has one vision, one heartbeat and one purpose...We really feel like it's important for us to come together as a unit this year. Last year, we maybe got too much of a focus on some individual aspects of the game. We really want to come together with one purpose as a unit. A body is made up of a lot of different parts, but in order to function, you need every single part."

"(Defense) has not only been the focus of the first few weeks, it's been the focus of our offseason training. We can see the difference already, and already our players have made a committment (to playing better defense), and that's where it starts. As a coaching staff, that's something we want to emphasize. Coach Wooden says to emphasize in defense in practice often. We've not only emphasized it, but we've practiced it. I'm not sure how good our offense is going to be, but we're going to be really good defensively."

Semrau on the return of Angela Sutton: "When Angela left Florida State, she left the school for a number of reasons. During Her hiatus, she realized that she gave up something more important to her than she even realized while she was here. She went though a lot during those two years, and over the last six months, she took a lot of time to take care of her personal business off the court. In order to play at this level, you need to use the resources available to you to be ready -- personally and academically -- in order to have the privilege of playing college basketball. Quite frankly, she came to me and we asked if she could come to a game, and she did. She sat down after the game with me and looked at the floor. When the lights were going out she said, 'Coach I'd give anything to be back at Florida State, I'd sweep the floors, be a manager, whatever.' And she really meant that.

Quotes from Katelyn Vujas:

"This team, out of all the teams since I've been here, has been the closest off the court. And that always carries onto the court. Last year, people were bickering and stuff, and when you step on the court, you can't expect to have good things come out of it. I think this year, everybody does have a common goal and we're all getting along really well."

On playing UCONN Dec. 30: "It's exciting just to be able to go up against the defending national champions, and to have them come to our place is even better. Even in practice within ourselves, we've been beating each other up preparing for games like that, so we're pretty excited. Hopefully we'll get a good crowd out."

Quotes from Tasheika Morris:

"My focus this summer has been on defense. And my role is to become a defensive stopper."

GEORGIA TECH

Question from David Williams (Atlanta) for Georgia Tech coach Agnus Berenato: Kudos to you and the staff for a great job of recruiting in the past five years. The team has gotten much more athletic and basketball savvy with this year's squad having the most depth I have ever seen. With that depth, how are you going to keep the team chemistry together? The depth also gives us a chance to press. Will we take advantage of this option?

Berenato's answer: "We have leaders and we have followers. They're pushing each other, and every one of them wants to play. We only have a certain amount of minutes, and everyone's just working really hard. There's no animosity, no personality conflicts to speak of, and when we do, they seem to take care of it themselves ... With 16 players, I'm sure there will be some problems. Some people will not get to play as much as they'd like, but hopefully our captains (Sonja Mallory, Nina Barlin and Alex Stewart) they will handle that, so it won't ever get to the coaches. But yes, there will be problems. We've always prided ourselves on having great team chemistry, and I would think that we would have that again this year.

"We've already put our presses in, yes, we have a variety of presses. Our philosophy is we want to be up-tempo. We want to use the entire court defensively, whether it's a score, if there's a miss we will always want someone on the ball. We have certain presses after dead balls, free throws, etc. And we want to run the ball offensively as well. We'd like to score in the first six seconds, if at all possible."

Question from John R. (Atlanta) for Georgia Tech coach Agnus Berenato: What are your expectations of your freshman class? What players/positions will most likely get the most playing time from that group?

"We brought this freshman class in to be an impact class. We're looking for all of them to get playing time. Immediate impact will be at the four position, Kasha Terry. No doubt, she will be an impact player. She will really give Sonja some help in the paint, and it will have to take some pressure off Sonja. Everyone can double-down and triple-down on Sonja, and they will not be able to do that with Kasha in there.

"April Johnson, a 2 or 3 player, she is surprising us every day. We brought her in with visions that she could be a three (she played four in high school), but we watched April and now we're thinking about moving her to a 2. They are interchangeable positions, and she will get a lot of minutes. Ashley Guerrant will probably play more than people think. She's a 6-3 post player out of East Lansing, Michigan. She was a big-time volleyball player and she was awesome. Now that she's starting to dedicate all of her time to basketball -- she's never done that -- she's improving, and we're impressed with her. Jessica Williams is another 6-0 post player that's incredibly strong, and she'll help in the paint as well.

"Mallorie Winn is a 5-11 guard, and we love her game. She's just so smooth, she never gets flustered. Sometimes she acts like she's not breathing, you have to check her pulse to see if she's alive. But she makes some unbelievable things happen, and she does some things that are really, really good. We have a great point guard in Nina and then we have a really good backup in Alex Stewart. Nina got hurt the second week of practice, and really that opened up the door for us to see Mallorie. In the future, she will be here.

"Megan Harpring is without a doubt the toughest, most intense. She's got the best work ethic I have ever seen in my life. She will run through a wall if she thinks it can help you win."

Quotes from Sonja Mallory:

"I'd like to be first in the league in rebounding. (Mallory was second last season.) I believe my rebounding effort last year was inconsistent. I need to devote myself to making a conscious effort to rebound so I can be first. I'd like to be on the all-defensive team too."

"We go out and we play like we've been taught to play, we work like we've always worked and the other players feed off of that. They see us doing what we're supposed to do, and so they do what they're supposed to do. Most of leading is setting a good example."

Mallory on Fallon Stokes: Fallon has improved a lot. She's strong, can get to the basket. Her outside shooting has improved a lot. I think people will have to respect her shot more, and she's getting more and more consistent every day.

Quotes from Nina Barlin:

Barlin injured her hand the second day of practice and has not been able to practice with the team. She also missed 12 games last season with torn ACL.

"My leg is great, never been better. I'm hoping in another two weeks I'll be back. I'm planning on being back the first real game, which is Nov. 15th. They've got me in shape running and I'm working on my left hand."

"Me and Sonja haven't been to the NCAA, and that's where we want to go. They are freshman and they don't really know what to expect or how to get there, but we know and we're trying to lead them, show them how to do it. Being a captain, being a leader is part of it, and we take great pride in that. And our freshmen have been awesome. They can take criticism, and if we tell them something, they do it."

MARYLAND

Question from Arran Adams (Richmond, VA) for Maryland coach Brenda Frese: How do you handle the pressure of the expectation that you will turn the program around and how do you handle the standards set by the coach you are replacing?

Frese's answer: As far as expectations go, we place expectations on ourselves. Really, for us, it's about getting better every single day. When you come in ready to work hard and do the little things, the rest is going to be able to follow. Hopefully we can build on it. I have great admiration and respect for what Chris Weller was able to do, the tradition she was able to establish here at the University of Maryland. We're hoping to be able to build on it and build for the future.

With the loss of five seniors to graduation and not a lot of experience coming back, we're going to be very young. We like that though, because there aren't any expectations and for us, it's just about us wanting to work hard and get out and work hard every single day.

On last year's team going 2-7 in games decided by 10 points or less: "The good thing about that stat is that we were in a lot of ballgames. Hopefully we'll be able to pull away with some wins and know what to do with that kind of game experience that we had, being able to play so close."

On coaching in the ACC: "It's known to be one of the premiere conferences in the country, and I'm very excited to coach against the best and for our players to, day in and day out, compete against some of the best competition. We're looking forward to the battles we're going to face every time out."

"We were down to nine players at one point last week, but we bring in male scout players, so we really don't go against each other, we go against the male scout squad. That way, you know we're being tested every day going up against them. But it's interesting, and the different combinations, and hopefully with 11 on your roster you'll be able to keep everybody happy."

Quotes from Renneika Razor:

"Coach Frese brings a lot of energy, she's very motivational. She has an uptempo style, and that really fits us."

"I'm going to do what I can in practice to prove that I can be a go-to player."

Quotes from Terri Daniels:

"Being a leader comes with a lot of responsibilities. I want to help lead my team to a successful year, not just in wins but knowing that we came out every game and every day that we played our hardest."

"It's like a fresh start. We're able to start completely new, new coaches, new arena, so not many people have the opportunity for a second chance to prove that they belong in the Top 25, and we do."

NORTH CAROLINA

Question from Trice Terry (Lexington, NC) for North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell: How will the loss of Nikki Teasley impact this year's team?

Hatchell's answer: "Well, Nikki was a great player, there's no doubt about that, but we have four starters returning, and we have one of the best freshmen in the country in La'Tangela Atkinson. We've got such a strong group returning -- and they've gotten ever better -- and with an outstanding freshman coming in that can play at that point guard spot. Corretta and Leah have played point guard also, so we've got experience at point guard although we've lost an outstanding player like Nikki."

Question from Brandon Williams (Houston, Texas) for North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell: How is your touted freshmen class progressing?

Hatchell's answer: I think that La'Tangela will be one of the best players we've ever had at the University of North Carolina. I don't have any doubt that one day her jersey will hang in Carmichael. Like the players said, she's a tremendous passer, she can drive, she's 6-1, but her defense, her arms are so long she can steal a ball, and it's just amazing. And she's just going to get better and better because she's still learning ... She'll play; she may start. I'm sure down the road she'll be starting, if not right away ... Jessica Sell is an outstanding player also. We scrimmaged yesterday, and she made a move that was absolutely incredible. The whole bench came up, they were screaming, yelling and high-fiving. It was highlight.

More Hatchell:
"The ACC put out the 50 greatest players, and we had the most of any school. The tradition, the excellence of the 50 years in the ACC, it's an honor to be with the school with the most players on that team."

Question from Mitchell Geter (Houston, Texas) for Coretta Brown: Coretta, although it's very early, how do you see this year's team compared to last year's team?

Brown's answer: "I think we're going to be a better team this year with La'Tangela coming in and the five freshman from last year gained a lot of experience. They've evolved and grown as players, so I think we should be a better team this year."

More Brown:
"I think in a couple of months, (La'Tangela Atkinson) will be pretty good. She's so athletic, her arms are so long, she'll really help out defensively, and I'm really excited about having her on the team this year."

A personal goal for me is to be an All-American, but the big team goal is to be in Atlanta. Of course, the ACC, we want to get that, but being from Georgia, I'd love to get to Atlanta in my senior year.

Question from Burt (Clayton, NC) for Candace Sutton: What did you work on this offseason?

Sutton's answer: "This summer I worked on getting a lot stronger. I think that has helped me a whole lot as far as posting up, being able to make moves to the basket, just helping me become a quicker, stronger player in general."

"La'Tangela Atkinson is a great player. It's amazing to see a freshman come in that really knows the game like she does and has the athletic ability that she has."

NORTH CAROLINA STATE

Question from Bonnie Goe (Venice, Florida) for NC State coach Kay Yow: What role do you expect sophomore Rachel Stockdale to play this year since she became such a big part of the team in the second half of last year?

Yow's answer: A key person for us is Rachel Stockdale. Rachel ended up starting a lot of our games last year and made some valuable contributions, and she's had three knee surgeries since April. She has not been able to do anything preseason, has not been on the court with us until yesterday. Yesterday she practiced with us, but her knee is still not 100 percent. How that's going to go, I don't know. I don't know if she'll practice with us tomorrow because we'll need to check the swelling. We're just trying to get her back on the court. It's not ACL, it's cartilage and arthritis. For whatever reason, it just has not come back as quickly as we expected it to. So we are just going day-to-day right now.

Question from Steve Bertram (Spokane, Washington) for NC State coach Kay Yow: Coach, congratulations on being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. You are very deserving of the recognition. My question has to deal with the health of the Wolfpack. Several current members have been snakebitten with injuries in the past. How is everyone doing now?

Yow's answer: Thus far, Terah James has made every minute of every practice. Just as long as everybody knows that if you were just out for two years, it's going to take you time. If you haven't played basketball in two years, you're going to be a little rusty. It's going to take some time. Then, if you have to overcome two reconstructed knees, that takes a little time too, mentally. At this point in time, she's doing great. I think you'll see Terah improve every week of this season, so it's a matter of getting back into the swing of things and getting the feel again. Just getting over the injuries mentally and physically getting the sharpness to her skills. Freshman Jennifer Filipowski had her knee scoped, so she's not been able to practice with us very much. She got back on the court some yesterday. Of course, we already talked about Rachel. Everybody else has pretty much been going full speed, and it's been good having everyone else out there.

Question from Elizabeth Williams (Raleigh, NC) for NC State coach Kay Yow: What excites you most about the 2002-2003 season, and what are you most nervous about?

Yow's answer: "I'm most nervous about injuries because of our past two years. What excites me is that we just about have everybody back on the court, working hard. A lot of people who played last year because other people were out, those people got a lot of experience under their belts. We have more depth and versatility at this point than we could have had if that hadn't been the case. I'm excited about the depth and versatility and the effort that the team gives in practice every day."

Question from Ann Barstow (Raleigh, NC) for NC State coach Kay Yow: We loved watching her in high school at Sanderson. Having a 3-point sharp shooter like Liz Bailey is an asset to any team. How do you see her fitting in this season?

"I still see Liz as a role player. She has a tremendous number of fans in the Raleigh area, and that's great. She's a great person, and she's one of our hardest workers. Her hustle on the court enables her to do some things that her lack of quickness or speed could keep her from doing, but hustle gets it done. She's a role player who can come into some games for us and hit some 3s for us, make some hustle-plays for us, and she gives us a lift because you can count on her giving 100 percent-plus when she's out there."

More Yow:
"This preseason, I did, along with our strength and conditioning coach, make some changes in this year's program, just from the standpoint of trying to be careful not to incur any other injuries. We did change the format of a number of things to see if we could help prevent some injuries that could occur and help those people like Terah come back from injuries. I wanted them to be able to be in practice with us every day."

"Our offense is more complicated, but that means more options and more ways to score. They're responding really well to that, and that's part of my excitement too."

"We'd like to have the opportunity to play for an ACC Championship and we'd like to be in the NCAA Tournament and have our shot there. We know those things. Our whole emphasis has been on the process, knowing that if every day we get a little bit better, we prepare ourselves to have a great ACC season. It's all in the preparation and it's in the process day by day. That's where our focus is right now."

Terah James quote:

James started playing full court in late July.
"Mentally, of course, I'm ready. I've been waiting a long time to play. Every day I just thank God for giving me the opportunity to just practice out there with the team. Physically, I'm getting better and better, like Coach Yow said, every day in practice."

VIRGINIA

Question from Wade Pace (Dayton, OH) for Virginia coach Debbie Ryan: Although UVA is getting good pre-season buzz, I believe you are not going to be picked as high as you should be pre-season because two of your probable standouts did not play last year (Graham and Dickson). Do you agree?

Ryan's answer: Yes. People probably don't remember Marcie Dickson, who will be returning this year, and Cherisse Graham becomes eligible along with the fact that we have a lot of players with a lot of experience that are stepping out now to take on bigger roles.

Question from Brian Tangradi (Philadelphia, PA) for Virginia coach Debbie Ryan: How has Cherisse Graham been fitting into the Virginia program, and how will she make Virginia better?

Ryan's answer: She (Graham) has fit in very well, and I guess we'll have to wait and see how she does when we get on the court. She's really in a battle right now for the point guard position with Safiya Grant. Nothing's been decided at this point, but Cherisse adds a lot of quickness and the ability to shoot the ball to our program and is acclimating well.

More Ryan:
"When it culminates at the tournaments, it's going to be awesome to have the 50th celebration. All of the different people that have contributed to the ACC. I've been in the ACC for half of the 50 years, and it's an honor to be a part of it."

Question from Kiwi Wahoo (Durham, N.C.) for Anna Prillaman: What's up A.P.! I was wondering, because you are one of the best shooters in the ACC, which male player would you chose as your Two-Ball partner and why? Good luck this season!

Prillaman's answer: "I'd say Todd Billet, a transfer from Rutgers on our men's team. He can really knock 'em down."

"I'll have to score more because (Telisha Quarles) scored so much last year. I'll also have to create more shots for me because I'd say around 80 percent of the shots I took last year were created off of Telisha's drive."

Quote from Brandi Teamer, last year's ACC Rookie of the Year:
"I want to improve my turnover/assist ratio. Last year I had about 12 turnovers in one game. I almost had a triple-double with turnovers. I just really want to make better decisions on my passes, make for-sure passes rather than maybe passes. I also did a lot of work on my free throws."

WAKE FOREST

Question from Cathi Kennings (Fayetteville, NC) for Wake Forest coach Charlene Curtis: With the talent coming within the freshman class, do you feel that Wake will display hidden talents and advance further within the conference?

Curtis' answer: "Yes. I am very excited about our freshman class. We're really looking at three freshmen (Porsche' Jones is out, probably until January). Cotelia Bond-Young should make an immediate impact. She gives us another weapon on the perimeter, allows us to pick up our tempo defensively. She really likes to get after it and plays a lot Bianca Brown. The two of them might be on the court together a lot. Liz Strunk is another freshman that's a really good shooter. She gives us a little bit more size, and we can play her in the post some, but she's really more comfortable facing the basket."

Question from Brandi Listenbee (Clinton Township, Michigan) for Wake Forest coach Charlene Curtis: What Progress has Tiffani made in her offseason?

Curtis' answer: "Tiffani has become a much better shooter. In the past, she liked to put the ball on the floor and take it to the basket. Now she's able to pull up and shoot the short jumpshot. She's got a lot more confidence in her shooting ability from the perimeter and her ballhandling skills are better. There could be times this year when Tiffani grabs the ball off the rebound and starts the break with the dribble, and she was not able to do that in the past. And hopefully her mindset has improved to allow her to stay in games and not get quick fouls, which has been somewhat of a negative for her in the past."

More Curtis:
"It's going to be difficult to fill LaChina Robinson's void. She started for four years, so we lose a lot of experience there. We're going to have to sort of replace her by committee and also changing a little bit our style of play. Johanna Bjorkland has worked very hard, and, right now, if I were to pick a starting lineup, she probably would be in it to anchor us down low. What we'll do after that is go to a smaller lineup, which is what we did last year when LaChina wasn't in."

"If you were to define the ACC, you would define us more as a league that plays an open style game. We've always been a finesse, athletic kind of league, and that's where Wake Forest didn't really fit into that mold at all until recently. I think we better fit into that mold now. I'm not sure about our depth right now because we only have 11 healthy players as we speak, so how much we press or trap or push the ball could be determined by our staying healthy, but we have at least 10 players that will be getting playing time out of that 11."

"We will be a better basketball team when Tracy Alston rejoins us in December."

Question from Andrew Kwietenewski (Clinton TWP, MI) for Wake Forest's Tiffani Listenbee: As a senior do you feel your role has changed at all? Do you feel you need to be more of a vocal leader or do you think your actions on the court are enough?

Listenbee's answer: "Your role does change as a senior as far as leadership goes, because you have younger players looking up to you and they do what they see you do. As far as vocally, that comes by leading by example. If you do what you're supposed to be doing, than you can vocalize with the rest of the team what they should be doing."

More Listenbee:
"Our number one goal is to make postseason play."

Quote from Tonia Brown:
Mostly this summer I've been working on taking the ball to the basket and being strong when I go to hopefully get that 3-point play and just continue working on my shot.

North Carolina State University Athletics