Last Sunday Chattanooga beat Wofford 63-53 in the SoCon tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Mocs were 10-9 in mid-January but have won 10 of their last 13 games to claim the school’s 1st NCAA tourney bid since 2017. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Chattanooga women’s assistant coach Katelyn Grisillo about how to win games in March.
You were born/raised in South Carolina: what made you choose Presbyterian for college? It was 1 of the schools on my list. I wanted to play D-1 basketball and had heard great things about it. I went on a visit and met some great people. It was a small campus so it reminded me of home.
Why did you decide to transfer, and how did you end up at USC-Aiken? Initially it was the opportunity to get more playing time. I was 5’4” so it was a better fit for me, and I got to stay in South Carolina near my friends/family.
You had a 3.8 GPA in college: how did you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I credit my family for that. My mom is a teacher and my dad was in the military so education has always been a priority for me. The resources you get at the collegiate level when you surround yourself with good people allow you to be a student-athlete. I just got a card in the mail last week from someone at Aiken who reached out to me, which was very nice.
You graduated in 2016 with a major in communications and a minor in business administration: how did you get into coaching? I set out to become a coach or a sports broadcaster…which could go hand-in-hand down the road. As a young player you develop strong relationships with your assistant coaches via workouts/day-to-day talks. I tore my knee up at Aiken and had to watch from the sideline so I developed an appreciation for the game and what our coaches were doing. I wanted to pay it forward by coaching someone else and sharing my own passion for the game.
You spent 5 years as an assistant at D-2 Wingate: what is the biggest difference between D-2 and D-1? The athletes are bigger/faster/stronger. The resources in D-1 are great while in D-2 you have to do everything yourself: I have not touched a single food order in Chattanooga! Whether it is about support staff/social media/travel/gear we always have more hands willing to help.
You work for Coach Shawn Poppie: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? This is my 1st year with him but from the jump I saw him exude “humble confidence”. He has earned his way to this position by working his way up from D-2. He puts in the work and makes his presence known to people in the room while allowing everyone to get what they deserve. He is such a selfless leader that we want to buy everything he is selling!
What is the secret to winning games in March? Good players/play-calls/trainers/strength coaches/etc. It also helps to have a fanbase who make a neutral-site game feel like a home crowd. We do not have a large rotation so to have had our level of success this year is not normal. We have a growth-mindset so if we lose a game we learn from it rather than shut down. The people behind the scenes deserve a lot of credit: it takes so many moving pieces to have it all come together.
Last Sunday in the SoCon tourney title game tourney MOP Raven Thompson scored 19 PTS in an 8-PT win over Wofford: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was an incredible feeling to see this team’s hard work come to fruition: it almost made it feel even sweeter because Wofford swept us during the regular season. It has been almost a week but seeing the big picture of the growth that has happened has been amazing. Raven was named conference ROY so it is great to see what she has done for us. Coach has preached from the beginning that everyone has a role and brings value. This was a culture-building year for Yazz Wazeerud-Din: she always has her phone out and is watching a game because she loves the sport. You cannot deny that it had an impact on our mentality because we value winning.
You played several great teams in non-conference play including Alabama/Belmont/Tennessee: which of them impressed you the most? The Alabama game helped carry on our belief system. There were 5 minutes left but we were still in it against an SEC team. I remember stepping into Belmont’s territory but we took them right down to the wire despite us having a new team with about 1/17th of the play-calls that we now have! It was an important moment for us and made us realize that we had a lot of great pieces: it was super-eye-opening.
What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? We will have the biggest smiles on our face: I might black-out and not even see what seed we get! We will have an “attitude of gratitude” to hear our name called and then will get back to work preparing for our opponent. Age is just a #…and so is seeding.