We are still about 6 weeks away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to prepare for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Arkansas SO G Saylor Poffenbarger, who talked about starting last season 13-0 and her expectations for this season.
You won a gold medal with team USA at the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It meant a lot at the time but means even more now: the girls on that team remain some of my best friends even though our paths took us in different directions. Being 1 of the best girls in my age group was pretty cool.
You began your career at UConn: what is it like to get recruited/coached by Geno Auriemma? It was an interesting recruiting process: it was obviously my dream so the recruitment process was very easy-going/insightful. I have so much respect for Geno but I was in a different stage of my life so I struggled with being pushed a certain way. I was not loving basketball as much as I did when I 1st committed there but he has written the basketball story on the woman’s side.
Why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Arkansas? It was during COVID so I was struggling mentally as well. I wanted to re-love the game and realized that I would have to “go down a bit” at a place where there was less pressure than at UConn. I wanted to go somewhere where I could work out with a balance. The staff here has really good people who gave me the comfort that I needed and I have fallen back in love with the game.
You started last season 13-0: did it reach a point where the team started to feel invincible? The point of non-conference play is to build confidence and we were able to use that to our advantage. We grew closer as a team and discovered our strengths/weaknesses. We just played together and trusted ourselves because we were winning.
You were named to the conference all-freshman team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I had a mindset of just playing and not saying much and doing what I was expected to do. This year I plan to lead by example because I have a better grasp of how to get my teammates to respond. It was hard for me because there could have been some animosity but I just changed my mindset without worrying about outside expectations.
You broke the school record with 225 defensive REB despite playing guard: what is the secret to being a good rebounder? When I was younger my trainer helped me learn how to read the ball off the rim. Defense/rebounding is just an effort thing so it was a “controllable” that I COULD worry about.
In the 2023 WNIT you won 3 straight games before losing to eventual champ Kansas: what did you learn from that postseason run that you think will help you this year? We had to show a lot of maturity because a lot of teams have a different approach if they miss the NCAA tourney. We were disappointed…but used it as fuel and do not want to feel that way again. It shows the importance of every game/possession, which was the biggest takeaway.
The SEC has had 3 different schools appear in the past 6 NCAA tourney title games (South Carolina twice/Mississippi State twice/LSU once): do you feel that it is the best conference in the country? I do: from players to coaches it is definitely better than my prior conference.
Your mother Amy played basketball at Missouri and your brother Reese plays QB at Albany: who is the best athlete in the family? Oh God! We have a very competitive family: my mom would probably pick 1 of us…but my brother and I would each pick ourselves.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? I just want to be more consistent in all areas of my game. I want to have more fun out there so that I do not feel so frustrated that the joy is taken out of the game.