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We are still about 3 weeks away from the tip-off of a new college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing 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 Kent State SR G Jenna Batsch, who talked about being a great 3-PT shooter and her expectations for this season.
You were born/raised in Ohio: what made you choose Kent State? I was born/raised in Cincinnati, which is about 4 hours from Kent, so even though it is the same state I still felt that I was going far away. The whole coaching staff was really welcoming, and I liked what they had to offer.
You play for Coach Todd Starkey: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He is very good at not dwelling on the negatives and just has a next-play mentality. Basketball is a game of mistakes, but it is very fast paced so you can quickly make up for it. He has taught us a lot of things that we can use in both basketball and as general life lessons. We will not play basketball forever, so he has really prepared us for life after basketball.
As a freshman in the 2022 WNIT you scored a season-high 11 PTS/4-5 FG in a win at Youngstown State: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most? That game was very good for me because it gave me a lot of confidence. I was always tentative and worried about making mistakes as a freshman, but I went into that game aggressive from the start, and when I saw my 1st couple of shots go down it was a big help.
After 2 years as a sub you started all 32 games last year: what is the biggest difference between starting a game vs. coming off the bench? As a starter you are responsible for being aggressive from the jump, whereas subs have the advantage of seeing how the game is going. Coach teaches us that pressure is a privilege, so I am happy to take it on.
You shot 38.9 3P% last year: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? I spent a lot of time the summer before that season working on my jump shot. I struggled a lot during my 1st 2 years but I have gotten much stronger, and seeing the ball go through the hoop really helped as well.
Take me thorough the 2024 postseason:
In the MAC tourney title game you scored 14 PTS in a win over Buffalo: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was amazing because the program had not won a title for more than 20 years. The locker room was very fun: everyone was happy to make the NCAA tourney!
In the NCAA tourney you scored 13 PTS in a loss at Notre Dame: what did you learn from that loss that you think will help you this season? Notre Dame was a very good team, but it is important to attack the toughest teams on our schedule because they will usually underestimate us. We could not knock down shots against the Irish and they were hitting everything…but we still hung around with them and proved that we are not afraid of them.
You made the Academic All-MAC team each of the past 2 years: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Kent State does a great job with providing us resources and lots of study halls, but as a student-athlete it is important to not procrastinate so that you can focus on the game once it tips off.
You are 1 of 4 seniors on the roster: how much pressure is there on you to be a leader this year? There is an expectation on me to be a leader, but there is no pressure. I am a lead-by-example type of person so I will work on leading with my voice as well as my actions. We have a lot of leaders this year so it should not be a problem.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Our goal every year is to win the MAC, and we would also like to win the regular season for the 1st time in a while. Winning the regular season shows how good you are: we lost some talent and have a target on our back, but we will try to prove some people wrong.