Last week Arkansas State beat JMU 86-79 in OT in the Sun Belt women’s tourney to earned an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Red Wolves had a losing season for 6 straight but are now heading to the NCAA tourney for the 1st time in school history. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Arkansas State coach Destinee Rogers about the importance of 3-PT shooting and making the NCAA tourney.
You were a 3-year starter at Central Arkansas: how good a player were you back in the day? I was a coach on the floor and prided myself on being an elite point guard who got the ball where it needed to go. I also tried to be a good leader for our team.
How did you get into coaching? I watched my dad coach my whole life. I have been around the game of basketball for a long time, and it became life for me at an early age.
As an assistant at your alma mater your team set a school record with 28 wins in 2016 and made the 1st NCAA tourney in school history: what are your memories of that magical season? How hard it was. It is not easy to win, but when you have a team that truly believes then you can achieve anything. The biggest thing I learned that year is that you win with a “we over me” mentality.
In 2021 you became the 1st African-American female head coach to win a game in school history: how big a deal was it? It was a huge deal because I truly felt the moment was far greater than me. I was thankful to God first and foremost, but I also felt like it was an opportunity for me to open the door for someone else who looks like me.
You had a losing record in each of your 1st 2 years: what has clicked in year #3? The first two years were tough because we could not play the way that we really wanted to. This year is the first year that every kid on our team was a kid who we recruited.
Your former player Izzy Higginbottom was named Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year in 2023, 1st-Team All-Sun Belt in 2014, and led the SEC in scoring with 24.4 PPG for Arkansas this year: was it weird to face her last November in Fayetteville? Not weird at all. I love Izzy and was truly happy to witness her success here as well as in Arkansas. She deserves it and I am super-proud of her.
You lost back-to-back road games in late-February: how was you team able to turn things around at the right time? It happened for a reason. It was an opportunity for us to regroup and learn some lessons that would later help us win the tournament.
Last Monday you had a 7-PT OT win over JMU to clinch a spot in the NCAA tourney for the 1st time in school history: how on earth were you able to overcome a 17-PT 1st half deficit, and what did it mean to you to win a title? God is the greatest: we trust his plan even when others do not. We overcame the deficit because we believed that we could. It came down to getting stops so that we could get out in transition and create advantages for our offense. We had to wake up and stop playing scared.
Your team’s 10.6 3PM this year is #1 in the nation: how crucial is the 3-PT shot to your offensive philosophy? We value taking good shots, period, whether that is a three or a layup. We want to shoot the best available shot each possession and a lot of times that is a three because we drive and kick the ball a ton.
How do you feel about being a #15 seed facing UConn? People have bet against us all year so this will be no different. We will take whatever seed we are given and are grateful to be dancing.
