Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Mississippi State SO SG Iverson Molinar

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Mississippi State SO SG Iverson Molinar. He grew up in Panama, moved to the US a few years ago, and last year played in all 31 games as a freshman. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Iverson about why he chose the Bulldogs and his expectations for this year.

You were born/raised in Panama: how big is the sport in your home country? I came to the United States when I was 14 to play basketball. The top-2 sports in Panama are soccer/baseball but basketball is a strong 3rd.

You ended up playing on an AAU team with Cassius Stanley: what makes Cassius such a good player, and how do you think he is going to do in pro basketball? It was good to play with him and I think that he will be very good in the pros.

What made you choose Mississippi State? I really liked their style of play and thought that it would make my transition from high school easier. It is like a family here: they are always asking questions and paying attention to me.

You play for Coach Ben Howland: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He taught me how to be more patient on offense and read the defense. I have improved so much on defense as well.

You played in all 31 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I just tried to play as hard as I could. I learned a lot as a freshman by watching film and doing whatever Coach wanted me to do.

In the 2020 SEC tourney you were scheduled to play in the quarterfinals before learning that the rest of the postseason was being cancelled due to the coronavirus: what was your reaction when you 1st heard the news, and do you think that it was the right decision? I was devastated because I really wanted to play in the SEC tourney and gain some more experience. I felt bad for our seniors because they missed out on their last postseason. 

You have teammates from the Dominican Republic (Andersson Garcia)/Nigeria (Abdul Ado)/the Netherlands (Quinten Post): how do the guys from foreign countries fit in with their American teammates? They are good. We get along with all of them and try to show them what our culture is like. They stuck with it and took it well: we all accept each other.

You only have 2 seniors/1 junior on the roster: is there any pressure on the younger guys like yourself to be a leader this year? Yes. I always try to stay active on the court and help the freshmen because I was in that situation last year. Last year our senior class did the same thing for me.

You have a big birthday coming up this December: what will it be like to turn 21 during a pandemic? It is going to be weird/different but I will still be in the gym working out and getting better.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? I really want to make the NCAA tourney. I want to be responsible on the court and help carry the team: we will have a lot of great chemistry. As far as expectations, I am just focused on the present rather than worrying about the future.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Northern Kentucky coach Darrin Horn

Posted on October 3, 2020 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Northern Kentucky coach Darrin Horn. He made the Sweet 16 as a player, made the Final 4 as an assistant coach, and won the Horizon League tourney last March. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Horn about winning 23 games during his 1st year in Highland Heights and his expectations for this year.

In February of 1993 as a player at Western Kentucky you made a game-winning 3-PT shot in a win over Louisville in Freedom Hall: did you think the shot was going in, and where does that rank among the highlights of your career? The shot felt great when I let it go. That was such a big win for our program because it was against Louisville: I think they were top-10 in the country at the time. It really gave us the confidence to be able to make the Sweet 16 run so I would definitely say it was one of the highlights of my career.

The following month you made the Sweet 16 before a 3-PT OT loss to Florida State: how close did you come to pulling off the upset and having a chance to face Kentucky in the Final 4? I really believe (even almost 30 years later) that if Mark Bell/Darnell Mee had not fouled out that we would have won that game against FSU. Unfortunately, we were down our two best players in overtime against a far superior team talent-wise (Charlie Ward/Bobby Sura/Doug Edwards): those guys were loaded. I probably believe it even more today because as a coach I know the impact that just one or two players can have on a game.

You made the 2003 Final 4 as an assistant to Tom Crean at Marquette: could you tell at the time that Dwyane Wade was going to become a superstar? At some point I think we all knew that Dwyane was going to be a long time pro and a really good one. Did any of us say out loud that he would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, perennial All-Star, and in the discussion for the best to ever play his position? No…and I think anyone who tells you they did is not being truthful. That said, am I surprised? Not really, because he was a special talent who had tremendous character and really bought into the work ethic and commitment it takes to be great and win big. I am so happy for all that he has accomplished because I know where he came from and what he overcame. He is truly a shining example of what is good about our game.

In the 2008 NCAA tourney as head coach at your alma mater Ty Rogers made a 26-foot buzzer-beater over 3 defenders to clinch a 2-PT OT win over Drake (www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwOzyE_S5AY): how did you draw up the play, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? The play was actually designed for Courtney Lee, but Tyrone Brazelton did not get the angle to flip the ball to Courtney so he hit Ty Rogers trailing behind (a la the Villanova 2016 NCAA championship buzzer-beater, just from a different angle: www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7FFJUz0tdo). What is great is that Ty told Tyrone before he inbounded it that if he got in trouble he would be trailing just in case Tyrone needed him. So many people have spoken about “The Shot” but just as impressive to me was the pass that Tyrone made. It took tremendous awareness/confidence to make that play in that moment. The locker room was both jubilant and emotional at the same time. It was a group of seniors who had been through so much together: they were our first full recruiting class. We all felt in some way that anything short of a win in the NCAA tournament would have left our time together lacking so to say it was fulfilling/satisfying would be an understatement.

The following month you were hired as coach at South Carolina: what is the biggest difference between coaching in a big-time conference vs. coaching in a lesser-known conference? The biggest difference in the league levels is that if you have a good team in a lower league there are a handful of nights (especially at home) when you can maybe not play your best or see your best player have an off-night but you can still win. That is much harder to do at a higher level. There is a deeper level of talent on each roster and pretty much every team has one guy who can beat you if you do not do a good job of defending him.

Last year you were hired as head coach at Northern Kentucky and won 23 games in your very 1st season: how were you able to come in and be so successful right from the start? I think that the biggest key to our success last year was that our players allowed us to coach them. So often when a new coach takes over a winning program there is resistance to doing things differently but our guys did not do that. I hope that some of that is because we made it clear as a staff that we had great respect for what they had already accomplished. We were not looking to reinvent the wheel but just build on what they had already done and continue to make them better and grow our program. They bought into that and let us coach them.

In the 2020 Horizon tourney title game you had a 9-PT win over Illinois-Chicago, then a couple of days later you learned that the NCAA tourney was canceled due to the coronavirus: what was your reaction when you 1st heard the news, and do you think that it was the right decision? That was a huge blow: there were a lot of down faces when we gave them the news. I felt so bad for our seniors who I knew would not get another chance to play in an NCAA Tournament. I think what added to it was that this group had been to the NCAA tourney twice before. According to them this time was different because there was a confidence that they were not just happy to be there but going in with the mindset of winning.

You graduated your top-2 scorers in Dantez Walton/Tyler Sharpe: how will you try to replace all of that offense/leadership? From a leadership standpoint, I think that Trevon Faulkner will blossom into an outstanding leader. He has great energy/confidence and brings it to his teammates every day. Our other returners (Bryson Langdon/Adrian Nelson/Paul Djoko) have also shown a great willingness to take on that role and help set the tone for what our expectations are in our program. Offensively, I think that we are going to have to do it more by committee. I think we are actually deeper this year from an offensive talent standpoint, but we lost three guys who could basically take over a game and carry you to a win on any given night. In addition, they were veterans who knew what it took to win so there will be a big learning curve for sure for our new guys.

Robert Morris is joined the conference last summer: what is it like to have another defending conference champ in the league? I love the addition of Robert Morris because it strengthens our league and expands our footprint. They have already shown that they can win a league title and are committed to having a winning program so I think that is a positive.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? Our goals are always to be playing our best basketball in March and competing for a championship. We are not changing our expectations just because we lost so much talent and are so young. Is that realistic? Maybe not, but we are going to work like it every day to give us a chance to do it.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey. He played at Wyoming/Xavier, made his 1st NCAA tourney as head coach in 2017, and is the defending Big South tourney champ. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Kelsey about winning 14 games in a row last season and his expectations for this year.

You began your college career at Wyoming before transferring to Xavier: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you get into coaching? 1 way to gauge if a player is good is to see whether he scored 1000 career PTS: I missed it by about 906! I was born/raised in Cincinnati and my dad played at Xavier so when Coach Skip Prosser got the job there I had the opportunity to come back. I started as a walk-on and ended up earning a scholarship and becoming a captain. Skip hired me to work for him at Wake Forest after my playing career was over. My value was in my work ethic/leadership: I took pride in owning the locker room and making sure that we were a buttoned-up team.

In 2012 you were hired as head coach at Winthrop, where you have become 1 of the winningest coaches in Big South Conference history (top-10 all-time): how have you been able to have so much success over such a long period of time? The history of our program precedes me by a long shot: it is 1 of the most decorated mid-major programs in the country. I think that former coach Gregg Marshall will end up on the Mount Rushmore of college coaches: he built Winthrop into 1 of the premier programs in the country. That level of excellence is the norm here, which is a big responsibility, and our players accept that. It drives us every single day.

Take me though the 2017 postseason:
In the Big South tourney title game you had a win over Campbell: where does that rank among the biggest wins of your career? That was our 1st NCAA tourney trip during my tenure. It was a special team with a pair of special players in Keon Johnson/Xavier Cooks. We had more true road wins that year than any other team in the country. I will always remember the court-storming and cutting down the nets with my son after beating Campbell: it was epic. We had a game at Illinois earlier that season (a 4-PT OT win) where Keon scored 38 PTS despite cramping up a few times: we were just pouring Gatorade down his throat. It was 1 of the most impressive performances that I have ever seen.

In the NCAA tourney you had a loss to Butler: what is your lasting memory of your 1st NCAA tourney appearance as a coach? Coach Chris Holtmann (then at Butler) is a friend of mine so it was a bit ironic. I had lunch with him earlier that year and we picked each other’s brain about X’s and O’s. The part I remember the most was just coming out onto the practice floor during the open practice: to have my son out there with me was unbelievable.

Later that month you were hired as head coach at UMass but returned to Winthrop 2 days later citing personal reasons: did you have any regrets back then, and do you have any regrets 3 years later? I am unbelievably blessed to be a coach at Winthrop and I thank God every day for this opportunity at a world-class institution. To walk into the Coliseum and look up into the rafters and see all of those banners is amazing: I love it here and as am excited today as I was at my introductory press conference.

Last year you started 4-7, then won 14 in a row (including a 3-OT win over Gardner Webb), then lost 3 of your final 6 regular season games in February: was it as much of a rollercoaster in reality as it sounds like on paper? Every team faces adversity at some point: even when we were on that 14-game roll we knew that we could not get too high or low because it is a marathon not a sprint. I give our guys credit for rebounding/adjusting in March and then playing our best basketball of the year. We played terrific in the conference tourney and thought that we would have a chance to make some noise in the NCAA tourney after hitting a speed bump in February.

In the 2020 Big South tourney title game you had a win over Hampton, then a few days later you learned that the NCAA tourney was canceled due to the coronavirus: what was your reaction when you 1st heard the news, and do you think that it was the right decision? The most disappointing thing was that our seniors did not get to experience the most exciting spectacle in American sports. I do not think there is any question that it was correct to cancel it: there was so much uncertainty about how dangerous/severe the virus could be. It was 1000% the right decision but I was still very disappointed. The underclassmen/coaches will get another chance this year but those seniors will not. The immediate question was how would we respond because every other team was going through it as well: would it make us better or become a hindrance? I am proud of how our guys responded during tough circumstances.

SO PF DJ Burns transferred from Tennessee and was named 2020 conference ROY: how did you get a guy who was the #3 South Carolina high school prospect in 2018 (behind Zion Williamson/Ja Morant), and do you think that he is just going to dominate the conference for the next 3 years? We have a very good conference with terrific coaches: I think that our league is underrated nationally. It will not be a cakewalk and everyone will try to stop DJ by throwing the kitchen sink at him but he is a talented young man. He was a 4-star recruit who started at Tennessee, but the allure of playing close to home in Rock Hill played a big part in it. He is just 1 part of this: I am as excited about this year’s team as any that I have had here. We have a good senior class and some of the toughest kids who I have ever coached. Our veterans lead the way but we also have terrific depth. We were nip and tuck with Duke last year and only lost 2 guys from last year’s team. DJ’s hands/feet are as good as any post player that I have ever coached. He knows that he is not a finished product but his future is really bright.

Your team’s 63.4 FT% last year was bottom-25 in the nation but your 54.1 FG% from 2-PT range was top-25 in the country: is there a secret to improving your FT shooting or is it as simple as getting the guys into the gym to practice their FTs as much as possible? My mentor Skip Prosser said that if you want better FT shooting then you should recruit better FT shooters! The key is repetition: 500 makes/day will make you a better shooter. Many of our best producers last year were not our best FT shooters. Chandler Vaudrin is 1 of our best players and has really improved his shooting: 1 of his weaknesses is his efficiency at the FT line but I expect him to be among the nation’s leaders in AST this year as a 6’7″ PG. We have been 1 of the best 3-PT shooting teams in America during the last several years because we play with pace and spread the floor.

You have 2 Australians and 1 Italian on your roster: what sort of recruiting philosophy do you have? We have another Australian coming in next year as well who I think will become 1 of the best shooters in the history of our program. It all started with Xavier Cooks, who is arguably the best player in school history and then returned to his home country of Australia to play pro basketball. It opened up doors over there because the people at the highest levels of the sport saw that they could trust us to take care of their kids. We invest in international recruiting as well.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? It is a boring answer but our goal is to go out here in 75 minutes and then have the best 90-minute workout that we have ever had! We have a hungry group that just gets it: it is a luxury to have a veteran group that buys into the daily process of being great because if you take your eye off that then you will stub your toe. If the stars align properly and keep getting better then we could have 1 of the best teams in school history this year.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Iowa State JR SG/SF Ashley Joens

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Iowa State JR SG/SF Ashley Joens. She won a gold medal in 2018, made the Big 12 All-Freshman team in 2019, and was named an All-American in 2020. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Ashley about making a FT to beat Baylor and her expectations for this year.

You were captain of team USA at the FIBA Americas U18 Women’s Championship: what did it mean to you to represent your country, and what did it mean to you to win a gold medal? It was a great honor just to make the team, but to be named captain and take a leadership role meant a lot. To win a gold medal was great as well: just competing at the highest level and coming out on top.

You were born/raised in Iowa: what made you choose Iowa State? The team/coaches/family atmosphere as well as the fans/community. There is a ton of support here and everyone wants the best for you both on and off the court. To be a part of “Hilton Magic” is a great feeling and I am really glad to be part of the Iowa State family.

You started all 35 games as a freshman and were named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I just competed and played as hard as I could every time that I stepped onto the court. Even if I did not know exactly what I was doing I just hustled and got after it no matter what and gave everything I had.

Last December you scored a career-high 41 PTS against Wright State: was it just 1 of those situations where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? A little bit…but a lot of it was due to my teammates getting me the ball when I had an open shot. They put me in a great position to do that.

You became the 1st player in school history to record a 30/20 game (against Texas Southern last November) and were the only player in nation to average 20+ PPG/10+ RPG: how do you balance your scoring with your rebounding? I just compete on both ends of the court: it is not a 1-sided game. I go after rebounds on offense and defense and attack on offense.

Last March you made a FT in the final second of a 1-PT win over Baylor to clinch your school’s 1st win over a top-2 team since 2004: did you think that you were going to make it, and where does that rank among the highlights of your career? That is probably the biggest highlight of my career. We shoot FTs every day in practice so I told myself that it was just another FT, which helped me relax. I have done it 100 times before and if I make a mistake then it is okay.

You finished the season by being named an All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It was great just to be considered an All-American: we have such a high level of players throughout the country.

In the 2020 Big 12 tourney you were scheduled to play Kansas State before learning that the entire postseason was canceled due to the coronavirus: what was your reaction when you 1st heard the news, and do you think that it was the right decision? When I 1st heard the news I really could not believe that our season was over. Looking back on it I wish we could have kept going but it was good to end on a high note with the win over Baylor to finish our regular season.

1 of your new teammates is your sister Aubrey: what is the best part of having her on the team? It is nice having her on the team after we played together for 2 years in high school and to represent our family at a high level is a lot of fun. We get along really well and I get to pick on her occasionally(!) but we both help each other out because we know how we play. To wear the same uniform as her again is great.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? The goals for this year are the same as last year: keep working/improving. We cannot simply be happy with ending the season well last year and hopefully we will have an even better season this year.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Duquesne Director of Player Development Ashton Gibbs

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Duquesne Director of Player Development Ashton Gibbs. He won a gold medal in 2009, was an All-American in 2011, and then played pro basketball for several years. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Ashton about his ultra-athletic family and his expectations for this year.

You played for team USA at the 2009 U-19 World Championship: what did it mean to you to win a gold medal, and which of your teammates impressed you the most (Gordon Hayward/Klay Thompson/other)? It meant a lot. I was an underrated recruit at Pitt so to go from that to being the 6th or 7th man on the best college team in the country and then making the U-19 team was tremendous. We had a lot of great players on that team but Gordon/Klay impressed me the most. Klay was a great shooter (especially for his height) and Gordon could do a little of everything.

In 2011 as a player at Pitt you were top-10 in the nation with 102 3PM/49 3P%: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? A lot of reps, especially game reps. I watched a lot of film to see exactly where I would be taking shots from, then attacked it every single day. It was a simple process but a lot of hard work.

That year you were also named an All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant a lot after all of the hard work that I had put into it. I just wanted to be the most consistent player in the country, which is what I prided myself on. Every day I would come in early to get up shots/work on my ballhandling/get in the weight room, then keep working hard after practice. It was a tremendous honor.

In your NCAA tourney career you had a 2-PT loss to Villanova in 2009/3-PT loss to Xavier in 2010/1-PT loss to Butler in 2011: what is the key to games in March that come down to the final possession? Mental toughness, which goes unsaid a lot of the time. Teams must be able to withstand runs and there were times when our opponents just executed a little bit better than us toward the end of those games. You need the right approach in practice because it will translate to games. You also need to shoot well: we were up and down a bit but Coach Jamie Dixon helped us make the right decisions on offense. We lost because of some great players on other teams who could put the ball in the hole.

After graduating you played pro basketball overseas for several years: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US v. basketball in other countries? They are very detailed overseas and pay a lot of attention to skill work as opposed to people in the US who care about athleticism. You see that now in players who come from overseas and are able to have a lot of success in the NBA. Foreign players have a high IQ and really think the game through and make the right decisions, especially on offense. There are a lot more foreign academies for younger players so they build kids up in a way that allows them to be ready to play at the pro level.

You currently work as director of player development for Coach Keith Dambrot at Duquesne: how do you like working for Keith, and what do you hope to do in the future? I love working for Keith because I learn something new every day. He is a perfectionist and demands a lot but he is a Hall of Fame coach and the best is still yet to come. I ultimately want to become a head coach and just help our guys with whatever they need to do to further their own careers.

You lost Baylee Steele to graduation but bring back your entire starting lineup from a team that was 15-2 through your 1st 17 games last season: how crucial will all of that experience be to your team’s success this year? It is going to be big and I have seen it already during our group workouts. We have tremendous leaders and our young guys are doing really well at picking things up, which is huge. Building a solid culture is everything and our veteran guys help out with that both on and off the court. As long as we stay healthy then we should be good.

Your father Temple played football at Temple, your brother Sterling played basketball at Texas/Seton Hall/UConn, your brother TJ played basketball at Notre Dame, and your cousin Ashton Miller just transferred from Duquesne to Wagner last spring: who is the best athlete in the family? I am always going to go with myself! What made each of us successful is our self-confidence. TJ/Sterling were tremendous college players and now Sterling is having a great pro career. All 4 of us have carved out a niche due to the work that we put in every single day.

What is it like to be an African-American man in 2020? You have to be mentally strong right now because you are being tested. We have to come together as people and it is a great time to be a leader and teach others about our culture. Anytime I can educate my counterparts I try to do that because you do not know what you do not know. The great part of being in America is that everyone comes from different backgrounds, but the better perspective you have then the better we can all be.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? To win the A-10 for sure, get into the NCAA tourney, and then win some games once we get there. To be honest our goal is to make the Final 4: it might sound a little unrealistic but that is how good we can be if we are all locked in and stay healthy. We have enough veteran leadership and great coaching so we have no choice but to have high standards.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Tennessee SR SG/SF Rennia Davis

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Tennessee SR SG/SF Rennia Davis. She was a McDonald’s All-American in 2017, made a game-winner in the SEC tourney in 2018, and led the conference in FT% in 2019. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Rennia about graduating last May and her expectations for this year.

In 2017 you were named a McDonald’s All-American: what made you choose Tennessee, and what was it like to have so many of your fellow honorees become your future teammates (Anastasia Hayes/Kasiyahna Kushkituah/Evina Westbrook)? I chose Tennessee for several reasons but the main reason was the legacy that exists here. I wanted to play where other great players had played before me so that I could measure myself against them and hold myself to a higher standard. You cannot win any kind of title by yourself, especially in the SEC, so joining 3 other All-Americans was a good way to try to do that.

You play for head coach Kellie Harper/assistant coach Jon Harper: what is it like to play for a married couple? It is definitely different: I had never been coached by a married couple before but it is refreshing/humorous. They have different personalities and it is nice when they bring their kids to practice.

You scored 12 PPG as a freshman and started 32 of 33 games: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I just wanted to play my game. I was able to get my feet in the water and was just playing without thinking about it too much. As a freshman you just want to get onto the court so I decided to take advantage.

In the 2018 SEC tourney you scored 16 PTS including a 3-PT shot off the glass with 0.5 seconds left to clinch a 3-PT win over Auburn: did you think the shot was going in, and where does that rank among the highlights of your career? That was my 2nd big moment in a Tennessee jersey: my 1st moment was in our 1st exhibition game when I just walked out there for the 1st time. To have the poise/confidence necessary for my teammates to get the ball to me in the final seconds and then see me make the shot has just carried over ever since then. That shot is definitely up there: I hit another big shot recently but that is 1 of my favorite moments because it was my 1st game-winner.

In 2019 you led the SEC with 85.6 FT%: what is the secret to making FTs? Focus: you just step up to the line and shoot it like you have done so before. There were times as a freshman where I was worried about making them but eventually it became an easier process.

You were named an All-American during each of the past 2 years: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? I guess I should be thankful but to be honest my goal is to make 1st-team (not just honorable mention) so I still have some work to do.

In the 2020 SEC tourney you lost to Kentucky, then a week later you learned that the NCAA tourney was canceled due to the coronavirus: what was your reaction when you 1st heard the news, and do you think that it was the right decision? I was kind of shaken because our last game did not go how we envisioned it: we did not want to end our season on that note but it has given me added motivation this year. I feel that it was the right decision to cancel: I did not expect COVID to last this long but it has.

You graduated last May with a degree in hotel/restaurant/tourism management: how weird was it to graduate online rather than in-person, and when are we going to see you open up your own restaurant?! It was pretty weird: they shipped my cap/gown to Florida and my mom really wanted to attend the ceremony in person but just knowing that I got my degree in 3 years means a lot. I want to play basketball for as long as possible and then have a restaurant in the far-future.

Last January you lost to UConn on the road and this January you will be hosting them in Knoxville: how do you explain the rivalry to someone who has never seen it in person, and what will you have to do differently this year to beat them? Last year was my 1st experience with the rivalry. You feel the energy from everyone else around you: it is big for both schools’ fans and was created by 2 of the greatest coaches of all-time (Pat Summitt/Geno Auriemma). This year we just have to finish: I feel like we were a bit depleted after halftime and had some mishaps and turned the ball over too many times. If we finish this January then I think we will be fine.

What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? I just want us to get 1% better every single day. Even if we start at zero I want us to reach our maximum potential and get it rolling. I typically do not share my personal goals but I want to go to the WNBA after this season is over.

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