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| June Daugherty |
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Chat with Washington State Women's Basketball Coach June Daugherty on Monday, October 10 at 11:00 a.m.
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| Moderator: Good morning Cougar fans and thank you for visiting WSUCougars.com and today's chat with WSU Women's Basketball Head Coach June Daugherty. Before we begin, women's basketball season tickets are on sale now. To purchase click on the Buy Tickets link above. Coach, thank you for joining us today. |
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June Daugherty: Welcome to the 2011-12 WSU Cougar Women's Basketball season! So much has been happening in the offseason that I can't wait to share with you. First off, the players had a great off-season of dedication and improvement with their skill work and strength and conditioning. Next, our five seniors have provided unbelievably strong leadership to prepare this team for a great season. And, facilities, I could go on and on.
But a picture is worth a thousand words. Check out our new practice facility and the new scoreboard at Beasley on our website! It's time to talk about this season! |
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| Moderator: Okay, let's answer some questions. |
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| Stephanie (Richland): What do you think of the new look of the practice facility and the scoreboard at Beasley? |
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June Daugherty: Stephanie, our athletic director Bill Moos and his staff have provided both the men's and women's basketball teams with the best practice facility in the country. It is a great teaching laboratory as well as a huge recruiting tool. The scoreboard in Beasley is going to really help the fans to be able to get up and close and personal with the play of the game, officiating, and the entertainment during the game. No doubt Beasley will be rocking on Gameday! |
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| Washington State: Thanks for being such a great leader and role model on the court and in the community. Will this be the most experienced team you have coached at WSU? |
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June Daugherty: Thanks for the nice compliment! I love Washington State, Pullman and the neighboring communities. No doubt this will be our most experienced team with five seniors leading the way. Them, as well as their underclassmen teammates, are working hard to put a banner up at Beasley this season. |
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| Julie: June, what style of play do you want to have and what players should fans keep an eye on this season? |
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June Daugherty: Thanks for your question Julie. Style of play wise you should expect to see an up tempo and pro style of offense and an aggressive defensive scheme of multiple defenses that should be very entertaining for our fans. Each player has developed their game to a much higher level during the offseason. Starting at the point guard position, Rosetta Adzasu is a much stronger floor leader and at the same time has improved her offensive output. Jazmine Perkins and April Cook continue to become more consistent offensive threats both inside and out. Their quickness on defense and within our running game gives us a great deal of speed. |
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| Reggie (Tacoma): June - I'm glad that you're our coach and our WBB recruiting has been great the last 3-4 years. What are your targets when recruiting players to WSU? |
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June Daugherty: Reggie, appreciate your compliment and noticing how hard my staff has worked to accumulate great talent at Washington State in my first four classes. Some of the things that we look for as far as targeting recruits are character, athleticism, versatility, and mental toughness. Geographically, we have expanded our recruiting base due to the expansion of the Pac-12 Conference and the new TV contract. Which ensures the WSU Cougars will be on TV every game with the Pac-12 Network. |
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| Melissa (Spokane): June, can you talk about the play of Sage Romberg? How did she progress as a freshman last year? Go Cougs! |
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June Daugherty: Melissa, at 6-foot-3, Sage Romberg is one of the more versatile players in the country. Her ability to play both inside and out gives us a freedom to take advantage of her multi-talented package with mismatches against opponents. Sage being selected to the all-conference freshman team was an outstanding honor and credit to her play during the year as only five players are selected for this prestigious honor. She is progressing in the off-season to add a lot more strength and a consistent level of skill to her game. |
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| Seattle: Hi Coach! How are the new players settling in? Can you share a little bit about their strengths on the court? |
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June Daugherty: Thank you for the question. Our freshman class has settled in nicely. All three are adjusting well to the rigors of playing in the Pac-12 and the training that goes a long with it day-in and day-out. Tia Presley is adjusting to the point guard position and improving daily at mastering the Cougar system. Jordan Kelly continues to recover from her shoulder surgery in the off-season and has made good use of the limited time she has been on the court. She has been impressive with her competitiveness and skill package. Shalie Dheensaw's presence in the post is a great addition to our front line. She is a crafty scorer inside and a long, lean defender who loves the blocked shots and she gets us running with her rebounding. |
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| Pasco: How do you teach the team to finish games and hold those 2nd half leads? |
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June Daugherty: Winning more games in the conference in a decade last season has served as a great motivator during the offseason. One of the things we must do to finish ballgames at a consistent level is to continue to have great leadership from our seniors, and everyone playing their role and being on the same page for 40 minutes. We are working on that every day in practice. |
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| Moderator: Okay that's all the time we have. Coach, thank you for joining us once again. |
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June Daugherty: Thank you to everyone for your questions. Hope to see you this Friday, Homecoming Weekend, Bohler Gym at 7 o'clock! Be there for Midnight Mayhem. Come get an early peek at the team. Meet the teams and get autographs afterwards. ZZU CRU, drum corp, cheer squad, everyone will be there. I hope you can be a part of tipping off a great season of Cougar Basketball! Go Cougs! |
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| Moderator: Thanks to everyone for your questions. Please join us tomorrow at 4 p.m. for a chat with Director of Athletics Bill Moos. Go Cougs! |
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