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June Daugherty

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Chat with Head Women's Basketball Coach June Daugherty on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at Noon PT.

Moderator: Good afternoon 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, I wanted to bring to your attention three links at the top of this page. The first is to purchase women's basketball season tickets; the second goes to the Hardwood Diary (the WSU women's basketball blog). Visit this page throughout the 2008-09 season for exclusive information that you can only find at wsucougars.com about the women's basketball team. The third link goes to information on how to join the Cougar Pawz Club. Be sure to check it out. June, thank you for joining us today.

June Daugherty: Good afternoon to the Cougar Nation. The leaves are changing in the beautiful Palouse and fall is in the air...must be basketball season! We are coming off our first four practices. I couldn't be more excited to share with you what we are seeing in the 2008-09 Cougs. Let's get to some questions.

Mo Erickson: It's your second year at Wazzu and you are already making huge waves on the recruiting front...what do you attribute to your success? I am a dawg fan....but love me some June and Mike :)

June Daugherty: Dear Mo, recruiting to a world-class academic institution in a small college town setting is a great opportunity to attract the best and brightest in recruiting. Fortunately, with an experienced coaching staff with extensive knowledge of the west coast recruiting hotbeds has helped us land a nationally-ranked class. Another one of our greatest assets is the fact that we play in the best conference on the west coast, the Pac-10. Best of health to you, June.

Ron Bunker (Whidbey Island): No question here,just a good luck wish from a Husky/June Daugherty fan

June Daugherty: Ron, thanks for being on the chat with us today. Remember 139, which is Jan. 3 '09. The Cougs are coming to Hec Ed, loaded and ready this year. Wear your Crimson! See you there.

Kathleen: With a 6'8" center opponents will be forced to sink in their defense which should open up outside shooting. Who do expect to step up from the outside?

June Daugherty: The offseason has been good to the Cougs with several returners and newcomers in the gym working on their offensive weaponry. Appleton, Calderwood, Grad, Cook, and Price, etc., won't be shy from downtown. Hopefully that will keep defenses honest with having a front line of 6-5, 6-4 and 6-8.

Ruby: Coach Daugherty - Would you say with your bigs coming in that it makes your team more of an offense or defense team?

June Daugherty: Ruby, great question. The answer to that is I think both offensively and defensively. Our front line is mobile, can run the floor, and is very skilled; thus, making us a strong force on either end of the floor.

Rick: SInce the official practice just started last week, tell us what you are liking, as well as what you are not, this early on, please.

June Daugherty: Thanks Rick, you must be a coach. Positives that I like so far in official practice is the leadership by the upperclassmen, good carry over from last year, and our athleticism. One of the biggest areas that we have to address is how inconsistent we are. I believe that will come with more time and more practice. Remember we are co-mixing eight new players with nine returners.

Megan: Hi Coach, Is there a fan trip package available for the Hawaii trip? What a fun place to play during the holidays!

June Daugherty: Dear Megan, thanks for your question. I hope you can join us for several games this year. I want to encourage everyone to join Cougar Pawz, the new support group for women's basketball (link is at the top of this page) in order to find out more about the team and travel opportunities with the Cougs,.

Ruth: Hi Coach Daugherty, What do you see after one week of practice, as your team's strength?

June Daugherty: Ruth, thank for being on the chat with us. Some of the strengths that we have seen in our first four practices include talent, speed, size, quickness, and depth. All this group needs is some good coaching, to stay healthy, and good solid experience.

Bruce Johnson (Virginia Beach): Coach - We are extremely fortunate to have Team Daugherty as a part of Cougar Nation. You've assembled a good nucleus with your returning players and the new Cougars. What do you see as the important steps in developing this unit into a competitive/contending team? p.s. Any chance of scheduling ODU/UVA in the future? I'd love to have a chance to lend some support on the road. Go Cougs!

June Daugherty: Bruce, thanks for the vote of confidence and I love being a part of the Cougar Nation! After having the good fortune of signing the Philadelphia player of the year, Rosie Tarnowski, we'd love to come back to the east coast to play. Currently, we are in negotiations with UCONN and several other east coast powerhouses.

Joel Boise: Can't wait to see the team down here in Boise... Will there be a chance after the game that my daughter could get some signatures? She is 5 and is headed into her second heart surgery in three years. (thank God not open heart this time).

June Daugherty: Dear Joel, first of all we hope that your daughter is doing well and give her my best wishes. Returning to Boise for a tough match-up should provide a great game for our fans, Cougar and Bronco fans alike. I would love to meet your daughter after the game. We always come out on the floor afterward and would love to sign some autographs. Be sure to hang out after the game at Taco Bell Arena. See you there.

Mark (Seattle): Coach, can you describe the type of relationship that you have with coach Bennett, and how, if at all, he is able to help you with recruting and vice-versa?

June Daugherty: Dear Mark, thanks for bringing up Coach Bennett. He's a great ambassador for women's basketball and the entire university. Numerous recruits and their families have met with him on their visits to Pullman and listen wisely to why he loves being a Coug. Needless to say, a lot of credit goes to him with the success we had in recruiting our first two classes to WSU. Coaching wise, it's certainly an honor and a privilege to be able to watch his practices and observe his teachings.

Former Dawgfan: Hey coach - it was fun seeing the kiwi develop and mature throughout the season last year. what can we expect to see from her this year?

June Daugherty: Dear Former Dawgfan. Kezia Kelly has had a wonderful summer of staying in Pullman, attending summer school, and continuing to work on her game. She had the honor of representing the New Zealand junior national team in competition abroad and has grown quite a bit from that experience. Remember, Kezia was only 17 when she was leading this team in the Pac-10 last year and did a great job. We can expect an even bigger year from her this season with continued improved play.

JD: Coach: You are very lucky to have Kate Werner as your DOBO. She always has a smile and is a pleasure to work with.

June Daugherty: Dear Kate Werner Fan Club member. Bringing the Pullman native back home has been a treat. There is no doubt about it, she is the best Director of Basketball Ops in the country and we are proud to have her at WSU. Hopefully she won't read this and get a bigger head than she has now.

Sleeping in Seattle...: because our sports teams are struggling! I am so excited to see your new kids and returners blend this year on the court. Will you continue to encourage uptempo, fast paced hoops?

June Daugherty: Dear Sleeping, the style of play that we have been working hard to recruit and coach toward is to dictate the tempo on both the offensive and defensive ends of the basketball court. With the returning veterans and strong recruiting class of eight new members, we feel we have the athleticism and depth to meet our goals. I hope to see you at the game on Jan. 3, 2009 at Hec Ed. Wear your Crimson!

jumper: Your program has really grown in just one year. I have heard the administration is supporting you with some new facility improvements- how has this helped recruiting? How are the projects going?

June Daugherty: Jumper, thank you for your compliments about the program. Dr. Floyd and Athletic Director Jim Sterk are outstanding leaders with great vision for the basketball program. Them allowing us to have new locker rooms, offices, and practice gyms all within the last year has gone a long, long ways in positive recruiting. Once our projects are finalized, it will be tough for anyone in the Pac-10 to touch our facilities, which continue to give us an advantage in the recruiting wars.

Question for Coach: I was so impressed with Appleton last year- what has she meant to the team and how will her role change this year with the added arsenal of talent?

June Daugherty: Dear Question for Coach, Katie Appleton is a warrior leader and passionate Coug player. She's done a great job of helping recruit the new players here and continues to lead the entire program with her work ethic and knowledge. I think her role is going to be a little more difficult because of the fact that she has to try and blend eight new players with nine returners. She's hard at work in trying to accomplish that task and much more for the program. On the court, Kap has improved in several areas offensively and defensively. She, like her other teammates, are getting to used to playing together and getting to know each other personality.

city of trees: Dear Coach, I have followed your career since your days in Boise. One thing that I have always noticed is how competitive your non-league schedule is every year. How does this factor into your philosophy as a coach?

June Daugherty: Hey Bronco, thanks for being with us today. By the way, I loved my seven years in Boise and appreciated the opportunity I had at BSU. Our preseason schedule is strong and should help us prepare for the always nationally competitive Pac-10 Conference. We have the opportunity to play several different conferences early and this will give us good experience on several different styles of coaching and play. Also, playing in arenas like the Taco Bell Arena and the arena at Texas Tech; we should be in some hostile environments with huge crowds that I believe will help us prepare for what we will see later in conference play. Playing the best to be the best will continue to be our scheduling philosophy. See you in Boise on Nov. 20.

Michael: Coach Daugherty, It appears you have a well-rounded team this year, with size and speed. Do you have players who can play multi-positions?

June Daugherty: Hi Michael. In response to your question, my staff continues to do a great job recruiting the type of person and player to help us achieve our goals at WSU. We want to win the NCAA Championship, have 100 percent graduation rate, and be great community role models. To answer your question, we work very hard to evaluate players who play several positions on the basketball court, offensively and defensively. The goal of multi-position players gives us the opportunity to wear down the opponent in several different ways and present match-up problems to the opponents.

Cuz(Renton) 1999 baseball alum AGAIN.: What are some things YOU like about Pullman after having been at UW for so long ? I assume you are extremely welcomed in my beloved pullman, I would definitely have given you a high five if I saw you on Campus. As an alum, i'm very happy to have a coach with your juice in the palouse.

June Daugherty: Dear Cuz in Renton, thanks for the warm hospitality. My family and I love living in Pullman for several reasons. First and foremost, people are genuine, loyal, and passionate about the university and its student-athletes. It's so much fun to see the sun shine everyday and to experience the four seasons again. I couldn't be more fortunate to work with President Floyd and Jim Sterk. I enjoy working with experienced leaders who are honest and have knowledge and vision to help us achieve our program goals.

Cougar: Hi Coach JD Do you have any superstitions...like a good luck outfit, favorite game day meal, etc?

June Daugherty: Dear Cougar, Gameday superstitions include Mac and Cheese for pregame meals and often you will hear both Daugherty coaches say "Knock on Wood" and physically knock on wood when we talk about the team or upcoming games. Now that I have been here for a year, I have been working on some Gameday attire that matches our theme "My Color is Crimson." Keep an eye on the sidelines this season.

Moderator: Okay, that's all the time we have. June, thank you once again for taking the time to answer Cougar fans' questions today.

June Daugherty: Thank you. I hope to see all the west side Cougars at the "Night with Cougar Basketball" event on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Moderator: Thank you to everyone for your questions. Remember, to get all the information about WSU Athletics, go no further than wsucougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics. Please join us tomorrow at 3 p.m. when Director of Athletics Jim Sterk takes your questions.