Women's Basketball

Oct. 14, 2010

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Head coach Suzy Merchant, her staff and the 2010-11 Michigan State women's basketball team held its annual media day on Thursday, Oct. 14 in the Breslin Center.

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Suzy Merchant Press Conference | Player Interviews

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Head Coach Suzy Merchant
Junior forward Lykendra Johnson
Senior forward Cetera Washington
Freshman center Madison Williams

Complete Transcript of Suzy Merchant Press Conference

Opening Statement...
We are excited about another year, another year of basketball, building off of last year's success certainly. I think that one of the keys that we had last year was our depth, (we have) some experience back within that depth. We will be able to build off of that, the depth that we had last year carries over into this year's team. There is certainly experience with a lot of players coming back, at the same time we have some new faces. Certainly four freshmen, which is the biggest class we have had since we have been here. It has been a nice blend of veteran play, coupled with obviously some new faces.

I think our schedule, there is no question, is extremely challenging this season. There are 16 teams we are facing this season that were post season teams last year. Teams like Dayton, who was a second round NCAA tournament team, we have here (at home). The ACC Challenge takes us to Florida State, who was the ACC champion, obviously is a pretty talented team. We have our Big 12 Challenge this year for the first time with Texas. Then we are playing in the Super Six Series with Baylor, which is a rematch of the 2005 NCAA National Championship Game.

I think if you were to ask me in one word to sum up this team and its strengths, I would tell you right now it would be versatility. The nice thing is for the first time I was telling Jim (Donatelli) when I got here today, it is nice to be able to talk with you all about our team knowing that we have actually been on the court. The women changed our rule; we have 30 practice opportunities in 40 days. Since October 4th we have had an opportunity to be on the court with practice gear on, putting in a system and a style, and seeing what kids can do. I feel like I have a little more to give you when you ask questions today than I have in the past. Certainly you know what you think you know, but then when you get on the court sometimes you see different things in kids that they can do more of, or maybe what you thought they would bring to the table is not their greatest strength. I am really excited to answer some of your questions today and have an opportunity to talk a little bit about what this year's team brings. I wasn't going to go over every player; I feel we can do some of that specifically.

As I mentioned I think our strength certainly comes from our veterans, as it should in every team. And that is Kalisha Keane, Brittney Thomas, Cetera Washington and Lykendra Johnson, those are our four captains. Three seniors and a junior, that I think not only have the experience but certainly have a strong presence, and have for four years, for us on the court and Lykendra (Johnson) is going into her third year. I think their leadership has been spectacular in the offseason, I think it has been really solid in the preseason here as we have taken the floor. They're learning not only to push our freshman class, but I think also to have a little patience at the same time and an understanding of how to bring them along. It kind of goes back a little bit too when they were first year freshman, we were the 17th youngest team in the country my first year here, when they were freshman. They were in the same shoes these kids are going to be in with some significant playing time as freshman, especially in our post play. It is kind of neat to see them flip flop roles a little bit.

On the different philosophies on when to start practice...
I think there are more of us that are proponents of starting earlier than not. I think maybe some of those people that aren't are different caliber situations. I know that Geno (Auriemma) at UConn and Sherri Cole at Oklahoma are going to start at the October 15th start date. For us I think it just depends on situations, having more opportunity to be on a basketball court is what we recruited these kids for. It is not to spend more time with your strength and conditioning coach, quite honestly. So for us it is a really good opportunity to improve skill set, to improve our team play, and maybe get our offense a little further than it has been in the past. That is a big thing for us, see what our kids can do and put them in positions to be successful. For me, I have always been a proponent of wanting more time. I think that is where our kids want to be is in the gym, not on a track or in a weight room quite frankly, their preference is to be on the court too.

On the return of sophomore forward Courtney Schiffauer...
(Courtney Schiffauer) as you know, they call her mad dog for a reason. She just has a little toughness to her, certainly that I thought we missed. Skill set wise, I think the other thing we missed last year was our ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter consistently. When she went down she was averaging four threes a game in those first two games, which really opens up your inside game. As time went on people figured out that maybe we weren't as strong from the perimeter, behind the arc, and they played us accordingly. I think not only does she bring that toughness back, but I certainly think she extends the defense. She is coming off of the ACL injury, but many of you may not know she is also battling mono (mononucleosis) right now. So she is coming back off of that, the kid has had kind of a tough year quite honestly. I don't think that she is 100%; I think you will see that early on. As a coach, ironically I had the same situation happen to me when I played in college. I have been trying to tell her that you are never going to feel "good" this year. You are never going to feel 100%. But certainly Courtney has a high expectation of herself and thinks that she should be right where she left off, and I think that it is just going to take some time to build her stamina back. She is a kid that you have to put your arms around and set her off on the court because she wants to play all of the time. Which is not what she needs to be doing right now, she has to have a good balance of reps and rest.

On how the freshman class improves team speed...
I think our freshman class certainly has the ability to get up and down the floor, all four of them. They all have the ability to make a difference in getting up and down the court athletically. They run very well, but I think that is just part of it. I just like to be on the court with them. I think that when you recruit players you are recruiting them to be a basketball player, so let's get on the court as soon as we can. I know it is a long season, but if you have good balance there I think you can really get a lot done.

On the first impressions of the freshman...
I think that, for me, watching them I certainly see Madison (Williams) for example can really help us on the defensive end right away. I think all of them can help us defensively. That is always how I have seen the game; I see it through defensive eyes. I think defensively she is the shot blocker, the rebounder; she is very mobile and has the ability to affect the game in the lane. Annalise (Pickrel) I see her being able to run in transition, we are playing her in the 4-spot right now, at 6-3 or 6-4. She is a face up 4 a little bit like Kalisha (Keane). We see her being able to get to the rim pretty quick, and hopefully open up our transition game. Most people know that Klarissa Bell's greatest strength is in the full court game as well. You have watched her at East Lansing (High School) for years and they full court press, right into layups. She is really good in the open court so that kind of fits. Bryonna Davis is the same kind of a player, they played up tempo and she has the ability to extend the three. I would say their athleticism, their versatility, their quickness, and the ability to affect both ends of the floor.

On the guard play of senior Brittney Thomas...
Brittney (Thomas) is one that has always taken so much pride in her defense and to watch her grow offensively has been probably one of the neatest things as a coach. For us, when we look at what we have, if you remember last year for the last 12 or 13 games of the season we inserted Jasmine Thomas at the point guard spot and moved Brittney to the 2. We are kind of in that same mode of getting Brittney to the 2, and she has wanted to take on more of a scoring role. I felt like the light really came on this offseason for her and she realizes that she needs to be more of a scoring threat, especially if she is going to play that 2 position. She is ready for the challenge.

On Jasmine Thomas coming off her injury...
Jasmine Thomas had major shoulder surgery on July 1st; she blew her shoulder out playing pickup. She has been able to get some reps in practice but nothing live. She will not play in Midnight Madness and until November 1st we won't see her on the floor live because it is not completely healed yet. It is a significant surgery and it is parallel to blowing a knee out, it is a three or four month deal. One thing she was able to do in the offseason, from August 9-13, was go to point guard camp out in Boston. I have really seen a significant change from her on the shoulders up. That is something you need as a point guard, you need someone that is going to think the game and vocalize the game to their teammates. Even though she couldn't participate in some of the physical stuff in that camp, she really came back a different player. She gained a lot of knowledge and experience and I think you will see that on the floor. For her, in a lot of ways, that was probably one of the best things for her. To put the ball down and maybe start thinking the game a little bit more and that is what she was able to do this August.

On Kelsey Smith's development...
We redshirted her because that was our strength last year. Our power game was our strength, and we didn't want her to get really limited minutes. Redshirting her was an option that he really wanted for herself, and we wanted as coaches, so it was really a win-win for everybody. I think that her hands have gotten better, and she has caught up to the pace. I think that was the biggest difference, is that she struggled early with the pace and the size of players around her. Now that she has had that year under her belt I think that she is a seasoned player, without wasting a year on the court with limited minutes. We anticipate her playing early.

On first-year assistant coach Terry Smith and what he brings...
I think that anytime you look at your coaching staff, it was certainly disappointing to see Coach (Rick) Albro go; he did a lot of great things here but we certainly appreciate where he needed to be with his family. For me, when I look at it, defensively is how I see the game and I thought with what we have with Coach (Shane) Clipfell and Coach (Tempie) Brown, you see what their strengths are what they can do. I felt like I really needed somebody that had some veteran experience that has had head coaching experience, and then certainly has a knack for the offensive side of the ball. That is what I hired in Terry (Smith) and I have seen improvement already in our team. I am really excited about his enthusiasm, his ability to push kids, and he has a high level of expectation of them, and kids appreciate that. He is a Spartan, graduated here from Michigan State and he has a great love of what it is all about here at Michigan State.

On the possible playing rotation...
I think it will change (as the season goes on), we went nine deep and come back with 70% of our minutes back and 60% of our scoring back. We have a significant group back, and it came from a lot of different places. We had numerous times were it was somebody else's night in scoring, and that is the depth piece that is going to allow us to have some confidence early. Last year we went nine deep and it will be nice to dive into your bench and play that deep again. The difference where we don't have a lot of depth is probably the post, that 4 and 5 position. But at the same time, you are looking at Kalisha Keane that was the (Big Ten) Sixth Man of The Year, that plays that spot and will play significant minutes. Those positions between 4's and 5's all of those kids played about 20 minutes. I see her (Kalisha Keane) on the floor a little bit longer obviously.

On playing at a higher tempo than last year...
I think the one thing that we have talked about as a staff certainly, and as a coach we evaluate every year, one of the things that we struggled with offensively is that we would run but then we always had to break things down and set things up in a play. We didn't always keep the pressure on the defense. For us, our goal, is not only to push it but then to try to create some things in between and keep some pressure on the defense in between your primary break and setting up a play. I think our strength is pushing the ball down the floor and creating some tempo, especially in that intermediate stage of really keeping the pressure on the defense is something we are trying to focus on.

On the health of Lykendra Johnson and her being a captain...
It was me who decided the captains were and I could have gone with the three seniors and been done with it but I put Lykendra (Johnson) in that situation for a lot of reasons. One of them was to see what she has in her tank as a leader and a captain. I think when you are a captain you should have a higher expectation of yourself than others and I have seen that in her on the court in preseason. She certainly has shown in practice that she is competing extremely hard and pushing herself, which obviously pushes our team. The greatest gift that she has is the ability to rebound the basketball, she is one of the best rebounders in our league and I know that is something that she takes a lot of pride in. She has continued to work in the offseason to improve her ability to shoot from the perimeter, and led us in field goal percentage at 49% last year. The thing that we have added to her game this year is not only is she going to play some 3, but we want to be able to throw her in at the 4 position and have even more depth at the post as well as added versatility. That is part of her game that she has accepted extremely well.

On the outlook of the Big Ten Conference and the later start to league play...
Certainly when you look at our league you have to talk about Ohio State, they have five returning starters and they won the league last year. They have a great senior post player in Jantel Lavender and certainly a tremendous point guard (Samantha Prahalis). Anytime you have them two things you have something pretty special. They are going to be at the top of their game and I think the league is kind of looking at them as the team to beat. I think there are a lot of really talented teams and I'm not going to name them because you get into locker room material. I think that it is obvious that Ohio State with five returning starters and they won it last year, is the team to talk about.

The later start date, I am a big fan of that, and we are going to a 16 game schedule which I appreciate. I think that we haven't filled it with cupcakes; we filled it with Baylor and Texas. I think on one side we did a good job of putting ourselves in RPI situations and strength of schedule situations. I have never been a big fan of coming back after Christmas and playing on December 27, having to play a Big Ten game. There is a December 30 start date but we have a bye, so there still is a game there. I would really like to somehow get that tournament moved a little bit. Where we start maybe in January when the men's team start. So we could maybe bring a game in after Christmas to become acclimated again. I am glad that we have moved to 16 games and that we kind of pushed ourselves back a little bit.

On the expectations of Porsche Poole...
She had a great offseason and a tremendous preseason to be honest with you. She is one of the players that have impressed me the most. She is really skilled with the ball in her hands and extremely explosive. The one thing that Porsche can do is make other people better around her and create shots for other people. We have actually played her a lot at the 1 in this preseason, just because she is so good at kicking the ball ahead or keeping it and creating for somebody else. Moving Brittney (Thomas) to the 2 and Jasmine (Thomas) being hurt, it has been kind of a natural flow. The one thing we need Porsche to do is be a little bit more of a vocal leader and that is kind of not in her naturally so we are trying to push her to become a little bit more aggressive vocally. She is so good with the ball in her hands and I think that she is someone that needs significant playing time for us.

On the expectations of the freshman Madison Williams and Annalise Pickrel...
Well certainly they are going to play. Both of them are at the 4 and 5 positions and that is where we graduated three of our four seniors. I expect them to get some pretty strong experience early. As I mentioned earlier I think Madison Williams defensively and rebounding wise, I really see her being an impact player. I think she is getting better every day. She has great hand and great feet, if you have that in a post player now it is just about learning to play with her back to the basket and making some more post moves, and certainly building our strength. Annalise (Pickrel) I think is one that fits our up-tempo and transition style we are trying to open up. She allows us defensively, her and Kalisha (Keane) at the 4 spot, allows us to do some things differently. We can play anywhere from quarter court to full court pressure. I think you will see a team that has a little more versatility in how we play defensively.

On Klarissa Bell and her role...
She is another kid that caught my eye. Certainly I knew she was an athlete and that she would be able to defend in this league, I knew her transition game was pretty strong, and she has a nice pull up jumper. You saw that in her game a lot in high school. We have been pleasantly surprised with her ability to shoot the ball from the arc. I have seen her do it, but it was something that she didn't have to do in high school. I thought that it was part of her game that we would have to spend significant time on and quite honestly she is a lot further ahead from behind the arc that we thought as coaches. It is something that we are going to continue to build on so that she is a triple threat guard. She is going to have the opportunity to play.

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