Head Coach Quentin Hillsman Media Day Quotes
Head Coach Quentin Hillsman
Opening Statement:
“It is very exciting day for us. It is the first day of practice. We have had a very good preseason and the girls are working very hard. We are just reading to get going tonight. It is a great night for our program. It is a great night for our team. Most of the girls were back here working out with coach Hicks and coach Luther, getting strong and getting in shape. Then we added Todd Forcier, who is helping us this year. He was fulltime with the men and now he is fulltime with us. He has been doing a lot with the girls to get their conditioning right and foot speed and quickness up. I am just looking forward for us to play an up-tempo style of basketball and for us to be out there on the floor and compete. We are just very excited to be out there and to get going tonight.”
Do you want to be an up-and-down the floor, transition kind of team?
“Absolutely, we are going to press and run. That is the way we are going to play. That is going to be our style. We are going to press on makes. We are going to press on misses. We are going to get after it. We are just not going to let people attack us. We are going to try and force some tempo with our defense and force some offense with our defense. So, that is what we are going to do. That is what we are committed to and they have had a great preseason. I think that you are going to see that we are a lot faster. We are a lot quicker and we are a lot stronger. I think that we are going to be able to hold up for our style of play.”
How do you think you will transition to this type of tempo?
“I think the biggest transition will be our conditioning. To be able to play that style of play, you have to be in great shape. You always have to be deep. You have to be able to play nine-ten players in double-figure minutes every night. We are trying to get everyone in the best possible shape and the best condition so we can play that style for 40 minutes.”
What does this opportunity mean to you?
“It is very exciting. It is a great opportunity. This is a dream come true. Every assistant coach dreams of being a head coach. Being a head coach in the BIG EAST at the highest level, it is remarkable. I am very excited about the opportunity. I know that the ladies are very excited about the opportunity. We just want to get out here and just play hard and compete every night. That is our goal to just get out there, play hard every night and compete.”
What will make this a successful season?
“Just competing. I believe that if we compete and play hard that success will come whether if its wins or just being competitive. I think that maximum effort is going to be a success for us. We just want to get out there every night, put a good product on the floor and just get out there and play as hard as we can play every night.”
How have the freshmen adjusted?
“Wonderful. They have been great. Both of these kids, Fantasia Goodwin and Nicole Michaels, they are great players. They have adjusted well. The basketball wasn’t a problem for them. I think the conditioning, the time management and all of the other things besides basketball were probably the biggest transitions for those two players. They are great players and they are very talented and I think that you are going to see that when they step on the floor.”
Can you talk about the point guard situation?
“I am very comfortable with our point guard situation. We have Mary Joe Riley, who played point guard in high school. She is a very good player and a very experienced player. We have Cintia Johnson, who started 18 games last year at the point guard (position). I am very comfortable and I am very excited. I think that the style of play that we are playing this year is really going to benefit Cintia a lot. You are going to see her out on the open floor and get a lot more explosive. I think she is going to have a big year in the system.”
Can you tell us about Fantasia Goodwin?
“She is a strong scoring guard. She can really put the ball in the basket. She finds a way to score. That is what good players do and that is what great scorers do. They find a way to score. She can shoot the ball from the perimeter. She can take the ball to the basket. She can shoot the ball off the glass and get an offensive rebound. She is very explosive and a very strong player. We are going to see good things from her.”
Where do you imagine her playing?
“Fantasia is going to play the three positions for us. She can play the two, three or four for us. We are going to spread the floor. We are going to play four player on the perimeter so Fantasia can play any of the three positions for us.”
How different is this year as head coach compared to assistant coach?
“I guess the biggest thing is being up 16 hours instead of 13 hours. Nothing has really changed as far as my recruitment. I am still on the road a lot. I am still recruiting. I will still be doing player development. I think the biggest adjustment is having to go the meetings and doing the daily operations. With the staff that I have, with Matt Luneau, Lakisha Covington and Mary McKissack, it has been good. We have a great working relationship. I have no problem delegating things to them because they are very capable. It has been a big adjustment for all of us because I think that we have all had to take on more responsibility.”
Do you see this as an audition for yourself?
“I definitely believe that their play is a reflection of me. An audition? No, because reality is that if we go out there and compete and we play hard, I think that everything will take care of itself. I think if I look at it as an audition and let the interim tag really get me down, then we are going to have a rough year. I am going out here and trying to prepare our team to play every night, prepared to win every night and that is what I am doing. Anything past this season, that will take care of itself. I am not looking at it as an audition. I am looking at it as a great opportunity. This is a dream come true so it is a great opportunity for me.”
Have any returning players made a big improvement?
“I think it is hard to single out one or two players. I think that we made a drastic improvement as a team. The way they come to practice every day, the way they come to compete every day and the way they condition every day, it is a lot different then it has been. I think that it has been a great transition for all of us and it has been a positive transition for all of us.”
How do you change the losing atmosphere to a winning one?
“I guess the thing about losing is that nobody tries to lose. What you have to do is change the mentality. You have to be positive. You have to let them know that they are good players because we do have good players. I think the hardest part is just changing the mentality. I think that we have done that so far and I think that everyone is excited. I think that we all see it as a challenge. Let’s be honest. Everyone looks at it two ways. Either ‘A,’ we are going to compete or ‘B,’ we’re not. I know that every night we are going to go out there and compete. That is the biggest change in our mentality.”
You talked about effort. How does this team need to change their effort?
“I think the main thing is us just getting up and down the floor and playing transition, via offense or defense. We are going to push and we are going to force tempo. I think that for us to be effective this year in our style, we need to get up and down the floor and make plays in the open floor. We have the players to do it so I am really excited about having the opportunity for them to show it.”
With a shot-blocker like Vaida Sipaviciute, will that help you get into your transition game?
“I think that allows us to get and pressure more because now if you happened to get beat on the dribble, you have someone that can step in and help you. I think that it definitely helps to have someone in the middle to anchor your defense.”
