TCU women's basketball season outlook with Jeff Mittie
10/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 24, 2006
2006-07 TCU Women's Basketball Season Outlook With Coach Mittie
TCU enters the 2006-07 season with a total of 10 letterwinners returning, including four starters from last year's squad that went 19-12 overall and 11-5 in its inaugural season in the Mountain West Conference. The Lady Frogs advanced to their sixth-straight NCAA Tournament, the longest such streak by any Division I school in the state of Texas.
You have a veteran team, made up of 10 returning players and four starters. How is the experience going to benefit your team most?
Coach Mittie:We say we have 10 letterwinners, but what is amazing is we only have two seniors. So we are a young veteran team. I think there is a familiarity with each other that only comes with time on the court together and certainly time away from the court. I think that familiarity has already helped. Our expectations are the same every year: we want to be playing in March. They know the expectations in the classroom and in basketball. I think it really helps the newcomers blend in well, because you really have more coaches that are able to help these newcomers because of the veteran's familiarity and experience. We've seen the biggest strides in the fall (than in years past) because the newcomers have blended in so well and the veterans are the reason for that.
TCU senior Hanna Biernacka (BEER-nots-ka) is a 6-1 senior forward that transferred from LSU during the second half of last season. Already cited as a leader by players and coaches, Biernacka will add depth to the TCU squad after she sits out for nine games. She is anticipated to make her debut in Purple and White against Georgia on Dec. 17.
TCU senior Hanna Biernacka played in two NCAA Final Fours with LSU and transferred midway through last season. Explain her situation and why she is going to miss the first nine games.
Coach Mittie: She came here right after the first of the semester last spring, so she has to sit a full year due to NCAA transfer rules. She will be eligible to play once the first semester ends and grades are posted. It's going to be tough to balance her situation. One of the things we've got to learn to do is play without her but also keep her in the mix. It's almost like we play with her until the games start and then Hanna will have to not be in as many reps and rotations in practice. She is going to make a difference once she is able to play. She has already done that away from the court. She is mature and she came in right away and established that she can see the bigger picture as a leader within this team. Hanna's already been accepted in that role.
Eleventh-seeded TCU advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season after beating sixth-seeded Texas A&M 69-65 in Trenton, N.J. (Cleveland Regional). The Frogs bowed out of the tournament in the second round after a loss to No. 3 Rutgers. Current Lady Frog players Lorie Butler-Rayford, Ashley Davis, Moneka Knight and Adrianne Ross were the leading scorers in the NCAA tournament.
You've been to six straight tournaments and certainly there is an expectation for your program to return each year. Is there added pressure, in your opinion, to advance further than the second round?
Coach Mittie: We certainly wake up everyday wanting to go as far as we can. We dream bigger than the Sweet 16. We also know that a lot of things have to happen prior to that. We break the season up into three parts: non-conference, conference and post-season. The non-conference season has always been very challenging for us because we play one of the toughest schedules in the country. The league is strong from top to bottom so we focus on that portion of the schedule once conference play begins. If you take care of the first two sections, the post-season will automatically come. So, we've always broken it up into three separate seasons and our focus is always on that first season. We know that the ultimate goal is to play basketball in March and for any college basketball player that should be the goal.
At 40 years old and in his eighth season with the Frogs, TCU head coach Jeff Mittie is one of the top young coaches in the country. A core of assistants that have been intact for three seasons assists him. Associate head coach Larry Tidwell is in his eighth season as an assistant, Benton is on year No. 7, and Wells-Broughton is jumpstarting her third campaign with the Frogs.
As a coaching staff, do you feel the added weight to get better and better every year.
Coach Mittie: I think we have a very experienced coaching staff that understands each team and each season is completely different. This group of coaches has been together for quite a long time. The continuity that we've had has certainly helped. We're always looking for ways to do things better. Every year - spring, summer and fall - we sit down and evaluate what we could have done better. We take very serious that we don't have all the answers. That's a big part of what we do as coaches here and we're always looking to improve.
Defense and athleticism have always been a strength for the Lady Frogs but Coach Mittie sees the depth at point guard as his team's strongest asset.
What do you see as the greatest strengths for this year's squad?
Coach Mittie: I think from spots 1-4 we have some versatile players that can play on the perimeter and also help us inside. Our five players are more block-to-block five players. Those people won't so much rotate out of that position. I like the fact that we can play, for example, Lorie Butler-Rayford at power forward but we can also play her at the one. Hanna Biernacka is another one of those players and Ashley Davis has played anywhere from the 2-4 positions during her time here. I also like our competition at the point guard spot. I think we have the best depth at point guard since I've been here.
Juniors Moneka Knight and Adrianne Ross are the most experienced guards returning for TCU. Transfer Helen Roden and newcomer Shayla Moore will also look for playing time at the top of the key.
Talk about that point guard spot since there is so much competition.
Coach Mittie: Moneka Knight will play the one and Helen Roden will do a little of both (one and two). We prefer to keep Adrianne Ross at the two, but she has always been an emergency point guard for us. She played the point guard position a lot of minutes last year against Texas A&M in the NCAA tournament. Shayla Moore is a freshman who can come in and play both of those spots, although she'll primarily work at the one. So, we've got better depth at point guard and it's like the quarterback position in football. You have to have players that can run the show so everyone else can relax. When you have a point guard that can do those things, it changes how everybody else can play. I feel very good about that spot and I'm confident in the players we have there.
The TCU coaching staff spent a large portion of the off-season planning activities for the players to bond away from basketball. The Lady Frogs participated in ropes courses, community service events, went to dinner together and more, in order to develop a strong bond outside of hoops.
Have you seen early glimpses of the character of this team?
Coach Mittie: This group has had a very good fall. The chemistry is stronger than it has been in years past. I don't think you truly know these types of things until you go through adversity and situations when things get really hard. I feel better about our group than I have the last couple of years that we'll fight through those things harder. I like the character of this team. I don't know if this team has its identity yet. It will surely emerge in an amount of time.
In the early part of this fall, we worked very hard on getting this team to know each other in other areas than basketball. I certainly challenge them. Sometimes as a coach, you create adverse situations to test how your players will react to see which players you want with you. What I'm pleased with is even when we've had bad days, I popped into the team meal and they have been totally together and everyone seems to be on the same page. They approach the situation like "Okay, we had a bad practice today but let's come out tomorrow and make it better."
Coach Mittie understands the importance of leadership on a team and those designated positions are something he and his staff take very seriously each season. According to Lady Frog coaches, sometimes they pick them in the summer and other years they have waited until the day before TCU's first game of the season.
Who do you see being the leaders of this team?
Coach Mittie: Hanna Biernacka has really been the person that I've been impressed with on how she sees the big picture in all situations. Ashley Davis is someone that has been a leader on this team and will continue to do so. Ashley competes as well as anybody and will do anything asked. She has been hurt at times in her career, but she always fights through adversity. I'm also impressed with changes players have made for the better. Lorie Butler-Rayford and Adrianne Ross are more responsible and accountable. I feel like, as a group, we have more players that have matured. They understand the system and the sacrifices they have to make day in and day out.
TCU added five newcomers to its roster this season and the group is made up of half rookies and half transfers. Emily Carter, Danielle Nunn and Shayla Moore all enter TCU as true freshmen. LSU transfer Hanna Biernacka is technically a newcomer and she will be listed as a senior. Helen Roden is the lone junior college transfer and she has two years of eligibility remaining.
How do you see the newcomers fitting in this year?
Coach Mittie: That is always hard to answer at this time of the year. I like our group. One of the returners probably said it best. She said it doesn't feel like we have any newcomers because they have stepped right in and blended so smoothly. I would say that's true with this group. They are very intelligent basketball players. At this stage of the game, they don't feel like newcomers. That time will come because eventually we'll throw so much on them, information overload will set in.
They each bring a little something different. Helen Roden has excellent court vision and she is a crafty point guard. She can score, distribute the basketball brings a maturity level that I think is really going to benefit our guard rotation. Shayla Moore has excellent scoring capabilities. I feel like she can play the point or the two. She can probably score deeper than anybody else. She can catch at 25-feet and that's her range. I think she'll keep getting better and better. Danielle Nunn comes in as a player that we think can develop into a valuable defensive stopper. She can make a lot of plays in the fourth quarter. Emily Carter shoots the ball really well from the perimeter. Already at this stage in the game, she understands the motion offense so it seems that her basketball IQ is really developed and excellent. Hanna Biernacka is the other newcomer on paper, but she is actually a seasoned veteran on the court.
Games against 12 teams that appeared in postseason action, including nine NCAA Tournament teams, highlight the 2006-07 TCU women's basketball schedule. In addition to facing perennial Mountain West Conference foes, the Lady Frogs will also clash with a number of non-league opponents that competed in NCAA tournament action last year, including defending national champion Maryland, George Washington, Pepperdine, Florida, Georgia, and DePaul. The Lady Frogs will open the 2006-07 season Sunday, Nov. 5, with an exhibition tune-up against Lake Truck Lines (formerly EV1) before traveling to College Park, Md., for the BTI Classic, hosted by the University of Maryland. TCU will jumpstart the tournament at the Comcast Center against the Terrapins, who return all five starters and 98 percent of the scoring from last year's championship squad, on Friday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. The Lady Frogs will have little rest before facing George Washington, who reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, on Sat., Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. Traditional Pac-10 power Arizona and TCU will tangle Nov. 19 at noon to complete the round-robin tournament. The Lady Frogs are scheduled to have five games televised.
TCU women's basketball is known nationally for penciling in one of the toughest non-conference schedules every year. What is your approach to scheduling?
Coach Mittie: It's real simple. I believe in scheduling to put our team in position to play in March. I don't want the NCAA selection committee to say to us that our non-conference schedule is not challenging enough. We are giving our team opportunities and what we do with those opportunities is up to us because we've got it in our hands.
The Purple and White tip-off MWC play Wed., Jan. 3, against UNLV at home and then face Colorado State Jan. 6. From there, TCU hits the road for battles against Air Force (Jan. 11), Utah (Jan. 18), and Wyoming (Jan. 20). Both Utah and Wyoming participated in postseason action in 2006. New Mexico, a second-rounder at the NCAA Tournament last year, visits Fort Worth on Jan. 24 and San Diego State follows suit with a Jan. 28 battle against the Frogs. TCU concludes the first portion of conference play against BYU (Feb. 1) and UNLV (Feb. 3). The Lady Frogs completed their inaugural season in the Mountain West last year with an 11-5 record and a tie for third place.
This is your second year in the Mountain West Conference. How do you think the competition will stack up this season?
Coach Mittie: I think the conference will be good again. There were some talented young players on a lot of people's rosters last year and a lot of those people are returning as letterwinners. Every year, this conference is going to be talented because the coaches do a great job of recruiting. We have some long-time coaches of their programs that have spent their entire careers with that system in place. Top to bottom, I believe this is going to be a very talented league this year.
