Sooner's Coale says team "Seems to have that Something"

KANSAS CITY, MO -- Here's the transcript of my chat with Oklahoma Sooners head coach Sherri Coale from the October 21, Big 12 Women's Basketball Media Day:

HRR: What’s it like not being the President of the WBCA?

Coach Coale: It’s not very different, It’s nice to not, maybe have the brunt of the responsibilities, but still be involved. You serve as Past President for two years; so, I’m still very involved; but, not as much work behind the scenes obviously.

It was a remarkable experience, Kris, I gotta tell you. I wish every coach could have the opportunity to serve in that way because I think it makes you, not only a better basketball coach certainly, but a better member of this profession. Just the opportunities that are presented to you; so, I’m grateful to Beth Bass and the Executive Committee for the opportunity I’ve had to serve.

HRR: Are you looking forward to getting back to doing more such as recruiting instead of needing to rely on your coaching staff while you handle WBCA duties?

Coach Coale: The fortunate thing for me I was only able to serve as the WBCA President because I had a loyal, stable staff that I could rely upon and great front office help as I tried to perform those duties for the WBCA. You have to have the right people around you. You have to be surrounded in the right way; but, I didn’t feel like I cut any corners as far as my team was concerned. But, it’s nice to move at such a harried pace now.


HRR: Talk about this season and your team.

Coach Coale: I’m really excited about my team. It’s always exciting to return guys who’ve had the opportunity to play on the Final Four floor. But, this group in particular, they really seem to have that something. They’re really, really good together. Their attention in five days of practice has been outstanding. They appear, at this point, to be learners to be guys who aren’t going to continue to make the same mistakes. It’s important to them to do the right thing – not just to win but to do the right thing which gives us a chance to be extraordinary. I like it. I’m looking forward to it.


HRR: To have so many players returning who participated in the Final Four, can I assume they’ve taken from that experience and come back in shape and ready to go for this season? Have you had any problems with anybody lacking conditioning?

Coach Coale: None. Abi Olajuwon has come back in the best physical condition of her life. Lyndsey Cloman met her goal weights; her fitness tests. Everybody has just been, with the exception of Danielle (Robinson) playing too much basketball (for USA Basketball), we sat her out for awhile just to make sure she could regroup and break the pounding cycle on the legs. Everybody’s good. Knock on wood.


HRR: How will the team be different this season?

Coach Coale: I think we’ll play faster. When you play faster you also have to remember to play in control, to make good decisions. A lot of that responsibility falls on Danielle and Jasmine (Hartman) as the point guard pushing the ball down to floor to decide when to and when not to.

We will speed it up defensively and stretch our defenses some. We’ll be able to do more different things. I think the biggest thing is these guys have been in the program long enough to develop a high basketball IQ and understand spacing, timing, and angles and reading a defense. There will be a lot of freedom. These guys will be able to play in such a way that I may not be able to tell what they’re doing half the time. But, I bet it’ll be good.

HRR: How have the newcomers on the team done so far?

Coach Coale: Great! I could not ask more of the two freshmen (Lyndsey Cloman and Joanna McFarland). If you walked into our gym, I don’t think you would be able to tell who are the ‘new guys’. They’ve adapted to the intensity level; the pace of practice; the requirements of communication. They each have things that they do extraordinarily well. We’re going to play toward those strengths and depend on them heavily this year.

HRR: Talk about your non-conference schedule this year.

Coach Coale: Our non-conference schedule is ridiculous. Part of it, we did on purpose.

HRR: You did it, right?

Coach Coale: Huh? Part of it; but, part of it just came to us in terms of the Virgin Islands Tournament where we picked up San Diego State, South Carolina, and Notre Dame. Hello, strength of schedule? It was already top ten in the country; and, that just pushed it to the top probably. Those are all opportunities for our kids.

We play Georgia, Arkansas, Connecticut, Tennessee, and those teams I just mentioned; so, it will be a challenge; but, we’ll know who we are and that’s the great part of it. I’ve always played an aggressive pre-conference schedule because I want to know who we are. I want to know where we’re good at; where we’re not good at; so, that I can go into the Big 12 conference and compete for a championship.


HRR: What about the Big 12 Conference this season? I guess it’s a case of the same old story different season. Great teams. Talented players all over the league. Great coaches. Right?

Coach Coale: Same old story. Different stars maybe; but, a lot of talent. Obviously, the play of Kansas last year has everybody thinking about Kansas in a different way. I think the North is going to be very good. Nebraska is very good. Never count out a Bill Fennelly (Iowa State) team. And, then you have the usual suspects in the Big 12 South – Baylor, Texas, and Texas A&M. Those three guys plus Kansas. Who’s going to be 1, 2, 3, 4? I’ve no idea. That’s typical though. You follow this league long enough you find that that’s typical.


HRR: How good can your team be this season? What goals do you have for the team this season?

Coach Coale: This team can be as good as they want to be. I don’t think there’s anything that this team can’t do. It’s going to depend upon their ability to learn on a daily basis and get better every day as the year progresses. How they play together. If they continue the chemistry that they have right now, they can be extraordinary. Maybe not a large margin of error for this group of kids; but, a really high ceiling.