Indiana University Athletics
Previewing the IU-Baylor Game
11/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2005
Indiana head coach Sharon Versyp along with senior guard Cyndi Valentin and freshman forward Kimberly Roberson sat down with IUHOOSIERS.com to talk about their upcoming battle with the defending national champion Baylor on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. Below is a series of Q&A's with each of them.
Head Coach Sharon Versyp
On Baylor's aggressive post players:
"They have two post players that can flat out score anytime they touch the ball. We need to pack it in and make them shoot from the outside. If they are going to beat us, they are going to beat us from the outside. We have been working and concentrating on that quite a bit. Sophia Young is one of the top five players in the country. She is going to score her points. There is no question. You may limit her one half, but in the second half, she will come alive. We really have to play position defense and control the temp and make them shoot from the outside."
On which players she will rotate in:
"I will probably rotate 8-10 player. Their post players are so good and so athletic that I will probably have to use 4-5 post players. Angie Hawkins has to stay out of foul trouble for us. She is the only one that can even have a chance to really cause Sophia Young some problems just because she is so athletic. At the guard spot, I will probably rotate 5 or 6 of them."
On Angela Hawkins' improvement:
"If you saw the first two exhibition games, I think you will agree she did well. She is doing a much better job. We have worked with her a lot on her offensively and what she needs to look at."
On Baylor having a game the night before:
"Obviously I think that is good. They might get in at 2-3 in the morning and might not be as rested. But again, they play Georgia and UCLA who are ranked in the top 20 and we aren't close to that. For them, they may not think it's that detrimental to them, but we are just going to try to use it to our advantage."
On Baylor being a barometer of where she wants Indiana to be in a few years:
"Sure you want to use that example. You also want to use Purdue, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Minnesota, all the programs that really turned it around in five or six years. It gives hope to every college program in the country right now. When you have that commitment and get some really solid recruits that you can do that."
On her relationship with Kim Mulkey-Roberton:
"I don't really know her. I remember when I was younger, I grew up watching her play.She was a fierce competitor and is the same way today. She is very emotional. She coaches with emotion. I am the same way. Her kids play hard for her, and that's what I am trying to get from my kids as well."
On if she would like to continue scheduling top teams for the early games:
"Yeah, I mean once you establish your program like Baylor has, then you want to go and compete against the best every year. You are already established and you know you will probably go to the NCAA Tournament every year. That is going to be years to come."
Freshman forward Kimberly Roberson
On looking at the Baylor game as a special kind of challenge:
"It is always going to be challenge when you are going up against the defending national champions. I guess its more excitement on my end. It's my first game and I get to open up playing the defending national champs."
On if she got to see Baylor during its championship run last year:
"It was fun to watch. Sophia Young had a great tournament run. She is one of the best players out there."
On her expectations for herself this season:
"I want to grow as a player and help my team out in anyway I can. We have good players at the guard and post positions with Cyndi, Jenny and Angie. I am just trying to fill in and do whatever I can."
Senior guard Cyndi Valentin
On the change of the landscape and mentality on the team:
"The mentality that Coach Versyp is bringing in here is to have confidence and always believe you are the better team. Baylor is a tough team. We saw them play against Georgia and come back from an 18-point deficit. We know it is going to be a tough game and we are ready for it."
On how well things are falling into place offensively and defensively:
"Our exhibition games definitely helped the offense and defense fall into place. There was stuff that we definitely needed to work on. We are trying to tie up the loose ends up this week before we play Baylor."
On how flexible this team can be:
"We are trying to run the court and get the easy buckets off transitions. I think anybody that steps on the court is a threat. I think offensively we are really balanced."
On the defense of the team and taking away Baylor's inside game last year:
"We played great defense against them last year. I think the thing that definitely needs to change if that we need to score more points."
On Sophia Young and what IU will really need to win on Saturday:
"It's just back to defense. She is a great player. We saw her score 30 the other night. She is definitely a target on our defense. Trying to stop her and contain the other players is our main focus."
On how fast her college career has gone:
"You always hear that your college career goes by really fast. It definitely did. I can't believe I am a senior right now. I am really excited to get the season started and Baylor is a tough game and a good way to start it."
