ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL TIPOFF MEDIA DAY

October 24, 2023

Katie Meier

Jasmyne Roberts

Ja'Leah Williams

Miami Hurricanes

Women's Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We have the Miami women's basketball team joining us on stage today. When I'm looking at how Miami has continued to ascend, two years ago we talked about getting to the first ACC championship game in program history. Now we're talking about the NCAA Tournament noise that you guys were able to make a season ago, and that doesn't go without great coaching but a team that has so much buy-in.

If you can recap what that has meant to you, being one of the three teams that actually were able to advance to the Elite 8 in the ACC.

KATIE MEIER: Yeah, I think that's what's really great. A season is a journey, and with every team, I wake up every morning and I know I'm honoring -- it's somebody's first year, and it's somebody's last year with me or with this program.

I honor that every day. It really humbles me, and I really think about it and I pray on it because I want to give to these young ladies.

Last year the journey was just incredible. A journey with a lot of chapters to the book.

To come out at the end of it really playing our best basketball but just so soulful and so spirited and so connected, like you said. So the last two Marches have been very good for us, and that validates you as a coach in terms of the way you sort of script the season.

Like do they comprehend? I don't believe players can play really hard unless they're certain, and sometimes in our system, certainty takes a little while.

Then when you see that moment, they never give that back. So that's been what's been -- when I think about the last two years and how we rose at the right time, I look and I see really fierce women that are just certain and they know what they're doing and they know why they're doing it.

Q. Jasmyne, as she was recapping what that took, I could see you thinking, that took a lot. Explain what it takes to build on that and how do you take that on?

JASMYNE ROBERTS: Yeah, going off what Coach said, I think that everybody just really bought in and was certain at the right time.

Last year we all just had this mentality like going into March Madness was like everybody knows what we're doing, we're going to go in there with tenacity and a certain mentality.

I think just carrying that every day and carrying to this season of like knowing what it takes, have gone there before, knowing the work you have to put in day in and day out, knowing everybody has to have the same goal and the same mindset.

I think just carrying that same mentality, the same confidence that I had last month and that we had as a team and just using it for this season.

Q. Ja'Leah, you're a vet on this team. Those moments of saying, okay, I'm confident that we can continue to build on that because we've been in games against some of the toughest teams in the nation. Yes, it takes what this team has built, but what does that do for your squad and the momentum that you guys have going into this season?

JA'LEAH WILLIAMS: Honestly, first of all, it gives you chills, and then not just that, but just we have a banner coming up on our first game. It just reminds you of what we accomplished and what we could do as a team. Just giving each other confidence and building off each other is just amazing to have, especially coming from your teammates.

Honestly, I just felt like it was us against the world at that moment, and we just needed each other, and we brought confidence to each other and got the job done.

Q. Coach, now we're looking at this season, only two returning starters. You have a couple of transfers that are coming in, very familiar to the ACC, with T from Duke. Can you explain what this roster, the makeup of it, what does it look like and what can fans expect?

KATIE MEIER: It's funny, I was telling some of our local print media the other day that they're going to see two transfers in Lemyah Hylton and Jaida Patrick, and they're going to immediately go, oh, yeah, they're Miami players. They really landed in the right spot. They are long. They defend first. Their defense and their energy, it's giving these two a break. They're happy because they're like, you chase the ball around a little bit, I'm tired. They're smiling. They know exactly what I am talking about.

They're the vets now. They can defer some of that effort to somebody else, but you won't when the game is on the line. That's been fun because they blend right in.

I think what people are forgetting about maybe, we have two ridiculously talented bigs, Lazaria Spearman is -- literally we're in awe sometimes in practice when she gets in her zone and she's playing really, really well.

And Kyla Oldacre has transformed her body and really vocal. She's like a lion in practice, just roaring and putting everyone in their place and taking care of the team.

I think that transformation -- that freshman-to-sophomore-year jump which these two did very, very well, if you look at the history of my program, the 19 years, between your freshman and sophomore year if you don't make a jump, you just don't make it. They both have made that jump, so I think we're excited about our returners.

Then Lashae Dwyer who's just really valuable and important to the team. We lost a lot but we didn't lose everything. I love what we're returning and I love what we've added.

Q. You were talking about them getting a blow a little bit, but you're known for that, Coach. We want to go to the bench, we want to get better. For you two, knowing that you're building from top to bottom, the depth that you have to have, is that something you've learned from being in the ACC or is that just understanding that each person whenever their number is called you know they can add value to the team?

JASMYNE ROBERTS: Everybody on the team is really great at something. When their number is called, just to be ready. I think having a bench, having people that can come in for you and make the team better, it's really great.

When Coach subs it's like, make us better, bring energy, bring something to the table. Everybody knows their role on the team. They know what they're great at. It's just about going on the court and doing that.

JA'LEAH WILLIAMS: I agree. And not only that, but we all have something that we're better at. And Lemyah, speaking of Lemyah, she's a great ball hawk, so it gives me a break so I can be back in the second row --

KATIE MEIER: She said hawk, not hog. She is not a ball hog.

JA'LEAH WILLIAMS: Lemyah is very aggressive so it gives me a break sometimes. Nobody gets in their feelings about that. If somebody is better than them we encourage them to keep going and be great at it.

That is just something to have special on this team. Nobody gets in our feelings. We are all encouraging each other to do great.

Q. You talked about a couple of players that had to depart, Lola Pendande being one of them. Who steps in for that particular role, or is there anyone that can bring value to that position?

KATIE MEIER: One of the keys to our run, and I think in my history of coaching, I think Emese Hof and Lola Pendande were the two best defenders and certainly the best fourth quarter defenders, best late game defenders in the post position I've ever coached.

What Lola did last season to close out games for us is -- everyone is mentioning Destiny and Haley and whatever, but Lola is a big loss in terms of closing the door on someone and finishing a game.

That's where Z and Kyla, they need to grow up. They're doing a great job of it, but you've just got to play through those moments where you go, yeah, that was a really dumb third foul. You know what a third foul means to a post player, right? Not your fourth or your fifth, but your third foul.

Like was that really worth it? Lola got that. She wasn't so great about her first foul, but she did get the third foul thing. That's where you have to sort of script a game.

They came from being, okay, when I'm great, we win, when I'm not great, we lose, or I maybe don't affect the game. Now they have to play. They have to play significant minutes, and they have to be there at the end.

That's a whole different role.

Q. Going to just the new faces on the roster, building chemistry will take time, too. Have you guys done anything --

KATIE MEIER: Yeah, we went to Europe. We have plenty of chemistry. We're fine. I was like, okay, walked in the pool at Mykonos and thought, we've got chemistry. We're getting along just great here, looking over an Infiniti pool looking into the sea. We're doing just fine. We don't have to do any team building exercises this year. We're good.

Q. What was that experience for you guys?

JA'LEAH WILLIAMS: It was fun.

JASMYNE ROBERTS: It was good. Going somewhere we've never been, I've never been to Europe personally, so being able to do that with my team, like the whole program and just build that chemistry -- obviously we played a couple games, but it was a really great bonding experience. I'll say that.

Q. I know you haven't had a lot of time on the court. Obviously you had your Europe trip, but one thing everyone looks forward to, and Katie, speaking with you throughout the season, is that glue player. Who is that glue player for you guys this season?

JA'LEAH WILLIAMS: It's probably me.

Q. Why?

JA'LEAH WILLIAMS: Because I'm like the spirit of the team. My favorite spirit animal is Stitch. You know Stitch, off Lilo and Stitch? It's me. I'm very vocal and starting to communicate more. I'm always that joy. I'm always big on making the next person smile.

Every day is where, okay, for example, like Jaz, she'll just be like this, but I'll joke and make her smile, make her spirit come back up. Because you never know what somebody is going through, so my job every day is just to make somebody smile and to just give them confidence, keep them boosted up and keep them going.

JASMYNE ROBERTS: Yeah, 'Leah does that every day. She makes me want to play hard. She pushes me. She excels me up.

Q. Coach, when you're looking at the makeup of this roster now, the mantra that you guys are taking into the season, what is that?

KATIE MEIER: Well, we studied the toughness book from Jay Bilas, which I do probably every five years, and we brought it to Europe with us and we did a chapter every day, ten chapters over ten days. I was texting Jay the pictures and he was giving me more insight into the chapters and stuff.

That was kind of the vein that ran through us. But we did 1 percent, one more, not just because of last year, but like if we're getting 1 percent better, bit we also do one more rep of a drill in practice at the end. So if we have a great practice but there was one drill that was kind of flat, we end practice one more.

Like you said, one more three-pointer, maybe we're in the Final Four, maybe we're national champs.

So we understand the small margins. It's just marginal gains. We're not trying to do some big leap. We weren't last in the league and we're trying to get to the NCAA Tournament. We're pretty close. So it's marginal gains.

Are we going to be the team that takes the really detailed little steps this year.

Q. Looking at the schedule, preparing for the ACC, one of the toughest in the country, a couple of games you have circled on the schedule this season.

KATIE MEIER: Well, I think the ACC-SEC challenge across the whole league, the match-ups are just awesome. We are really excited about that. I'm not so excited to travel to Starkville. Maybe our matchup isn't the most exciting, but that's going to be a heck of a game stylistically, too, and with DePaul, Baylor, we've got that up and down the roster. We've got a tough schedule.

THE MODERATOR: Best of luck, ladies. Thank you for your time.