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BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEDIA DAYS (WOMEN)

October 28, 2010

Sharon Versyp

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

SHARON VERSYP: At Purdue right now we're very anxious to get our season going. With returners coming back and some healthy players as well as two transfer students in Chantel Poston, and we're real excited to get on the court and show a different brand of basketball. We've had some great practices, the intensity, and for three hours have been the best it's ever been since I've been at Purdue. Just really trying to see what we're all about this year. Just really unknown.

Q. Could you just talk about how does the conference look to you as a whole? Ohio State, I think they won or tied for the last six years. Is there anybody that can challenge them?
SHARON VERSYP: I think there's -- any school can challenge. They lost people last year. I think everyone is getting deeper, have more experience, more skilled players. I think you've had a lot of new coaches that have come in that have now developed their personnel and more or less their theme with their teams. And I think the Big Ten is going to be very strong from top to bottom, and it's not so much about the Big Ten Tournament, it's about the NCAA and advancing far there. I think that's what we need to do as a conference.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about how Drey has looked so far? She's a kid that you mentioned that transferred that seems like she has maybe the athleticism that she can really be an impact player for you guys?
SHARON VERSYP: Well, with Drey, her past kind of speaks for itself, being a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school. She's been able to learn for a year under the philosophy and the type of hard work and the aggressive defense that we play. So I think that that year, her transfer year, I thought has gained her a lot of respect. She was voted captain, and she obviously hasn't played yet with a Purdue uniform. But I think she's got those intangibles. She's very athletic, she can score down low, she's very physical, she's very fast. She's run the court, can shoot the three, is a one-on-one player down low or from the high post. So I think she's one of those versatile athletes probably since Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton played for us that gives us a player that can do a variety of things for their team.

Q. You said in your opening statement you're excited to get on the court and show a different brand of basketball. Explain specifically what you mean by "a different brand of basketball" maybe from last year.
SHARON VERSYP: Well, last year we had to walk the ball up because we only had five healthy kids. So I feel we have 12 players, we have depth at each spot, we have experience, we have athleticism and quickness. Our conditioning this summer was at the top level it's ever been, and we can be very physical. I just really feel that we can push the ball, we can full-court press like we want to full-court press, and we're going to have 10 to 12 players on the court, if they earn that playing time, who are some of the players you're looking to really lead the team this season.
Well, I mean, we have eight returners. I think Brittany Rayburn obviously comes to the forefront. She's been very, very good for us the last couple years, and now she's surrounded with a lot of talent, so she doesn't have all the pressure.
I think you have Drey Mingo, Antoinette Howard who are transfers that are unknowns, no one knows anything about them in the Big Ten. I think you have Chantel Poston who's probably the most athletic young lady I've ever coached in my life that was out with an Achilles tendon and no one has really seen her play. She played limited minutes her freshman year. And then we have two freshmen.
We have so many returners from last year, we're a little bit healthier. I'm not looking to one kid. I think every player on our team is a threat offensively, is a threat defensively, and we're hoping to have five, six players in double-digit scoring. But with the experience, it would be Brittany, and obviously we're hoping Drey or Antoinette can bring that experience because they're a little bit older and they're young ladies that played in different conferences and are coming into the Big Ten.

Q. Kacine Alexander, she's starting to get more and more recognition now. As an opposing coach, what impresses you about her?
SHARON VERSYP: Her heart, her passion, never-say-die attitude. If you want someone to score the ball or make a play for your team, she's a player that's going to step up and do that for you, and she's proven that, and she can take over a game. I think that's what separates her.

Q. When you talked about not having just one kid do the scoring, that's obviously good to have the balance, but if it comes down to crunch time and you need a go-to player, are you hoping somebody emerges or do you have a talent right now that could be that person if you needed that?
SHARON VERSYP: Well, I think I have one at each spot. I really feel KK Houser and Courtney Moses bring different things at the point guard position, and maybe if it's a free throw at the end of the game, they might be able to do it. Obviously Brittany obviously is our go-to player. I think you have to have a couple post players. We're still evolving that, but I think Alex Guyton and Drey Mingo will probably be those go-to players. And I think if you need a three player that can create and score or post-up down low and it's very hard to defend down low would be Antoinette Howard.

Q. From the media side it was Ohio State, Iowa, yourselves and Michigan State tied for third. Does that seem like -- how do you see it? Do you see it pretty much that way? And with everybody back, do you feel like your chances are pretty good at contending for the top echelon right there?
SHARON VERSYP: Well, I hope we're always in the top echelon. Even though we had a down year last year, we're in the top five, and we were very depleted. Our goal at Purdue is always to be in the top echelon, to try to win the Big Ten fTournament and advance as far as the NCAA and get to that Final Four.
For us, I just don't think anyone really knows about us, and that's perfect for us. They just think about the team last year. They don't know that there's five missing pieces and two kids that are healthy now, so there's really seven new pieces to the puzzle. But we're just determined to be the best that we can be every single day, and if we're in the top five or top six, voted-wise, I really don't care about rankings. Even in the top 25 last year there was probably six or seven teams that are normally in the top 25 and they weren't, and all of a sudden miraculously they're in the top ten. That does not make sense to me because they had a recruiting class. But we're ranked sixth as a recruiting class with our class with Drey and Net and Courtney and Dee Dee. But rankings mean nothing, you've got to get out there and perform and play the game.

Q. Playing so many people and maybe a little transition at the point guard spot, is that the key spot for you guys to get consistency so the whole thing comes together?
SHARON VERSYP: Absolutely. I mean, they're the engine that makes us run. We were fortunate to have Fahkara for four straight years. I think KK Houser was able to get a lot of experience last year, was able to play through a lot of mistakes, so I think she has grown in the leadership area. She brings so much energy. I think Courtney Moses is a talent but she's a freshman until the lights go on and she can prove herself. She can score and is a very good passer. But those two are the key, bottom line, and that's where our other young ladies have to really help them and keep them very, very positive and upbeat.

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