Kennedy Leonard participating in a Facebook Live interview during Wednesday's CU media day with Neill Woelk and Mark Johnson.
Photo by: CUBuffs.com
CU Women's Basketball Media Day Recap
October 18, 2017 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER – Colorado's winter sports media day wrapped up Wednesday morning before the women's basketball team's practice at the Coors Events Center. Media members from the Denver and Boulder areas visited with the teams and attended press conferences for women's coach JR Payne, men's coach Tad Boyle and skiing coach Richard Rokos.
TAKEAWAYS FROM PAYNE'S PRESS CONFERENCE
Payne is looking forward to the season with a squad that features eight new players and just five returners. The reason for the optimism is the core of last season's team is back in junior guards Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson. Leonard broke the CU single-season assists record last year and was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, averaging 17.1 points and 5.8 assists. Robinson is back after scoring 11.4 points per game before tearing her ACL in March.
Payne looks for both Leonard and Robinson to be improved this season.
"At [Pac-12] media day, Kennedy Leonard described herself as 'chubby,'" Payne said. "She's never been chubby a day in her life but she leaned out and got a lot stronger. For a kid that takes a lot of contact during a 40-minute game, she needed to get stronger and she has. Lexi [Robinson] totally transformed. When you have an ACL injury, all you really can do is be in the weight room working upper body. So she's put on about 10 pounds of muscle in her upper body and she looks great."
Last season's frontcourt lacked in production at times and newcomers Janea Bunn, Annika Jank, Mya Hollingshed (though she will see time at guard as well) and Jaimie Curtis should help that, as will the experience of Zoe Correal returning for her senior season in the post.
Bunn is the player Payne has frequently mentioned as someone who will make an immediate impact for the Buffs in many different parts of the game.
"She is going to have an immediate impact on our program both on the offensive and defensive end of the floor," Payne said during the press conference. "She's big and strong, very athletic, loves to attack the basket. She can rebound outside of her area and move. She's going to be a great, impactful player."
Rebounding is an area that is going to be a focus heading into the season as the Buffs were outrebounded by two rebounds per game a year ago. Even that number was inflated thanks to a plus-35 rebounding margin against Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 30 last season. Without that game, CU was outrebounded by over three per game.
"Something we've always prided ourselves in is outrebounding our opponents," Payne said. "We will really aim to improve there. Our best rebounder right now is Janea Bunn. She is really strong and physical. She has long arms and a great wingspan. She's athletic enough to get off the defense. We also have Zoe Correal coming back who did a good job rebounding, especially on the offensive end. Annika Jank is a 6-3 freshman from Minnesota who left her high school as the all-time leading rebounder in her school's history. We have a 6-4 wing, Mya Hollingshed, who can rebound really well with a great wingspan. So there's a lot of people [who can help the team improve on the boards]."
Robinson is impressed with the athleticism and length of the new players. Those additions will help the Buffs on the boards.
"We've added a lot more athleticism," she said. "We have four [players] who can jump up and hang on the rim, so we're extremely athletic and extremely long and that's really going to work to our advantage."
Another topic from the press conference was the team's new strength and conditioning coach Adam Ringler. He spent seven years at Wichita State prior to joining the Buffs staff and every team he worked with at WSU was successful. Payne is hoping he can make an impact with her team as well.
"During the recruiting process for that position, we spoke with different people that he had worked with," Payne said. "Every single person that has worked with him loves him. That type of recommendation over that span of years is excellent. For us, strength is a really big component of our program. We like to be tough, we like to be physical. A big part of that comes from the weight room. He's been fantastic. Our players have gotten leaner, stronger, their numbers are going up."
ON THE PAC-12
The Pac-12, as has been consistent the past several seasons, should be the best conference in the country once again in women's basketball. The league sent a Pac-12-record seven teams to the NCAA Tournament last season and each of those seven schools advanced to the second round, including two to the Elite Eight and one to the Final Four. CU was one of three additional schools to qualify for the WNIT.
"The truth about the Pac-12 is that it's fairly open," Payne said. "I genuinely believe every team in our conference can beat any other team on any given night. It's that good. Yeah, Washington graduated some great players but they brought in some awesome new coaches. Every team in our league is great. They bring different styles and players and skillsets. Top to bottom, it's going to be a battle and I think our preseason [schedule] will prepare us for that."
ON ROBINSON'S RECOVERY FROM ACL SURGERY
Robinson is back in practice just seven months after tearing her ACL in March, a remarkably quick recovery.
"Things have sped along," Payne said. "She's had a great rehab. She's improving in her strength and confidence and all of that on the floor. Lexi is as good today as she's ever been. I've never seen a player rehab as well and as quickly as she has. When I tore my knee 15 years ago, it was nine months minimum, no question about it. Now things move a little bit faster than they did in the past. We will expect her to have a great impact early on."
Robinson praised the athletic training staff led by Taka Sakamoto and Ringler for her quick recovery.
"I have to give all of the credit to them," Robinson said. "They really worked with me and they gave me every opportunity I needed to push my knee and get it as healthy as possible. It feels really good, like a regular knee, like it never was hurt."
UPCOMING MEDIA STORIES
Fans can look for feature stories on several players in the upcoming weeks. 9News's Aaron Matas spoke with Robinson and freshman Peyton Carter, who is from nearby Monarch High School. John Armendariz from Hispanic Business TV will also have stories on newcomers Bunn, Jank and Sara Castro, a native of Spain. The Boulder Daily Camera's Brian Howell will also feature Bunn and Carter, while BSN Denver spoke with Leonard and Robinson.
TAKEAWAYS FROM PAYNE'S PRESS CONFERENCE
Payne is looking forward to the season with a squad that features eight new players and just five returners. The reason for the optimism is the core of last season's team is back in junior guards Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson. Leonard broke the CU single-season assists record last year and was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, averaging 17.1 points and 5.8 assists. Robinson is back after scoring 11.4 points per game before tearing her ACL in March.
Payne looks for both Leonard and Robinson to be improved this season.
"At [Pac-12] media day, Kennedy Leonard described herself as 'chubby,'" Payne said. "She's never been chubby a day in her life but she leaned out and got a lot stronger. For a kid that takes a lot of contact during a 40-minute game, she needed to get stronger and she has. Lexi [Robinson] totally transformed. When you have an ACL injury, all you really can do is be in the weight room working upper body. So she's put on about 10 pounds of muscle in her upper body and she looks great."
Last season's frontcourt lacked in production at times and newcomers Janea Bunn, Annika Jank, Mya Hollingshed (though she will see time at guard as well) and Jaimie Curtis should help that, as will the experience of Zoe Correal returning for her senior season in the post.
Bunn is the player Payne has frequently mentioned as someone who will make an immediate impact for the Buffs in many different parts of the game.
"She is going to have an immediate impact on our program both on the offensive and defensive end of the floor," Payne said during the press conference. "She's big and strong, very athletic, loves to attack the basket. She can rebound outside of her area and move. She's going to be a great, impactful player."
Rebounding is an area that is going to be a focus heading into the season as the Buffs were outrebounded by two rebounds per game a year ago. Even that number was inflated thanks to a plus-35 rebounding margin against Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 30 last season. Without that game, CU was outrebounded by over three per game.
"Something we've always prided ourselves in is outrebounding our opponents," Payne said. "We will really aim to improve there. Our best rebounder right now is Janea Bunn. She is really strong and physical. She has long arms and a great wingspan. She's athletic enough to get off the defense. We also have Zoe Correal coming back who did a good job rebounding, especially on the offensive end. Annika Jank is a 6-3 freshman from Minnesota who left her high school as the all-time leading rebounder in her school's history. We have a 6-4 wing, Mya Hollingshed, who can rebound really well with a great wingspan. So there's a lot of people [who can help the team improve on the boards]."
Robinson is impressed with the athleticism and length of the new players. Those additions will help the Buffs on the boards.
"We've added a lot more athleticism," she said. "We have four [players] who can jump up and hang on the rim, so we're extremely athletic and extremely long and that's really going to work to our advantage."
Another topic from the press conference was the team's new strength and conditioning coach Adam Ringler. He spent seven years at Wichita State prior to joining the Buffs staff and every team he worked with at WSU was successful. Payne is hoping he can make an impact with her team as well.
"During the recruiting process for that position, we spoke with different people that he had worked with," Payne said. "Every single person that has worked with him loves him. That type of recommendation over that span of years is excellent. For us, strength is a really big component of our program. We like to be tough, we like to be physical. A big part of that comes from the weight room. He's been fantastic. Our players have gotten leaner, stronger, their numbers are going up."
ON THE PAC-12
The Pac-12, as has been consistent the past several seasons, should be the best conference in the country once again in women's basketball. The league sent a Pac-12-record seven teams to the NCAA Tournament last season and each of those seven schools advanced to the second round, including two to the Elite Eight and one to the Final Four. CU was one of three additional schools to qualify for the WNIT.
"The truth about the Pac-12 is that it's fairly open," Payne said. "I genuinely believe every team in our conference can beat any other team on any given night. It's that good. Yeah, Washington graduated some great players but they brought in some awesome new coaches. Every team in our league is great. They bring different styles and players and skillsets. Top to bottom, it's going to be a battle and I think our preseason [schedule] will prepare us for that."
ON ROBINSON'S RECOVERY FROM ACL SURGERY
Robinson is back in practice just seven months after tearing her ACL in March, a remarkably quick recovery.
"Things have sped along," Payne said. "She's had a great rehab. She's improving in her strength and confidence and all of that on the floor. Lexi is as good today as she's ever been. I've never seen a player rehab as well and as quickly as she has. When I tore my knee 15 years ago, it was nine months minimum, no question about it. Now things move a little bit faster than they did in the past. We will expect her to have a great impact early on."
Robinson praised the athletic training staff led by Taka Sakamoto and Ringler for her quick recovery.
"I have to give all of the credit to them," Robinson said. "They really worked with me and they gave me every opportunity I needed to push my knee and get it as healthy as possible. It feels really good, like a regular knee, like it never was hurt."
UPCOMING MEDIA STORIES
Fans can look for feature stories on several players in the upcoming weeks. 9News's Aaron Matas spoke with Robinson and freshman Peyton Carter, who is from nearby Monarch High School. John Armendariz from Hispanic Business TV will also have stories on newcomers Bunn, Jank and Sara Castro, a native of Spain. The Boulder Daily Camera's Brian Howell will also feature Bunn and Carter, while BSN Denver spoke with Leonard and Robinson.
Players Mentioned
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