Colorado University Athletics
2018 Women's Basketball Media Day Quotes
Colorado Women’s Head Coach JR Payne
Opening Statement
“I’m just as excited as anybody, I went to Pac-12 media day last week and I love that day because everybody is undefeated, everybody feels great about their team, everybody loves what’s going on and with the excitement of the season and we are no different. I am thrilled about our team and we have got a couple fantastic seniors, some players who got a lot of playing time last year that are returning as veterans now and a really fun, exciting group of freshmen. I am thrilled about the upcoming season and I am expecting us to have a great year on and off the court.”
On overall expectations
“It is not just an expectation at this point, we actually are better than we were a year ago. Part of it is we have two great seniors who have logged a lot of minutes in Colorado uniforms and we expect them to be big contributors, especially at the guard position. To have that type of leadership in your backcourt is fantastic when you have a handful of new players, so we expect that. We also had a group of freshman last year who played a lot, so our sophomores are not your typical sophomores and so we expect them to be able to lead by example. We are just really all on the same page quicker than we have been in the past. To me, those are some of the biggest reasons that we will be a better team this year.”
On what she expects from younger players
“So last year we had three freshman that really contributed: Aubrey Knight, who had a late-season injury but had a great season, Annika Jank came out of the gates on fire—I think she won four Freshman of the Weeks honors in her first couple months of collegiate basketball, and then Mya Hollingshed was one of our best scorers down the stretch of Pac-12 play. Those three logged a lot of minutes against great competition in a great conference. Their experience—Tad Boyle spoke about it earlier—there’s no better teacher than experience. To have sophomores on your roster who have played a lot in big games, close games, against great competition, those three will make a difference as sophomores I do believe.”
On who she expects to take over when Kennedy is out
“We expect our point guards to command the floor. Whether they are a freshman, or a sophomore, or a fifth year, whatever, we expect them to command the floor and we work very hard to hold them accountable to that. We have two other point guards on our roster in Lesila Finau and Peyton Carter. Both of them are extremely quiet, sweet, kind, wonderful young women and they do not love to command the floor but they are getting better on a daily basis and we have made it clear that’s our expectation of point guards and they are continuing to grow in that area.”
On Mya’s all-around game
“Diversify has been the word we have been using throughout spring and summer. Mya’s worked really hard, she’s gotten significantly stronger from her freshman year to her sophomore year. She has grown in her confidence, grown in her ability to do more than just hit the three. She is a great shooter and we watch film all the time. If she passes up an open shot she is hearing it from me. I tell her ‘she’s one of the highest percentage shooters in the entire conference, do not pass up an open shot.’ She is a great shooter and will continue to be so. She is working to put the ball on the floor from the perimeter, working to take care of the basketball more effectively than she did as a freshman—and then low post presence as well. She is never going to be a big, physical, low post kid, that’s not her makeup. It does not mean she cannot be extremely effective from the low block.”
On her team identity
“I have loved every kid that came through this door and put on a Colorado uniform. They brought something special to this program and to this community. I definitely feel like the group of young women that we have on our team right now have bought into what it means to be a Buff. We have talked about being the hardest working, the toughest, and the most disciplined team in the Pac-12 and our players know that. They hear it from us and they are working towards that. The kids are fun, they are competing, they will knock each other in the mouth but then they will pick each other up and it is all good. We are very competitive. We have that really positive vibe in our program right now and we are loving it.”
On how having an experienced backcourt helps her coach
“The expectations that they put on themselves are probably just as high as the expectations that I have for them. They have both worked extremely hard from the end of last season to the beginning of this season, to put on weight, get stronger, understand what they are doing and why they are doing it and where everybody should be at all times. We definitely rely on them. We have a closed scrimmage on Saturday and I expect that if we did not have any practice between now and Saturday they would know how to walk on the floor, how to carry themselves, how to huddle, how to get on and off the court and things like that. So from the beginning till the end, we will rely on them.”
On how new players are helping the team
“The group of freshman that we brought in came in and raised the energy level of our team, Kennedy is the hardest working player I have ever coached in 20 years. She is always in the gym morning, day and night. The energy of the group is different this year because of the five freshmen we brought in. They are positive, they are upbeat and everyone kind of fed off that. Mya is always a happy-go-lucky kid and now she has five others that came in with the same kind of enthusiasm and effort and now she’s even more energetic. It really is a group of fun, hardworking players and the new kids are a big part of that.”
On Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson saying JR recruits are “tough”
“That was one of my favorite parts of media day. The fact that they both instantly said that a Colorado Buffalo team is tough. That is who we want to be. It is not about puffing up your chest or pushing people, it is about getting in a stance and communicating, having each other’s back late in the fourth quarter when everybody is tired and we have got to communicate a ball screen. Those are the type of toughness things that we talk about. If we ever run a set of sprints in practice at the end you’ll never see a kid put their hands on their knees. It just does not happen. Its things like that when we talk about displaying toughness and being there for each other, and I was really proud that they both instantly said that.”
On what she thinks PAC-12 will be like this year
“The conference is great. I mean I could go through every team in the conference and tell you why they have a legitimate shot at postseason play. Oregon is picked to win it and they have the best point guard in the nation and the best power forward in the nation, statistically, Stanford is always right there at the top. I really could talk about every team. There were a lot of great seniors that graduated from our conference but like I said there are All-Americans behind them who are ready to fill those shoes. I feel the same way about us. A lot of teams got a lot better this offseason and I feel like we got a lot better this offseason, I love our chances in conference, I think we have the experience and the size to be able to really make a push in conference this year and we will just see how it goes.”
Senior Guard Kennedy Leonard
On the anticipation of starting the season
“I am excited. It is fun playing against people who are not wearing Colorado colors. I am kind of nervous too at the same time because I feel like it came up on us really quick. We were just outside conditioning running miles. Now we are ready to take off playing. It is kind of scary but also really exciting. I am looking forward to it.”
On the differences already made in compared to last season
“I think we listen more. When [head] coach J [JR Payne] tells us something or [associate head] coach T [Toriano Towns] tells us something, they do not have to repeat it as much. That could be because we have to run if you do not listen. I think also we feel like we have to come together. I have been here for three years now and I have never had a team come together this quickly or have this much good energy with one another. Hopefully, it is a good sign and good indication of the kind of season we will have.”
On the role of stronger team camaraderie
"I honestly think it is everything. Without the camaraderie, we would not be having the success, the fun and the joy that we are having so far. I think to be able to come in and have all those new faces but also have us veterans able to merge with them and connect with them was very big.”
On what intangible improvements she hopes to see from the entire team
“I think hard work. You cannot really get here without hard work. I am always in the gym working out. The more people I can bring with me and the more people I see in here, I get excited about it. You cannot get better at what you do unless you do it. We obviously practice every day for a certain number of hours but that is still not going to be enough to get us where we all want to be. I think hard work and toughness. Coach J and the staff love to preach about toughness. It is not just a word we throw around lightly. To be able to work hard and be tough would be the ultimate goal.”
Sophomore Forward Annika Jank
On what she plans to improve on as a player
“When I was in high school, I rarely shot 3’s. When I came here, I was shooting them all the time and was making them. I think that was something I liked and kind of surprised me. My rebounding was pretty good. Things I would like to improve is more consistency in my shot and just in my overall play. I came out strong in non-conference and then kind of hitting that freshman wall in conference. I want to try to not have that this year and be way more consistent with my numbers and shooting percentage – basically all around.”
On the difference in difficulty between high school and college
“It is a whole new level. Freshman year was hard because, in high school, you can take days off. Here, you cannot really do that. On any given night, any team can beat you. Every defense knows what you can do. That is the difference between high school and college. Last year, I kind of struggled with that. They know all my strengths and all my weaknesses. They are only going to make me do my weaknesses. I think this year, knowing that and working on my weaknesses throughout the summer will help me be more consistent for this year.”
On the team’s energy leading up to the season
“We are all so excited this year. It has been a really fun year. We are all super positive and upbeat. We have high hopes for this year. We are looking good in practice, so I am excited.”
On the goal as a team
“I think being more consistent and winning more games in the Pac-12 is definitely one of our big goals this year. We can get the job done in non-conference. Obviously, the Pac-12 is the hardest conference in the nation right now. I think winning more games there is a big goal for us.”
On the role camaraderie has played in the improvement as a team
“I think [the trip] has helped a lot. Italy was a big trip for us to have more team bonding. Getting those extra practices and games this summer has really paid off. You could really see it at beginning of practice this year. We are way more ahead this year than we were last year.”
On the Value of extra games and practices during the offseason
“They are actually very valuable because you get to work on offenses, defenses, things you do not normally get to work on in the summer because of hours, obviously. Since we get more hours with the ten practices, we got to work on a lot more things. We were ahead of the game starting our first practice now. That really helped us out.”