Oct. 17, 2011
Head Coach Robin Pingeton
Opening Statement
"I am pleased with our off season, I am pleased with practice so far. I'm a long way from being satisfied, but I've certainly seen a lot of growth in our girls. We have got a lot of new faces and things have gone really well for us so far. You know Christine is gone for about the next week and a half at the Pan American Games. It is awfully tough, yesterday was our first practice with out her and we are definitely missing a big piece of the puzzle there but I think it is really going to be beneficial for our girls over the next week and a half to two weeks. They will have to step up not only in the execution offensively and defensively, but in a leadership-type role. So I think with the experience that Christine is going to get and also the opportunity that is going to open up for our players here, I think that is really going to be a good thing for us for this season."
On the young players on the team...
"The kids are doing very well, there is a lot of youth on our team, a lot of inexperience. We are trying to replace some big shoes with the graduation of our seniors, but I have been really pleased with the growth that I have seen in our off-season so far. We have got a long way to go, no doubt about it, but we are definitely going in the right direction"
On transfer Liz Smith...
"They {The new transfers} are great foundation players in regards to their passion for their game, their work ethic and the skill level they bring as we try to rebuild this program. Liz Smith is a JUCO kid from the Kansas City area- somebody that is a work horse. She is an undersized post player that isn't afraid to play physical. She runs the floor well and she is not afraid to kind of mix it up on the inside, she's got a decent shot--15 ft 17 ft shot away from the basket--she's got the versatility that we are looking for."
On Liene Priede...
"Liene Priede brings a lot of strength to the table offensively. She is a very good scorer and she can shoot the three. She has a very high basketball I.Q., she can create shots for herself and for her teammates. I think her biggest challenge is understanding hot to get better defensively."
On selling the program and creating buy-in...
"Building a program in the Big 12 today is a lot different than even building a program eight or ten years ago. The game just continues to elevate and it gets tougher and tougher. We are not looking for a quick fix. I am all about laying a foundation, laying a base for a program we can be proud of. It is so important to be authentic, to be genuine, to be real and to be transparent in regards to where we are as a program and what challenges we have ahead of us."
Junior Guard Sidney Crafton
On the off-season...
"We put a lot of work in just this summer. I can say that this has been the best summer that we've had, everyone has been completely on board and the work ethic has been great."
On the roles of her teammates...
"Everyone has a different role, for example Kyley, she is a freshman and she is a point guard. That is a big role to play so she is stepping up. Christine is stepping up, Bre is stepping up, Bailey is stepping up, everyone has taken their part and put it all together. It is not all on one person."
Junior Center Liz Smith
On her decision to come to Mizzou...
"What really attracted me to this school was the coaching staff. They are very family oriented. They are all about the team and getting better and that is something that you don't see everywhere."