Women's Basketball Holds Media Day at BankUnited Center
Oct. 28, 2009
CORAL GABLES – The University of Miami men’s and women’s basketball teams held their annunal Media Day Wednesday afternoon at the BankUnited Center. Head coach Katie Meier, with sophomore Shenise Johnson and freshman Morgan Stroman spoke with the media on the upcoming season.
Johnson returns after a stellar freshman campaign, in which she was named to the ACC All-Freshmen Team as well as ACC Honorable Mention. The Henrietta, N.Y. native also was named the conference’s rookie of the week on three occasions. Johnson led the Hurricanes in almost every major statistical category during the 2008-09 season.
Stroman comes to Coral Gables as a 2009 McDonald’s All-American, joining Johnson with that distinction – becoming the first Hurricane teammates that have earned the highest high school honor. Stroman, a Hopkins, S.C. native, led her Lower Richland High School team to four consecutive state championships and was also named the South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year.
Below are the quotes from the three women at Media Day.
Head Coach Katie Meier
Opening Statement…”Every year, I come out here and I’m excited, energetic and confident. I think the difference this year is I really do feel like we have a roster full of ACC talent, a good solid eight, nine rotation of ACC players. We’ve had two and three, we’ve had four, but we finally have, I think, a real nice rotation. With that, some of the unknowns that have happened in the past, you can cover them up, because you don’t rely on that one player. I was asked about Shenise Johnson and whether I was going to need someone to lead you in scoring, rebounding, steals and assists again, you know, is that your plan? That’s not anyone’s plan, but if I am in that situation, I’m really glad I have Shenise Johnson on my team. I don’t really think people understand how special she is and what a great spring and summer she had. She may be one of the most improved players in the country. She had a double-double in the Gold Medal Game for the 19 and under national team. She won a gold, she had a double-double, and I’m starting her this season at the point guard, so that’s the type of player that we have on our team and she makes everybody very, very good. She likes to play the point guard if you ask her, because she likes to have the ball in her hands, she likes to control, she believes in her ability to make plays and make Miami win. We’re young, there’s no question on that, we’ve got three seniors and then everybody else is freshmen or sophomores. The lack of experience is not always bad, the young players have talent and I’ll take talent over experience any day. Our seniors are doing a great job of leading us, but the talent, the push, the scoring and a lot of the statistics are going to come from the younger kids, they have a fresh, passionate attitude about winning and I’m excited about that too. I look forward to a couple of big non-conference games that we’re hosting here, which will really kind of give us a measuring stick. If we get to the finals of our tournament, we’ll have Texas and we have a game with Nebraska at home. This season is all about how we do in the ACC. That’s it. We tried to put together a non-conference schedule to get more wins in the ACC, that’s all we talk about in the huddles, that’s not an ACC shot, that’s not an ACC rebound, that’s not how you win ACC games, that’s not ACC intensity, that’s not ACC passion. Everything we talk about is the ACC, and that comes down to the last four minutes of a game. You might see us this year, like the football team, holding up a four, because that’s where we lost games last year that we needed to win. So the last media timeout, you might see us doing that, and that’s our team reminding each other, that this is where you win ballgames, the last four minutes of the first half, the last four minutes of the game. That’s where we need to perform better and that’s where we’re going to get our ACC wins.”
On where Riquna Willaims fits in…”She’s been scoring, she’s scoring unbelievably. She’s lost a lot of weight, she’s a lot quicker, she’s explosive. We had an intersquad with the practice team the other day and she was like four for 12 with the three pointer. She’s shooting the three pointer a lot, it’s actually to the point where she’s one of the most explosive kids I’ve ever coached, but coming into the spring, we told her she had to be more consistent with her three pointer. Now she’s become a three point machine, now we’re having to say get to the rim, explode. So that’s been different for us, so she’s putting those two aspects together. Shenise Johnson, Riquna Williams, Charmaine Clark, their spring was incredible and a lot is actually due to this practice facility. We had springs where we’d have four kids in an individual workout, and the whole team would only have two hours to get an individual workout in. You can’t break the NCAA rules, because you can only have four players in there at a time. So we’d have 30 minutes to do individual workouts because we didn’t have the gym space if somebody was in the BankUnited Center and volleyball was still playing. So we did individual individuals in the spring, which meant, the two hours that we are allowed to do basketball, the person with the entire staff, we committed to player development and it really helped. I know it helped Moe Moe (Johnson) make Team USA and have such a great summer. You’ll see a very improved team, individually, skill-wise.”
On conference expectations…”The ACC’s going to be really interesting, because it’s really going to be a little scrambled up. You didn’t write the same four names at the top when you were filling out your ballots, you just didn’t. Florida State came up last season and tied for the regular season title. It’s really shuffled, so we’re hoping top half and that’s what the kids have talked about. That means postseason. That’s what I’m talking about when people say what else; We’re going to take care of business in the ACC, you’re in the top half of the ACC, everything else will happen for you, you’ll get your postseason bid, you’ll get the wins you need. You’ll get the respect and all that.”
On Shenise’s development…”When I recruited her, she was almost a four. She was a little heavier and thicker, and she did a lot of her damage inside. Then after we had signed her, I came back and I said wow, that’s going to be a stretch, her playing the two. Now she’s working her ballhandling, but her shot is so pretty, consistent and quick right now. It’s opening up her lanes so that you’ve got to respect her from outside, she’s really shooting a beautiful three point shot. From bounce to release she is as quick as any player I’ve coached. She can be making a play, breaking you down and then boom, she’s already released the ball. So she can get it off at anytime against anyone, that is amazing. Her ballhandling is special, It’s just special, she’s so comfortable with the ball, she has great vision. She’s always had the great vision, but she hadn’t had the skills to complete that plays she wants to complete. But she’s really good right now. I’ll tell you, she’s one of the best players in the country.”
On the impact of Morgan Stroman…”Morgan is one of those players that you watch practice and you go, I want more out of Morgan. Then you watch the film and she had six rebound, eight points, a couple of blocks and had a couple of steals for you. We brought in Riquna and Shenise last year and they were just obvious, you were just like whoa, they can score, they do some things that make you ooh and ah and Morgan is smooth, calm, very composed. Her mom was her coach for four years and they won four state championships. She gets basketball, things work when Morgan is in, the lineups are better when Morgan’s on the court. She doesn’t have the ability right now to have an astounding 30-point game, or an astounding 20-rebound game, but she can be that kind of eight and six kind of player that you love as a freshman and she doesn’t make mistakes.”On having another McDonald’s All-American…”That class with Shenise and Riquana, we asked them to come in and be stars right away and they knew it, that’s why they chose Miami. You start getting them, then you have a different message in recruiting of, well come play with them, but it’s not like we desperately needed somebody in this recruiting class we’re about to sign, to come take the program to the next level. We have those next level players and now we’re trying to fill up a roster with them, that’s what we’re trying to do. We did really well overseas too, you’ll be really impressed with Stefanie Yderstrom from Sweden, and Hannah Shaw from England. Of the freshmen, the three impact players are Morgan, Hannah and Stefanie. They’re really showing up. We signed Hannah in the fall and we signed Stefanie in the spring, but they’re good, they’re both very good and they bring a real maturity and poise to late game situations. But they just have that savvy and that basketball IQ. Those three freshmen are coming in with very mature minds.”
On overseas recruiting…”We’re talking about Hannah, who’s on the English national team and she was even on a 20 and under when she was 17 and 18. You’re talking about Stefanie, who’s on the Swedish National Team. They’re some of the best players from their countries, but they have that international experience, they’ve played summers internationally and they’ve played against some of the best competion. So this summer, we had three young ladies that competed for their country.”
On maturity level…”I do feel more mature, because I always had to listen to the coach. She was always there, so just being the one that had to step up and do this and do that, it kind of put a lot of pressure on me to grow up earlier than others on the court.”
On not having her mother as a coach…”Oh it’s not any different, because in AAU. He wasn’t related to me, so it’s not a big difference. She’s a great coach, and I’m looking to the future.”
On working hard going into the season…”I’m working on that now in practice, trying to go as hard as I can and trying to make a difference. I really can’t wait for the season to start.”
On why she chose Miami…”The overall chemistry, love the coach, the energy. Just planned on coming in and making a big impact on the team.”
On Shenise Johnson…”She’s an amazing player, very agile, able to do a lot of different things with the ball, without the ball, making great passes, making great plays, not selfish, a team player.”
On playing for Team USA…”It was a great experience, I was honored to represent my country, I definitely appreciate the U.S. much more now. I was honored more than anything. I learned a lot. I learned leadership, teamwork and how to win. It’s definitely a program of just winning, that’s what I look forward to carrying over to this team.”
On playing the point…”It’s nothing new. I played some at point guard last year and I’ll probably play a little more this year, that’s kind of my game though, assists, passes, vision. Sort of something that separates me from everyone else.”
On the team’s weapons…”We have inside post players with Hannah coming in from England and we have Ashley Sours. We have full throttle now. We also have an off guard in Stefanie. She’s an off-guard that can score, like really score, so it’s not just me and Riquna. We’ve got ammo.”
On Morgan Stroman…”Morgan is way beyond her years, mature, composed. She does things that you don’t expect from freshmen. She’s hungry and I think that separates her from the pack.”
On surprising ACC teams this season…”Definitely, I thought we could have surprised some of them last year, we just didn’t get it together. The chemistry is there, off the court, just wanting to be around each other. I don’t know, I’m just beyond excited. I really believe we’re going to shock people and surprise some people.”
On the spotlight of Team USA…”It was a bigger platform, a magnifying glass. I mean, we play for the ACC, so we’re already under the microscope, but playing for your country is something else. You’re recognized world-wide. You walk through the airport and people ask you if you’re in the Olympics, or if you’re in the WNBA, but I’m just like, no, I’m only 18. So it’s just a bigger platform, but it’s the same pressure.”
