2011 WNBA Pre-Draft Conference Call: Players
Participants
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Question and Answer Session
Q: How excited are you to become a WNBA player?
JL: I�m really excited, really eager. There are a lot of mixed emotions for me going into this. I�ve already graduated on March 20 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education so I�m looking forward to the Draft and finding out where I�ll be going.
TP: I�m very, very excited for the opportunity to continue playing the game I love. I love. I�ll be finishing college with two degrees, one in entrepreneurial studies and one in marketing and I, too, am very eager, waiting to see where I�ll be playing.
Q: Courtney, how do see your role in the WNBA?
CV: I�m excited about the opportunity and it�s going to be a learning experience, a learning process. I�ve worked hard to learn as much as I can up to this point and I�m excited to take a different role and learn from the (veteran) players on whatever team I get chosen by.
Q: Ta�Shia, what kind of feedback have you received from your college coach (Kevin McGuff) about your game and about what you might need to do to transition to the pro level?
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Q: Jantel, how quickly can you adapt to the pro game and what areas do you intend to focus on?
JL: I definitely think I can adapt quickly. It will certainly be a difference from college to the WNBA with all the legends playing there. I really need to focus on doing a lot of the things I�ve done well in college, which is run the floor, get low position. I think my face-up game will really benefit me because it allows me to see the floor and read the situation. I really want to make sure I�m versatile, make sure that my 3-point shot is where it needs to be and focus on those things I did well in college.
Q: Courtney, can you talk about the challenges of taking your game to the next leve and is there a team or players in the WNBA you�ve dreamed of playing with?
CV: The opportunity to play with any of these pros would be a dream come true. There are so many talented players all over the league; so it�s hard to just pick one or even a couple. The challenge is just trying to sharpen up your game. Every level that you get to is a little bit better and the opportunity to play at the highest level in the WNBA is a rare opportunity and you have to be ready to give it everything you�ve got.
Q: Jantel and Ta�Shia, the WNBA coaches on the call earlier all talked about how much they value rebounding and how physical a task that is in the WNBA. Can you talk about how much you relish the challenge of doing that at the next level?
JL: It�ll definitely be a challenge that I�m looking forward to. I love to rebound but I think it will take a bit more precision because you�re going to see a lot more �bigs� in the WNBA. So the emphasis will have to be on using our strength, like we have in college, but we�ll have to focus in on the fact that these veterans have been doing this and know the tricks of the trade and how to do certain things to get rebounds over rookies like us. So we�ll have to have a big emphasis on boxing out and really using the techniques we know to be rebounders in the league.
TP: Like Jantel said, we�re going to have to focus on the fundamentals, like boxing out. I think speed is also going to be a factor besides our strength that we�ve always used because there are going to be a lot of taller players in the league that we didn�t necessarily have to face in college. So we�re going to have to use speed and learn the tricks to give ourselves a little bit of an edge�but I�m looking forward to the challenge.
Q: Are there any WNBA players (past or present) that you saw as a role player for your game.
JP: I definitely have two players�Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson. I really like both of their games. They�re a little bit different; Lauren Jackson does a little bit more face-up but she�s really dominant in the post and so was Lisa. That�s definitely big shoes to fill but I definitely like both of their games and admire how they play.
TP: I admire their game (Lisa and Lauren) most but I didn�t really necessarily model myself after anyone. A lot of the post players in the pro game are more of a face-up style and have more step-out skills while I�ve always been more of a back-to-the-basket (type).
Q: Courtney, the point guard position can be hard to adapt to in the pro game. What do you need to focus on when you get to training camp this summer?
CV: I think leadership is definitely the biggest thing and most teams look for a lot of leadership in their point guard. Coming in as a rookie, that�s going to be a difficult task and I�m excited for it. I�m really excited to learn from whoever it is (I play with) and there�s a lot about the game that I don�t know yet. I learned a lot in college and the opportunity to learn more is what I�m excited for. I�m going to go in with an open mind and learn as much as I can and, hopefully, be able to adapt quickly.
