New York, May 12, 2003 – After playing three seasons in the WNBA with the Cleveland Rockers (1998-2000) and serving as head coach of Oakland Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., for 13 years, Suzie McConnell Serio was hired as the Minnesota Lynx Head Coach on January 21, 2003. As a first-year player in 1998, she earned WNBA Newcomer of the Year and All-WNBA First Team honors. Her 373 career assists ranks first on the Rockers' all-time list and 16th in WNBA history. McConnell Serio was also a two-time winner of the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award (1998, 2000). Last Friday, before McConnell Serio went home to Pittsburgh to spend Mother’s Day with her husband and four children, she talked to WNBA News about her newest adventure in basketball.
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New Lynx coach Suzie McConnell Serio shows off her ballhandling skills. David Sherman/WNBAE/Getty Images |
Q: After spending 13 years coaching at the high school level, what differences do you anticipate between that and the professional level?
McConnell Serio: This is definitely more of a full-time job, in the office when you’re not on the court. You’re always preparing, a lot more scouting and game preparation I would say than at the high school level. I still have done that at the high school level. These players are very talented at this level. These are the best players in the country. It’s definitely a higher level of talent that I’m dealing with than at the high school level. Not to shaft my high school players by any means, but I think the coaching style will be a little different by not having to get on players to motivate them more.
Q: Can you talk about the drafting of Teresa Edwards?
McConnell Serio: It all started when I ran into her at the Final Four. I just started talking to her about what she’s been up to. I think my first question to her was, I still hadn’t hired my second assistant here and I just wanted to see if she was interested in coaching. She looked at me like I was crazy. She said she still wants to play. I think my eyes got huge, wide open. I looked at her and said, “Really? Do you want to come play in Minnesota? We need a point guard.” She kind of laughed and the conversation when back and forth. At the end, I said, “I’m going to see what I can do to get you in Minnesota.”
I came back to Minnesota after the Final Four and tried to see what I could do to get her here and see where she stood as far as having to be drafted. I had a couple conversations with her prior to the draft. I think we were going to try to make an attempt at letting her go through the draft undrafted, picking her up as a free agent. Her name came across a sheet as eligible for the draft, because she had never been drafted. When I saw her name come across that list I said, “I think somebody will draft your rights.”
The morning of the draft I talked to her and asked her how she wanted me to handle it. She said, “That’s up to you.”
And I said, “Well, I need to know if I take you at [overall pick number] 14, if you’ll be here in Minnesota?”
She said, “I’m with you.”
It was kind of talking to her about the opportunity, what a good fit this was for her and the team’s need for a veteran point guard. I think she looked at her options and she had the desire to play. It was just giving her that opportunity.
She’s come in and taken this team under her wing. She’s been a tremendous leader from the get-go. This team is responding to her. She makes them better.
Q: What does your team need to do this season to remain competitive in the strong Western Conference?
McConnell Serio: We need to continue to get better. We’ve come into training camp and I’ve seen an improvement from day one as far as developing team chemistry and learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses, your personnel. Chemistry is very good right now but we still have two 6-5 post players who are not in training camp right now. And we have a point guard, in Kristi Harrower, who is not in training camp right now. These players will come in during the next week. So we need to really, in a short amount of time, get to 11 (players on the roster). Specifically, we need get to know each other and develop the chemistry that is necessary for us. But we just need to continue to get better. We have some things in, just enough to get through these two (exhibition) games and we need to put so much more in. It’s how quickly we can come together, having all of the things in that we want offensively and defensively, and how well they put it together and the chemistry that develops.
Q: What have you seen from your team in the first week of training camp?
McConnell Serio: I’m excited about my team. I think we have a lot of versatility with our lineup. We can go small and quick with a lot of shooters. We can go bigger, stronger. We can force teams to have to match up to our strengths yet we can match up with other teams right now. We will have the versatility with a player like Katie Smith who will play two positions for us. I think that will benefit us in this league, being to do that.
Q: Who will you look to in the post to help your team match up against some of the bigger teams in the Western Conference such as Sacramento?
McConnell Serio: Well, we have Michele VanGorp and Janell Burse, two 6-5 post players that are not in camp right now. That is my concern: Who will be the answer for us in the post? We have players in camp right now that I’m pleased with, but I can’t compare them to Michele and Janell because I haven’t seen them go head-to-head. So, I’m looking forward to having those players in camp before we make our decisions on the post. I’m confident in those two and what we have in camp that we will be able to compete in the West.
Q: What are your thoughts on some of the older players coming into the league like Teresa Edwards and the return of Cynthia Cooper?
McConnell Serio: I think it’s great for the game. They’re great players. The fans appreciate what they bring to the game and their talents. I think it’ll be exciting for the fans to watch them play.
Q: With your family living at your home in Pittsburgh, how often will they come to Minnesota?
McConnell Serio: They’re finishing school. I’m going home tomorrow. My daughter Jordan is making her first communion, so I’m going home for that. I’ll get to see them on Mother’s Day in the morning and then I’ll be back for Sunday night’s practice. They were here for spring break and I got to see them for a week then. And they’re coming out for our first game May 24, and they’ll be here for a few days that weekend.