WNBA.com spoke with Teresa Weatherspoon before the start of the NCAA Tournament.

New York's Teresa Weatherspoon
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What do you think of this year’s Louisiana Tech team?
I am so proud of them. With Coach Barmore stepping down, my heart would have been pumping, like “oh my goodness, the man of Louisiana Tech has stepped away.” But they’re doing a tremendous job, and they’re young. They’re young and we’re ranked and we’re doing well and I’m very, very proud of them. Especially, I’m very proud of Cheryl Ford.

How would you describe Cheryl Ford as a player?
She’s big. She plays like her dad [Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone]. She plays exactly like her dad, and I’ve watched her from her freshman year to now. I’ve watched her change so much, and I can actually tell that she’s definitely done a lot of work with her dad. And I’m just very, very proud of her and the confidence level that she has now about herself…

Can you see her coming in to the WNBA?
I can see her coming in to the WNBA and banging someone around like that. But she’s a wonderful person and that means more than anything.

Are there any other future WNBA prospects you see on the team?

LOUISIANA TECH PLAYERS IN WNBA Player Year WNBA Team Teresa Weatherspoon ‘88 New York Vickie Johnson ‘96 New York Alisa Burras ‘98 Played for Portland in '02 Monica Maxwell ‘99 Indiana Betty Lennox ‘00 Played for Miami in 2002 Tamicha Jackson ‘00 Played for Portland in '02 Ayana Walker ‘02 Detroit Takeisha Lewis ‘02 Seattle

It’s very early to tell. The majority of those young ladies on the team are very, very young. And it really matters to them – what do you want, how well do you want to go out and work and change some of your game maybe to better yourself in certain areas to become a greater basketball player. It’s really up to each individual. And if that happens, whatever their dream might be to come into the WNBA, it’s possible.

What are your favorite memories of playing at Louisiana Tech?
My memories are always with Coach Barmore. I always sit back and think about a lot of the things that he taught me as a playmaker, as a person. Because everything he taught us playing the game of basketball, he always said it’s going to play a huge part in your life off the court. And it definitely has. And he’s done so much for all of us, and he still does. To this very day, he’s concerned about us. The difference is we were not just players to him, we were people, and that meant a lot.

Coach Barmore has said that he'd be open to coaching in WNBA after retiring from Louisiana Tech last year and there's been some speculation, what do you think?
You would get a good one. You would get to me the greatest coach to coach the game. You would get a good one because he’s very caring about you becoming the best that you can become.

What advice would you give him about making the transition from coaching in college to coaching at the professional level in the WNBA?
I’d just tell him to get ready for the personalities, Coach. It’s a little different. It’s a money-making thing, and it’s a little different personalities. But the one thing about it, if he did, those young ladies would respect him, so it wouldn’t matter. They’re going to have so much respect for him and want to do so much for him to win a championship for him…

How does Barmore’s coaching style compare to the coaches you’ve had since college?
Everybody has their own style, their own way of coaching. With Coach Barmore, we stayed in the office together in order for me to learn his system, understand what he wanted of me as his playmaker because I’m an extension of him. That’s what made it so great for me to play for him. I wanted to go through a wall for him, and we all did. It’s just a matter of a lot of respect for him. But you go from one coach to the next, and every coach coaches a little differently.