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University of Houston Athletics
Joe Curl Chat Wrap
1/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2002
Joe Curl: Good morning everyone!
Gary Tunstall (Houston): All last season and early this season I remember that you played pressure defense from the opening tip, which usually led to a substantial early lead. It doesn't seem that you have been doing that lately. Am I mistaken, or have you changed your defensive approach?
Joe Curl: We really haven't changed our approach to defense this year, it's just that with the youth of our team, we've been a little bit out of sync when we've gone 94x50. We do plan on doing it more and more as the seaosn progresses. Depth has a lot to do with it, and we have lost three crucial parts of our team, in losing Nakia Holmes, who played the point of our press, Claire Stavropoulos, who played a similar position, as well as Courtney Pastner. But our young kids are starting to play well and we do plan on pressing more and more as conference proceeds.
JC: Coach, your daughter seems to make a lot of crucial turnovers when she plays the point. Why do you continually start her and put her at the point when it seems Shondra Bush is much more suited for both the starting line-up and the PG position?
Joe Curl: Appreciate your question in the area of turnovers in general. It is something that we have been working on since the first practice. I think all turnovers are crucial, whether they come early or late in the game. And there is no question that Bush is the future in the point and off guard position. Angela's played a little bit of that out of necessity, because Bush was not quite ready to start, but she has started many games the last 2-3 weeks.
Angela does not necessarily play the point guard position, she is really a small forward. And a lot of times, when the pressure is being put on, she finds a way to get open and get the ball in her hands, and thus we sometimes have turnovers with Angela as well as other players. It's something we are working on.
Again, I would like to mention that Shondra Bush's ability to start and come off the bench is something that we have talked to her about, as well as the rest of the team. Bush had started 7-8 games in a row, and felt more comfortable last weekend coming off the bench. We really have 7-8 kids that we can start at any one time, and we'll be changing that from time to time, depending upon match-ups and things that we can see that we may be able to do better with certain lineups.
Thank you for your question.
Bill (Houston): Coach, congrats on the 2 big wins this weekend!! What is the biggest challenge your team faces in the next month?
Joe Curl: Obviously coming off of two great home wins helped even us up in conference play. We have back-to-back roadtrips over the next two weeks, and all are very winable games and can really put us in a position to control our destiny when it comes to the conference winding down. We actually have 10 games left, and six out of ten are on the road and we look forward to that challenge.
This weekend, we play at East Carolina on Friday night at 7pm, and then Charlotte on Sunday afternoon at 2pm. Both will be on the radio at KGBC 1540 AM.
Thanks!
CC: Coach - what is your biggest concern in terms of recruiting? A point guard? A post player?
Joe Curl: No question, this has been a concern since we got here 3-4 years ago.
Great point guards are as hard to find as great post players. We cannot, because of NCAA rules, cannot give information as to whom or where we are recruiting these players. But rest assured, we are very much recruiting that position, and feel that we have two capable incoming players that will be signing with us in April. They are both a little older, both out of junior colleges. Better not say any more, or I'll get in trouble!
Sara (Houston): After the big wins this weekend how do you think the rest of the Conference Season should go?
Joe Curl: Winning both games this weekend really helped us get back on track. At this point, there is only one team that does not have a defeat in our league, and that's TCU at 4-0. After that, DePaul at 4-1, Marquette is at 4-1, Tulane is 3-2, Louisville 3-2, Saint Louis is 3-2, and the Cougars at 2-2. There are four other teams that have a 2-3 mark so far, two teams that have a 1-3 mark and UAB is yet to win a C-USA game at 0-5.
if we take care of our business, we feel that we can finish as high as anyone, and certainly we need a little help with someone beating TCU. Our goal is to finish in the top spot, and if not, then certainly one of the top four spots.
Great question, thank you!
Shameka (Missouri City): Kiki Harris gets good looks under the basket, but seems to struggle with the size of our opponents inside girls. Has she thought of gaining weight during the offseason to help support her ability to get shots in the paint?
Joe Curl: Not only KiKi Harris, but several of our freshman need the weight room. On our basketball team, we have six young ladies who are only 18 years old. We see this as not a weakness, but as a strength. And many things go into the development in the overall player: strength, and in some cases modest weight/muscle gain is an important part of the overall development of a young player. Especially someone who is young and is as talented as KiKi Harris is. Absolutely, not only are we working on her strength as we speak, but we'll continue to do that throughout the spring, summer and fall.
Rick (Katy): Hello Coach, I keep bringing my daughter to the games on Sundays, she really enjoys watching the women play and meeting them and you afterwards. I keep telling her to watch the play of Val and KIKI as she is the tall one you see after the games, 12 yr old and 5'9" and that she could be playing their position. We have both been impressed with the play of the freshmen this year. Are the Ladies in a position to make a run for a championship, even with the losses to TCU? I see the possibility of the run, but are the ladies up to it?
Joe Curl: Absolutely the ladies are up to it! Last weekend helped us with that!
Being young, some times there are many challenges with our team. Opening up with TCU at home, having a bye in the mid-week and then playing TCU at TCU, is a tough way to start the season. But once the conference said that was our schedule, we had no excuses. We tried our best in those games, and at times, it looked like our kids really dropped their heads, especially the game that was on national TV on ESPN2. And they really didn't quit, it was a let-down that we weren't playing very well. And instead of dropping our head after the game and licking our wounds, we did it during the game, which certainly is not acceptable. But again, we're very young, and that's where the coach comes into play in trying to keep things positive and to get better each practice and each game.
That's why I was so excited about our play last week, because both Louisville and Cincinnati have been ranked in the Top 25 this season.
manaka: what kind of grade average do i have to have to play college basketball
Joe Curl: Any question on overall grades is very important. The NCAA has standards that are set which you can pick up in your guidance office. I can't give you a specific on your grade point average, because that is related to your overall ACT or SAT test scores, there is a sliding scale. But one thing is certain for sure, there are 13 core courses which all must be completed and have graduated from high school and meet all the minimum requirements set by the NCAA, as well as the college in which you are interested in going to. I cannot stress it enough, it is important to be tested as a sophomore and junior for the PSAT and the SAT as early as possible and meet all the requirements.
Again, great question!
Joe Curl: I would like to say a few words as the questions are slowing down...
I am really proud of our basketball team and university. We are 12-5 and are working on a very good season. But more importantly than the record and our successes on the court, the Lady Cougars are really working hard in the community and in the classroon. An example of that is, this past semester, in the classroom, we had six girls well above a 3.0 GPA, and our overall team GPA is a historical-high 2.94. We are very proud of that.
The Lady Cougars are getting out into the community, and we ask each of them to put in a minimum of 50 hours of community service during the academic year. As we speak, we will have several of the girls with over 100 hours of community service, and none will be under 75 hours.
If anyone out there is interested in community service from the Lady Cougars or the coaches, please give Coach Chizer a call at (713) 743-9462.
Joe Curl: It looks like the questions have slowed down. I always look forward to doing this from time-to-time.
From the Lady Cougars, thank you for your interests, questions and EAT 'EM UP COOGS!
Thank you!
