 |
| Coach Curl |
Chat With Joe Curl
Houston head women's basketball coach Joe Curl will stop by
Thursday at 10 a.m. CST to answer your questions about this year's
Lady Cougar program...
In the four years since his hiring as the fifth women's head
coach in school history on April 8, 1998, the Lady Cougar program
has undergone a metamorphosis in an effort to rebuild the program.
Now in his fifth season, under his guidance and leadership, things
have fallen into place for Houston and the future looks very
promising.
Following four consecutive seasons in which the Lady Cougars
had posted less than 10 victories a season, the Lady Cougars have
posted a combined 45-21 record over the past two seasons while making
back-to-back WNIT appearances, including a battle against Oregon for
the 2002 Championship.
Leading Houston during this stretch is All-American Chandi
Jones, who is currently the nation's leading scorer, and a myriad of
young talent, including 2002 Conference USA Defensive Player of the
Year Nicole Oliver and 2002 C-USA All-Freshman member Shondra Bush.
|
 |
 |
 |
Joe Curl: Welcome and good morning. Let's get right to it and get these questions answered. |
|
|
| houston: Why (Ashley Cotton)set on the bench so much? |
 |
|
Joe Curl: Good solid question. I do plan on playing Ashley more, starting Friday night. Honestly, she should have played more minutes to date. But because of numerous reasons, starting with poor job by me as a coach, I will also say we need more consistency and a focus for her to do two crucial things on the court -- to rebound and defend. |
|
|
| LadyCoog Fan: I am told that you are an excellent motivator. How do you prepare your players mentally and emotionally to carry them throughout the entire season? |
|
|
Joe Curl: Motivation may be a key to any job or game. We have taught our players many concepts and philosophies on self-motivation. External motivations such as a coach biting the head off a chicken or something crazy like that only works for a few emotional minutes. But concepts and philosophies can be something you can hang your hat on. Example: we practiced this morning from 8 am to about 9:20. We only have about 18 total practices and 12 games left on our schedule before C-USA tournament. So we can;t waste any time. Another example: none of us are guaranteed tomorrow in life or in sport. Take advantage of the precious moments we have. |
|
|
| Jamie (Houston): What will it take for the Lady Cougars to win the rest of their road games? |
|
|
Joe Curl: First is mental toughness. To get back to our identity in defense and rebounding -- as we have told the team -- any win on the road is a big win. We have no excuses if we lose, because we have the talent to win. But keep in mind -- the conference champ a year ago was 11-3, the second see was the Lady Cougars at 11-3. We really feel that 3,4, even 5 losses will put you close to the top of C-USA. But it is tough on the road. Another example: our 7 road games -- 5 of the coaches selections for the top 8 -- we play on the road. With no opportunity to play them at home because of how our conference schedule is now put together. |
|
|
| Leslie (Sugarland): What is it like to coach a player like Chandi Jones? |
|
|
Joe Curl: It is very special for us to coach and play with her. She truly makes everybody on the floor better and that is true with coaching as well. Players make you a good coach -- very few coaches can make an average player great. Three stats on Chandi: she leads the country in scoring as we speak with probably the fewest attempts shooting the ball. She is also leading the team in assists, steals and rebounds. She certainly has not disappointed C-USA in beign the Preseason MVP. |
|
|
| Leslie (Sugarland): What will it take for this team to win a Conference USA title this year? |
|
|
Joe Curl: First and foremost, taking one game at a time. Really, we divide that game into four-minute segments and try to win each of those segments. In general, mental toughness and learning to compete and win on the road, as well as defend your home court. |
|
|
| Carlos (Houston): Hello Coach
I have noticed during the games the team tends to take bad shots. What is your philosophy on a good shot versus a bad shot? Thanks. Keep up the good work and win C-USA! |
|
|
Joe Curl: I really appreciate that question. I may even print that question out and show it to the team. I really never got on a player for taking a shot, but certaining on one or more occasion we have taken bad shots. In general, my philosophy is, if it is your shot in your spot, and you are playing under control, it's a good shot. With the exception of the time on the shot and game clocks, determines much of what is a good shot. Again, honestly, we are working to make that better. |
|
|
| Joe (Houston): Do you think that offense or defense wins games? |
|
|
Joe Curl: No question, defense and rebounding wins games. But because of the shot clock and the nature of kids today and the nature of the game, it is important to be efficient and effective at the offensive end. But I can't emphasize it enough, defense/rebounding wins games and championships. |
|
|
| Kyli: What players really need to step up (besides Jones) to beat teams like DePaul and Tulane? |
|
|
Joe Curl: I think all of our players in general need to step up. But we need more consistent play in our post spots, which we are a little thin at this point. Going back to another question about not playing certain players, in many occasions, our turnovers were coming out of our post position and that is really not acceptable. But again, how can a player learn to play if they are not given the opportunity? And I really believe in that comment but the few minutes they may get in the game, they need to take advantage of as well as be productive. Practice is really important to improve yourself and earn minutes in the game. I also might add, if you want major minutes in a game, don't tell me, show me with your committment and work ethinc during the off-season -- that might be the key time to earn minutes on the court. |
|
|
| James Pettite (Houston): Coach,
You've given the majority of the playing time recently to the starting 5 plus Shondra Bush. Do you foresee your formidable depth on your bench getting playing time in the future? |
|
|
Joe Curl: Yes. Absolutely from my heart. Last night I went recruiting and as I watched some of the area talent, I could not get my mind off of our team and sharing the playing time. Example: there are five positions in basketball and 40 minutes in the game. If we played 10 players 20 minutes each, that would eat up the 200 minutes that show up on the stat sheet. I am certainly not going to play 10 players 20 minutes but I personally, as a coach, have to do a better job as a coach of resting and getting something productive out of our total team. Last night as I drew up game plans and minutes for Friday's game against Charlotte, I hope you can see, in action, the result of my preparation. Specific examples: Chandi Jones needs to play 34 minutes, not 40. Lashinda winters, who had been playing close to 39, needs to play between 24-30. Angela Curl has been playing around 22 minutes and hers should be between 18 and 22. So you will see Ashley Cotton come in and give us some very important minutes the first and second half. As I added up my minutes last night, I came up with 208 as I added up the minutes of the 10 players that will play. But I also want to emphasize that the tempo of the game also is a big part of how and when you sub. Example: fast pace, no whistles, sub more. Slow pace, a lot of whistles, choppy game, less subbing. I will try to do a better job as a coach to get players more playing time, if they are productive both in game and practice. |
|
|
| Jay - Houston: How do you plan to improve in the post in the remainder of the season??? |
|
|
Joe Curl: Practice, practice, practice. Example: we brought pads out today and did a drill banging on them and playing with the contact and toughness that it takes to play and improve in the post. But I will also say, if the productivity of a position such as the post is not worthy of the playing time, we will play more guards. |
|
|
| Greg Strawn, Sulphur Springs: Coach Curl, I met you at your team camp this summer with Kelsey Moss. I wanted to tell you that they are doing great. We watched you guys on ESPN2 the other day. Jones played great, what were they doing that gave you guys so much trouble? |
|
|
Joe Curl: First, please say hi to Kelsey -- my family and her family go way back. First and foremost, Cincinnati is a really good team with great players. There balance inside and out really caused us problems. They shot 78% in the first half and scored 49 points on us. Certainly, they deserve some of the credit, but we are a better defensive team in those areas and will not accept the other team's ability to score that way. It was really a great environment, 5,000+ people, and playing a quality team like Cincy who had won 26 in a row at home, dating back three years -- but we really wanted to be the team to bring that to an end. We did have chance to win the game because of our defense the second half, having them shot in the high 30s and only give up 31 points. |
|
|
| Greg Strawn, Sulphur Springs: Coach Curl, I am very good friends with the Clarendon JC Boys coach - Tony Starnes. He recently told me that one of the women from Clarendon committed to houston. How will she help the program? |
|
|
Joe Curl: The young lady that we have signed out of Clarendon has the potential to be one of the most dominating posts to ever play for the Lady Cougars. She is 6-4, very athletic, great hands, rebounder, defender, and can score. She'll fit in perfectly. |
|
|
|
Joe Curl: In closing -- I really appreciate the time I have to answer question. We run a very open program. You are welcome to come to practice at any time, This program is a part of the community. I appreciate the questions and the opportunity to answer them. I look forward to when we can do it again. -- Coach Curl |
|
|
|
