University of Houston Athletics
Women's Basketball Opens Preseason Practice
10/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 12, 2010
HOUSTON - The University of Houston women's basketball team held its first practice in preparation for the 2010-11 season on Monday afternoon inside Hofheinz Pavilion. The Cougars kick off the season at home against UT Arlington on Nov. 14.
The Houston women's basketball program begins a new era this season with first-year head coach Todd Buchanan at the helm. Buchanan spent the last five seasons as the head coach at Houston Baptist, and served as associate head coach at Houston from 2000-05, where the Cougars made four postseason appearances, including two NCAA Tournaments and compiled a record of 109-47 (.699).
"My excitement level is off the charts," said Buchanan. "There are a lot of times when I have to catch myself and be as level and consistent as I can be, which is hard some days. Words truly can't describe how excited I am and how grateful I am to be back and to get our program back to the NCAA Tournament."
The Cougars worked at an up-tempo pace for over three hours on Monday, and Buchanan came away pleased with the overall energy of the squad in his first preseason practice.
"I took a lot of optimism away from our first practice," said Buchanan. "I thought we came in with a good practice plan and our energy was there. Some of the kids might have psyched themselves out because they want to do so well so quickly, but I look at that as a positive and applaud them for that. I've told them, as long as we hustle and play hard, I can deal with other imperfections."
The Houston lineup entering the 2010-11 season is loaded with talent and experience, as all five starters from last year's squad return along with nine of the 10 letterwinners. The Cougars also welcome four talented newcomers to the team for the upcoming season.
Among the five starters returning are Courtney Taylor, the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year, and Brittney Scott, who joins Taylor as a member of the 1,000-point club at Houston. The upcoming season marks only the third time Houston has had two 1,000-point club members return to the starting lineup, as Sharion Higgins and Kip Anderson teamed up in 1980-81 and Sonya Watkins and Vickey Finch played together in 1985-86.
"A lot of coaches come into circumstances that are sometimes dreadful, and this has been quite the opposite with the senior-laden team and the productivity in those minutes played," said Buchanan. "I know how lucky I am and we're going to take advantage of that in every way and build on it.
"I want to get these kids what they deserve, and that's winning a conference championship, along with going to the NCAA Tournament," continued Buchanan. "It helps us lay a foundation from a recruiting standpoint of, `Hey we're back and we're going to stay here.'"
Buchanan's main objective for the team entering the preseason was working hard in the summer to condition themselves for the high-energy style of play he plans to employ.
"We wanted to make sure all of our kids were here working in the summer, and they were," said Buchanan. "The biggest thing for us has been Coach Kelly Spriggs (Sports Performance), who has been beyond phenomenal with the kids. She's drawn a line from day one about what work ethic is and how to do things the right way. That's a carbon copy of myself and our staff's philosophy, so I give her a lot of credit for cultivating that ground in the preseason.
"When we went full tilt yesterday, I saw a lot of growth of where we were and how far we've come, and it was a breath of fresh air to see what a difference we've made in two months."
