Q & A with Head Women?s Basketball Coach Tricia Cullop
8/4/2010 8:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball
TOLEDO, OH - On April 28, 2008, Tricia Cullop came to the University of Toledo with the daunting task of rebuilding a Mid-American Conference powerhouse. Fast forward two years and Cullop finds her squad hanging another banner from the rafters inside Savage Arena. Considering that the Rockets experienced five-consecutive losing campaigns prior to Cullop's arrival, UT's quick turnaround has truly been a testament to her coaching abilities and team play.
Under Cullop's guidance, the Midnight Blue & Gold has amassed an impressive 43-22 overall record and a 23-9 conference mark, second-best in the league in that time. Individually, a trio of Rockets have earned All-MAC honors on five occasions - Tanika Mays (first team in 2009-10, second team in 2008-09), Naama Shafir (second-team in 2009-10, honorable mention in 2008-09) and Melissa Goodall (honorable mention in 2009-10). Coach Cullop recently took a few minutes from her busy summer schedule to share her thoughts about the state of the Rockets' program.
Q: Talk about the goals you have for the team in 2010-11?
A: We would like to defend our MAC West title, challenge for the conference overall title and make our second straight post-season berth, preferably in the NCAA tourney.
Our players understand the level of preparation it takes to be successful. Even though we have several new players in 2010-11, I feel our returnees will do a great job of bringing them up to speed.
Q: What kind of effect does winning the MAC West Division title and advancing to post-season play for the first time in almost a decade have on your program in 2010-11?
A: I was excited to see our players enjoy the fruits of their labor. They worked extremely hard to get us back to post-season play and win the MAC West Division. Now that our players understand the level of commitment it takes to get to post-season play, we will be challenging each other daily to raise the bar! Our players gained some confidence by achieving what we did last season, but they would love to someday play in the NCAA Tournament someday soon.
Q: You have one of the best players in the MAC returning in junior Naama Shafir. Talk about the value she has for your team?
A: I envision Naama taking over some leadership responsibilities since she is so widely respected on our team. She works extremely hard and pays close attention to detail. Not only can Naama score, but she involves everyone in the offense, a skill that is made evident with her No. 3 national ranking in assists last year.
Q: Senior Melissa Goodall is in her fourth year in the Toledo program. Being an honorable mention all-league selection in 2009-10, what do you expect out of her in her final season donning the Midnight Blue & Gold?
A: Melissa's incredible work ethic this off-season has sent a clear message to her teammates that she wants to have a very successful senior campaign. She has steadily improved over the past two years, and I see her making yet another jump. She has worked hard to extend her range and will be even more of a threat from the three-point arc this coming season, in addition to being a great low-block threat. She is also another player who will take over some leadership responsibilities left by our three graduating seniors.
Q: You need to replace five letterwinners from last year's squad, including All-MAC performer Tanika Mays and four-year letterwinners Allie Clifton and Lisa Johnson. How do you go about doing that?
A: Those three seniors brought a lot to the table. They possessed great work ethics, understood what we were trying to accomplish on both ends of the floor and inspired their teammates daily to give their all. I know they did a great job mentoring the younger players, so I believe we have some leaders.
Q: What is the biggest difference from last year's MAC West Division championship squad to this year's team?
A: Hopefully we will be healthier in 2010-11. We battled a lot of injuries across the board last year, so we didn't always get an opportunity to take full advantage of our depth.
Q: With three starters returning, you have plenty of experience to rely on. What are your expectations for them?
A: We have more depth at the point-guard position than we had last year. That should enable Jessica (Williams) to focus more on the shooting-guard position. Because she will have more of an opportunity to specialize in a position, I feel we can keep her legs fresher and increase her shooting percentage. Melissa (Goodall) has extended her range. Even though she scored consistently from 15 feet last year, she will extend the defense even more with her three-point range this season. She has also increased her strength which will come in handy battling for boards. Naama (Shafir) proved last year she could hit more consistently from three-point range, and we'll need her to continue to be a threat from the arc as well as driving to the basket. We also want her to continue to improve her assist-to-turnover ratio. All three of our returning starters will be relied on for leadership as we graduated our three captains from last year.
Q: Can you talk about the newcomers that are coming into the program?
A: Junior Haylie Linn is an exceptional three-point shooter. She has good size for a perimeter player and possesses a great work ethic. She also has a great understanding of the game. Junior Kaneesha Lee runs the floor well, has strong endurance, has a soft shooting touch from 15 feet and does a nice job altering the opponent's shots with her long wingspan. Junior Sarah Clark has the unique ability of being a perimeter player, who likes to use her size and strength to post up much like Allie Clifton did for our program the past few years. Sarah has shown the ability to light it up from the three-point arc as well. She knows how to win, leading Owens Community College to one of its best seasons in school history. Sophomore Anna Sonka has good size for a perimeter player. She has the ability to stretch the defense with her three-point shooting ability. Her international play provides great experience since she's had the opportunity to test her skills against some of the best the world has to offer. She too has the ability to post up and passes the ball well. Sophomore Brianna Jones runs the floor well, is a strong rebounder and possesses a nice outside shooting touch. Recruiting locally is very important to us, and we recruited her strongly out of high school. It will be exciting to see her and Yolanda (Richardson) playing together after watching them battle it out during their high school years. Not only are they friends off the court, but their individual skill sets will complement each other on the court. Redshirt freshman Andola Dortch returns to the floor after a year hiatus. Unfortunately, she suffered two ACL's this past year, but is recuperating nicely. Andola brings speed, athleticism and competitiveness to our team. She is a very unselfish player who gets her teammates involved, but could possibly be our best on-ball defender. Freshman Janelle Reed-Lewis has uncanny speed. She'll be able to hawk the opponents point guard defensively and push the ball up the floor in transition. She's quick driving to the basket and has three-point shooting ability. She's the all-time leading scorer in the history of her high school, so she knows how to put points on the board. Freshman Mariah Carson has a soft touch around the basket, has great timing for blocking shots, is a solid rebounder, and has a variety of post moves in her arsenal.
Q: How do you view the MAC race unfolding in 2010-11?
A: We lost some key players, so we'll need the preseason to see how quickly we can adjust. I do feel we have the talent to compete for a league championship, but our talent needs seasoning. It is exciting to see the depth and ability we have up and down our roster. There are teams who return more starters than we do. I think the MAC will be tougher than ever.
Q: How would you assess your non-conference schedule in 2010-11?
A: It is exciting to begin the season in the WNIT, and we are thrilled to open up at home. The WNIT will be a great opportunity and measuring stick for the season. Our players will have an opportunity to compete against quality competition right out of the gate. In addition to the WNIT, we once again have nationally ranked Dayton, 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Cleveland State, Indiana and Northwestern to name a few. Our non-conference schedule will definitely have us prepared for the tough MAC season.
Q: You are entering your third season as head coach. Talk about your two years as head coach at Toledo?
A: The past two years have been a joy watching the progress of our program. Our players bought into the style of play, worked their tails off to improve and made great strides. Two years ago, we challenged our players to hang new banners in our arena...it will be fun to hoist two new banners this fall (one for MAC West title and one for WNIT 2nd round). We hope to soon raise the bar and challenge for a MAC Championship and an NCAA berth. Our rafters are good reminders of a rich women's basketball history. Even though we are proud of the strides we have made, our players want more! Our fans are amazing! Owning the MAC attendance record for 20-straight seasons is such an awesome feat! Our fans make our job so much fun because they appreciate women's basketball. This past year we finished 48th in the country in attendance. I love the atmosphere our fans provide our team at home games and on the road. We are very thankful for their support.
Q: Talk about your coaching staff?
A: I am very blessed to be surrounded by four people who are very talented and compliment me. Nitra (Perry) has done an excellent job attracting student-athletes to our program. Her enthusiasm and infectious personality is helping us compete with some of the best programs in this region for recruits. She has also done a great job developing our perimeter players. Todd (Mitmesser) has one of the toughest jobs in scheduling. The more we win, the tougher it is to schedule opponents for the following season. He has an exhausting job calling schools around the country and putting together a competitive schedule that will prepare us for the MAC and the opportunity for post-season play. It is helpful to have someone with head coaching experience on your bench to offer suggestions and play devil's advocate. I really appreciate Todd's expertise and his ability to bring the best out of our post players. He has also done a fantastic job building our up our summer camps. Katie (Griggs) has her hand in many tasks for our program. Her ability to multi-task and organizational skills are second-to-none. I had the opportunity to coach her when she was a player at Xavier. The skills that made her a success on the court are shining through as a coach. She really understands the game, relates well to our players and has made a big impact on our program in just one season. She assists with our perimeter players, assists with recruiting, makes sure our players equipment needs are met and oversees our international recruiting efforts. Being a graduate of UT, Kristi (Zeller) possesses great pride for our program. It has been very helpful to have a member of our staff who knows UT inside and out. Kristi oversees our tape exchange program, managers, and marketing and community service efforts. Even though Kristi is in a position where she is not allowed to "coach" she has added so much to our program behind the scenes. We really appreciate the long hours she has given us while also working hard to complete a graduate degree.
