Oct. 11, 2010

Skylar Diggins o Sophomore o Guard

On running the point this season…

“I ran a little bit of the point last year when Lech (Melissa Lechlitner) was out, but obviously losing her and knowing the offense inside and out and knowing what everyone else wants to do, someone had to step up and take that leadership role as a point guard. Kaila Turner is going to come in and help me out with that as the season keeps going, but for right now that is me. I am looking forward to it because I will have the ball more in my hands. Definitely as a team right now we are going to be pushing. We are going to be up-tempo. We are pushing to have 80-90 possessions a game, so I know that I am not really worried about scoring because I know that I will have the ball more. It will just be a new challenge coming from me, but I played the point in high school and last year a little bit. It will just be a matter of how much more I will be playing it.”

On if she likes playing point guard …

“I love it. I like calling the shots. I am kind of bossy. I just like having the ball in my hands. You get to call the plays. You get to call the shots.”

On people keeping up with her on the court…

“I am going to be running and I think Coach (McGraw) is definitely preaching that. We lost a lot of experience, but what we gained was a lot of speed and energy. We are definitely going to be a full court team, pressing up and down, in your face, man to man. Like I said, we are trying to get 90 possessions a game, maybe 100 possessions a game, so every time we have a chance to run, we are going to do that. Be looking for an up-tempo team even more than last year. And with me running it, I am definitely going to be pushing everybody and I know that they are going to be ready to run with me. I love that because it gives us more opportunity to score. This team is so good in transition. If you remember us from last year, when we got it up and down and controlled the tempo, we controlled the game. That is definitely what this team is going to be doing this year.”

On if she will be shooting thre- pointers as often as she used to …

“I don’t know. We will see. I am new to this. As long as we are winning, I don’t care. We can score from all positions. I feel like anybody on this team can score now. I am looking for us to be playing 10 and 11 deep as the season goes on. All three of our freshmen can go. They can play. What we lost in experience, we gained in speed. We gained some height. I am the second shortest on the team now. I told them that doesn’t meant anything. I will take it up with Ariel (Braker), too. We joke about that all the time. This team is a great team and we are going to be fast this year and score from all positions. Me being the point, if I have to score two, if I have to score 20, if I have to score 30 or if I scored three in the game if we are winning, I don’t care.”

On how Devereaux Peters is different now than she was last year…

“Well this is Dev’s first preseason being healthy. We want to keep her healthy all year. She is looking good. She actually threw one down in practice the other day off an oop. I just put it on the rim and she got up. This was her first time trying it. I remember last year she was still worried about people being under her and worrying about jumping. Now she can jump out of the gym and she is really displaying all of her skills now. She is showing that she is healthy and that she is getting her confidence back. She looks the part, too. “

On if Devereaux Peters slammed…

“Oh, she slammed it. It was just us in our practice. We always joke. I mean Rock (Erica Solomon) can grab rim and Ariel (Braker) can grab rim. There are a lot of us who can grab rim. Well, I mean a lot of them. I was like ‘Hey, Slim touch the rim” – I call her Slim – so she jumped up and touched it. I said ‘dunk this right quick,’ so I put it on the rim and it was like ‘POW!’ and it bounced back. The way she slammed it bounced up and came back. We were all like ‘OOOOOH! Slim dunked it! Slim dunked it!’ That just shows that she is getting her confidence back. If she does that in that setting, just imagine if we are on a fast break coming up the court and her adrenaline is going. That could be something that changes the game. I am just so happy that she is healthy and we want to keep her like that.”

On the team this year…

“I think we are more athletic. We are just quicker. We pressed last year, but this year we are going to be pressing a lot more. We are going to be up in your face a lot more and for a lot longer period of the game.”

On how she is different after a year of college experience…

“I mean experience is everything I think. I could tell the freshmen what to expect. I don’t think people could tell me any more, but I had to go through it myself to actually see what it was like and to get used to it. If I had any advice for the freshmen I would just say ‘Play like yourself’ because it took me a couple of games to get used to my role and where I was going to be at, but I was coming to a team that didn’t lose any seniors. Everyone was pretty set in their positions. I had to make my way, but for these freshmen I think they have an amazing opportunity to come in and really establish themselves and their presence.”

On how the ending of last season (a last-second OT loss in the Sweet 16 to Oklahoma) help motivate the team…

“That is definitely incentive. We still talk about that game sometimes. As much as you try to put it behind you, it has to be your motivation. You have to use that game as fuel to practice and getting the most out of every drill. We are definitely pushing each other. This is an amazing group to work with and we understand what we have to do. We understand the feeling of losing a Sweet 16 game when we should have been in the Final Four and even to the national championship game. We know what we have to do, and we’re getting the freshmen on that same page.”

Devereaux Peters o Senior o Forward

On her presence on the court this year…

“I am going to go out there and have fun this year. This will hopefully be my first full season and I am going to take advantage of this year. I would like to get out there and do all of the things I haven’t been able to do in the past. I am just going to try and make a name for us on the court.”

On what she plans to improve on for this season…

“I would like to be more physical inside, while playing smarter to avoid committing as many fouls. To my advantage, I am quicker than most posts, so I plan to use my speed to get around them.”

Kaila Turner o Sophomore o Guard

On her preparation going into the season…

“I feel much more prepared and comfortable entering this season. I understand the system and the caliber of players we have. I am excited and feel ready to start the season.”

On the confidence in each other…

“We feel very confident in each other’s ability. We understand what each player is capable of doing. Now we all just need to go out there and play hard and execute everyday.”

On your game style…

“I am a leader on the floor and I look to make and create plays for my teammates. I want to give each of them the opportunity to get to the basket.”

Natalie Achonwa o Freshman o Forward

On her experiences overseas (at the FIBA World Championships) these past few weeks …

“I have just been very lucky to have the opportunity to even go there and represent my country. I learned a lot just playing and watching and observing. I tried to take as much information from learning from different players in taking different techniques on how people see the game and play the game. I am trying to bring all of that back and use it in practice to make my teammates better and to make myself better.”

On how she is not necessarily the typical freshman because of her international experience and how that has seasoned her …

“It has been a huge benefit especially with missing the time. Just from being in NEDA (Canada’s National Elite Developmental Academy) and not living at home and having to make decisions at an earlier age has helped me adjust easier. I feel like if I was just regular and coming out of high school and going to a new country and starting university, I think it would be really difficult to miss that time. But, because of the people here and my experiences in going to NEDA and missing school, I think it was a lot easier transition for me.”

On how easy her decision to play college basketball in the U.S. was …

“I guess as soon as I started playing at a higher level and started to develop my game, it was not even a question. It was just about where I fit in and where did I enjoy being. And clearly that was here.”

On her decision to play at Notre Dame …

“The first time I talked to Coach McGraw on the phone, I felt like I had to talk to her for so long. Even when I got to campus, I felt like everyone I met was a lifelong friend. There was no awkwardness or uncomfortability. I felt like I belonged with them and I clicked with the coaching staff and all of the players I met. And as soon as I got on campus it was beautiful. It is only about six hours from my house. It is just a great atmosphere with the people who are here at Notre Dame.”

On her adjustment to college life and American life…

“As much as people may not believe, Canada is not that different from America. It is not that different. The whole schooling is tough. University is a lot harder than high school and it has taken work, but I have accepted the challenge and I am working on it. I have had my first university exam and I am ready. I have been working hard to catch up and stay ahead when I was away and now I feel like I am getting back in the flow. Academically, I am getting back in the flow and on the court we are just starting back up. It is great to be back with the team. “