TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

How much has the experience of getting 23 starts last season helped you out this year?
Being in the starting lineup last year has made me a more confident player this season. It has helped me become a stronger leader on the floor. Obviously, you learn from the mistakes you make so the more experience you have the better player you become.

This season you are averaging close to nine points per game, which is almost double what you averaged last year. What have been some of the reasons for that increase?
A lot of it has had to do with my confidence. I know what Coach Dozier and my teammates expect from me. I think it also helps that we have such a balanced offensive attack. The opposition can’t key on any one of our players because we are all capable of scoring.

Talk about the backcourt depth on your team and the competition for playing time.
We are certainly very deep at the guard position. Every day, you have compete and play your hardest. There aren’t any hard feelings between any of us, we all know that it is a competitive situation and thrive off that.

How significant was it for your team to begin the season with so much success?
It’s definitely been a great start for us. We came out really strong in the beginning and I think that’s going to carry over for the remainder of the season. It was important to come back strong after our loss to St. Joseph’s. We all put that game behind us and bounced back to play tough the next game.

What have been some of the key factors in the productive start?
The attitude of the team has changed. Everyone has a positive outlook and mentality. We are a much better prepared team this year because of that.

What is it that your team attempts to accomplish on offense?
We’ve been running a motion-type offense when a team plays man-to-man defense. We try to get out and run as much as we can, which puts a lot of pressure on the defense. Up against a zone, we try to work the ball inside. Our post players have done a great job all season.

How often are set plays run, or does everything revolve around an offensive set each time down the floor?
We have a bunch of different plays we can go to if the situation calls for it. What is important about those plays is that they are not just specifically designed for one person; anyone can execute them. Coach Dozier involves everyone in our offense.

What is the defensive philosophy your team employs?
Our main focal point is always defense. This season, we’ve played a lot of man-to-man. That gives us an opportunity to come up with steals, especially with someone like Hollie Cook on the floor. Our efforts on defense have helped out our offense a lot. We’ve generated a lot of offensive chances from the defensive end.

You once scored 51 points in a game at Kenton Ridge High School. Describe that performance.
It was senior night and my last home game. I got to play with my younger sister, who was a freshman. That was a great opportunity. I hit a couple of three-pointers in the beginning and the game really just had the feel of an ordinary night. In the fourth quarter, I hit some more threes and my coach said something like, “See how many you can hit.” I wound up with eight three-pointers. It was an exciting night and an awesome experience. Everyone on my team was on that night.

That Kenton Ridge team averaged over 100 points per game during your senior season. How were you able to accomplish something like that?
In high school, there generally aren’t the big post players like you see at the collegiate level. We weren’t a big team and we basically started five guards. We had a very athletic team and we just focused on getting the ball up the floor quickly. Some people joked that our practices were like track practices, but that was the way we played.

-The ’10 Questions with…’ feature is compiled by Geoff Nason.