American Conference Women's Basketball Media Day Recap
October 31, 2014 | Women's Basketball
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Coaches' Panel & Discussion | Preseason Coaches' Poll
NEW YORK - East Carolina Women's Basketball Head Coach Heather Macy and redshirt junior guard Jada Payne attended American Athletic Conference Media Day at the New York Athletic Club on Thursday, Oct. 30. The two spent the day talking with a variety of media outlets, including ESPN and SNY.
Below are select quotes from Macy during the coaches' panel. To watch her speak, check in at 30:25 and 61:31 on the video player on the coaches' panel & discussion link above.
On East Carolina's Redshirt Program:
"We've got a little bit of a strategy with what we do with our redshirts. Jada Payne and Abria Trice are products of that. They came right out of their redshirt years and made all-conference teams. We're really proud of the commitment they've made to our strength and conditioning program. Jeff Connors has done an amazing job for us at East Carolina with the workout program and the reps they were able to take in practice, maturing, studying the game and studying how we want to play. A little bit of it is being coaches on the side. It's like when you have kids at camps and they say, 'Oh, Coach, now I get it. Now I get why it's so frustrating. Why won't those kids listen?' and I say, 'Exactly,' every single day. I think they see it from a different perspective when they have the opportunity to play. When you look back, historically, redshirting was what everyone did. You didn't play true freshmen. So, I think sitting out for a year and maturing - we've seen great results from it."
On What To Expect From ECU This Season:
"First, I think you have to look at our fans. Pirate Nation is unbelievable. It's a rabid fan base that loves sports. The community loves sports and they're not apologetic about that. What an amazing opportunity I've got to coach these kids every day. The kids want to work hard. They love the game and love being in that gym. Yes, we have five returning starters and the kids are coaching the kids, which is fun, but we are throwing the ball all over the gym and I can't guarantee how many times that we can score that ball, but I promise you that we are going to play incredibly hard, and we are going to defend and rebound every single night. When you do that, you give yourself at least an opportunity (to win) at the end of the day."
