[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello. Welcome to the Roundhouse podcast with Paul Sullentrop of Wichita State University strategic communications. Thanks so much for your time. Today's guest is women's basketball coach Terry Nooner. Terry is entering his second season with the Shockers. They wrapped up their summer workouts with a trip to the Virgin Islands, where they won two games, swam with the Dolphins, they took a sky ride, enjoyed the beaches and the water. It seemed like an all around good team bonding kind of thing with basketball thrown in. Shockers ten and 22 last season, they ended on a positive note with wins in two of their final three games. They have several returners, including sophomore guard Solis blow. She averaged 12.3 points last season, was one of the top freshmen in the American Athletic Conference. Also back is forward Jay Le Murray, who started 18 games. Terry, let's start with the big picture summer theme. What did you emphasize? What did you really want to get across to this group?
[00:01:10] Speaker B: I think the biggest thing was we had to get back to my core of basketball. We brought in a bunch of players who were super hardworking, who were competitive, who were tough. Recruiting wise, we wanted to be a lot more athletic. We wanted to rebound a lot better. And so those are the things that we really try to focus in and address during the recruiting process. And then just trying to establish a foundation with nine new players, give people.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: An idea of the summer schedule, how's it set up?
[00:01:39] Speaker B: So one of the big benefits of being able to go on a foreign trip is you get to have ten regular practices. Usually those are kind of set up in the month of July. You'll set those up before you go to your foreign trip. But so the first month in the month of June, we had all the players come here, and that's like our regular summer access. So we get 4 hours where we can do things with the team on the court and then 4 hours where they can do strength and conditioning workouts. So that was kind of like how we started it. We worked on a bunch of individual skill work the first two weeks of the summer just to kind of, you know, get everybody acclimated. The last two weeks, we kind of start putting in a few of the drills and the things that we use during practices. Then once we got into July, it was us getting into real practices, which what the practices will look like during the regular season.
[00:02:33] Speaker A: Which of the returners did you see stepping up and leading? Whether it's helping somebody through a drill, whether it's taking the new people out to eat, whether it's holding other people accountable, who stepped up during the summer.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: I mean, I think one of the biggest things our fans are gonna notice is, I think Jaylen Murray would be one.
If you look at. So we have, what, six returners, and a big thing that they wanna lock in on is we talked about we weren't in the best shape as we could have been in last year, so we did a lot, even in the spring with our returners. So they all met with the nutritionist. They did a lot of individual meetings with our strength and conditioning coach, and we wanted to make sure we were in a, you know, from foundationally just being in a lot better shape. And I want to say she lost, like, 20 pounds, I believe, over the course of, from the last game of the season to the time she went home in May, she just really, like, locked in on her nutrition and her conditioning, and you can really see the difference in her just for how she looks and the way she looks and, I mean, her confidence and her ability to get up and down the floor and the speed that she's running with on the floor. So I would say that was a big one, but I would just say those young ladies just really kind of banded together in the spring. Those six just kind of create, like, a core of this is how we go do things, and we want things to be a little bit different from where they were in the previous season. And we're going to be close, and we're going to be tight, and then when we get our new people to come in, we're going to show them the ropes and how everything is done here at Wichita State.
[00:04:12] Speaker A: Okay, Jayla Murray. I'll remind people. She played in 30 games last year, started 18. She averaged 7.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, which I think would have been second on the team in rebounds, playing in the front court for the Shockers. So she had a good summer.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: I mean, she had a great summer.
And like I said, we really wanted to focus in on the way that we want to play. We want to play fast, we want to play up tempo, we want to be physical. And in order for us to play fast and the way we want to play, you have to be in tip top shape. And I think they really kind of took that mantra on just coming into the summer basketball.
[00:04:51] Speaker A: You mentioned nutrition and this team, it was noticeable. If you're following the shockers on social media, they had etiquette training, financial literacy, and then you took them to Dylan's for some nutrition.
Why are those types of things important?
[00:05:06] Speaker B: I think it's important just because when you talk about bringing, when I recruit young ladies to come to play for us at Wichita State, we talk about developing them as a woman and not just as a basketball player. And I think those are things that are important, that those are life skills that they're going to need once they leave these four years of playing here with us. So, I mean, we even did financial literacy training with the ladies.
We're also trying to schedule some basic self defense stuff that we're going to do with them, and then we're going to do coach Antoine skills. He's like a car geek. So we're going to go one week, and we're going to go to a garage, and he's going to show him how to fix flat tires and oil and just basic car stuff, which I need to learn myself, too. But I just think those are skills that are life skills that they'll be able to use, you know, once the basketball stops bouncing. So we want to develop them as a total full young lady and not just a basketball player.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: It's a good idea. With Antoine Skittles, I may sign up for that. I can change a tire. I change my oil once, but beyond that, I'm not great. That's a good idea.
[00:06:16] Speaker B: And that's his passion.
[00:06:17] Speaker A: Yeah, I know. He's a dedicated car guy. Interesting, interesting. What did the players seem to respond to most? Was there something they all walked out of saying, oh, boy, that was really helpful?
[00:06:29] Speaker B: They really love the media training. I think they love the grocery shopping. I think just learning, you know, what foods to focus on and what to look at, what they need to fuel their body, what they need to eat the day before game, the day of games, and what they need to stay away from, because nutrition, what people don't understand, that's as big a part of condition as running sprints in the basketball part. So I think those two, I would say, probably were the, were the best. They also like the financial literacy stuff, too. I think that's something that all our, all young people need to learn, just basic stuff and creating budgets and counting your money and that kind of stuff, because our players, they stay off campus, so they're getting a lot of practice with maintaining their budgets, and they have to pay their rent each month and that kind of stuff.
[00:07:17] Speaker A: So, yeah, I frequently do stories where athletes will tell you I got away with bad eating habits in high school because I was the most talented person. And then I got to college, and I needed to learn to eat salads and vegetables and chicken and lean meat and things like that. So you've experienced that, too. That's an important step for them.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, we have. I call her also Kalia Parr, and she's a freak athlete. She's the shortest person on the team, but she probably has the highest vertical. I mean, for her size, she's probably pound for pound the strongest person on the team. She's back to back state champion and MVP.
She hates eating breakfast, so she came in a few times, and we had, like, some morning practices, and she didn't have no energy and didn't understand why. So we talked to her about, you know, you have to try to get some food in you to fuel your body, because I think when you're in high school, you think that if you eat before you play that you might throw up or it's gonna make you slower. So I think that's just part of the educational process.
[00:08:18] Speaker A: KP Parr is a freshman guard. She is from Waco, right? Waco, Texas. Yeah. Won a couple state titles, as you, as you said, the ten practices for the Virgin Islands, how did you structure those? What did you want to get out of that?
[00:08:34] Speaker B: We put in our base offense. We really didn't put in a lot of plays. It was more so us, of us trying to focus on how we were going to play.
So we focus a lot on, we would play a lot of games where we played international rules, so the shot clock dropped from 30 to 24, and for us to try to play the kind of pace we wanted to, situations where we would even drop the shot clock lower just to make the games go up and down and that we're playing faster. Cause I really want us to get used to just playing fast and attacking people, whether they score, miss a shot, we got a bunch of people that can handle the ball. So that was a big part of, you know, trying to establish our defensive core principles and then, like, our core base of how we go play on offense.
[00:09:20] Speaker A: So you take a trip to the Virgin Islands, there's a lot of team bonding. How important is that to this whole picture?
[00:09:26] Speaker B: Oh, I think it's huge. I mean, I think that was something that, looking back on, you know, after you go through a year of the process, you know me, I'm, you know, I'm tough on myself and try to think of what I could have done better. And I think the way we structured our summer last year probably didn't help as far as making the team more cohesive and connected. So we really, in talking to our players that were returning like they wanted to do, you know, just a bunch of stuff where they bonded together. So even with Mally hall, who's our sports psych, we would do sessions with her probably. It was like every other week where we talked about our, you know, our vision. Players talked about their vision for the team and confidence. And she attacked. She also attacks, like, a bunch of different issues and how to talk to your teammates during tough stretches and how to motivate your teammates and trying to learn, you know. Cause you got some teammates who you can talk to one way, but, you know, other teammates, they're better off if you pull them to the side and kind of help them out. So that was things that it was good for us in this trip. We got to play the games. We got to see how people perform in game situations. And for us, as coaches, try to figure out what motivates our kids, too, as we get them on the floor.
[00:10:43] Speaker A: So the shockers won the two games that they played in the Virgin Islands. Take us through those two games. What were the big takeaways as far as what you liked? Who played?
[00:10:52] Speaker B: Well, the games were tough. We actually, and I've been on these tours three different times, I think, during my coaching career. Most of the time, you go out of town and you do a bunch of touring and you have fun and you walk in the gym and you'll play, you know, like a group of local people that don't really play. They're just there just for you to beat them by 100 points and you go on your way and finish your touring. Where we played, you know, Regina, which is a. A small college out of Canada, and they played well together and they had their offense and defense and schemes, and they shot a lot of threes.
So for us, the biggest part is we got out of it and we didn't get no injuries, which I think is good. I think we were able to showcase our depth against them, and I think just showing as a team just how much depth we have, how many people that we can play, how many different styles we can play. Like, we can play five out and we can play small. We can match up with teams who play that kind of way because we have, you know, versatile fours that can match up if we have to match up. We can play big with Maisa, Soko and Aisha if we want to play two bigs, or Ella, we can play a bunch of bigs. We can dribble, drive with smaller guards. We can pick up full court. So we was able to showcase that. We can play a bunch of different ways. And I think those are probably the highlights player wise, I would say defensively, we. We got a bunch of steals both games, which was huge for us.
Our defensive intensity, especially from Taylor Jameson, who was a Wichita Heights kid, KP from Waco Princess. They were just dogs on the ball and able to apply ball pressure, which was big for us.
Having Mae and Aisha and then, of course, Jaylen Bree, I think rebounding was a big thing for us. We really only had one dominant rebounder, which I think now we have more people who can go, you know, attack the glass and get offensive rebounds and finish in the paint, which is going to be huge for us. But I just think our defensive intensity was huge for us. And we wore teams down. We got to play a bunch of people. I thought the second game, Jasmine Peakes was. Was big for us. Just at the point guard spot. She's just a, you know, a human highlight with her ability to pass the ball and make plays for people. And she also scored a little bit.
I think we really had highlights from everybody. Fiona, who had just. She got here July 16, I think so. The other players have been here six weeks. She comes in from Paris as a freshman and you can't tell that she's a freshman. Kind of mommy. A lot of selys from last year with. With her condition and how strong she is. And she got in the second game and we put her in for probably five minutes and she instantly had like, seven points and a bunch of steals. And so I think we had a bunch of highlights across the board.
[00:13:54] Speaker A: I'm going to run through some of these names to catch fans up. You may have to help me on the pronunciation. You mentioned Taylor Jamison, played at Heights. She's a transfer from. From George Mason. You mentioned Princess Anderson. Yes. Led the nation in scoring at Pratt Community College.
Fiona, pronounce her last name from Diamondi from France. Okay. Breon White, senior forward transfer from TCU.
Who else did you mention? Jasmine Peaks is a transfer from Indian River State College.
[00:14:28] Speaker B: Mai mai. We just say Mae sissoko.
[00:14:32] Speaker A: Mae sissoko?
[00:14:33] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: Six foot 3ft forward transfer from Cloud county. And Aisha.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: Aisha? Yeah.
[00:14:39] Speaker A: We call her ice and spell her or pronounce her last name.
[00:14:42] Speaker B: Door.
[00:14:43] Speaker A: Ayesha door.
[00:14:45] Speaker B: It's like you.
And then you gotta say the door is kind of. She'll give us a lot of practice with it.
[00:14:51] Speaker A: N d o u R. She's a six foot six senior center transfer from Illinois. I want to go back to Taylor Jamison when I've jumped in to watch a little practice. She seems like she's always fun to watch. Energy. Tell us about Taehyung man.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: She is. She is a fireball. She is intense. She loves Wichita. She's so happy to be here. I think the biggest thing, what she brings is she takes practice very seriously. She's highly competitive. So, like, the level of our practice is a lot more. Because our guards are so competitive with each other. But, I mean, she gets an one in practice. Like, she's celebrating and, and she's picking up full court. Like, she has so much speed in her ability to get in the pain and create for people or get in the pain and score to get the bar in transition. And be able to score in transition. And she's also a heck of a three point shooter, too. So just her passion and love for Wichita thing shows and the way she plays. And she has a huge, big time chip on her shoulder. And wants to prove people wrong.
Really. She takes that man on wholeheartedly. But her speed and intensity and the joy and passion that she plays with our fans are going to love.
[00:16:05] Speaker A: Yeah. Treasure Jobe and DJ McCarty led the shockers and assists last season. Both are gone. Tell us what happens at point guard.
[00:16:13] Speaker B: I think we kind of do it by committee. Taylor can. Taylor can play it. KP is a pass first creating type point guard. And then Jazz and Pete, I would say, will be like our third point guard. So they, and they can all. Because they can all score and play on the ball. They can all also play together.
[00:16:31] Speaker A: KP Parr, we mentioned her freshman. She scored twelve points in one of the games in the Virgin Islands. Describe her game.
[00:16:39] Speaker B: Just similar to, similar to Jasmine. And, like, she plays with a huge chip on her shoulder. She's always been like the shortest person on her team. And she really, like, takes that personal. Like, if you, even if you joke with her about it, like, she's like, I don't care how little I am. Can't nobody beat me or you're not gonna be tougher than me. You can't score me in the post. Like, she really just kind of, like, takes that, kind of that own and just her fire and her passion and her ability to guard the ball and create turnovers. Because she's little. She's, she's, she's fast and she's quick and people are really kind of scared when she guards them on the ball. And she picks up full court every single possession and just plays with so much heart. And she loves to, like, create one of her biggest claim to fames and something that she loves, that she has a cis record at her school. Like, she really, like, loves to create for her teammates and make plays for people. And she loves to take charges, which is another thing. She had a game in high school where she had like 13 charges. So she's gonna put her body on the line for the team and I think the fans are really gonna love her, too. She's just the type of person that you just fall in love with just because of how hard she plays and how tough she is.
[00:17:52] Speaker A: We mentioned Brie White, who played at Oklahoma, played at TCU before coming here. She had 13 points, seven rebounds in one of those games. Describe her role on the team.
[00:18:02] Speaker B: Just a senior veteran leader. She's even killed. Never too high, never too low. She's played at the highest levels of basketball, which is good. She also brings a physical presence. Like when you look at her, just her presence in her body and how strong she is. And she can play four or four us, and if we play teams that small, then she becomes like our small ball five, which is huge for us because she can guard all positions on the floor. So if we're playing teams like we played in, in the Virgin Islands, like, they went five out, they didn't post anybody up. And she played the five four. So she's great passer, high post jump shots and like a range out to probably 15 to 17ft, but loves to pass the ball, loves to rebound, loves to just exert her physical presence, which we love.
[00:18:53] Speaker A: Solyse Blow had a fine freshman year. Tell us about her progress going into sophomore year. What did she work on?
[00:18:59] Speaker B: She's always been one of our hardest workers. One of the biggest, biggest thing she worked on, I would say this year is being more efficient and then being more improving her three point percentage and then being a better on ball defender. You can really see like in the Virgin Islands, like she did a great job just playing defense, which is something that we didn't get a lot from her last year, and it was something that she really focused on. One of the things with her is she's probably one of her hardest critics.
She's never satisfied with the way she plays. She's always in the gym working on her game. She's matured a lot. She's talking a lot more this year. So it's good just to kind of see her from where she was this time last year and then coming in this year is kind of like a veteran and kind of growing up on me. So it's good to see her, what's.
[00:19:47] Speaker A: The rest of the summer look like? And then when do you get started in earnest? In the fall.
[00:19:51] Speaker B: So we start, we got back on the second, so we gave our players. They all went home the third. So they've been with their families and kind of enjoying family time. I told them to take a break and get your bodies rested up. We've been going for, you know, eight or nine straight weeks of stuff, so they need a little bit of break so they all get back here.
14th for all the orientation stuff, we have a set twelve minute run that we do on the first day of class, which would be Monday.
They have to run a certain amount of laps to say that they're in the type of condition that gets started with practices. And we'll start like strength and conditioning the first few weeks of school, and then we'll get started with basketball after a couple weeks.
[00:20:36] Speaker A: Thank you very much. Terry Nooner, women's basketball coach at Wichita State. He's entering his second season. Terry, thanks for your time.
[00:20:42] Speaker B: Thanks for having me.
[00:20:59] Speaker C: Hi, this is Rick Myuma, president of Wichita State University. Check out the latest episode of the Forward together podcast. Each episode I sit down with different guests from Shocker Nation to celebrate the vision and mission of Wichita State University. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
[00:21:29] Speaker D: Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast, courtesy of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. We encourage you to rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more Roundhouse
[email protected]. dot Bradshaw into Wingate.
[00:21:46] Speaker E: Wingate's going to dribble it a couple of times and throws it in the hands of Kuznard. Threw it away. Kuznar to Ryan Martin for the dunk. The shockers are going to the sweet 16.
It's all over. The shockers up. Seven, 3 seconds, two. Jeffer by Smith is no good. Wichita State to the sweet 16.
