[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Welcome to the Roundhouse Podcast with Paul Sullentrop of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. Thank you very much for listening. We appreciate your time. Our guest today is Wichita State women's basketball coach Terry Nooner. He joins us to wrap up summer workouts. He has 11 new shockers. They are joining four returners. Breonne White, Kylie Ortiz, Maes Sissoko, and Fiona Jamande. So, Terry, let's start with assembling the roster. You're in your third season here at Wichita State. A lot of experience before that, obviously at different places. What have you learned about recruiting as all of us kind of continue to make our way through the new ways of college athletics?
[00:00:54] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think for us, we really wanted to. As we evaluated and looked at a roster, looked at the league and who's at the top of the league and trying to figure out how do you go from where we were at our point in the league and trying to move up towards the middle and the top of the league. And so for us, it was about just bringing in high character kids, kids that love the game, kids that worked hard, kids that love to work on and off the court, kids that had integrity, gym rats that had a chip on their shoulder that kind of had a lot to prove. So we kind of came up with like a kind of like a profile of like the person first, and then you kind of added like, you know, like a skill set of kids. So that was kind of like our approach going into the Portal.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: So the recruiting process is sped up with the transfer Portal. Do you find yourself doing more background work, talking to coaches? How do you. How do you go about finding the people you want on your roster?
[00:01:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think that's a big part of it. So. So we. I mean, we. When you first see kids again to Portal, of course you're looking at film and you're looking at skill sets and that kind of stuff. But for us, culture is so important. And what you having to replace players and having to create a new team every year, like the culture is going to be a big part of how you try to build your roster. And so we talked to another head coaches, assistant coaches, we talked to AAU coaches that were connected to the kids. We talked to opposing coaches that we may knew that they played against. So we tried to do a lot of background work on the people that we were bringing into, you know, our program to make sure that they were the right fit, culture wise. And then, of course, the basketball is going to be the basketball.
[00:02:39] Speaker B: You mentioned The American Conference. What have you learned about this conference and how you best go about competing in it?
[00:02:44] Speaker A: I mean, it's tough. I mean, our league, I mean, we. We have, you know, WNBA players and pros that are coming out of our league.
I think when you look at the history since we've been in the league, like if you look at on the court in wise, I think the 4 position, I would say is probably has been the deepest position in our league. And so that was important then. It's just having people that are versatile. You have to be able to play a bunch of different styles. I mean, because we got a bunch of different styles of play. You got athletic and tough, physical teams like Temple and North Texas and UTSA and Eastern Carolina with the way they play. And you have teams like Tulsa who, you know, shoot threes and they're super versatile and they got their motion offense.
Rice is similar to that. South Florida run a lot of plays within their physical, and UAB shoots a lot of threes and they play kind of five out. And so you got to have versatility within your roster to be able to guard, be able to guard people and score. So we, I think we assemble a roster where we can play big, we can play small. We got versatile fours who can move to the guard spot, that can move from the guard spot to the center spot if we need to. We got big, strong posts, we got athletic posts, we got shooters. And so we really felt that we needed to have a bunch of versatility and then having a deep roster too, you know, because you always got to deal with injuries at some point during the season, and being able to have people that can step up in other people's places is important.
[00:04:16] Speaker B: You've talked about how pleased you are with the strength and conditioning work this summer. Boot camp assistant coach Antwan Scales took charge of that.
What did boot camp look like?
[00:04:26] Speaker A: It was a lot of running, a lot of core work. It was early in the mornings. We were up here at seven in the morning three or four times out the week, in addition to the stuff we did on the court and in the weight room. So he and Coach Jazz, our strength coach, kind of came up with a program for how to mesh what she does in the weight room with what we want to do condition wise, and then kind of fit that into what we needed on the court. But we really feel like we needed to be able to apply a lot more pressure, need to be in a lot more shape. And another thing I think that you add when you talk about condition, I Think it just makes players a lot more mentally tough. And if you can put them through a bunch of tough stuff through the summertime, and it kind of creates camaraderie with the players.
So when we get through tough situations when we get into the season and the way that we want to play is aggressive and fast and get up in people. And so for us to be able to do that, we need to be in the best shape. So I think Coach Scales really helped us build a big time foundation throughout the summer. And, you know, we're excited about where we are going into the school year.
[00:05:33] Speaker B: Bri White described this team as dogs going at dogs. You've talked about the competitive spirit of this group. Give us some examples about what you've seen.
[00:05:43] Speaker A: I mean, I think especially if you watch it as a coaching staff, we talk about, we watch Ted Davis and Diamond Richardson, you know, they both kind of play the point guard spot. And just, you know, watching those two competition compete against each other, like if you watch them compete during live action and during practice, you probably would think that they didn't like each other. But then they're like the closest and like best friends off the court. And so just to see the type of team, because sometimes people can get over competitive or can get to where it crosses the line. I think we have a team that really pushes the limit. They really push each other every single day.
And, and everybody has had like a great day and, you know, they celebrate each other when one is making shots or one is doing great on defense. And so like Bree said, it's a bunch of dolls that are, you know, really go at each other and they want to make each other better. And then once, once practice is over, everybody's friends and they're working out together and they're hanging out at the TBT games and all the different stuff that they do off the court. So it's. It's just a fun group to be around.
[00:06:48] Speaker B: You're wearing your Nike gear.
I see Dominic and Lucy running around the department with carts full of bo. They've got to be the most popular people in this building. Wichita State went to Nike officially on July 1st. What's that mean for your basketball program?
[00:07:04] Speaker A: It means a lot. I mean, I mean, if you look at recruiting like most kids and you know, the people that we're trying to bring in, like their brand of choice is Nike.
And, you know, we always would have to, you know, tell them that they need to wear Under Armour stuff when we're doing like, stuff with the team and stuff in public and that kind of stuff. And I mean, those are just. That's just the brand that they grew up on. That's the brand that they really love to wear. I mean, and not even just them. Like my coaching staff, they've been pleased with it. When we tell recruits and they know that we're going to Nike. That's been a huge plus for us when we're bringing new people into the program. So it's been huge for us.
It was funny just seeing, you know, like the first day when my staff came into the offices going from June to July and they could wear their Nike stuff legally and proudly. Just seeing the air, confidence, and everybody's kind of walking around with the shoulders, rear back a little bit more and a little bit more confident. And like, even my staff, like, they just love to wear it. They love to wear Nike stuff. And this was what they were wearing when we weren't doing school sanctioned events and that kind of stuff. So everybody's just been happy with the move and the way the gear looks. And like Dominique, like you said, when he comes in with the boxes, everybody's going crazy and happy.
[00:08:25] Speaker B: Everybody's happy to see those two when they are handing out the gear. No doubt about that. How much of the attraction to Nike is the. Is the look and the feel and how much of it is performance for the basketball players?
[00:08:38] Speaker A: I mean, I think the look and the feel is kind of what Deion says. Something about, you look good, you play good, or something like that. I think it's just a.
It could be a.
I mean, I think it's just they feel good. I think they just feel a lot more confident when they're out there and they're in things that they're comfortable playing in that they've played in their whole entire lives. And so I think it's going to help us play a lot better. I think it just gives us a lot more mental confidence. And like you said with Deion, like, you feeling good and so you play good, so you look good, you feel good, you feel good, you play good. And so that's what we hoping for.
[00:09:13] Speaker B: Is there a shoe model that's particularly popular with women's basketball players?
[00:09:19] Speaker A: I mean, I think probably now what I've seen the most biggest and some of the stuff I've learned just from my daughter. She's 12 now and she plays. So Asia Wilson came out with a shoe like this off season, and that's been probably one of the more popular one. I know Caitlin Clark has some. Her version of like Kobe's that sell out as soon as they go online. So those are super popular. Sabrina's are popular, the Kobe's are popular.
But really too with me is, you know, I want my players to feel comfortable too and what they play in. So, you know, you have different. Some people like lower, some people like higher. And so you kind of this summer kind of just try to let them get a feel for what they feel comfortable in and what they play the best in.
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Guard Jayla Harding, Wichita Southeast. He's one of your newcomers. You had success with treasure job. Taylor Jamison, past two seasons returning to Washington.
Tell us about Jayla. How does she help the Shockers?
[00:10:17] Speaker A: Just a sweet kid. I mean skill set wise. And she's probably gonna get tired of it because she does more things than what we say. But the biggest thing is her ability to shoot and make three point shots. We had a, we would do like these 10 minute scrimmages where we might play for a quarter in time. It was one day before we were going recruiting. We played two of them and then one of the ten minute scrimmages. And this with a running clock, got fouls and everything.
I think she was like six or eight from three in like one quick ten minute scrimmage. So just her ability to shoot, we, I mean we didn't shoot the ball from three very well last year. And so having her, just her ability to stretch the floor, she's very smart and cerebral. She's always in the gym. She's super, super tough mentally. And just to have like you like, like I've talked about so many times, like bringing hometown kids back home and, and the pride that they have in this place and wanting to be able to play in front of their family and friends I think is huge.
But her skill set, just her smarts, her IQ and then her ability to be able to knock down shots, like it's gonna help us a lot and it's gonna make me look like a better coach.
[00:11:27] Speaker B: She played at Butler county, played at New Mexico State before transferring to wsu. At Southeast, Jamila Bonner, a former Shocker, was one of her coaches. Am I remembering that correctly?
[00:11:36] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: Very good. Bree White, one of your returners. She's talked about working on her outside shooting skills. Tell us about that. Does that have the potential to be a bigger part of Bree's game?
[00:11:48] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. I mean, I think anytime if you look at offenses and especially the way the game is kind of changing, three point shooting is such a big part of the game now. And it's an added bonus where you can have people that are forwards and, and people that play in the front court that can shoot from three because it just gives you more space for the guards to be able to drive and that kind of stuff. And when Bri came in, we knew that she can really shoot. And so last year was like just getting her more comfortable with, you know, she kind of had some handcuffs on her with being able to stretch out and take shots from the outside. And so she's worked tirelessly with, you know, with Mandy and Shamari. And our coaching staff through the off season are just trying to like stretch her range, range out because we know that if she can knock down threes and if we have fours and fives that can knock down threes, that's gonna make it better for everybody.
[00:12:38] Speaker B: You've talked about how much you liked your group of power forwards. Yeah, Bri White would be one of them.
Take fans through that group. And why you like that bunch so much?
[00:12:47] Speaker A: It's just so you got Bri, who's, you know, strong and physical.
You got Treasure Thompson, who's, you know, was 6:2 with a 6:7 wingspan. That left handed, that super smart defensive demon, block shots, can guard one through five, can, can get the rebound, can bring it up the floor, can make plays for a teammate. She talks on defense, she's so just her versatility. She just looks like some of the top players that we've had in our league.
So getting her was huge. Jada McDonald is just a just explosive, strong, aggressive.
She chased down blocks, drives to the basket. Just tough mentally. A Dallas kid. And so she just kind of brings like that Dallas, that city toughness that you have from them. You have Sophie, who we got from Seattle, who's more of a stretch four, who's cerebral, can pass, can stretch the floor. She shoots three, she shoots mid range.
She can score in the post. She can score, you know, with both hands. She can handle the ball and just has a great feel for the game.
Who else are the four?
[00:14:05] Speaker B: Bella.
[00:14:06] Speaker A: Bella's probably more of a five, but she's just. Her is just another front court kid. That's guards, she can play guards one through five, super athletic, runs the floor, runs like a deer, blocks shots, pick and rolls offensive rebounds. So she creates extra shots for her. So we just, we just got a lot of versatility with that position and then some of them ladies, Sophie, we've seen her do it, we've seen Treasure do it.
We can move them also to the guard spot if we need to if we want to play with a bigger lineup, which I think that just imposes, brings some more problems for the other teams that we'll have to play again.
[00:14:47] Speaker B: Let me run through these names to familiarize fans with them. You mentioned Jada McDonald's. She's a junior from Dallas, transfer from Pensacola State College.
Treasure Thompson, graduate student, transfer from Texas Southern.
Sophie, you're gonna have to help me with her last name.
Benaruga. Okay. She's also a graduate student, transfer from Seattle University.
So that's the group of many of the players that'll be playing the power forward for the Shockers.
Point guard.
She played for Antoine Scales at Garbage City.
Now here at Wichita State, transfer from Fordham.
How does she fit into the plan?
[00:15:26] Speaker A: Just great. I mean, she's just an elite pass first point guard. I mean, with Antwan, like I've seen games and seen stats. She had a game where she had 20, 22 assists one time in a game. The players just love to play with her just because she plays to try to get you shots and get people open. And her ability to pass the ball has been, you know, awesome for us at the point guard spot. And she's super, super cerebral and smart. She's tough. And each game she's at least once a game she's going to steal the ball from opposing point guard and go down and lay it up. That's just kind of like one of her little skill sets, but just runs the team, just a vocal leader and she just brings toughness and tenacity that you need from the point guard spot and just understands how to run the team. She knows where people need shots and she understands where people need to get the ball so they can SC and that kind of stuff. So the players, they love playing with.
[00:16:21] Speaker B: Ted, you've got at least two players, Abby Cater and Treasure Thompson, who say they're interested in sports broadcasting. How much of a look at their personalities and their ability to, I guess, talk in front of a group. How much of a look at that have you gotten?
[00:16:36] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I've seen. I mean, they've done like social media stuff. And Abby, she's a person that's shy first, but then once you get to know her, like super outgoing and smart and funny and makes jokes. And me and her got a lot of jokes just because she's a D.C. kid. And so sometimes if she's not playing good, instead of saying from D.C. i tell her she's from Annapolis or different counties.
That's not considered like D.C. they kind of Throw little jabs and stuff at her, but just a good kid. And then you have treasure. Big personality, always talking, fun, laughing.
She calls and checks on me on weekends and lets know she misses me. And so just, she's another just a big personality. So I can definitely see them being good at that. Hopefully we can get them in some situations where they can kind of do some of those things.
[00:17:32] Speaker B: Yeah, I think fans would enjoy their personalities based on what the short time I've been around them. Yes. Abby and I had a discussion about she's a big Redskins fan, big Kevin Durant fan from that part of the. Being from that part of the country, non conference schedule. What can you tell fans about.
[00:17:48] Speaker A: About that we go, I mean, really challenge ourselves again this year. I mean Texas Tech is a big, the Big 12 team that sticks out. We'll get to play them on the road. We get to play Oral Roberts again, who we've been playing, who's been, you know, a tough team for us. Missouri State will play in Kansas City at a kind of new event that'll be going on up there at the T Mobile Center.
We'll get Middle Tennessee State. We'll play here. Who's it? You know, a team that's always in the tournament and plays well but you know, got a lot of home games. We get to go to California for Thanksgiving to playing like a shootout.
But it's just a schedule that I feel like we got a bunch of tough teams that we get to play against.
Our fans that get to see, you know, through a lot of the home games that we get to play just to see a new style and see us playing the aggressive, attacking Wichita style that they really growing and love to see around here with.
[00:18:43] Speaker B: UTSA won the American regular season last season, South Florida went to the NCAA tournament.
What do you know about the American at this point? Who are some of the, who are some of the favorites?
[00:18:55] Speaker A: I mean I think those teams are going to always be on the top. It's kind of hard now to really, you know, pick who's going to win or lose just because everybody is so active in the portal and you don't know some of the players that people are bringing in.
But you know, coach Karen, who's one of my closest friends, you know, she, we know she's going to do a good job at UTSA and the way they play and they've done a good job of kind of keeping their top players, you know, as best as she can. I think she lost a couple of her guards, but she's always going to be good. South Florida's always going to be good with Jose and what he's been able to do historically at South Florida.
Rice is always good and they always seem to get hot when we get to tournament time.
North Texas is physical and Jason does a great job down there with his groups. And I mean I think they tied for the league our first year here and then last year I think they got third or something last year, Temple, I mean they're always good. So I think it's going to be interesting to see because I know too, as I mentioned, those teams, you know, they've had like, you know, UTSA has had Jenkins, who was player of the year last year. And I know all those teams have lost a lot of their, you know, top players. So they've done a good job of replacing them. So everybody's probably going to be a little bit different this year.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: Set us up with a schedule for the fall. When do you get ramped back up again?
[00:20:16] Speaker A: So next week we'll first day of school is Monday, so next week it'll be, we call it culture week. So we just, we just go do a bunch of stuff each week day just hammering down culture and expectations and goals and that kind of stuff next week. And then the second week of school is when we start back individuals and then when we get into September that's when we go really get back to like ramp it up. So Monday we have our 12 minute run that everybody has to run at least five and a half laps. So it's something that I stole from Coach Williams when I was at KU that you do the first day of class when you get back to school. So that's something I would do Monday morning.
And then of course you got just official visits and all that kind of stuff, trying to bring new people in because we're gonna have to replace our roster again next year because we have a bunch of grad students.
[00:21:07] Speaker B: So who's gonna finish first in that 12 minute run?
[00:21:11] Speaker A: I would think diamond and Jayla Harden, probably a FL finish first. They're usually the ones that diamond doesn't like to lose any like sprints or anything. So those two are always in the front of everything. So I'm sure they'll be in the front.
[00:21:24] Speaker B: Very good. Wichita State basketball coach Terry Nooner, thank you very much for your time.
[00:21:28] Speaker A: Thanks for having me.
[00:21:44] Speaker B: 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
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[00:22:00] Speaker A: Stroud sets it up. Wigan finishes.
The Shockers stamp their tickets to the NCAA Tournament. They are the American Conference champions.
