Speaker 1 00:00:12 Hello and welcome to the Roundhouse Podcast with Paul Soro of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. We are going to talk today with Terry Neuner, the women's basketball coach here at Wichita State. Terry was hired in April after serving at associate head coach at the University of Kansas. So Terry, you're about two months into the job here at Wichita State. Take us through your priority, your to-do list. How have you spent most of the time, these two months?
Speaker 2 00:00:35 So, uh, my biggest priorities first priority was just to, uh, find the staff, um, of good people that I felt like kind of aligned with all of my goals and, and, and that type of thing. So finding the staff, uh, kind of getting myself adjusted to the city, uh, making sure I met with all of the players that were on the team and just kind of start building those relationships with all the current players that were on the team. And then from there, just trying to figure out what we needed and assessing the team, and then trying to figure out as a staff, what do we need to add to the team to make sure we filled out our roster.
Speaker 1 00:01:09 So as you were advancing through the coaching ranks, coaching at many different places. Yeah, and I would guess a lot of coaches always in the back of their mind, they're kind of keeping a list. Boy, I'd like to work with this person down the road, or if I get a chance to add this person to my staff. Is that, is that the way it went for you? To some degree,
Speaker 2 00:01:25 Uhhuh <affirmative>, and it was something that I learned just from all of the different gray head coaches that I worked for. And they always would talk about you making sure they had a short list. And I remember, um, working for Coach Brenda Fries and I was at Maryland, and she would like mentally take notes of when we were out recruiting, like which assistant coaches would show up on time, which assistant coaches were working hard, which ones were on the phones and that kind of stuff. So for me, that just gave me the mental note of, of like, as I'm out and I would be out recruiting, just kind of keeping a mental note of who was actually out here working there. There were coaches who would work when their head coach was there and when their head coach wasn't there, they wouldn't be working as hard. So just little simple things like that. And then I just wanted to align myself with people that I really trusted, that really had roots and relationships throughout the Midwest, um, and the people that I really trust and, and kind of knew how I run things and knew my personality and had areas of strength that may have been my weaknesses.
Speaker 1 00:02:21 So this would be a good time to remind people about your staff. Antoine Scales assistant coach. People would know him from his great run at South High School here in Wichita. Yes. Brooke Costley played at, uh, Emporia State and Nick Bradford, uh, played with you at the University of Kansas. Yes. So there's a lot of new going on in the, in the women's basketball program. You have nine returners back from last season. Yes. You've got a freshman Salise Blow, uh, and three other newcomers. How do you go about getting this group familiar with each other, getting comfortable? How, what's that process like? Well,
Speaker 2 00:02:50 It's been good that, uh, that uh, with the new, uh, rules, we're allowed to have eight hours with the, with the players throughout each week, um, for our summer access. So that's been awesome. So we had three days of workouts that we could, that we could work out with the returners when I first got hired before they started finals. So from there we just try to lay, uh, a little bit of, uh, foundational things and kind of like my mantras and mottoes and some of the things I kind of live by and a few of the drills that we'll be going through every day. And then coming into the summer, uh, with, with treasure starting, and then salise starting and just kind of trying to build on those foundational things so that when we get into practices and things like that and work outs in the fall, we can kind of hit the ground running.
Speaker 1 00:03:36 So people are always interested in the, in the newcomers. Yes. Uh, you have a freshman guard Salise Blow? Yes. From Texas scored about a million points down there. <laugh>, uh, Sierra Morrow is a forward transfer from Miami of Ohio. You mentioned Treasure job. She's a guard transfer from Emporia State. Played at South High. Yes. And then the most recent edition is Jayla Murray, a forward from Florida Southwestern. Yes. Give us just a little, uh, glimpse of, of what they're gonna contribute.
Speaker 2 00:04:03 I think the bigger things, um, um, all these kids, um, I think a thing about me and people will find out that I really, I feel like I always have had something to prove to people. Never felt like I really, um, like going to KU and being a walk-on and probably feeling like I could have got recruited by a school like ku. So I've always played and, and had like a silent chip on my shoulder. People see my smile and you know, they think I'm happy Gol lucky, but I think that's where I've gotten where I've gotten. But I think we really try to, uh, lock in on players that all kind of have things approved. They have chips on their shoulders and want to prove people wrong. So Salise I guess, you know, she was a kid who, um, she was recruited by Coach Keita, um, which they did a great job.
Speaker 2 00:04:49 I don't, she's a just a huge big time scorer. Um, a strong guard. Um, the surprising, the most surprising thing about her is just how good a shape that she's shown she's been, um, since she's gotten here. And me and her, we had talks throughout the process of her coming and she would ask things she could work on and, and one of the, uh, main things I told her, I told her, just make sure as, as a freshman you come in in the best shape that you can and if you can come in and shape, you'll be able to perform a lot better. So she's actually one of our better conditioned players on the team, which that's been a highlight In addition to how well she scored in high school, treasure's just a leader. I mean, she was a big time scorer in Emporia State.
Speaker 2 00:05:30 Um, I talked at my press conference in all of my beginning stages, I wanted to make sure that I protected home and she was a big time player out of Wichita and she played for Coach Antoine at Wichita State, but just in, and there were, you know, big time power schools that were really after her heart, people that really needed point guards. And once they got into the tape and looked in video and seen how good she is as a pick and roll player and her ability to score all over the floor, like everybody was on her, her. But we really sold her on the fact of being able to come home, playing in front of our hometown fans, playing in front of her mom, who's a big tall w big town Wichita State fan. So we were happy and that was just a big piece for us just to show the fans that we really want to make sure we're protected home.
Speaker 2 00:06:13 Tiara Morero is a big time forward from, uh, she'll be transferring from Miami of Ohio. Um, she's, she can score inside out. She's a sneaky, strong kid about 6 1 62. Um, what we love the best about her is the fact that she can, she's a versatile defender and she can, uh, real good three point shooter from that forward position, which I think will help us create space and driver lanes for our, for our guards that are good. Uh, getting into paint. And then Jayla, who we just picked up is just, I mean, huge Boulder chip on her shoulder. Um, she was recruited by s ECC schools and ACC schools that were really after her harbor. We really sold her on a vision and trying to be a part of a program that was starting from the ground up. I mean, she could play the three, she could play the floor, she could score inside, she could score outside. She's strong, she's tough. She can drive and she can shoot it. Um, so she's gonna give us some size on the perimeter and you can move her inside also. So those are the newcomers and we're excited about
Speaker 1 00:07:12 'em. So Salise Blow seems interesting a lot of times when there're coaching changes. Yes, we have kids who make different decisions. What was the process like of of getting her to to stick with Wichita State?
Speaker 2 00:07:21 Um, just once I, you know, got the job and got her information, we called and we had a real candid conversation and she was really locked in to, to want to be a shocker and, and she felt like this would be home. And I talked to her about my vision. Um, I had a real close relationship with, uh, a young lady from Dallas who played in Missouri, that's her trainer, um, that was also assistant coaches. I was coming up, um, in the ranks. Um, and so I had conversations with her and so Ray Ray kind of vouched for, you know, the person I am, the man I am to her and her parents. So I think it made it pretty easy for us since she was, um, one that I'm, I wanted to make sure that we had to lock in as far as the incoming class.
Speaker 1 00:08:05 So you have the returners nine returners from last season. Do you watch a lot of video of last season to get a feel for them? Yes. Or do you prefer having a clean slate?
Speaker 2 00:08:15 Yes, I, I watch film just to try to see, um, just, you know, I looked at their stat sheets, I looked at clips and and film of all, all of 'em. Of course we played, um, Kansas, played Wichita State last year. Um, but for me, I was really surprised then, like if you look at some of the players and their stats and, and what we felt like once we got 'em on the court, cuz we wanted to give all of 'em a clean slate. We wanted to be able to look at 'em a close and personal, which we got a chance to do, um, for three days before final. So I mean, we were present pleasantly surprised with the skill level we thought we had in the kids or were still left on the team. Um, Lala's been like a huge surprise just with just um, her motor and how hard she plays and her versatility and um, which, so I don't think some of that stuff kind of shows on the, on the games and on the STA sheet.
Speaker 2 00:09:09 Uh, race I think is one is is just highly, highly skilled. Um, big time guard. She's strong, she can handle, she can shoot, she can score, she can pass. And I think she, you know, she probably didn't get as many opportunities last time last year as she probably she felt she deserved. Um, manias just been a great, um, just vocal leader. Um, she was the one who once finals was over, she kept working out with our new strength coach, um, four days a week. And you can tell she's getting in a lot better shape and just her energy level has just been contagious for us cuz she's really fun and happy go-lucky. Um, uh, dj, just for her condition level, she was in the portal and she was one we had to kind of convince to, to stay. Um, so she had entered the portal once I, when I got hired and, and we asked her, can you just come to a practice and kind of see how we run things in the vibe? And she came to a and it was a, you know, a pretty tough practice that she had and, um, she called, came in the very next morning and said she wanted to be a, you know, wanted to get her name out of Porter and wanted to finish things that she started here. So, um, we've just been excited about the group and her energy level and they, they've been very receptive to the program and, and the ideas that we're bringing in.
Speaker 1 00:10:24 Yeah. Let's talk more about dj. She started 32 games last season. She would be a person. Fans are, are really familiar with, she's had a good career here at Wichita State, Uhhuh, <affirmative>. How's it help having a a, an experienced guard around to help with this transition? I
Speaker 2 00:10:37 Think it helps a lot. I think, um, um, because, and, and thinking about how I want to play, I mean I think her and and treasure job is back court partners I think are go, go be great and they compliment each other real well. But just the fact that she's, I mean she's steady, she's not too high, not too low. Um, she's even been between her and naia, they considered ourselves our best recruiters and what they've been able to do to help us in the recruiting rank. So just having a guard who, and when I was out recruiting all of the college coaches, the, uh, big tail guards and guards in our league and they were all kind of jumping at the bid when they seen her in the portal. And so many people wanted to get her to transfer just because as a league guard and her ability to score and attack the basket and um, her strength and the way she can play all over the floor, like that's something that everybody needs. So the fact that we was able to keep her was huge.
Speaker 1 00:11:31 So when you're getting all these new people together, do you spend extra time on team building activities, you know, top golf or Yes. Movie night or pizza. Do you do extra things like that to build those bonds? Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:11:43 I mean, and it, it kind of goes, we've <laugh> we and we've needed them to help us in recruiting. So it kind of has been bonding too within that stuff. We have, I mean we have top, we've had top golf, we've had, we just had bowling, which is some pretty fierce competition, um, between the, the older people and my staff and then the players and, and who was go win and some of the competitive juices came out. But who's
Speaker 1 00:12:09 The best bowler? Let's get right to this. The
Speaker 2 00:12:11 Best bowler. Um, I mean the coaches, we we're obviously, we obviously are the best bowlers. Um, treasurer was probably the better, the best of the players. I mean, I think they were barely getting in the hundreds even though they were talking trash. Um, coaches wise coach Nick Bradford, he was the, he was the best. He averaged probably one 60 or one 70. I think I was, I was second in like the one 50 range. And so that really kind of hurt me cuz me and him, we still compete with each other on everything. So he's still been talking stuff, he's been talking stuff with my kids and telling, you know, teasing me about how he beat me and bowl in front of my kids. So <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:12:48 All right, I'll have to ask Nick about that. Yeah. So the team building aspect though, that's, that's important. The bonding part. Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:12:53 It, it is. And I think, um, I mean we can put, we put them through some tough situations to, um, just through drills and, and competitive situations in practice that are things that I learned from, you know, my days of playing under Roy Williams. And I think those kind of things can kind of make the players bond together, even if it's a, they're bonding because they're mad at me or they're mad at the coaches, but it kind of brings them together, which are little, uh, tricks and stuff I've learned from my time with Roy Williams.
Speaker 1 00:13:26 Is there a picture, uh, or a trophy, something in your office that is particularly significant that maybe when you walk in in the morning you look at it and you think that's really, that's really important? Or maybe it's something you show to recruits when they come to visit?
Speaker 2 00:13:40 Uh, we have a picture of, there was, there's a, there's a, uh, kind of panoramic picture as soon as we walk in. I'm, I'm working on getting a bigger one for my office. I have a smaller version of it on my, um, my, um, whatever my thumb tag board that's on my desk. But it's a picture of um, when the, when the guys that were 31 and oh and there was like a, like you could see the crowd and um,
Speaker 1 00:14:06 Oh the different, do they stripe the arena kind of a thing? Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2 00:14:09 Yeah. That picture,
Speaker 1 00:14:10 The different colors,
Speaker 2 00:14:10 You can see how packed it is, right. That's kind of, that's kind of like the thing that I look at every single day, every time I come in, every time I sit at my desk cuz there's one like right behind my seat. Just because my vision of seeing our, our ladies playing in front of a packed house, that's kind of, and so that kind of symbolizes to me is us having a great program. It's us winning, it's, it is us having super big time fans support and, and my visualization of seeing our games packed, not just men's games packed, but our women's basketball games packed. So that's something that I look at every single day, every time I walk in and outta my office.
Speaker 1 00:14:47 Who would win a game of horse on the coaching staff?
Speaker 2 00:14:51 Uh, if it's just shooting, oh, probably me or Brooke we're the best shooters if cuz Nick and Dunk still. So if he can dunk then he will like beat this just because he can still dunk. But if it's just shooting and that kind of stuff, me and Brooke will win. We're the best shooters.
Speaker 1 00:15:10 Okay. Yeah. We'll band, we'll band Dunking <laugh>. No, no question about that. Who is the basketball player? Maybe a W N B A player, maybe n b a player that you would tell your players, Hey, get on YouTube or I'll send you a compilation, Uhhuh <affirmative> you can learn from watching this player play.
Speaker 2 00:15:28 Um, I mean, so, so I have a few favorites. Um, I love, um, uh, Melissa Thomas, um, she plays for the Connecticut son, so I have players that I've kind of been connected to as like through my coaching day. So Alyssa Thomas is one, um, she plays for Connecticut son. She's just a warrior. Plays hard, she's one of the best players ever played in Maryland. Men or were women, um, sweet kid on, off the court. Um, we would play, we would do, uh, workouts with all of our Mari Maryland and W N B A players in the off season cuz they all would come back to DC So she's one like real soft spoken and quiet and shy off the court, but she's just like a, just an animal on the court. She can play, you know, sometimes she's point guard, sometimes she's sinner, sometimes she's a power forward.
Speaker 2 00:16:18 Um, so she would be probably like a version of what Brian, but she's somebody that I really know and you know, like I know what kind of player she is on and off the court. Um, when I'm talking to post players, a player that I, that I actually coached at Maryland is Breonna Jones. She also played at the Connecticut, um, son. She was a pre-med major. Um, first team, second team, all American first team all conference during my years at Maryland. And this kid was just dominant and, and that's just the kind of show that you can still do everything you want to do academically and, and, and be academically sound and then still be dominant on the course. She's another one who's, um, just came into colleges, you know, probably not the best condition and, and watch, watch her working every day and seeing how she tr transformed her body and her eating habits and her leadership.
Speaker 2 00:17:09 And she would be in the gym 30 minutes before practice where we would work out before practice and then we would practice and then she would want to do stuff after practice. So she would be one Shook Sutton I would say is another one who's a point guard. Um, she's in the W N B A, she starts for, um, Phoenix Mercury. And she was a kid who, she was first team Big 12. She played for my program in Missouri. Phenom, a sweet kid from St. Louis. Um, my year when I worked at Texas, she had a foot injury so she didn't have the greatest career and kind of derailed a little bit of her w b aspirations and she ended up playing on like a local lower level like semi-pro in St. Louis last year. And then she went overseas and now she's starting next to TEI and Grinder and she's getting all N B A W N B A all star ballots and that kind of stuff. So just her tenacity and her ability to, to not quit and to keep working. So those would be a point guard to send her and, and like a do-it-all player will be all players that I have personal relationships with that I can point our kids to.
Speaker 1 00:18:14 So in addition to coaching at Kansas, you coached at Texas, Maryland, Alabama, Southern Illinois, <laugh>. You also spent a year, uh, 20 18 19 player development coached with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yes. What did you learn there? How did that, working with those kind of people, those kind of athletes, how was that, uh, you know, informed and helped your, your women's coaching career?
Speaker 2 00:18:33 I think for me the biggest part was the, the, the importance of player development. Um, I think a lot of times in college, because you're limited in the amount of time that you can have practice time and work with your players. And um, but I think if you can spend time like we want, we really been focusing things that we've been selling to our recruits is you're going to come in as a good player and we're gonna make you a great player because we gonna make sure we're spending time on you personally as a, as a, making sure you're a better player. So, um, I would do workouts with our NBA guys before practice. Like each player had a 20 or 30 minute block where they worked on their individual skills before practice and then they would lift weights and then we would practice hour and a half or so and then after practice every player would get shots up and get game time shots that they would shoot in the offense and that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 00:19:26 So that's gonna be a way that I wanna make sure I structure our practices, which is go be, you know, probably a little different when you talk about the college ranks, but I feel like that's gonna be our way that we'll be able to separate ourselves and be able to get recruit tour. Cuz all the, the top kids and great players now they all have trainers and they're used to getting trained and doing skills and drills and that kind of stuff. So if you can enhance those things and you can bring them forward, they'll come in as a good player and we can get them a lot better once they get here.
Speaker 1 00:19:55 So in your high school career, uh, at Raytown High, you played in what might be the greatest game in Kansas City? Yes. Uh, high school history. Yes. Famous game. If you know anything about Kansas City high school basketball, 1995 raytown against Kansas City Central, about 10,000 people in municipal auditorium Central 180 to 73 double overtime. Have you watched the video? What are your memories of, of that? I'm, I'm bringing up the painful moment, but, oh man, let's get through it. Maybe this will be cathartic for you.
Speaker 2 00:20:24 I mean, the positives for it, it was like, I never, it took me until, it was about three or four years ago when me and Coach Tyler, we actually were in Vegas at his house and we were talking about the game and he's had the, he's had the, uh, VCs, the VHS tape of it, and he tried to get it converted, but we somehow, he still had like a, a VCR player at his house and we sat down on his big projector screen and we just watched it and thought about all the mistakes that we made and, and I fouled out the game. And I still think that's the worst that I ever played a college, uh, high school game. Um, and I remember sitting, I mean the, the game was packed. Um, when we would go back to the Big 12 tournament, we would play at the municipal and we would have decent crowds, but you know, I played there where it was sold out, they had the fire marshals, they stopped letting people in and people just like, kind of like rioted and just like busted through the doors.
Speaker 2 00:21:20 And, and so it was, it was, people still say it's the best game that they've seen in Kansas City. Um, unfortunately we lost in over overtime. I fouled out, um, on a, like they have a documentary about the shot that I fouled out. The guy who who, um, I blocked the shot out of the air and, and me and him was still like, argue like in Jess, cuz we're all those guys were like good friends of mines. We were all real good friends off the court. And so they had a documentary that came out two years about, uh, Kansas City basketball. And that was like a little portion of it. And on the, uh, documentary, the guy was like, oh, he's arguing with Terry doing nothing about when he foul out because I had just made free throws that was gonna clench the game. I blocked the shot, got the rebound, I mean, got it back, and they would've found me if I would've, if I'd have made my free throws.
Speaker 2 00:22:10 Like the game would've been all the way over. They found me out. They got the rebound. They were, they got, um, I was like our best blockout person. Um, they made a free throw, miss one tipped it out and Derek could, who had never hit three pointer his whole college or high school career, ran down a loose ball and threw up a three pointer at the buzzer that that tied the game on the shot clock. It said we were only down two. So we inbounded the TA and we, no, we in, we didn't inbound the ta, we inbounded to another teammate and we didn't even get a shot up and we thought we had won the game because the scoreboard said we were still up one and we didn't even attempt to shot. And it went the overtime and I foul out and one of my teammates who played the k they foul out and we lost it. But it was a great experience. I think that was kind of like my, after the game, I told my family that, you know, I would never get another chance to play in that kind of environment in front of that many people again. And I lost an opportunity and I blew it. And that was kind of like the thing that kind of started my path to wanting to go to KU and being able to play in those kind of crowds and stuff again.
Speaker 1 00:23:21 So you mentioned dairy could played in Arkansas, was in that game, your friend Ty Lou. Yes. Um, and Nebraska played in the nba Uhhuh <affirmative>. So that's part of the reason why it was such a big deal. Just a great collection of, of Kansas City talent. Yep. Uh, tell us about the relationship with Ty Lou. Is he gonna stop by and watch practice this summer? Will we get a chance to, to see him around here in the roundhouse?
Speaker 2 00:23:41 Yeah, that's something I'm working on. He's, uh, I mean, he's my best friend. He was my best man at my wedding. Um, you could probably find pictures somewhere with us just hanging out in the lockers. Um, we stayed across the street from each other. He had a stretch, um, during the senior year and I was a junior where, uh, my mom, she was single and it was four of us and we had a, with a three bedroom townhouse and he had to live with us for <laugh> a little stretch because he had gotten in some trouble with his uncle. But so I mean, he's, he's more like family. Uh, I'll see him in the next couple weeks. He usually has back in Mexico, Missouri, he has like a big deal that he does for his city for, for the 4th of July and, and stuff for kids and giveaways and a big huge professional fireworks display and a lot of stuff that he does. So I know me and my family will go, go see, um, see him and that, and he's talked about trying to figure out a way that he can come out and support me and he's always there for me and sending me plays and checking on me and ask how I'm doing if I need anything and just give me advice as how to run things when I, you know, as a first time head coach. So he's been a great resource.
Speaker 1 00:24:50 And of course for people who don't know Ty Lou, uh, n b a coach, coach the Cavaliers mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, and is now the coach of the, uh, Los Angeles Clippers and just does a, a fabulous job. Let's wrap up the way I often do. <laugh>. Do you have a book, uh, movie, TV show recommendation for the people to check out? Ooh,
Speaker 2 00:25:09 Book tv? Um, no, I, I have TV shows that I feel like I need to finish that I heard. Uh, succession is one that I need to, so usually I try to pick a series and that's kind of like something that I watch when we on road trips and I got like, some little downtime, so I need to watch succession. There's a show called Billions I need to finish. Um, I haven't found a a, um, a book yet. I read my Bible all the time. That's kind of like a thing. I have a devotional that I go through in the mornings, um, when I get to work, um, a day to read a Davy Devotional deal just to kind of get me centered and kind of locked in. So those are things that I do. Reading wise, I'm, I was trying to think of a book cause I wanted to do like a, uh, a team reading and something that we can read that's throughout the season as a team and we break down chapters and stuff on our road trip. Just haven't figured out what book I was gonna use for that yet.
Speaker 1 00:26:06 Okay. Excellent. Terry Nek, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.
Speaker 2 00:26:10 All right, thank you.
Speaker 3 00:26:24 Hi, this is Rick Yuma, president of Wichita State University. Check out the latest episode of the Forward Together podcast. Each episode I sit down with different guests from Chacar Nation to celebrate the vision and mission of Wichita State University. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 00:26:53 Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse Podcast. Courtesy of Wichita State University's strategic communications, we encourage you to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
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Speaker 5 00:27:08 It's over. It's over. Ladies and gentlemen. Say it slowly and savor it. Wichita State is going to the Final four for the first time in 48
Speaker 6 00:27:21 Years. Unbelievable. What a scene folks. The shocker fans are just going crazy in the stands.
Speaker 5 00:27:29 Just maybe the greatest win in the history of Wichita State Basketball.
