Women's Basketball

Live chat took place Wednesday, March 16

ukathletics.com : Welcome UK Hoops fans to today’s live chat with Head Coach Mickie DeMoss.
Mickie DeMoss : Thanks for having me today.

catfan29 : First I want to say congrats on a very solid year and good luck in the WNIT. We know our freshman have not been in this position before, but how will our upperclassman handle their first post season appearance?
Mickie DeMoss : I think that they are excited about playing in postseason. I think they will embrace it. They’ve worked hard the past 10 days we’ve had practice and our excited about playing.

Karen : Coach just wanted to tell you I am so excited about what you and your staff are doing here. I am a season ticket holder and look forward to a lot of great basketball. My family really enjoys all the games. Keep up the good work and go CATS!
Mickie DeMoss : Thanks so much for your support. It certainly means a lot to me and the team.

Jaheem : Overall, are you happy with the way the season has went?
Mickie DeMoss : For the most part I am. I felt like we had some big wins early in the conference play with Georgia and Ole Miss and have come awfully close in other games. We’ve competed hard in all of our games. I’m not satisfied with where the program is but I am happy that the program is continually moving forward.

Kathy : First, I want to thank you for coming to UK to rebuild the program. Those of us that have been around UK women’s basketball through the years understand what a challenge this is and appreciate the job you and your staff are doing. My question is, what kind of progress, by year, do you hope to see in the program in the next 5 years?
Mickie DeMoss : I think in looking at it year-by-year, each year we want to see more wins and continue to bring in talented players and quality people and measure our progress. In five years, we’d like to be in the top half of the SEC and consistently be in the NCAA tournament.

Cindy Halbert : How difficult is it to maintain conditioning when you have had such a lengthy lay-off since the SEC Tournament? What do you do differently with regard to practing when you play the “waiting game” for the NCAA and NWIT bids to come out? Best of luck!!!
Mickie DeMoss : It really is a tricky balancing act this time of year with the long layover. But, we had to give our players some time off and then we came back and did a lot of up and down stuff. We scrimmaged a lot to keep our cardio where it needed to be. We do a lot of shooting drills and fundamental drills and I think as the head coach I had to be mindful of the freshmen and make sure they are staying mentally and phsyically fresh.

UKHoopsFan : Coach DeMoss, do you know where your coffee filters are now? 🙂 Are you feeling more comfortable in Lexington and at UK? Cause we love having you here turning this program around and we want you here for a long time!
Mickie DeMoss : Yes, I found my coffee filters. Now if I could just find my coffee! 😉 I think Lexington is starting to feel more like home. The job certainly demands a lot of my time. The people here have been great and I look foward to the spring.

Heather : What roll do the student mangagers play in UK’s program and what are the requirements to be a manager?
Mickie DeMoss : Our managers play a very important role in the organization to our program. They do a lot of behind the scenes work with our program. They are a big part of our practice with stats and running the clock. They help with recruiting, setting up dinners, etc. They help things run smoothly on the road with having equipment organized, etc. Requirements are being a student at UK and we’d like the person to have some basketball experience or have worked with a team before. A strong work ethic is essential as well.

Will : With all the great news that’s been coming out in regards to UK and recruiting – are you pretty much done for fall ’05 and ’06? Are you still looking to sign more players? Any that we might hear about soon? And how hard is it recruiting in Kentucky now that Western, Eastern, UL and UK are all seeing postseason play?
Mickie DeMoss : We are still looking to sign a couple of players in the late signing which is in April. Looking at the schools in the state, competition is always tough. We’ve got two verbal committments from Kentucky kids already and feel good about our future.

Bill : Would you recommend a good book or video/DVD what shows good drills for a high school girl point guard/wing player to practice during the summer months. Also any advice on an off season workout program. Thanks. Go CATS.
Mickie DeMoss : There are a lot of tapes I could recommend. If you want detailed information, just call our office at 859-257-6046 and we’ll give you further info. Thanks for your support.

Joseph : How big of an impact will Carly Ormerod have next season?
Mickie DeMoss : We’ll have to wait and see. Our hopes are very high for Carly. We think she is a very talented young lady and a fierce competitor. I would be very surprised if she didn’t come in and make a positive impact on this program.

D. Daily : How do the Lady Cats match-up against Eastern Michigan?
Mickie DeMoss : I think it will be a good matchup. They are a veteran team as opposed to us playing with a lot of young players. They are an uptempo type team. They play multiple defenses and will come in here highly motivated. We’ll have to be the aggressor and be in an attack mode Friday night.

Tim : I am also a season ticket holder and I want to say that this year’s team really played some exciting games and hope we kick some butt in the WNIT. I have 2 questions. We had a very solid recruiting class last year and next season’s class is also very solid. What kind of things do u look for in a player when you recruit? My second question. Who is your pick in the women’s NCAA to win?
Mickie DeMoss : Thanks for your comments. I look for the three As in a player: Attitude, Athletic Ability and Academics. In picking a team, I’m going to have to go with my homegirls and pick Tennessee. But I also like LSU. I definitely am staying in the conference.

George P. Burdell : What is the biggest drawback to recruiting at UK?
Mickie DeMoss : Anytime in recruiting you have to handle certain objections and issues. The biggest obstacle that we’ve had to overcome is not having a proven winning program. A lot of high profile players want to go to a proven winner. We have to sell them on our vision.

Andrew in Pikeville : Thanks for making the UK Womens program one we can be proud of!!! Good Luck Friday night!
Mickie DeMoss : Thank you so much for your support. Hope you come to the game!

Jeff : With the progress the freshmen have made this year, what things would you like to see them work on in the offseason?
Mickie DeMoss : Sarah Elliott needs to get a stronger upper body and improve her footwork and offensive moves. Sam Mahoney needs to continue working on her ballhandling and quickness. Chante’ Bowman needs to work on her three-point shot and Eleia Roddy, I’m just concerned with her knee getting better and getting stronger.

Brian : I made the trip down to Greenville for the women’s SEC. Any chance of it being in Lexington any time soon?
Mickie DeMoss : Next year it’s in Little Rock I know. They really try to keep it in neutral sites and we would have to host it in Rupp. Not sure but we’d love to have it here.

Andrew : Do you think the WNIT bid will be a stepping stone to even greater improvement in the program with the added exposure? Also, thanks for making us proud of our womens team again!!
Mickie DeMoss : I definitely think getting in the WNIT is positive step forward for the program. It will give us more visibility by playing in the WNIT. Thank you for your support!

Mike : With the injured players – Elliott, Roddya and Perry – course two have had surgery. Should all three be ready to go by this fall?
Mickie DeMoss : The way it looks right now with Roddy and Perry is they’ve been very deligent with their rehab and they should be ready to go in the summer. Elliott will have surgery as soon as the season is over and should be ready to go by mid-summer.

matt : You have done a great job in the two years that you have been here, but how much of the success do you attribute to your assistants?
Mickie DeMoss : Pretty much all of it. No, seriously they are really important to our success. Thanks for you support!

ukathletics.com : Thanks for being with us today Coach. Good luck Friday!
Mickie DeMoss : Thanks for having me. I hope to see you all at the game on Friday night at 7 p.m.!! Go Big Blue.

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