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Alyssa Ustby, Coach Courtney Banghart and Lexi Donarski after UNC's opening-game win. #UNC
Nov 4, 2024
Alyssa Ustby, Coach Courtney Banghart and Lexi Donarski after UNC's opening-game win. #UNC
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0:00
really happy to be underway obviously
0:02
it's fun to get started with this group
0:04
um you know there were a lot of jitters
0:06
out there you know on both ends I felt
0:08
like um you know we had the experience
0:10
guys kind of be the anchors and we
0:11
needed them to a lot of new energy that
0:13
needed to kind of find their way um that
0:16
we played with a little bit too much
0:16
energy defensively which which hurt us a
0:18
little bit in our discipline um but and
0:21
I we didn't shoot it as well as we know
0:22
we can but um you know like I said a lot
0:25
of jitters out there and just glad to
0:26
get started with this group with so many
0:28
newcomers k CH istry just going to come
0:31
game to game how do you feel like the
0:33
chemistry wants today yeah you know just
0:34
take some time to get your game Rhythm I
0:36
mean even if you had the same a lot of
0:38
the a lot of the guys in are the same in
0:40
that first group it's just the game
0:41
Rhythm against somebody else you know
0:43
you've had 70 days of of training
0:44
sessions um without that um and so you
0:48
know it's typically why you kind of
0:49
schedule the way you do to get your
0:50
Rhythm uh and that's what we're going to
0:52
keep working
0:53
on what point did you feel the what
0:56
point did you feel the intensity you
0:58
know probably started to shift I think
0:59
they were kind of you know keeping it
1:00
somewhere close when did you feel you
1:02
guys kind of got it together a little
1:03
bit in in that regard I thought they
1:05
were taking a pretty contested shots
1:07
right I mean they were just um you know
1:09
our our aggressive mentality defensively
1:12
LED for them to kind of put the ball
1:13
down and just attack right and um which
1:15
is not necessarily how they want to play
1:18
um which was good and then that we were
1:20
a little antsy on the at the point of
1:21
the ball so that L us to some rotation
1:23
rebounds that that we that are hard to
1:25
get um but again I think this I know
1:27
this team well 70 days in and they can
1:29
def defend better than they did today um
1:32
and they can certainly shoot it better
1:33
than they did today um but it wasn't you
1:35
know you have a collective group that
1:37
plays their butt off it's pretty good
1:40
Alissa do you see a difference in the
1:41
tempo and the B movement from last year
1:44
yeah I felt like this group has done a
1:46
really great job of getting out and
1:47
running we have a lot of ball handlers
1:49
that can bring the ball up uh against
1:51
pressure especially so that definitely
1:53
helps us keep a uptempo pace and I
1:55
thought our guards Grace Townsend first
1:57
time into Caroline uniform she did
1:59
amazing Jordan zubich came in Off the
2:01
Bench did great as well bringing up the
2:02
ball so yeah we have a lot to look
2:03
forward to how did feel to hit that
2:06
three it was a three right how' that
2:08
feel yeah it felt great to see it go in
2:10
just because I've been working so hard
2:11
at it all summer and obviously been
2:14
making some in practice but there's
2:15
nothing like making a three at
2:17
Carmichael on a game
2:19
day how' you feel about the uh the way
2:21
Triana Chris was able to play you seemed
2:23
like she was able to kind of you know
2:24
set the tone in some ways she but I
2:26
think it was 11 points your thoughts on
2:27
her performance yeah you know it's what
2:29
I told them before the game is that you
2:31
know you never know each game I think
2:32
this team is that deep uh that you don't
2:34
know which game is going to be quote
2:36
your night right but we know that we
2:38
need a contribution from everybody
2:39
especially the main crew um night after
2:41
night after night right um and so
2:44
tonight was we needed we needed the stat
2:46
line that she was able to provide us for
2:48
um and you know she's one of those
2:50
players on our team that's capable of
2:52
that so really happy for her Courtney um
2:54
Baca was the first player you brought
2:56
off ditions she seem to have an imedi
2:58
impact right away
3:00
overall really solid game um what can we
3:03
expect from her this season are you
3:05
going to like lean on her often it seems
3:07
yeah I mean she's gotten better and
3:08
better and better I give these two a lot
3:10
of credit they've really mixed in love
3:12
and tough love um to get her ready for
3:15
um ACC and and just this conference and
3:17
and just this this level you know I
3:19
think you know we want her to be so good
3:21
right now and we sort of sometimes
3:22
forget that that she's a freshman and um
3:25
so I thought I think these guys have
3:26
really done a good job kind of bringing
3:27
her along you know she's she's all of 66
3:30
she can move as you can see got good
3:32
touch um she went out and rebounded well
3:36
um we absolutely need her as an interior
3:38
presence for sure and I thought she
3:39
played really well in her first outing
3:40
it seems like when she catches the ball
3:41
cleanly she scores with these the hands
3:44
kind of the next like one of the next
3:45
steps for her you know I think her
3:47
having to be guarded by Maria every day
3:49
and then when she gets tired of that she
3:51
gets Alyssa I mean those guys have just
3:52
really made her quicker with the ball
3:54
and and making better decisions um you
3:57
know and she's just you can she wants to
3:58
be good here she wants to be relied on
4:00
she knows we need her um and so if she
4:03
get if you're going to let her catch it
4:04
that deep that's kind of what's what's
4:06
happened she uses her size well and she
4:07
can extend to finishes um I think she's
4:10
got good hands I think she can really
4:11
Elevate you know she doesn't have a lot
4:12
of holes in her athleticism that's for
4:14
sure let see and NSA what did you guys
4:16
think of playing for all these kids
4:18
screaming kids the whole game yeah it
4:20
was a lot of fun and I mean we have a
4:22
lot of people that this was their first
4:23
game in car Michael so to play a game
4:25
with that much energy in the gym was so
4:27
much fun to be all playing back together
4:29
yeah I think I think one of our favorite
4:30
things is going over and giving high
4:31
fives to the kids after the game because
4:33
no matter how you played they're going
4:35
to be super excited to see you and
4:37
that's just something that we're really
4:38
grateful for Lexi was Rai You' played
4:41
with before but a lot of the your back
4:43
court mates you haven't played with
4:44
before how how's that going and who's
4:46
impressed you so far yeah I think it's
4:48
been a really good mix um we've had new
4:51
people this year that have made such a
4:53
big impact both on offense and defense
4:55
and it's just been a lot of fun I feel
4:56
like every practice every week we're
4:59
continuing to play together more and
5:01
play better together so it's just been a
5:03
lot of fun and I'm excited to see where
5:05
we'll continue to grow throughout the
5:06
season coach Midway through the the
5:08
second quarter you had already played 11
5:10
people in the rotation is that something
5:12
we're going to see more often all more
5:13
bodies and now we have the de for you
5:15
know we hope so our we're in a constant
5:16
state of evaluation you know the beauty
5:18
of film is is that every session is
5:20
filmed and we can assess kind of where
5:22
we're at um I've loved the progression
5:24
of the growth of each of our guys um
5:26
obviously if if Alyssa can play under 30
5:28
minutes or like can play under 30
5:30
minutes we can get more from them in the
5:32
minutes they're in that's great you know
5:33
I can't always guarantee that but um you
5:36
know I I do think there's a lot of
5:37
people we trust so I um the rotation
5:39
that we had to play last year with six
5:41
guys out we hope is is was a thing of
5:43
the past um but again we're honestly in
5:45
in a constant state of evaluation and it
5:47
allows the competitors to continue to
5:49
rise right um they see opportunity if if
5:52
you continue to progress right um and I
5:55
know these guys really need people
5:56
around them to do their part um and
5:58
today they got a lot from a lot of
6:00
pieces again I think they're a little
6:01
jittery um I think people were we were a
6:04
little bit out of syn and that's okay
6:05
you know it wasn't from a lack of effort
6:07
or energy or communication and and we'll
6:08
build on that as we get out to game two
6:11
cordney how's uh India doing good she's
6:13
dayto day you know I think this time of
6:15
year is not the time that you mess
6:16
around a little bit um but she's dayto
6:18
day you know really nothing major thank
6:21
God Caleb uh she's probably more like
6:25
month I don't know exactly you know
6:27
where but she's not dayto day she won't
6:29
be in a uniform on Thursday either what
6:31
can you tell if it's lower body or Y
6:33
same deal yep was it intentional it
6:36
seemed like you wanted to get a shot
6:38
early in a shot clock not not go too
6:40
deep is that kind of intentional you
6:42
know I think what happened to was is I
6:43
we we were antsy right and so I think we
6:46
we didn't go to our second action in the
6:48
first half very well um and I give these
6:50
guys a lot of credit at halftime I
6:51
challenged them to go to their second
6:52
action and they did right and so we we
6:55
want to we don't want to take contested
6:56
shots early um and you know we kind of
6:59
also everyone wants to kind of just get
7:00
their feet settled and I thought
7:02
sometimes that made us a little stagnant
7:04
um but you know sometimes we're going to
7:06
look to we want to create an advantage
7:07
if we have the advantage I don't care
7:08
when you shoot it as long as we have the
7:10
advantage um and I thought we did a good
7:11
job creating a second advantage in the
7:12
second half let's see right out of half
7:14
time you got that steel and then a
7:17
bucket stop with the shot violation you
7:20
get three and kind of separates the game
7:21
right out of half time what was that
7:23
moment for you kind of get the ball yeah
7:25
I think a lot of our talk at halftime
7:27
was that our defensive intensity needed
7:29
to take take a step forward and I feel
7:30
like we came out in the second half both
7:33
the third and the fourth quarter and
7:34
really step that up um alt together just
7:37
focusing on putting more pressure on the
7:39
ball getting a couple more seals and
7:40
stuff so I feel like we accepted that
7:42
challenge at halftime and we'll continue
7:44
to get better at that will any of you go
7:47
to the men's game tonight I know it's
7:48
like it's eight8 hours they're not going
7:50
to answer that because it's nine o'clock
7:52
at night so they're we're going to if
7:54
you go that's fine but I don't need to
7:57
know about it okay my couch you you were
8:00
the only one to make multiple
8:01
three-pointers and obviously you've seen
8:03
how many of your teammates make them do
8:05
it feel like that's going to come for
8:08
the rest of the team oh yeah for sure I
8:10
mean we have a lot of people on this
8:12
team that can really shoot the ball and
8:13
I feel like I mean it was our first game
8:15
we'll continue to get more comfortable
8:17
we'll continue to play better together
8:19
and I feel like the shots that we got
8:20
were shots that we liked and yeah I feel
8:23
like we'll continue to make more threes
8:25
as the season progresses I was surprised
8:27
that a lot you know I was like when they
8:28
didn't go in I was like what like many
8:30
times yeah that we shot just okay MH
8:33
listen for you um obviously you know
8:34
kind of settled in you know probably in
8:36
that second half you know as far as you
8:38
know uh offense and and shooting and
8:40
things like that and it seemed like you
8:41
know from a jump shooting perspective
8:42
you touched on earlier uh you know but
8:44
took you know more jumpers things like
8:46
that in your process of you know working
8:48
on that shot what's kind of been the I
8:50
guess level of discernment of you know
8:51
when to you know pull up when to you
8:53
know pass up a shot things like that
8:55
like what's kind of been your process of
8:57
you know Discerning when you shoot yeah
8:59
I think that that's a big responsibility
9:00
especially like stepping into my fifth
9:02
year being more efficient on that end so
9:04
I've had a lot of like conversations
9:06
with Coach about like when like how to
9:08
read Closeouts and like when to make
9:10
this pass and just like kind of
9:12
figureing out how to play basketball
9:14
smart and so I think like you said like
9:17
just that process is takes a lot of
9:19
communication and watching film and I
9:21
know that we're going to have a lot of
9:23
film to watch because there is some
9:24
decisions that I wish I would have made
9:25
a different choice but again those are
9:27
all things that we can learn from and
9:28
the great thing about starting the
9:30
season is now we get to go back to
9:32
practice and sharpen the sword I think
9:34
too on that to expand on that you know
9:35
she's so good at so many things um that
9:39
it's the discernment is harder right
9:41
because it's grayer right whether she
9:43
shoots it from three whether she pulls
9:45
up whether she attacks whether she
9:47
facilitates you know when she first came
9:49
here we really worked on her footwork in
9:50
the mid post right and then she she's
9:52
just added layers to her game and so you
9:54
know that level of discernment now is
9:56
kind of that last step um and you know
9:58
it would be easier if she was more
9:59
limited um but that's the whole goal is
10:01
to not be limited right and so um like
10:04
she said you know she's a real sponge so
10:06
we'll just her her Clips have gone from
10:08
here's your footwork in the post to like
10:09
here's your level of discernment right
10:11
um and I think she's really gotten into
10:13
that which is where she'll be at the
10:14
next level of facilitator as well as a
10:16
scorer I mean but plus a game that you
10:19
would expect you like to te points
10:21
rebounds blocks assists yeah I'm not
10:25
surprised you know we again these two
10:27
they need to do what they do that that
10:29
has to happen just because we're deeper
10:31
and have more talent and we're healthier
10:33
doesn't mean that these two get to not
10:34
put on get to put their foot on the
10:35
break right these two have to be good
10:38
it's why they're here on the first game
10:39
speaking to the media I mean this is
10:42
this is an expectation you know game to
10:44
game um and the more help they get the
10:46
better but that we're we're on the gas
10:48
foot on the gas and Lexi we've asked her
10:50
to be more aggressive getting Steals and
10:52
and she did that which is great cuz
10:53
she's so solid defensively I want her to
10:55
actually create uh turnovers at of her
10:57
defense um and you also got rebounds I
10:59
think I I remember one for sure two
11:04
yeah yeah yeah so not surprised we we
11:07
expect Alyssa to have have big nights do
11:09
you expect the starting line to vary
11:11
based on the opponent or is this
11:13
probably what you're going to be
11:14
sticking that's a good question I mean
11:15
you know India will be back soon so that
11:17
you know she's been she's had um been a
11:19
starter in our program you know it's
11:21
kind of like we're still figuring out
11:23
offense defense and and you know we we
11:25
mix our teams up we don't have a
11:26
consistent five in practice we just keep
11:28
mixing it up so they're used to playing
11:29
a lot of people um as we all know to to
11:32
play back toback 35 minutes a game they
11:34
did last year is is really not
11:35
reasonable to ask um so I don't know yet
11:39
um in terms of our lineup but
11:40
fortunately I don't think they're that
11:41
worried about it I think they know that
11:43
this is going to be by committee um as a
11:45
holistic approach and they've got to
11:47
continue to keep their feet on the gas
11:49
but being able to start three graduate
11:51
students and a senior it's got to be
11:54
nice it's nice this year probably won't
11:55
be as nice next year but yeah it's um we
11:58
also I feel like there's still so many
11:59
new new people you know but yeah the
12:00
experience we can lean on Trey's got a
12:02
ton of experience as well India's only
12:04
been here for a year but she's got a ton
12:06
of experience you know Ria I know you
12:08
guys haven't seen much of her but you're
12:10
getting to see what we see in her I mean
12:12
these guys have they do have a lot of
12:14
experience and these freshmen and
12:15
sophomores and these red shirt guys
12:16
they're ready um didn't again working
12:18
the Jitters out I they're on the up and
12:20
up for sure you guys um all film these
12:23
videos that I've seen on Instagram about
12:25
like get out the boat and how important
12:27
voting is was that like an ni
12:29
partnership thing or just something the
12:30
team decided to do or how did that go
12:32
about voting matters so I think that's
12:36
something that these guys I mean Alyssa
12:38
everywhere she goes people are paying
12:39
attention to what she's doing um so she
12:41
has an obligation to ensure that that um
12:44
that she moves with intention right and
12:46
so you know I know that's something that
12:49
these guys are so old I mean there's a
12:50
guy on our team who's not even old
12:51
enough to vote right but the these guys
12:53
are so old they just know better but you
12:55
know people are following them so this
12:57
is a very important thing for them to
12:58
use their voice regardless of your
13:00
politics you know um and anytime we can
13:03
they can get some nil from that I don't
13:06
think that was the driving force so I
13:07
think these guys know that's
13:10
important any other
13:12
questions we're back guys we're back
13:15
thanks everybody