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Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/200613
MEET THE STAFF Sharon Versyp, head coach: The eighth-year head coach has certainly experienced a great deal of success in seven previous seasons at Purdue, winning the Big Ten Tournament yet again last season. It was her second in a row as the Boilermakers' coach and fourth for Purdue during her tenure. NCAA Tournament success has come, too, as Versyp has guided the Boilermakers to six tourneys, twice taking them to the Elite Eight. In seven seasons at Purdue, Versyp has a 161-79 record, including a 25-9 record in the postseason. In the summer of 2012, she signed a contract extension keeping her on the sidelines of her alma mater through at least the end of the 2017-18 season. Nadine Morgan, assistant coach: Morgan has spent each of the last seven seasons at Versyp's side on the Purdue sideline. And before that, the duo coached together at Indiana for a season. Morgan, who was recruited to James Madison by Versyp and later was an assistant coach there, is in charge of guard development and game preparation at Purdue. She's also the Boilermakers' recruiting coordinator. Christy Smith, assistant coach: Now in her third season as a Boilermaker assistant after spending the same time at Valparaiso. The former Arkansas All-America point guard, who led the Razorbacks to the Final Four as a senior, played at nearby Benton Central High School, where Versyp was her coach as a senior. Smith coaches Purdue's guards and wings. Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, assistant coach: The former Boilermaker player is in her second season as a Purdue assistant after retiring from her WNBA playing career last summer. A former All-Big Ten selection and All-American, Wisdom-Hylton is in charge of coaching Purdue's post players. Wisdom-Hylton is actually in her second stint as an assistant, having been at Purdue in an interim status during the 2009-10 season. Terry Kix, director of basketball operations: The 2012-13 season was a trying one for Kix, and the rest of the Boilermakers, as the longtime director of basketball operations battled stomach cancer. After treatment and surgery, she's back on the job full-time now, resuming the duties she's held since Versyp arrived eight years ago. Formerly, Kix was the head field hockey coach at the University of Maine for 15 seasons, where she was named America East Coach-of-the-Year four times. At Purdue, her primary duties include coordinating team travel, assisting with academic progress, community outreach and marketing and coordinating summer camps. 70 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 2 The new 10-second backcourt rule — it'll be a turnover now if teams can't get across the midcourt line, the same as men's hoops — could benefit the Boilermakers. Purdue will press at times, employing its "runand-jump" defense in an effort to create turnovers and to get the tempo to its liking. "I'm very thankful that they put in the 10-second backcourt," Moses said, "so we won't have to press for 30 seconds straight. There's actually a goal, an incentive to press and try to hold them for 10 seconds. "Especially with the personnel we have, being very quick, it's definitely to our advantage." The Boilermakers could stand to improve their defense from a season ago, when they allowed 61.4 points per game, only the eighthbest in the Big Ten. They're likely to play more zone this season, rather than the man they played primarily last year, hoping it will help them deal with more physical opponents. And stay out of foul trouble. How will Purdue re- f