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82 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 f make that next step? Versyp: "The next step comes down to mental toughness, when you're seeing people going deep in the Tournament, they don't have one of their top play- ers go down and have an injury. "I think things would have gone differently (last season without KK Houser getting hurt), but your hand is dealt and I think now April, Liza and Whitney being seniors having that experience and been there, done that, I think is real important. "Bridget (Perry) and Torrie having that experience will help them now, so if you stay healthy, good things happen. So it is more of that mindset. This is what we need to do. Everyone knows what we need to do when you come to Purdue, you don't need to state what you are going to do. We have great post play, we need great guard play." Gold and Black: How healthy has Bays been? Versyp: "She has been real solid. Obviously you continue to keep your body strong in rehab, but she has been able to get back sooner than we thought coming off surgery, so she was able to do things in July that we didn't think she would be able to." Gold and Black: What more do you need from her? Versyp: "We need better defense. She has to be able to shoot the three, extend the floor. She needs to be able to go left — she always goes right — and defend on the perimeter." Gold and Black: She can be the type of player that takes over a game and we saw that last year. Versyp: "She can take over. You get her the ball, she has the nice jab, if she can shoot the ball consis- tently, she can drive around, she can be a go-to. You need a go-to guard and go-to post." Gold and Black: You did a better job down the stretch limiting turnovers. With April Wilson con- tinuing at the point, she gives you hope that you can continue to do that? Versyp: "Yeah, we are going to push at times, you have to understand tempo and your team, and some- times you have to wait for a player to get down to the block. "All of our kids can run — Erica we may have to wait for, Haley being hurt, her conditioning may be off until the Big Ten — but I want to throw it down peo- ple's throats, no question. April has been able to get a good feel of how to execute and run and when to pull back. So now is her time to control." Gold and Black: Wilson will need help in the backcourt. Early last season, Ashley Morrissette put up astounding numbers during the first month of the season. Can she get back to that? Versyp: "She has to. And she wants that. She wants it all. She has to have numbers like that." Gold and Black: What can Hayden Hamby bring you? For her, is it about gaining the confidence? Versyp: "These are her years, she knows what she needs to do. Everybody has begged her to shoot the ball, so she needs to do that. She needs to be more vocal because she needs to help April teach the young ones. She needs to step up at every level, offensively, defensively, being a leader, communicating. So it is her platform." Gold and Black: You could get perimeter scoring from Bridget Perry, too. What is the next step for her and what have you seen with her growth? Versyp: "Bridget needed to just understand what we are looking for when we are in our of- fense. If someone is hitting five threes, you need to feed them the ball. She was worried about her own position because she had to be. "Sometimes when you are a freshman play- ing, you are worried about making mistakes, but she is not afraid of making mistakes and that is what we like about her. She needs to be a better, consistent shooter. Her game is her 15- Download... An updated GoldandBlack.com mobile App For the Android and iPhone at Google Play and the App Store