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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 27, Digital 2

Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.

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VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 79 Better Mix Versyp likes Boilermakers' makeup Tom Campbell BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com I n her 10th season as Purdue's head coach, Sharon Versyp had to do something she'd not been chal- lenged with before, in trying to get a sub-.500 team back into the postseason. But she did so, guiding Purdue to one of the biggest turnaround seasons in college basketball, from an 11- win season in 2014-15 to 20 in '15-16. And the Boiler- makers advanced to the NCAA Tournament — as an 11-seed, they were beaten by 6 seed Oklahoma in the first round in Lexington, Ky. — for the eighth time in Versyp's 10-year tenure. In the offseason, she was given a two-year contract extension, keeping her on the bench through 2022. Following is a conversation with Versyp about this season's Boilermakers. Gold and Black: Do you like the team you've put together for this season? Versyp: "Yes, very much so. I like the balance. I like how coachable they are, like the competitiveness; at ev- ery position we are competing every single day. But just how they are all coming together and allowing everyone to lead, it's not just about one specific group." Q: What do you want this team's identity to be? Versyp: "First and foremost, we need to be physically tough and we've made strides in that. When we final- ly get out on the court and play against somebody else, we'll find out, but we've really worked on that physical- ness. We're a defensive team, but we're going to score more points this year. I feel we have more weapons, re- ally are sharing the basketball well and we have people who are understanding, good basketball IQ, so we can score more. I think it's going to be a rebounding team. And we've got to get to the foul line. Those are the four things we have to do well. "We haven't scored a lot of points in the past, but that's a huge thing we have to get done this year." Gold and Black: Do you think you'll be more bal- anced on offense, inside and out? Until Dominique

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