Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/744300
VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 81 else (also) because Lamina might not be play- ing 30-to-35 minutes like April was. While I don't know who that defensive stopper is going to be, collectively I like our intensity. If you're athletic and out of position, you can make up for it. "… It's a work in progress, but you've got to have a great point guard who can defend. Mira- cle can defend. Murph has to get better at that. But that's experience and minutes and trying to understand those types of things." Gold and Black: And Harris can be dis- ruptive inside? Versyp: "Yeah, but she hasn't blocked a lot of shots and I've been like, 'Come on, Block Party. Don't back away from what you're good at.' But now she's playing with bigger players and it's different. When you get beat, you need to have Bree, Nora, Dom and Ae'Rianna. "Like at Penn State, Nora came over from help side and blocked shots left and right. We have to trust that. We want to pressure the ball and keep it in front, but if we pressure and they beat us, we've got to have that defensive player who can change the shot. And I feel like we have that with our 4s and 5s this year." Q. Where is your leadership coming from? Versyp: "(From) every single player on the team and it's fantastic. This team is just fun to coach be- cause every single player has a voice. Every player re- spects each other to a high level, it doesn't matter if you're a freshman or if you're a senior. But I feel how Ashley and Keys and Bridget — Bree also in that mix — and the upperclassmen have really engaged the young group and have asked for feedback, have asked them and are coaching them. When you have players coaching players, you're in great shape. That's what has really evolved here and that's why they love play- ing with one another. It's not coming down, 'Oh, this person always has to have the ball in her hands to score.' Everyone really trusts what they are doing. "Right now, even though we haven't played a game, we haven't had to worry about who is playing, who isn't playing. But I feel this group wants to continue to strive and play for their upperclassmen. It's not just about the seniors, it's about the upperclassmen and Purdue in general. And there's not someone who just dominates everything. "Ashley has to dominant when she's on the floor and she's got to take over (the responsibilities) from the point guard position to tell us what we're doing and what we're in. That's my big- gest concern, who is that person who is going do that because April did it so well for three years. She had to learn from KK (Houser) and Court- ney (Moses). Those are the pieces that I'll see how that evolves." j