Oct. 21, 2003

Quotes taken from 2003 Purdue Basketball Media Day, held Oct. 21 in West Lafayette.

HEAD COACH Kristy Curry QUOTES

On starting the season: "It's a fun time. It's an exciting time. As a coach you have so much recruiting and so many other tasks that you do on a weekly basis. It's fun to finally be able to (step out on the court)."

On expectations: "I always expect to be in a position to compete for a Big Ten title and get to a Final Four. I think you have to take it one year at a time - you can't look back and you can't look forward. With this team and with the way things are, I think you have to legitimately say that we could be as good as we've been in my tenure. I like the fact that we have more versatility and depth than we've possibly had since I've been here. Does that mean things will happen, things will fall into place? Will we be healthy? How will we handle (our non-conference schedule)? We're going to take it one day at a time. Our (focus) day-in and day-out right now is Kansas State, and we'll worry about everybody else after that. We're just focusing on Kansas State and ourselves getting better as a team every day."

On respect: "We've always felt like there was no respect nationally, with television and exposure. It's here. How are you going to handle it? (We) deserve it. We've earned it. But now let's welcome it and accept the challenge."

On senior point guard Erika Valek: "Erika is in the best shape of her life, physically and mentally. The mental part comes with maturity. She's one of those kids that came to Purdue with a mission, and has a chance to accomplish what she wanted."

On senior forward Shereka Wright, and the improvement of her outside shot: "I've seen improvement in her outside shot. We'll see what happens when the lights go on. Can you do it when it matters? We'll see if she's improved. I think she's worked to improve it."

On which players will have a chance to contribute in the post: "Emily (Heikes) has a chance. Carol Duncan has a chance. In my book, Erin Lawless has a chance. I feel Lawless, Duncan, Heikes, (Lindsey) Hicks, Sabrina Keys (and Indi Johnson) should be able to get it done in the post. Why can't they be as good as any 4s or 5s in our league? It's up to them."

On Purdue's style of play: "We're going to get up and down the floor. I think it's going to be a fun style of basketball. I think we'll be able to play 10, 11, 12 (players). Right now I feel like we've got 10 kids that deserve to play, and 11, 12, 13 and 14 can come along. But it depends on how they perform (in practice). According to the preseason, the 10 I started at Mackey Madness will be the 10 that play for me on a consistent basis."

On going through the offseason after the season-ending loss to Connecticut last April: "It burns every day. There are certain games throughout your career that the pain will never go away until you get back to that point. No matter how much it burns for myself and my staff, it's got to be the kids. No matter how many wins I have, no matter how many banners we've hung, they've done it. It's ultimately the kids. I give them all the credit. Hopefully they want to get back to that point."

On the four newcomers: "They bring toughness. They have a level of toughness about them that is really unique. I think our team needs to be tougher. Lawless runs the floor as well as any 6-2 kid I've ever coached anywhere. From free throw line to free throw line, she's outstanding. She doesn't back down. She pushes those around her. She welcomes the challenge of whatever's presented to her. I think she'll be a difference-maker before her career is over. Katie Gearlds - I think she has been and will be everything that everyone thinks. I think the biggest thing with her and Erin both is to stay healthy. We've got to keep them healthy, rested and ready to go. Aya Traore is incredibly athletic. (She) can get to the rim better than anyone on our team, and that's saying a lot when you have Shereka Wright. When you show her something once, she's able to pick it up, so I'm impressed with that. Indi's got to learn that this is a faster pace. She's a great kid and she understands, and we're going to stay positive. I do think she can help us before the year is out. Her work ethic is important. It'd be nice if she could help us in November, not January."

On leadership from her senior class: "I see great leadership. I'm trying to get my senior class to be more verbal and not to be just action leaders. I like our leadership. I like where they're at. I like what they stand for. They're trying to make sure that they excel at everything they're doing."

On the style of her team: "This team is exactly what I like. It's what I thrive on daily - the transition, the pressure defense, being able to go 10-11-12 deep. There are so many different combinations, and I'm excited about that. I'm concerned about coming together and having great chemistry more than I am about us being talented."

On the progress of senior Beth Jones after offseason surgery: "She's looking great. She actually is much further ahead than I thought she would be. I'm a little concerned because she does still have swelling and soreness, and we have to take her out of certain drills at certain times. But I think she'll be game ready, and that's what's important to me. Her shot looks great. She's moving as good as she ever has without the ball. She's better off the dribble. The biggest key is keeping her healthy."

On the impact of new assistant coaches Jannon Roland and Trina Merriweather: "I think they've had much more of an impact (in a short amount of time) than people can understand. Trina is 24 years old, and very few years ago she was exactly where (the players) are. Jannon has all kinds of playing experience, whether it be overseas, in the WNBA or the ABL. They've actually lived what those kids are going through and can speak from actual experience from not too long ago. When they tell the kids something, they respect it."

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PLAYER QUOTES

Erika Valek on Purdue's depth and style: "I'm very excited about this year. Last year and the year before that we really didn't have that much depth and weren't able to run. But this year we have great freshmen that bring a lot of hard work and enthusiasm. We need people like that that are going to push us. When we have people on the bench who are able to give what the starters are giving, it's going to make our team better. We're going to be able to run, especially not having anyone over 6-foot-2. We're excited. We have great athletic posts that can run up and down with anybody in the country. So it's going to be very fun. It's going to be up-tempo. I'm looking forward to it."

Shereka Wright on Purdue's top priorities: "Right now we're focusing on the preseason and making sure that we know our plays, that we're in shape and that we're playing collectively as a team."

Beth Jones on her knee after offseason surgery: "It's doing well. It has good days and bad days. It's been a little sore, but it seems to be getting better with treatment and therapy."

Lindsey Hicks on the impact of Purdue posts' size on style of play: "I think we have no choice but to be (up-tempo). We are, for the most part, undersized. But at the same time I think we can run fast breaks more and be quicker than most teams.""

Katie Gearlds on making the transition from high school to college: "I think the transition has gone pretty smoothly for the most part. It's a little bit different from high school, in the sense that in high school I was the main focus, and obviously this year it's not going to be that way. That's kind of a good thing. I kind of liked that role in high school, but with the players we have here this year it's going to be nice to step back and let them do their thing and step up when I need to."

Katie Gearlds on individual expectations: "I don't know if I have a whole lot (of individual expectations). I think if we're successful as a team, then I don't really care what role I'm going to be playing."

Erin Lawless on the adjustment from high school to college: "The major adjustment is just trying to keep up with everything. Making sure that you're getting everything done and that you're doing it right." Erin Lawless on personal goals for the season: "I just want to be able to go out there and do whatever I can do to help the team win. I think the four seniors deserve a national championship, and it would be excellent if they could go out that way. I don't really want to set goals for myself right now because we just started practice. I'm not really expecting much except to just go out there and contribute what I can."

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