September 19, 2024 • 7 mins
Katrina Merriweather is the Head Coach of the UC Women's Basketball program. She previewed the season with us on ESPN1530.
Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen
Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger
Follow on X: @MoEgger
Instagram too: @MoEgger
Podcasts of The Mo Egger Radio Show are a service of Longnecks Sports Grill.
Listen to the show live weekday afternoons 3:00 - 6:00 on ESPN1530.
Listen Live: ESPN1530.com/listen
Get more: https://linktr.ee/MoEgger
Follow on X: @MoEgger
Instagram too: @MoEgger
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Coach. It's good to have you. Good afternoon. How are you.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm doing great, Thanks for having me on. How you doing,
I'm doing really well.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
I remember talking with you right around this time a
year ago, and obviously you were getting set for your
first season at you See, and you couldn't wait. You know,
every coach can't wait to get on the practice floor,
get the season started.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
That sort of.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Thing with you, there was I think a little extra
excitement because of how hectic the previous few months have been.
It being year one with the school moving into the
Big twelve. Do me a favor and compare it kind
of where you are in that regard right now as
opposed to a year ago.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Well, I would like to tell you that I feel
a little more comfortable, but our reality is that we
now have four new teams and have lost to the
teams from last year. So where we were anticipating a
little bit of comfort, it has become uncomfortable in almost
the same way. But we're always up for the challenge,
and we feel good about being stretched and our team
being challenged, and you know, we're just you controlled the control,
(01:00):
but not quite as predictable as I had hoped it
would be about this time this year.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, I mean a little bit different just given the
fact that you're not moving into I mean, it's a
program obviously you're very familiar with, but a year ago
you're moving into a new job.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
It's different this year.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Is it a little bit easier getting ready for the
season just because you're not dealing with all that?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (01:22):
I think that all of us, me and my staff included,
just have this familiarity with where we live and all
the nuances of.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Starting a new job.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
We have quite a few returners that I think are
comfortable with our system, even though we're doing.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Some different things.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
And then we brought in some more experienced players along
with one true freshman and Chloe Man, and so we
think that practice is also a lot smoother than it
was this time of year ago.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
You mentioned you bring in three transfers and refreshmen on
top of all your returning players, and you talk about
doing new and different things. What things can your team
do when the season starts this year as opposed to
a year ago.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Yeah, I think you're just going to see a lot
more freedom. But there were some things that we implemented
last years. We felt like we had to prepare non
conference to go into the big twelves. It's willing to
make sure that things were as simplified as possible, just
to give everybody a chance to play it. And I
think now what we're doing is a little more positionless offensively,
(02:25):
and I think that the freedom that the players feel
it has been fun. And the returners seem to be
just a lot more comfortable and relaxed, and they know
what the expectations are. And even one of our transfers
in particular and Todayah Hilton, she han't played in the SEC,
knows this level of competition and that helps us look
(02:45):
a lot better at this point also.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
And you could revolve everything around something that is becoming
at least a little bit more of a rarity in
this era of college athletics, and that's a fifth year player.
It's been a part of the program the entire time.
Of course, I'm talking about Jillian Hayes and just watching
her progress year in year out, even before you got here, obviously,
(03:08):
has been a lot of fun. Give us an idea
of what you expect from her.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
In year five.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Her leadership has been phenomenal to watch how she has
continued to grow in the last year has been really
fun for all of us. She's a pleasure to coach
because she does everything you ask her to do. She
works really hard and she's extremely competitive, and so she
demands a lot of herself and a lot of from
her teammates, and she always sets the standard when she
(03:34):
walks to the gym. She's gonna be tough, she's gonna
play hard, she's gonna rebound that ball, be gritty, and
we're really excited to watch her play because we feel
like she's grown offensively as well, adding some things to
her game, and we're excited for everybody.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
To see that.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
I mentioned Katrina Merriweather is with us. Your program's going
to play in an MTE in Canada. You have two
Canadian players? Is that the most innovation behind it? What
goes into finding a good MTE to play in?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, I think that there's a few things.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
One, getting an opportunity to expose players to different parts
of our country as well as outside the country, of
course is always a plus. Is you you want to
talk to them and teach them about different cultures and
different people. And then to have two Canadians on our team.
We were in essence taking them you want to stay home,
but Canada.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Is the huge country. But neither one of them are.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Particularly close to the princiferent times.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
But I do think that they.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Can appreciate just being in Canada allows some unique opportunities
from an anil perspective as well.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
It is funny how we talk about Canada that way.
This is and I you and I talked about this.
I think that the day or the day after you
were you were introduced as the head coach that you
see women's basketball, and I said it then I'll say,
now is having a moment at the collegiate level and
at the professional level, it's grown in popularity to an
(05:04):
extent that is awesome and to a degree that I
thought we'd never see. And so I guess my question
is what is it like, as somebody who's been a
lifer in this sport watching it grow to the point
that it has, and what opportunities does that present specifically
for your program?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, I think it's the visibility.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
I think that just the idea that we have so
many different options to stream games, so many ways to
watch people play.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
You don't always have to be in the building.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
And we've talked about that a lot as a staff
is taking advantage of making sure that we're out in
the community, making sure that we are making.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Connections in the area.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
That stills over to the people who come in and
support us in the arena, but also the ones that
when they can't make it into an arena, they will
get on ESPN and watch us play.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
And I think that that's what we're.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Seeing in the WNBA as well as college is you
just have people who are interested and people are telling
their individual stories, and we have that attachment in women's basketball,
and I think that's a little different, you know than
maybe some of the other sports, where you have fans
that are really connected to individuals, whether it's their college
journey or their journey in the WNBA, and it just
(06:16):
whiss the fan base.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
It's it's something to behold. It really is.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I know this is where you have to be careful,
but I got to bring it up because I follow
I follow recruiting, and so I know you you're limited
in what you could say about, you know, the class
beyond twenty twenty four, but I know you could speak
to the momentum you guys are enjoying because it's it's
really been it's really been cool to watch.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Well.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
I think that what we will everyone is seeing in
what's going on is that it's always going to be
people that make a place, you know, and we have
tremendous support in our administration. There are a lot of
stakeholders around here that want to see us do well.
Then the people that I'm around every day, my staff,
are support staff. Whenever anyone is asked to do anything,
(07:03):
we keep the student athlete at the center of all
of that. We talk a lot about keeping the main
thing the main thing, and as all as we focus
on these young people and make sure that they're having
a good experience, I think that word spreads. I think
our reputation in this profession in general is very strong
in regards to how we treat people. And then, of course,
the basketball takes care of itself. Whenever you get people
(07:25):
to buy into what your vision is, and I think
we've been able to do that as a whole.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Yeah, the momentum is certainly moving forward. I cannot thank
you enough for doing this. I hope we can do
it occasionally during the season. Thank you so much. Best
of luck this year.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Man.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Thank you so much for having me look forward to
talking to you again, so we.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Will do it.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Katrina Meriweather getting said for a year or two at
the University of Cincinnati. Gotta be careful talking about recruiting,
but I think she handled that well
Coach. It's good to have you. Good afternoon. How are you.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm doing great, Thanks for having me on. How you doing,
I'm doing really well.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
I remember talking with you right around this time a
year ago, and obviously you were getting set for your
first season at you See, and you couldn't wait. You know,
every coach can't wait to get on the practice floor,
get the season started.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
That sort of.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Thing with you, there was I think a little extra
excitement because of how hectic the previous few months have been.
It being year one with the school moving into the
Big twelve. Do me a favor and compare it kind
of where you are in that regard right now as
opposed to a year ago.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Well, I would like to tell you that I feel
a little more comfortable, but our reality is that we
now have four new teams and have lost to the
teams from last year. So where we were anticipating a
little bit of comfort, it has become uncomfortable in almost
the same way. But we're always up for the challenge,
and we feel good about being stretched and our team
being challenged, and you know, we're just you controlled the control,
(01:00):
but not quite as predictable as I had hoped it
would be about this time this year.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, I mean a little bit different just given the
fact that you're not moving into I mean, it's a
program obviously you're very familiar with, but a year ago
you're moving into a new job.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
It's different this year.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Is it a little bit easier getting ready for the
season just because you're not dealing with all that?
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (01:22):
I think that all of us, me and my staff included,
just have this familiarity with where we live and all
the nuances of.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Starting a new job.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
We have quite a few returners that I think are
comfortable with our system, even though we're doing.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Some different things.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
And then we brought in some more experienced players along
with one true freshman and Chloe Man, and so we
think that practice is also a lot smoother than it
was this time of year ago.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
You mentioned you bring in three transfers and refreshmen on
top of all your returning players, and you talk about
doing new and different things. What things can your team
do when the season starts this year as opposed to
a year ago.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Yeah, I think you're just going to see a lot
more freedom. But there were some things that we implemented
last years. We felt like we had to prepare non
conference to go into the big twelves. It's willing to
make sure that things were as simplified as possible, just
to give everybody a chance to play it. And I
think now what we're doing is a little more positionless offensively,
(02:25):
and I think that the freedom that the players feel
it has been fun. And the returners seem to be
just a lot more comfortable and relaxed, and they know
what the expectations are. And even one of our transfers
in particular and Todayah Hilton, she han't played in the SEC,
knows this level of competition and that helps us look
(02:45):
a lot better at this point also.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
And you could revolve everything around something that is becoming
at least a little bit more of a rarity in
this era of college athletics, and that's a fifth year player.
It's been a part of the program the entire time.
Of course, I'm talking about Jillian Hayes and just watching
her progress year in year out, even before you got here, obviously,
(03:08):
has been a lot of fun. Give us an idea
of what you expect from her.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
In year five.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Her leadership has been phenomenal to watch how she has
continued to grow in the last year has been really
fun for all of us. She's a pleasure to coach
because she does everything you ask her to do. She
works really hard and she's extremely competitive, and so she
demands a lot of herself and a lot of from
her teammates, and she always sets the standard when she
(03:34):
walks to the gym. She's gonna be tough, she's gonna
play hard, she's gonna rebound that ball, be gritty, and
we're really excited to watch her play because we feel
like she's grown offensively as well, adding some things to
her game, and we're excited for everybody.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
To see that.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
I mentioned Katrina Merriweather is with us. Your program's going
to play in an MTE in Canada. You have two
Canadian players? Is that the most innovation behind it? What
goes into finding a good MTE to play in?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, I think that there's a few things.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
One, getting an opportunity to expose players to different parts
of our country as well as outside the country, of
course is always a plus. Is you you want to
talk to them and teach them about different cultures and
different people. And then to have two Canadians on our team.
We were in essence taking them you want to stay home,
but Canada.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Is the huge country. But neither one of them are.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Particularly close to the princiferent times.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
But I do think that they.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Can appreciate just being in Canada allows some unique opportunities
from an anil perspective as well.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
It is funny how we talk about Canada that way.
This is and I you and I talked about this.
I think that the day or the day after you
were you were introduced as the head coach that you
see women's basketball, and I said it then I'll say,
now is having a moment at the collegiate level and
at the professional level, it's grown in popularity to an
(05:04):
extent that is awesome and to a degree that I
thought we'd never see. And so I guess my question
is what is it like, as somebody who's been a
lifer in this sport watching it grow to the point
that it has, and what opportunities does that present specifically
for your program?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, I think it's the visibility.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
I think that just the idea that we have so
many different options to stream games, so many ways to
watch people play.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
You don't always have to be in the building.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
And we've talked about that a lot as a staff
is taking advantage of making sure that we're out in
the community, making sure that we are making.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Connections in the area.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
That stills over to the people who come in and
support us in the arena, but also the ones that
when they can't make it into an arena, they will
get on ESPN and watch us play.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
And I think that that's what we're.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Seeing in the WNBA as well as college is you
just have people who are interested and people are telling
their individual stories, and we have that attachment in women's basketball,
and I think that's a little different, you know than
maybe some of the other sports, where you have fans
that are really connected to individuals, whether it's their college
journey or their journey in the WNBA, and it just
(06:16):
whiss the fan base.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
It's it's something to behold. It really is.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
I know this is where you have to be careful,
but I got to bring it up because I follow
I follow recruiting, and so I know you you're limited
in what you could say about, you know, the class
beyond twenty twenty four, but I know you could speak
to the momentum you guys are enjoying because it's it's
really been it's really been cool to watch.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Well.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
I think that what we will everyone is seeing in
what's going on is that it's always going to be
people that make a place, you know, and we have
tremendous support in our administration. There are a lot of
stakeholders around here that want to see us do well.
Then the people that I'm around every day, my staff,
are support staff. Whenever anyone is asked to do anything,
(07:03):
we keep the student athlete at the center of all
of that. We talk a lot about keeping the main
thing the main thing, and as all as we focus
on these young people and make sure that they're having
a good experience, I think that word spreads. I think
our reputation in this profession in general is very strong
in regards to how we treat people. And then, of course,
the basketball takes care of itself. Whenever you get people
(07:25):
to buy into what your vision is, and I think
we've been able to do that as a whole.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Yeah, the momentum is certainly moving forward. I cannot thank
you enough for doing this. I hope we can do
it occasionally during the season. Thank you so much. Best
of luck this year.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Man.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Thank you so much for having me look forward to
talking to you again, so we.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Will do it.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Katrina Meriweather getting said for a year or two at
the University of Cincinnati. Gotta be careful talking about recruiting,
but I think she handled that well
Mo Egger News
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