The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Coach Gail email: April 8
04.08.2008 | Women's Basketball
Longhorn fans,
Thanks SO MUCH for the incredible response to my "Coach Gail email." I am really touched that so many of you took the time to ask questions, and many many more of you just wrote in as well-wishers and sent your regards and warm wishes to me, the coaching staff and of course, our players. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to write in!
There was a such a huge volume of questions submitted that I've decided to answer them in two parts over the next two weeks. So, here are some of the questions and my responses for now. There was a lot of interest and multiple inquiries about our off-season workouts; the health of our players, particularly Erika Arriaran; questions about the three incoming recruits (who we are THRILLED to be welcoming to campus this summer!); and about the future of the program.
So, here goes! Thanks again for checking in with me!
Hook 'em!
Coach G
John from Hobbs, N.M.
Hi Coach G! I was proud of the way our team played down the stretch of the season. What are our prospects for next year?
John, thanks for your support and encouragement! I feel really, really good about the upcoming season. We will lose one player -- our only senior E-Bay (senior guard Erneisha Bailey). That will open up our position for someone to step into E-Bay's role as a defensive stopper. Then, we are adding three great freshmen recruits who are going to give us much more depth. (Look below for more on these three new Longhorns!) We also gain the outside shooting talent of Erika (Arriaran) once again, as she'll be back from her knee injury.
Dennis from San Antonio
Coach G, how long did it take for the defeat in the NCAA tournament to stoke the fires of desire in everyone? I know you were disappointed, but you and the staff did a magnificent job in your first year at Texas. THANKS!
Dennis, thank you for the kind words. Honestly, it took me about two minutes after our loss in the NCAAs to re-set and start thinking about 2008-09. I was ready to go, and I believe our players are as well. They've just started back in the weight room and with running and track workouts, and there's such a positive and energized feeling around the program right now.
Jeff from Austin
Now that you can focus on your first real full recruiting season, which parts of Texas and the rest of the country do you see yourself and your coaches concentrating on to bring great players to UT? Thanks for a great first season. It makes me want to get season tickets now!
Jeff, our number one focus is to keep the best players home in the great state of Texas. That is first and foremost since we have so much incredible basketball talent in the Lone Star State. Then, the staff and I will go to the far reaches of the world to find the very best players! And, I hope you have come to the Erwin Center to watch us play. We'd love to have you and your family and friends as season ticket holders to our games!
Van from Wickett, Texas
Congrats on a great first season. You and your ladies did a fantastic job. I was eagerly awaiting the return of Erika (Arriaran), as were all the Longhorn fans, but she remained on the sideline. Is the ACL injury continuing to cause problems, or are you giving it time to strengthen? Is she considered redshirted for this season? Thanks for taking my question!
Van, thanks for taking the time to write. You are one of our many fans who have asked me about the return of Erika to the court. I welcome her 3-point shooting skill with open arms! Erika has worked very hard to come back from two surgeries since last February -- her ACL surgery in February 2007 and an athroscopic surgery this season which kept her out longer. She is back practicing with the team, and actually returned to full practice clearance the last few weeks of the season. Erika looks great out there, but still needs to build her leg strength and gain full confidence that her knee is going to be OK. It's a process, and we certainly are anxious to get her back into the rotation for next year! After missing this entire season with the injury, Erika will have two years of athletic eligibility remaining for us.
Patrick from Prince George, Va.
Coach G, this will be your first full season to recruit at Texas. How do you think your recruiting efforts will go given the success that your Longhorns team had this year? What type of players will you be looking for to take the team step further on the conference and national scene?
We are very excited about our recruiting prospects, Patrick. We are going to sign players who are exceptional students and exceptional athletes and who have expectations of achieving excellence in both the classroom and on the court. These are the student-athletes who can carry a team to national championship levels.
Allen from Austin
Coach G, I read that our incoming 2008-09 recruit Ashley Gayle had six blocks in the McDonald's All-American game a few weeks ago. Can you tell us a little about how you see Ms. Gayle, and the other two guards who signed (Ashleigh Fontenette and Yvonne Anderson) fitting in on the floor with our returning players? Thanks to you, your staff, and the team for an awesome first year. This is one fan, of many, that is so glad to have you call Texas home. Good luck at the Olympics.
Allen, thanks so much for being such a great fan! I appreciate your kind words. All three of our signees are going to help us immediately. At 6-4, Ashley Gayle has earned numerous All-America honors this year as she has emerged as one of the best defensive post players in the country. Ashley can defend almost any position on the floor and she is a tremendous shot blocker who loves to run the floor and press as well. I cannot wait to have her as a tandem with our "other" post Ashley -- Ashley Lindsey, who will be a senior.
Then, we'll have a third Ashleigh as Ashleigh Fontenette joins us as a combo guard. Ashleigh is a standout track performer as well, and she brings great strength and speed to the court. She also has a tremendous will to win, and she also loves to run, trap and press.
Our final signees is Yvonne Anderson, another combo guard. Yvonne lives in Columbia, Mo., where her dad, Mike Anderson, is the Missouri men's coach. Yvonne has a tremendous understanding of the game. She's been around the game of basketball since birth, and it shows in her play and her understanding of the game. She is strong and powerful, can score with contact, and makes great decisions out on the floor.
As you can tell, I am extremely excited to welcome our new players to our campus!
Bevo26 from McAllen, Texas
Coach G, first and foremost, congrats on a great job this season! I am a Texas Ex and former athlete. I realize how overwhelming the 40 Acres can be when you are the newcomer there -- dealing with the pressures of the job and in representing the great University that UT is, especially with the type of schedule you are keeping! Hang in there and breathe! I live in San Jose, Calif., now and would love to see UT come out and play here next year. Are you planning on scheduling Stanford or Cal next year? Thanks again for all your hard work. I support you and so do all the exes here in the Bay area. Hook 'em!
Thanks, Bevo26, for writing in! The last two years, we've traveled to (and won) the Surf 'N Slam Classic in San Diego, and this past November, we went to Hawaii. Currently, we have nothing scheduled on the West Coast for next year. Believe me, I'd love to travel to California again soon and when we do, we will let all the Texas Exes chapters know well in advance of the games so our players and staff can meet with all you former Longhorns!
Mike from Austin
Hello, Coach Gail! If you were to designate a "theme" for the team to carry with them through this coming off-season, what would it be? Also, what was your smartest coaching moment this season -- meaning an adjustment or some particular game prep that really paid off?
Thanks for writing in with both questions, Mike! I thought about a "theme," or a team message to carry with us daily as we start our offseason workouts, and this would be it: "To get more, you've got to give more."
I believe that one of our best moves this year was in holding a team meeting on Monday, Feb. 25, after we lost to Texas A&M at home that previous afternoon. That loss put us at 16-11 and we all knew we were in danger of not making the NCAA tournament. I asked the team if they wanted the cold, hard truth about what our chances were for postseason play, and they did. So, all the coaches took time to inform them what was at stake and how we were on the verge of doing something special again in our UT program if we re-focused and committed ourselves to playing "Texas Basketball" the rest of the way. That was a really positive and motivational meeting, and I know we helped give the players confidence to do what was necessary to get into the NCAAs and we went on to finish strong and have a nice postseason run in the Big 12 tournament and into the NCAAs.
LaChelle from Dallas
Congrats on being on the 2008 USA Olympic Team staff as an assistant coach! Since the Olympics are coming up in Beijing in late summer, can you tell us what your schedule will be over the next few months and how you plan to balance your USA commitments with summer recruiting?
LaChelle, it is going to be another VERY busy and hectic summer, but I am so looking forward to it all! It is a privilege and a great honor for me to serve as a USA Olympic assistant coach for the second time. I will be away at times this spring and summer, but I have total faith and trust in my assistants who will hold down the fort back in Austin while I am in Beijing, China, for the Olympic Summer Games!
In mid-April, I am going to Chicago for a training camp with the USA Basketball Team. I'll come back to Austin for a few days before departing for Beijing where our USA team will play in a test event. We begin our summer basketball camps on campus in June, and July will find us on the road, recruiting at all the AAU summer tournaments. Then, in August, I will leave for Beijing once again for the Summer Games.
