Kristen Mann is somewhat of a question mark for the Lynx this season, but that’s a good thing. Will she play predominantly at the three position or will she, almost out of necessity, have to play at the four? Certainly possessing the talent to play either spot, Mann is searching for her niche on this team and will, most certainly, play a pivotal role in the Lynx success or failure in 2007.
After Thursday night’s scrimmage, I spoke with Kristen Mann on the upcoming season and training camp so far.
SL: Can you speak on how excited you are to play the up-tempo style of play that Coach Zierden is implementing?
KM: Wow. Well, I can tell you that I’m exhausted after every practice and that’s just showing you how hard we’re working and is completely different from last year. The new coaching staff is getting to the point from the get-go and they’re holding every single person on this team accountable. We’re scrimmaging against guys almost every single night and that’s definitely going to help us improve our game.
SL: What’s been the hardest part of camp so far?
KM: It’s been physically challenging and mentally. We’re doing a lot of tough, a lot of demanding drills. We can, obviously, do everything that’s physical, but everything is mental and that’s the hardest part. Just telling yourself ‘You can do it’ and ‘Don’t give in.’ I feel like we’re almost back in college just from all the running and everything that we’re doing. I’m not complaining at all. I mean, it’s great. We’re going to be in really good shape and even our strength coach, he’s phenomenal. That’s definitely been the hardest part.
SL: You touched on this a little bit, but, obviously, the coaching staff is new this year besides Carolyn Jenkins. What are your thoughts on Coach Zierden so far?
KM: I love the guy already. From day one when I first met him, he’s very upfront and honest with me and I think that’s what this team needs. We need someone who is going to look you dead in the eye and tell you what your weaknesses are, what your strengths are and what he believes you can do. That’s another big thing is that he believes in every single person who is on the floor and he has a lot of trust in us, just like we have a lot of trust in him. He’s an awesome guy and I think he’ll have a great career here as head coach for the Lynx.
SL: Are you concerned at all about the lack of post players on this team this season?
KM: Not at all. I mean, if you look at us, we’re definitely undersized in the post, but we’re definitely fighting. We’re going up against big time guys out here who are a lot bigger then us and we’re finding ways to work around them and use our strengths against them. I’m not concerned at all. Like I told you before, I knew our coaches were up to something and I trust their decisions.
SL: It may be a little tough at this point in camp, but have you begun to define what your specific role will be for this team?
KM: Yes and no. I mean, I can tell you right now that they want me to be more of a presence on the court and not, kind of, be out there. They give us feedback after almost every scrimmage and that’s been a common thing for me is that when I’m out there, they want me to do something. Whether that’s crashing the boards and getting a rebound, being a defensive stopper or scoring, just anything like that. I think, for me personally, is to just get better defensively. That’s always been something in the back of my mind since college.
SL: You are coming off a ten-win season and the big acquisitions are Katryna Gaither and the rookies. They’re certainly talented rookies, but are rookies nonetheless. So, what do you believe is a realistic expectation for this team this season?
KM: We are definitely not going to finish last, I can tell you that. You know, I can’t blame anybody, outsiders, media or whoever because we had a terrible year last year and we just haven’t had a very good track record lately. I can tell you that after our scrimmage we had in Las Vegas that Sacramento, Detroit and Houston can tell that there’s a difference and so do the referees. I don’t know what number we’re going to finish, I don’t know if I can say that we’ll go out there and win a championship because that’s looking too far ahead, but we’re going to take it one game at a time and, hopefully, come out with more wins then losses.
No comments:
Post a Comment