Spring Break
Denise Dillion: "If there is a team that has what it takes, it's this team."
Shawn Gauby
Issue date: 11/9/07 Section: Basketball Preview
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The Triangle: After the growing pains you all experienced last year, what do you expect out of the team this year?
Denise Dillon: I'm expecting a lot from the team, and I bet they're feeling the same way. From talking with them after the season wrapped up last year, through the summer and in the pre-season, it seems like they've definitely raised the bar for expectations. As you said with the growing pains, we got through everything last year, I hope. We're not looking to start Nov. 9 the same way that we finished at the end of the year. You want to progress throughout the year. You want to make sure you're peaking at the right time, but I think they're ready. We have a lot of seniors this year, and they want to go out on top. I'm looking for them to really step up, and I think they're expecting that of themselves and each other.
TT: When the pre-season rankings had your team picked eighth, did you feel slighted at all?
DD: I don't because of what we did. Last year, we struggled. It was obvious. Each game was extremely difficult, and we didn't prove that we deserve a higher seed. In the last couple years, we've dropped a little bit so I didn't feel that way at all. I think the girls have a lot to prove so where they placed us is pretty legit considering the other teams in the conference, and what they've returned.
TT: Are you surprised Gabriela Marginean has progressed as far as she has to the point where she was picked First-Team Pre-season All-CAA?
DD: Looking at what is returning in the conference, she is the leading scorer returning. By numbers alone that would place her as one of the top players. Seeing what she did as a freshman, the other teams recognized that, and she stood out on our team more than anyone else. Just looking at Old Dominion, James Madison, William & Mary and the players they lost from last year. We lost a lot of great players in this conference to graduation. So she definitely fills that top spot.
TT: Does it taking anything special to recruit a player like her?
Denise Dillon: I'm expecting a lot from the team, and I bet they're feeling the same way. From talking with them after the season wrapped up last year, through the summer and in the pre-season, it seems like they've definitely raised the bar for expectations. As you said with the growing pains, we got through everything last year, I hope. We're not looking to start Nov. 9 the same way that we finished at the end of the year. You want to progress throughout the year. You want to make sure you're peaking at the right time, but I think they're ready. We have a lot of seniors this year, and they want to go out on top. I'm looking for them to really step up, and I think they're expecting that of themselves and each other.
TT: When the pre-season rankings had your team picked eighth, did you feel slighted at all?
DD: I don't because of what we did. Last year, we struggled. It was obvious. Each game was extremely difficult, and we didn't prove that we deserve a higher seed. In the last couple years, we've dropped a little bit so I didn't feel that way at all. I think the girls have a lot to prove so where they placed us is pretty legit considering the other teams in the conference, and what they've returned.
TT: Are you surprised Gabriela Marginean has progressed as far as she has to the point where she was picked First-Team Pre-season All-CAA?
DD: Looking at what is returning in the conference, she is the leading scorer returning. By numbers alone that would place her as one of the top players. Seeing what she did as a freshman, the other teams recognized that, and she stood out on our team more than anyone else. Just looking at Old Dominion, James Madison, William & Mary and the players they lost from last year. We lost a lot of great players in this conference to graduation. So she definitely fills that top spot.
TT: Does it taking anything special to recruit a player like her?
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