The Long Beach State women’s basketball head coach, Jody Wynn, is fresh off bringing the 49ers back to greatness.
Last year, the now seventh-year coach led LBSU to its first 20-win season since 1991-92. That year was the last time the 49ers made it into the NCAA Tournament after dominating the Big West with four tournament titles in six finals appearances from 1987-92.
The 49ers did lose some of the team leaders responsible for last year’s success in Hallie Meneses, Lauren Spargo and Alex Sanchez. However, LBSU returned seven letter-winners, including starting guards Anna Kim and Raven Benton.
Wynn took a moment to speak with the Daily 49er about the 2015-16 49ers and her goals for the team.
Your team picked up two big wins by an average score of 18 points on Friday and Sunday to start the 2015-16 season, why is that?
I think it’s a testament of how hard our team has worked throughout the summer and certainly throughout this fall. To be able to play against somebody other than ourselves, or our male practice players, it brings excitement to [the team] and we did a good job of sharing the ball both games.
Is sharing the ball well this season’s team’s identity?
Yeah, we want to share the ball, move the ball [and] we want to take the best shot in a possession. The best shot might be the first shot, but if [a player has] a teammate open, our motto is “one more pass.”
What excites you the most about this team and this season?
The growth that we get to see. I think being younger and less experienced you see bigger strides of improvement throughout the week, where as a more experienced team you tweak one thing here and there. Seeing them get better and gain more knowledge and through that their confidence rising [is exciting].
Is there any particular player whose growth has stood out?
Jewelyn Sawyer. She’s somebody that the last couple of years has been a defensive role player for us, but we knew had the ability to be pretty special. She figured out this summer how hard she needed to work to be able to achieve this success.
What do you feel is your team’s biggest area of improvement?
Our understanding and communication. I think we are a little too quiet for my liking right now, but that’s because we’re learning.
Is there any pressure on this team to repeat the success from last year?
No. Not at all, I don’t think so. I think there’s absolutely no pressure on them. We’re a new team with a new identity. Gone are four kids that had been a part of this team for four or five years, so I certainly don’t think there is any pressure [on this team]. The only pressure on them is to play as hard as they can everyday in practice so we could get better.
If there’s no pressure to match last season’s success, what’s the goal this year?
We want to play our best basketball come March, that’s our goal. Wherever that best is on their scale, I don’t know yet. It’s too early because we have so many new [players]. Yeah, we have four juniors and a super senior in Chantel [Dooley] that you kind of know what they’re going to do at this point, but at the same time a few of those juniors haven’t had the roles that they have now. I just think that we’ll be a better team come March and that’s our goal: to get better each day and hold each other accountable for improving everyday.