2008 Woodie Awards
Lady Broncos:Coach looking forward to productive season
Kaity Parson
Issue date: 11/29/06 Section: Sports
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When asked about the Lady Broncos' low ranking in the CIAA Pre-season roundup, Head Coach Sam Tucker had this too say: "I don't put a lot of stock in press rankings. It's up to us to make them out to be the truth or a lie. I'm not upset; I just hope it doesn't come to fruition."
The Lady Broncos ranking of 4th in the conference comes after a year that proved to be Coach Tucker's worst season yet. But with a win against CIAA Powerhouse, Shaw University, already tucked under his belt, Tucker is looking to turn things around and prove the naysayers wrong. "This is a year for us to rebuild," states Coach Tucker. "People think that every year you're going to be on top, but sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to get back to the top."
The Lady Broncos experienced a big change in the roster for this year. There are quite a few promising freshmen on the team, but Tucker expressed his disappointment over the loss of one recruit, October Harris, due to a ruptured ACL. However, she is expected to be back for next year's basketball season. Other freshmen recruits include Tressa Aughburns from 71st High school, Antionette Smith, from Richmond, VA, and Jacobia Lucas from Wilson, NC. "So far, they are looking the best out of the freshmen crew," says Tucker.
The aggressiveness of this year's freshmen is one of the things Coach Tucker feels contributed to the win against Shaw. "Last year the team was scared of the name," he states, "but for the freshmen who don't know the history, Shaw is just another name to them."
Tucker also notes that this year the team has better chemistry. "If you don't like the people you're playing with, you won't enjoy the game and that makes a big difference."
Coach Tucker won't let the win over Shaw get to his head. When asked about a possible final round appearance in this year's CIAA tournament Tucker states, "It's a little premature to start thinking CIAA championship. We have 25 more games to go, that's 95% of the games. Right now we passed one test, but our chances are as good as anyone else's."
Right now the Lady Broncos are 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the CIAA. Earlier in November the team participated in the United Electric Tip-off Classic. Though many question why the teams participate in non-conference games, Tucker feels that it is important in order to receive national recognition. "If a team does well enough to get ranked in the NCAA that means that they whole nation recognizes you as a good team, but they won't do that if you don't play other teams."
Coach Tucker has one message for Bronco fans: "It is important that we have the support of the students. When we played Shaw it was a terrible night but the crowd was live; we need that kind of support. To hear people cheering for us kind of pumps the players up."
All in all, Tucker is looking forward to a productive season: "We want our respect back in the league. We've never been average and we don't want to be."
The Lady Broncos ranking of 4th in the conference comes after a year that proved to be Coach Tucker's worst season yet. But with a win against CIAA Powerhouse, Shaw University, already tucked under his belt, Tucker is looking to turn things around and prove the naysayers wrong. "This is a year for us to rebuild," states Coach Tucker. "People think that every year you're going to be on top, but sometimes you have to hit rock bottom to get back to the top."
The Lady Broncos experienced a big change in the roster for this year. There are quite a few promising freshmen on the team, but Tucker expressed his disappointment over the loss of one recruit, October Harris, due to a ruptured ACL. However, she is expected to be back for next year's basketball season. Other freshmen recruits include Tressa Aughburns from 71st High school, Antionette Smith, from Richmond, VA, and Jacobia Lucas from Wilson, NC. "So far, they are looking the best out of the freshmen crew," says Tucker.
The aggressiveness of this year's freshmen is one of the things Coach Tucker feels contributed to the win against Shaw. "Last year the team was scared of the name," he states, "but for the freshmen who don't know the history, Shaw is just another name to them."
Tucker also notes that this year the team has better chemistry. "If you don't like the people you're playing with, you won't enjoy the game and that makes a big difference."
Coach Tucker won't let the win over Shaw get to his head. When asked about a possible final round appearance in this year's CIAA tournament Tucker states, "It's a little premature to start thinking CIAA championship. We have 25 more games to go, that's 95% of the games. Right now we passed one test, but our chances are as good as anyone else's."
Right now the Lady Broncos are 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the CIAA. Earlier in November the team participated in the United Electric Tip-off Classic. Though many question why the teams participate in non-conference games, Tucker feels that it is important in order to receive national recognition. "If a team does well enough to get ranked in the NCAA that means that they whole nation recognizes you as a good team, but they won't do that if you don't play other teams."
Coach Tucker has one message for Bronco fans: "It is important that we have the support of the students. When we played Shaw it was a terrible night but the crowd was live; we need that kind of support. To hear people cheering for us kind of pumps the players up."
All in all, Tucker is looking forward to a productive season: "We want our respect back in the league. We've never been average and we don't want to be."
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