>> The start of a new season.

You guys played Stony Brook.

What is the message to the team before you tip off a new chapter?

>> This year we are talking defense.

Defend what we think belongs to us.

And so I think our team has really bought into it.

How cool is that, you know?

If I would have stuck with somebody, maybe we would have been better last year.

But this year I think defense has really been our main thing.

Our shots are going to fall.

Sometimes they're not.

Right now they're not.

We are not scoring a whole bunch of points at the three-point line but we are defending.

I think we held Albany to like 10 points in the first half.

We only scored 27.

But if you can hold somebody to 10, that's still darn good.

>> What did you take away from those first couple of performances Stony Brook and Albany?

>> I got good kids, man.

They are buying into what we are selling.

They understand the assignment.

Give your best effort.

Period.

Yes, you are going to make mistakes.

Let's not hang our hats on mistakes but on the next moments and the opportunity to be with your sisters and on the battlefield and over coming things and having obstacles and having success and sticking together.

If we continue to do those kinds of things, it will be a fun year for all of us.

>> The leading scorer in the Stony Brook name may surprise a few people.

Shy Hawkins.

What did you take away from her performance?

>> She has been working so hard to become the best version of herself.

She is not one of those players that said I need to be the best.

Need to be the best whatever.

She just wants to be the best version of herself.

She is becoming and she's working her tail off.

She is getting with coaches and watching film.

She is really understanding that the offensive segments and what, and she is becoming the best version of herself.

>> Your pair of transfer guards, Layla and Dominique, they combine for 24 points and 12 assists in the first game but defensively more impress with their steals and blocks, how much emphasis are you putting on them and setting the tone with them.

>> That's who they are.

That's innately who the person they are.

They're the biggest cheer cheerleaders on the bench when they get subbed out.

They're the biggest stickler when it comes to the coach making a bad decision and sharing that with me.

They're mature.

They have been through some things, as you can tell.

And they have won a lot of games.

And I have given them permission to not just be a student athlete, but also pour into me, so I can be the best version of myself.

We've not been around all these players that have been to a final four and two of them-- both of them have.

So how do you help me help this team.

>> From the upper classman to an underclassman, Camden Nelson got her first college start in the game.

How do you think she handled that moment?

>> The first, you know, quarter and a half, she was just a freshman trying to, you know, not drown.

But then it settled and she became the player that we knew she could become, a leader, talking to upper classmen, telling them where to go.

Understanding that the plays were not just from her position but every position.

And you can almost watch it chronologically the game slowed down in her head and she has been really good ever since.

>> Albany, next game.

Leading scorer in that one, Uche Izoje.

I want to know have you ever coached a player with her combination of size and skill?

>> I was working with USA basketball so I coached the best players in the world at the collegiate level.

Absolutely not.

Just to have that kind of talent in the gym on a daily basis, it just makes you smile.

And what makes you even smile to the point you can see my tonsils is her personality.

She is such-- Shy is a young lady that will play so hard and oh my God, that's the star player.

And then you come to film session and you have Journey carry her in her arms.

Like put her down.

You know.

This is a fun group of young ladies.

And Uche can score 25 points without blinking an eye.

Another young lady reminds me of Dyaisha Fair.

And Uche has the possibility of doing it and she will do it with grace and within her team.

She won't try to take advantage of, you know, I'm the star player, give me the ball 100 times a minute.

She is just, as the game comes to me, I'll do whatever it takes for us to have success.

>> Sophie Burrows, another one of your Uber talented players on this roster.

She hasn't shot the ball up to her standard in the first couple of games but it seems like she is still contributing in a lot of ways.

>> She is our leader.

She is our captain.

I want her to not be our leader or captain right now.

I want her to get inside of herself and find that tiger that displayed itself against Virginia tech and the multitude of other games last year.

And she got mad.

They hurt her player teammate.

Her teammate could have had a blown ankle and she got mad and she showed her madness.

She got the ball, she shot that thing with a fire.

She defended with vigor, passionate on the bench and pointed to the team about what we need to do and we haven't seen that yet.

And I know one thing that we got to do is just turn that light on for her and it's going to happen.

I think her best days are ahead of her.

>> You went deep into your bench on both of those games.

Is that a sign of things to come or the result of early season moments?

>> Everyone is getting better.

Jasmyn Cooper, I mean she was on that bench like the ninth or tenth person down there.

I put her in.

She knew what we were doing.

She played very well.

She got the minutes that she has earned.

Top 40 kid showing up and doing her thing.

I love what she can bring to the table.

Keira Scott is playing better.

You have to love Justus Fitzgerald and how she goes for the rebounds.

It is nice how we have 15 players and in any given day somebody can become better and I'm that coach that will play anybody that earns it.

>> You have a lot of new faces on the court, of course.

A lot of new faces on the sideline and new staff.

What does that take as far as adjusting with all the coaching staff and the responsibilities that everybody takes on.

It's a lot of fun and a lot of focus from my side because when there are no games, and there are no real responsibilities, everybody is doing their thing.

It's really cool.

But I always prepare for tomorrows.

And tomorrow is I might have to yell at a coach I haven't yelled at.

I have to tell a player right now for this game, you won't play.

And we have been really cool but now you are not getting what you want or what you think you have earned.

We have to be able to massage that to the point where it still works well for the team.

And I think we have great people in our circle.

I think that everyone is going to want to be in the right frame all the time.

But you got to always see if it comes up short, how do you get us back into the hugging embrace and I'm prepared for that.

I think we are going to be okay.