May 13, 2002

Tom Moore (North Augusta): After the outstanding season this past year what does 2002-03 look like? Any key games?

Susan Walvius: (3:05 PM ET ) Thanks for your question, Tom. The 2002-03 season looks promising even though we’ve lost two great players in Shaun Gortman and Teresa Geter. Shaun and Tree will not be easily replaced but I really like the nucleus that we have returning. Our point poisition is solid (Cristina Ciocan), our leadership returns (Jocelyn Penn & Kelly Morrone) and we’ll be strong in the center position (Petra Ujhelyi). However, the SEC will be even stronger next year and we will need to rely on our newcomers for depth.

Alan: Your team has lost a lot of depth up front (Geter, Ajanovic, Troina). I see that you have added one forward from Florida. Will ther be any further additions here or will this be a weakness in next years team?

Susan Walvius: (3:07 PM ET ) Alan, we may add as many as six to our roster next season. Currently we have signed three guards and one post player (Kasia Roszac, a 6’2 forward out of Gulf Community College). Kasia plays hard and runs the floor extremely well. We may end up a little smaller next year in the post, which suits our up-tempo style of play. We like to press on defense and run offensively. We may add as many as two more post players to our recruiting class this year.

Charise: What do you see as the greatest strengths and weakneses for next years team? Also, who will replace Linda Hill-McDonald?

Susan Walvius: (3:13 PM ET ) Charise, our greatest strength will continue to be the speed and quickness of Jocelyn Penn coupled with the vision and passing ability of point guard Cristina Ciocan. I also expect to see 6’4 Petra Ujhelyi emerge as a leading scorer for us in the post. We know we can count on Kelly Morrone for long-range three-point shooting. As far as our potential weaknesses, we will need to rely on our newcomers for depth. We’ve signed some very good players, but they will have to make the adjustment to the University, our team and the SEC very quickly for us to be the team that we can be early. I will have a better idea of their abilities to impact our team immediately when we start team practice in October. Linda Hill-MacDonald has been an awesome addition to our staff at South Carolina and I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work with her. She is a great teacher and coach. Linda will work with the Washington Mystics this summer as an assistant coach and then return to South Carolina for the season.

Barry (Columbus): Congratulations on a great season! What will incoming recruit Sarah Burgess (from Regina, Ohio) provide for your team?

Susan Walvius: (3:15 PM ET ) Barry, Great to hear from you! Sarah Burgess is the epitome of what I like in a basketball player. She plays hard and with emotion all the time. She is physically strong, can shoot, drive, handle, pass, rebound and defend, but what I like most about Sarah is that she is a competitor and a winner. I expect that Sarah will play a lot of minutes at South Carolina this season.

Kim, Sacramento: Congratulations on a great season coach. Will you do anything differently going into next season in order to try to pick up where the team left off? Also, how significantly will the graduation of Gortman and Geter effect the team?

Susan Walvius: (3:18 PM ET ) Kim, every year and team is different, but I know we can build on the success that we had this past season with next year’s team. Our team now knows what it takes to be successful. They believe that they can win and will continue to work towards their goal of winning the National Championship. There is no doubt that we will miss Tree and Shaun and honestly, I’m not sure we can fill their shoes this next year. However, I can promise you that Kelly Morrone and Jocelyn Penn will do everything in their power to set the bar high for their teammates. We have fantastic leadership within the team at South Carolina and Kelly and JP understand the importance of their role. We will rely more on Petra and Cristina to pick up some of the scoring lost by Tree and Shaun.

Janine: Do you feel that the SEC should be split into East and West divisions for women’s basketball?

Susan Walvius: (3:19 PM ET ) Janine, I don’t feel that the SEC should split into two divisions as the men. Our league is so strong with eight teams invited to the NCAA Tournament this past year. The traditional women’s basketball powers, conference and national, fall primarily in the Eastern Division of the SEC. Divisions would create an inequitable situation within the league, which would not be good for the conference as a whole.

Nate (Minneapolis): What do you think of the coaching carousel that has been prevalent this offseason? Your name was bounced around a few times before you signed a contract extension. Doesn’t the turmoil at certain institutions (namely Minnesota and Vanderbilt) put too much pressure on the shoulder of the players?

Susan Walvius: (3:22 PM ET ) Nate, the coaching carousal certainly is hard on the athletes. Minnesota and Vanderbilt are both fine institutions and I would hope that the athletes that have the good fortune of representing those schools understand the value of the academic and basketball opportunities that they have regardless. I’m confident that Minnesota and Vanderbilt will both do a thorough job to find a great coach for their athletes.

Anne: What are the plans of the graduating seniors on your team who ere not drafted by the WNBA?

Susan Walvius: (3:24 PM ET ) Anne, Ines Ajanovic and Tatyana Troina are both very good students but plan to play professional basketball in Europe before starting a career outside of basketball. Shannon Segres is an exceptional student in our nursing program at USC. She will pursue a career in medicine. Shau Gortman and Teresa Geter were drafted to play in the WNBA.

Joan Slebos, Bowling Green OH: Coach Walvius-What non-conference opponents have you obtained for the 2002/2003 season and what are your goals in such scheduling? When will the whole schedule come out?

Susan Walvius: (3:26 PM ET ) Joan, our schedule will be released to the public in September. We work to put together a non-conference schedule that will prepare our team for the SEC. I’ll share a few highlights with you: We will open our schedule at home vs Clemson. We will play two games in the Virgin Islands over Thanksgiving. We will play North Carolina in Myrtle Beach before Christmas. We also plan to play several in-state schools, including Wofford and the College of Charleston.

Janice: Are you looking at any international players to add to the roster for next year?

Susan Walvius: (3:28 PM ET ) Janice, we may add two international players to our roster next year.

Carol (Barnwell, SC): What aspects of the new facility will have influence on recruiting and/or team play? Will there be an event to open the facility such as a tour or “Meet the Team” day?

Susan Walvius: (3:30 PM ET ) Carol, we are so excited about the new basketball arena. It will be a state of the art facility with new locker rooms, recruiting areas, a beautiful concourse, skyboxes and excellent seating for our fans. Recruits will love it and our players are looking forward to playing there next year. We may schedule a “Meet the Team” Day once we have an arena completion date.

Moderator: (3:35 PM ET ) We’re having computer problems here. Don’t give up on us yet. We’ve got more answers from Coach Walvius.

Shep Headley: Coach W., We love you at USC, where did/do you get your attitude and determination from? From day one in Columbia, it was apparent that you were something special. And the task you undertook was a major one. Congrats to you and everyone associated with your team, it has been great and we look forward to a gret future.

Moderator: (3:42 PM ET ) Shep, Thanks for your comments.

Alice: What were the high and low points of this past season?

Susan Walvius: (3:46 PM ET ) Alice, we had a lot of high points this year but I’ll list some of my top ones.

High points: Being on-the-court every day at practice with our team. Finishing second in the SEC regular season. Beating Duke at Duke, beating North Carolina by 32 points on a neutral court and obviously, advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight.
Low points; We have such a rivalry in the state of South Carolina with Clemson University. So losing to Clemson was a definite low point of our season. As was losing to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament.

George: Kelly Morrone seems to have such a talent for leadership and motivation. Does she have any ambition to become a coach?

Susan Walvius: (3:47 PM ET ) George, Kelly Morrone is a great leader and may be the most unselfish player that I’ve coached. Fortunately, she has aspirations to be a coach and I think she’ll be a great one.

Ed: Do you have aspirations of coaching in the WNBA?

Susan Walvius: (3:48 PM ET ) Ed, I really enjoy working in the college game. At this point in my life, I’m not looking to coach on the professional level.

Brad Milligan/Charleston: Do you plan on playing any Big 10 teams? If so, which ones?

Susan Walvius: (3:52 PM ET ) Brad, we don’t have any Big 10 teams on our 2002-2003 schedule currently. Our SEC conference schedule is already very demanding and when scheduling non-conference contests, we look to play more regional contests to minimize the student-athletes’ time away from class.

Lola (Woodbridge, VA): How much do you rely on your staff for recruiting?

Susan Walvius: (3:55 PM ET ) Lola, I rely heavily on my staff for recruiting. Assistant Coaches Chris Brower and Shell Robinson handle the majority of the recruiting for our team.

Coach : I am A girls basketball coach for high school in Spokane Washington. And I was wondering if you have any match up zone offense you could share with me or any insite on where I could come up with some good offenses, to combat the match up zone?

Susan Walvius: (3:58 PM ET ) Coach, You’re welcome to call our office (803/777-0371) and I will fax to you what we use against a match-up zone. I think that you’ll like it as it has been effective for us.

Marco, Germany: I just wanted to congratulate you on a great season, again. You have done an outstanding job and I am excited about the up-coming season!

Susan Walvius: (3:59 PM ET ) Marco, Thanks for following the Gamecocks in Germany. We appreciate your support.

Mary: Some teams have an associate head coach. Is one of your assistants the senior, who would be in charge in the case of your absence, if so who?

Susan Walvius: (4:00 PM ET ) Mary, all of my assistants are very good. Shell Robinson and Linda Hill-MacDonald both have Division I head coaching experience. In the event that I could not be with the team for a game, Linda Hill-MacDonald would assume the head coaching role.

Don (Columbia): Coach Walvius… I’ve enjoyed coming watching you and the Lady Gamecocks play, and esp. this past year… always bringing along my wife and three daughters (9, 6 & 4). I’m trying to get them involved with sports and esp. basketball. Any pointers to getting them more interested in BB? P.S. good luck this coming year.

Susan Walvius: (4:03 PM ET ) Don, thanks for following our program. It sounds like you are doing the right thing in bringing them to our games. I would also suggest that you send them to our summer basketball camp which will teach them the fundamentals and give them a better understanding of the game. Please call our office (803/777-0371) or look online for more camp information.

Elll (Marietta): A very simple question. How does it feel to be the coach of one of the best women’s basketball teams in the country? And also, was it a goal of yours to coach when you were younger?

Susan Walvius: (4:05 PM ET ) It is certainly a tremendous honor to be recognized. However, head coaches don’t win these awards without great players and a great staff. Actually, I never planned on coaching basketball until I got out of college. My assistant coach at Virginia Tech was hired as a head coach and couldn’t find anyone else to take one of her assistant coaching positions. So she asked me and that’s how it all began!

Susan Walvius: (4:06 PM ET ) Thanks for all your questions. I have to get back to work now and prepare for next season. Let’s do this again some time!