Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Schaefer, Taylor Press Conference
November 13, 2019 | Women's Basketball
by Josh Lively, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE -- Mississippi State women's basketball head coach Vic Schaefer and sophomore guard Myah Taylor spoke with the media on Wednesday afternoon to preview the 10th-ranked Bulldogs' upcoming game against Murray State and talk about signing day.
MSU signed a pair of top-100 players for the 2020 class in five star Madison Hayes and four star DeYona Gaston.
The Bulldogs play Murray State on Friday night at 7 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum. The matchup will be broadcasted on the SEC Network + and the MSU Radio Network.
Vic Schaefer
Opening Statement
VS: "Another signing day. I am so excited about the two young ladies we have added to our program and their families. I am excited about their quality and character, as well as their skill set. We are so blessed. I am excited about adding Madison [Hayes] and DeYona [Gaston]. Again, you talk about two kids that are competitive. Both of those young ladies just jump at me and jump at you when you watch them play. I think DeYona had 28 last night in her game. She was at one time rated number one in her class in high school as a freshman. She has had a few little nicks and injuries the last couple of years, but I think she is back. I think she is going to be everything that we thought she was going to be as a freshman. I can remember watching and following her for a long, long time. Madison, at guard, has a lot of everything. She is tough and competitive. She is an offensive player. She was with Rickea [Jackson] this summer on the three on three world championship team. She will stick her nose in there and take a charge and battle for rebounds on the floor and loose balls. She is incredibly talented and competitive. I am just really excited about both of those young ladies. Again, tremendous families. We are just so, so fortunate to be getting and adding those two to our Mississippi State Bulldog Family.
"We have to get ready to play two games this week, with Murray State on Friday and Troy on Monday. We are just trying to get better. I thought we got better the other night. I saw some really good, positive things. I thought Rickea helped us in a lot of other ways besides the shots she is or isn't making. She is helping us defensively. She is so long and athletic. She is involved. She didn't get very many rebounds the other night, but she was close. Keep in mind, that Victoria was 10-of-29 in her first two games. I think that worked out okay. My message to Rickea is that you are taking great shots so keep taking them. She played seven games with us in Naples and shot 53 percent. They were the same shots. She is going to be fine. It is our job as coaches to get her on track, and we are going to do that. I have been pleased with Myah Taylor in her point guard play. We have had a few too many turnovers, especially against Southern Miss. We rectified that the other night. You are going to look out there in the next week or two and see some different combinations. I even had all four freshmen out there the other night, I think. You are going to see that again. You are going to see some other combinations out there probably. You will have your favorites. You probably have some combinations you want to see out there, and you probably will see them. I think we are still trying to find our way. We are trying to find that 1A group that we need when we are going down the stretch. We will keep working. I am excited about practice today and getting to work. I am more worried about us right now that anybody else. We are going to go to work today, have a great workout and get ready for two more home games."
Q: How difficult is it to get players their minutes but get the right rotations?
VS: "I think you can't be worried about both of those things. You have to put them team first. We have to figure out what is going to be best for us down the stretch. At the same time, if you get a chance to maybe get somebody some minutes under the lights, I think that is always valuable, especially for our young players. I have been really pleased with our freshmen. I think that group is pretty unique and special. They are not too phased or too uptight. I did not see it this summer at all. Quite frankly, I think they have been more uptight playing in front of 7,500 and 7,600 in the first two games here at home than they were over there playing in front of nobody. That is to be expected. You come out of high school where you may not play in front of 75 people. Your first game out of the box there is 7,500 people here for a game on Saturday at 2 p.m. It is different. I think that could contribute to some of it. Any time you can get those kids some experience, it helps. JaMya Mingo-Young is playing really well. JaMya's skill set gets her involved in so many plays. It seems like I am addressing her a lot, whether on the court or in the huddle. Consequently, she and I are having dialogue a lot. That is a good thing. She is just that kind of player. Ya'll have seen her now for three games now at home. She is not shy or short on confidence. You want somebody like that. Jayla is the same way. Those kids are all competitive. Of course, we know Rickea is that way and then some. She has had some much success on into the national stage. My job is now to get it all together with our returning players, along with a couple of point guards whose roles have just expanded. We have a lot going on. There is a lot to it. That is just the way it is. It is exciting and fun to have that."
Q: Is there anything beyond the rotation you want to see in the upcoming stretch?
VS: "I thought we were better defensively the last game. Myah is my best help defender by far. I think Andra Espinoza-Hunter took a charge down there. Mingo took a charge. Now, if you can get three players that will stick their nose in there and take a charge and get a possession, now you have a chance, especially with the way we like to play. I thought defensively our help was a little bit better. Offensively, I thought we showed some flashes of doing what I want and what we have been doing around here in dribble drive. I thought we executed our zone offense a little better and a little faster in this last game than we did against Southern Miss. All of it is going to work and get better the more times you do it under the lights. We just have to keep growing in that area."
Q: Did you meet your needs with the signees? Will you sign anyone else?
VS: "I certainly think we addressed a couple of needs. Both of these kids are basketball players with two big wings. DeYona is probably going to play the four her first couple of years here. I envision moving Rickea out some, like I did Victoria Vivians. I envision having those big wings out there. You can cover a lot of ground. Defensively, you can cause so many problems with people. These kids can score. Absolutely we have made our team better. We have enhanced our community with two great kids. I again want to commend their families, both super families. I do think we have room for one more. I am not taking just anybody. We can hang on to it and use it in the next class if we need to."
Myah Taylor
Q: How do you think you handled being point guard?
MT: "I think I can definitely cut down on some of my turnovers that I had. Coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett is always on me in practice about being able to handle the ball when I am tired. I practice it like it is my job to do that in practice so that in a game it is a lot easier. I give a lot of credit to our practice guys. They bring it every day. They make sure they are crushing me. When I get in the game, I am able to handle the ball and the pressure so I am not tired down the stretch."
Q: What is the competition with Aliyah Matharu like?
MT: "Like coach said, she has that amazing confidence which is very good. In practice, it is very competitive. She can swing the ball really well. I just feel like as the 'veteran' point guard, I keep her head high. I keep her motivated. I keep competing against her to get us better. Point guard play is really important. I feel like she brings that piece to the team. I feel like we are going to need her down the stretch. I love competing against her. She is a great kid. She wants to get better and competes every day. I am really proud of her and her growth. She is developing. She will do really well."
STARKVILLE -- Mississippi State women's basketball head coach Vic Schaefer and sophomore guard Myah Taylor spoke with the media on Wednesday afternoon to preview the 10th-ranked Bulldogs' upcoming game against Murray State and talk about signing day.
MSU signed a pair of top-100 players for the 2020 class in five star Madison Hayes and four star DeYona Gaston.
The Bulldogs play Murray State on Friday night at 7 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum. The matchup will be broadcasted on the SEC Network + and the MSU Radio Network.
Vic Schaefer
Opening Statement
VS: "Another signing day. I am so excited about the two young ladies we have added to our program and their families. I am excited about their quality and character, as well as their skill set. We are so blessed. I am excited about adding Madison [Hayes] and DeYona [Gaston]. Again, you talk about two kids that are competitive. Both of those young ladies just jump at me and jump at you when you watch them play. I think DeYona had 28 last night in her game. She was at one time rated number one in her class in high school as a freshman. She has had a few little nicks and injuries the last couple of years, but I think she is back. I think she is going to be everything that we thought she was going to be as a freshman. I can remember watching and following her for a long, long time. Madison, at guard, has a lot of everything. She is tough and competitive. She is an offensive player. She was with Rickea [Jackson] this summer on the three on three world championship team. She will stick her nose in there and take a charge and battle for rebounds on the floor and loose balls. She is incredibly talented and competitive. I am just really excited about both of those young ladies. Again, tremendous families. We are just so, so fortunate to be getting and adding those two to our Mississippi State Bulldog Family.
"We have to get ready to play two games this week, with Murray State on Friday and Troy on Monday. We are just trying to get better. I thought we got better the other night. I saw some really good, positive things. I thought Rickea helped us in a lot of other ways besides the shots she is or isn't making. She is helping us defensively. She is so long and athletic. She is involved. She didn't get very many rebounds the other night, but she was close. Keep in mind, that Victoria was 10-of-29 in her first two games. I think that worked out okay. My message to Rickea is that you are taking great shots so keep taking them. She played seven games with us in Naples and shot 53 percent. They were the same shots. She is going to be fine. It is our job as coaches to get her on track, and we are going to do that. I have been pleased with Myah Taylor in her point guard play. We have had a few too many turnovers, especially against Southern Miss. We rectified that the other night. You are going to look out there in the next week or two and see some different combinations. I even had all four freshmen out there the other night, I think. You are going to see that again. You are going to see some other combinations out there probably. You will have your favorites. You probably have some combinations you want to see out there, and you probably will see them. I think we are still trying to find our way. We are trying to find that 1A group that we need when we are going down the stretch. We will keep working. I am excited about practice today and getting to work. I am more worried about us right now that anybody else. We are going to go to work today, have a great workout and get ready for two more home games."
Q: How difficult is it to get players their minutes but get the right rotations?
VS: "I think you can't be worried about both of those things. You have to put them team first. We have to figure out what is going to be best for us down the stretch. At the same time, if you get a chance to maybe get somebody some minutes under the lights, I think that is always valuable, especially for our young players. I have been really pleased with our freshmen. I think that group is pretty unique and special. They are not too phased or too uptight. I did not see it this summer at all. Quite frankly, I think they have been more uptight playing in front of 7,500 and 7,600 in the first two games here at home than they were over there playing in front of nobody. That is to be expected. You come out of high school where you may not play in front of 75 people. Your first game out of the box there is 7,500 people here for a game on Saturday at 2 p.m. It is different. I think that could contribute to some of it. Any time you can get those kids some experience, it helps. JaMya Mingo-Young is playing really well. JaMya's skill set gets her involved in so many plays. It seems like I am addressing her a lot, whether on the court or in the huddle. Consequently, she and I are having dialogue a lot. That is a good thing. She is just that kind of player. Ya'll have seen her now for three games now at home. She is not shy or short on confidence. You want somebody like that. Jayla is the same way. Those kids are all competitive. Of course, we know Rickea is that way and then some. She has had some much success on into the national stage. My job is now to get it all together with our returning players, along with a couple of point guards whose roles have just expanded. We have a lot going on. There is a lot to it. That is just the way it is. It is exciting and fun to have that."
Q: Is there anything beyond the rotation you want to see in the upcoming stretch?
VS: "I thought we were better defensively the last game. Myah is my best help defender by far. I think Andra Espinoza-Hunter took a charge down there. Mingo took a charge. Now, if you can get three players that will stick their nose in there and take a charge and get a possession, now you have a chance, especially with the way we like to play. I thought defensively our help was a little bit better. Offensively, I thought we showed some flashes of doing what I want and what we have been doing around here in dribble drive. I thought we executed our zone offense a little better and a little faster in this last game than we did against Southern Miss. All of it is going to work and get better the more times you do it under the lights. We just have to keep growing in that area."
Q: Did you meet your needs with the signees? Will you sign anyone else?
VS: "I certainly think we addressed a couple of needs. Both of these kids are basketball players with two big wings. DeYona is probably going to play the four her first couple of years here. I envision moving Rickea out some, like I did Victoria Vivians. I envision having those big wings out there. You can cover a lot of ground. Defensively, you can cause so many problems with people. These kids can score. Absolutely we have made our team better. We have enhanced our community with two great kids. I again want to commend their families, both super families. I do think we have room for one more. I am not taking just anybody. We can hang on to it and use it in the next class if we need to."
Myah Taylor
Q: How do you think you handled being point guard?
MT: "I think I can definitely cut down on some of my turnovers that I had. Coach Dionnah Jackson-Durrett is always on me in practice about being able to handle the ball when I am tired. I practice it like it is my job to do that in practice so that in a game it is a lot easier. I give a lot of credit to our practice guys. They bring it every day. They make sure they are crushing me. When I get in the game, I am able to handle the ball and the pressure so I am not tired down the stretch."
Q: What is the competition with Aliyah Matharu like?
MT: "Like coach said, she has that amazing confidence which is very good. In practice, it is very competitive. She can swing the ball really well. I just feel like as the 'veteran' point guard, I keep her head high. I keep her motivated. I keep competing against her to get us better. Point guard play is really important. I feel like she brings that piece to the team. I feel like we are going to need her down the stretch. I love competing against her. She is a great kid. She wants to get better and competes every day. I am really proud of her and her growth. She is developing. She will do really well."
Players Mentioned
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