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University of Houston Athletics
Women's basketball kicks off season with solid workouts
10/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 20, 2003
HOUSTON, Texas - The University of Houston women's basketball team held its first practice of the 2003-2004 season Saturday morning at 9 a.m., officially getting the season under way. With three practices under their belt, head coach Joe Curl is excited about the upcoming season.
"We got off to a great start," head coach Joe Curl said. "I'm excited about the size and the length of our team. We don't just have tall kids, we have kids with long arms. I think we can cover a lot of ground defensively and it will help us offensively too. Our big kids are really good athletes that can run the court."
Curl said it was good to be able to get the team on the court together for the first official practice. The difference between knowing what they can do and actually seeing it on the court was nice.
The Cougars return seven players from last years team including All American Chandi Jones and defensive standout Nicole Oliver, both of which will provide senior leadership this season. The other senior for Houston is Amanda Barksdale who sat out last season after transferring from Notre Dame. Adding six exciting newcomers, including Barksdale, to the returning talent, has Curl ready for the season.
"Seeing the kids all together on the court makes me want to play tomorrow," he said. "I'm not saying we're going to have a great team or a poor team, but the potential is there to be a very good ball club. After three practices it's hard to really measure anything but I have a feeling that the seniors, Jones, Barksdale and Oliver are poised to have a great season, and the other kids are right there with them."
Despite being excited and ready to play, Curl knows there is a lot of time before the Cougars tip off with Gonzaga on November 21.
"Right now everything is in the big picture," Curl said. "In two weeks though, that picture is going to be very narrow sided because our schedule is a monster. As I'm coaching I have to be able to relay to the team that we must practice with the intensity that it's going to take to play against the types of teams on our schedule."
