Texas Tech University Athletics
Catching Up with Coach Curry
July 12, 2007 | Women's Basketball
July 12, 2007
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech head women's basketball Kristy Curry is beginning her second year at the helm of the Lady Raiders. Curry has been busy this summer with her basketball camps, and now she and her staff are on the road recruiting. Curry was happy to take some time to talk to texastech.com to let the fans know what she and her team have been up to since last season ended.
What has it been like for you since the season has ended, have things slowed down any for you?
Things haven't slowed down much just because we enjoy what we do. We've gone from really working hard this spring on trying to get our new faces transitioned and now that they're here, we are trying to get them settled. The minute the season was over, we took a week off and then we were back working hard at it. We worked a lot in the off-season with our current players. We had the best off-season I think I've ever had any place that I've been as far as how hard the kids worked. Then we jumped right into summer camps, that has been fun. Now we are in a recruiting period, July 6-15 and July 22-31, so we're all over the country. It will probably slow down a little bit in August, and we will get a chance to take a little break and spend some time with our families.
How was your first year of summer camps at Tech?
They were good. We had a blast working with all the campers and we certainly learned a lot. There are certain things in the future that we know we want to change. We are excited about camps next summer already.
Our elite camp was really successful. We spent a lot of time this year targeting players that we wanted to spend some time on our campus. We were able to have some success with really having some targets here on campus for a couple of days.
It was a lot of fun running the camp here at Texas Tech and one of the most enjoyable aspects was the fact that we had the chance to work and meet a lot of the little ones and help their game to become better. I really enjoyed the fact that we got to have a lot of local coaches and former Lady Raiders come into town and work. It was great to spend some time with those coaches.
You welcome seven new faces to campus this fall and some of them have already enrolled in summer school, how are the new student-athletes adjusting?
They seem to be adjusting well. We have six out of seven of our new faces here. It's great for them to have a chance to get acclimated academically, spend some time with our strength coach Tory Stephens, and be a step ahead headed into the fall. We look forward to having all seven of them here come fall. We have taken a lot of time this spring and this summer to make sure that all of them are getting adjusted. Before they got here and after they get here, it's a process with admissions, housing and everything that goes on.
In your first year you signed a top 10 recruiting class, what types of players do you look for on the road?
I always measure a top 10 recruiting class by the way they finish their careers. You can look at the numbers in the end and say legitimately if they were a top 10 class. I don't get caught up much in the rankings, but we are absolutely thrilled about the seven new faces we have coming in. We will actually have nine new faces when you add in Maddy Brown and Kalee Davidson. When we are out on the road recruiting, we look for players at the positions we need to fill. Right now we have to commitments from the state of Texas that we are thrilled about and one scholarship remaining. I feel good in the direction we are headed. I'll look to sign a post player with this last scholarship. We are also working the `09, `10 and `11 classes extremely hard.
Where does the recruiting trail take you and your staff in July?
We'll touch nearly every tip of the country it seems like. From Houston to Portland to Chicago to Atlanta to Kearney, Neb., to Memphis to Birmingham to Dallas to Augusta, Ga., just to name a few places. We're excited to be all over the country representing Texas Tech.
Your non-conference schedule has been released, what do you think of the upcoming non-conference portion of your schedule?
I think it's a great schedule. The biggest challenge we'll have is blending the old with the new. With so many new faces, I feel like this schedule puts us in a position to be able to gain some confidence, yet be challenged. It's a happy medium with both. I like the fact that we get to go out to open the season in Orlando, and then go to Las Vegas, Pullman, Wash., and Fayetteville, Ark. Those will be some great travel experiences for us before we head into the Big 12 travel season. Plus we have Arizona State, Houston, SMU, IPFW, Oral Roberts and Sam Houston State at home, as well as hosting the Basketball Travelers Classic the weekend after Thanksgiving. It will be great to spend Thanksgiving at home and a great opportunity for our players' families to come to Lubbock for the holiday and watch us play. This is a great home schedule that will really allow us to gain some momentum in our own building. Defending the United Spirit Arena is definitely an area we need to improve.
What are some of your goals and expectations for the upcoming season?
I think our biggest goal right now is to make sure that we get everyone acclimated. The biggest chore that we're going to have is blending the old with the new and how quickly can we mold that together.
What is your biggest challenge for the upcoming season?
As a staff, our biggest challenge will be having so many new faces and teaching them the system and them getting adjusted.
Once school starts in August, what kind of things will get underway with your team?
Once school starts we will be able to start our individual workouts, which are going to be so incredibly valuable with so many new faces. Tory, our strength coach, will be able to work with them six hours a week and will be able to work with them two hours a week in groups of four or less. Come October 13, we'll get underway with practice and we can hardly wait. We are extremely excited.
Do you or your family have any summer vacation plans once you are finished with summer recruiting?
We have a trip planned to Disney, and we will definitely take some time to head over to Ennis, Texas, to see Kelly's family and to north Louisiana to see my family. We are loving the fact that we are closer to our families.
How is your staff?
I'm so incredibly thankful for our staff. Coach Brock has been unbelievable with his Texas ties, and Shereka has been with us full-time this summer and has been hitting the recruiting trail real hard. Grant is getting married on the 21st of July, so we're headed up to Indiana for that. Marianne got engaged to a Red Raider alum. I feel so blessed to have Kelly by my side as usual. Things are just wonderful with our staff and we're thrilled that we are all able to have continuity, and I think that is such an important ingredient for any successful staff.
In closing, what would you like to say to your fans about the upcoming season?
With so many faces, it should definitely be a fun experience for our fans to get to see and to get to know our new players. We're definitely going to need their support as we blend the old with the new. I can't wait for our players to experience the best fans in America.
