The UNC women’s basketball team held its media day on Thursday at Carmichael Arena. Several players, plus head coach Courtney Banghart, spoke about the team’s highly-anticipated 2023-24 season, which includes matchups with UConn and South Carolina. Here are highlights from the day:
Maria Gakdeng, on her on-court persona: I’m not really much of a talker in general. I’m quiet on the court. I just let my game do the talking. I’ll do the looks. I’ll do the “No no no” [finger wag], but not much trash talk.
Lexi Donarski, on what drew her to transfer to UNC: There’s a lot of things. They way that they play, [head coach Courtney Banghart] is allowing us to play with a lot of freedom and to play really fast, which is something that I was really looking forward to. There’s a big focus on team defense; we want to be able to get stops when we need stops and to really be able to push the pace offensively. And I wanted to be on a team that has a chance of winning at a really high level.
Ciera Toomey, on her decision to redshirt this season: I think about things very logically, and I wanted to give this program four good years. And this year, I don’t think it would’ve been one of those good years, coming back in the middle of the season in my first year at the college level. So it just seemed like the right one to take a year, get as strong as I possibly can, experience everything firsthand. All I’m not able to do is play. It helped that I’m able to do everything else and learn from everyone and just experience things the way I would as if I was playing. But that playing aspect is just not gonna be there.
RyLee Grays, on her favorite parts about UNC: First of all, the [coaching] staff. I love the staff. The staff are truly amazing. I’ve never met people like them. And then the campus. I had to get out of Texas; it was too hot. And the weather. I wanted four seasons.
Paulina Paris, on how Banghart has changed her coaching style: I think our summer was a lot different than last summer when I came in. It’s gonna be a great year, and I feel like Coach Banghart sees that, and that’s why she’s pushing us so hard. I’m just really excited to see what this team has in store.
Paulina Paris was Carolina’s only true freshman in the 2022-23 season. (Image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jerome M. Ibrahim)
Anya Poole, on the experience of competing against her former conference foe Gakdeng in practice: Maria’s very, very physical. She’s very tall. I’ve been told that I’m a very undersized post player, but I’ve been dealing with that for four years, just having to use my skills and my ability to my advantage. But it’s been fun. It’s been fun to be able to compete against another post player who was in the ACC, so she knows how it is with the physicality and how fast the ACC is. So being able to compete against her will help me, and help all of us as a whole just get better and be able to be healthy and physical and strong and fast for the rest of the season.
Kayla McPherson, on the depth of the roster: We have a lot of athletic people who are gonna be running really fast this year. We’ve got some more shooters on the team, we’ve got some more length on our team. We’re gonna be blocking a lot of shots this year. We’re coming along really well.
Alyssa Ustby, on the team’s overall talent: I’ve never been on a team this talented before, and it is so cool to see. Every practice is the most competitive atmosphere that I’ve been a part of. And it’s perfect, because that’s simulating what games are gonna be like. It’s just really awesome to see all these girls being able to show off their skills. A lot of people stress about not starting, but it’s really the bench that comes in and supports in whatever way their role is asking them for that gets you far in the tournament.
Deja Kelly, on returning to campus after a busy offseason, including attending the WNBA Draft and playing for Team USA: I could not wait to come back to Chapel Hill after the summer I’ve had. Every time Coach would call me when I was away, I would just be like, ‘How’s the team? What’s the team doing? What are we looking like? What do I need to pick back up on?’ I was always checking in, because this is my family. This is my home, and I just love being with these people here. To be gone that much was a lot, but those were great opportunities for me. I’m happy to be back and get going with these girls.
Deja Kelly spent the summer playing for Team USA at the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup in Mexico. (Image via FIBA Basketball)
Courtney Banghart, on the team’s senior class of Kelly, Ustby, Poole and Ali Zelaya: They know where we’ve been and where we want to go, and they can be the carriers of that. All four of them embody the progress we’ve made. The story of Deja is well-told. The true Deja has so much courage. She is relentless. She lives in the gym. She’s an ultimate competitor. She’s reliable, you can count on her. She’s tough. All the other stuff is well-told; that’s a different Deja than we get inside the lines. And then Alyssa, she’s tenacious. I don’t care what we’re playing; she’s on my team. We’re better if she’s on my team. I think she’s a tough matchup for other teams because of her tenacity. And then Anya’s probably got the highest basketball IQ on the team. She absolutely knows what’s going on at all positions. That, coupled with the increased competitiveness around her, has risen her game. And Ali Z has just been such a staple. She’s a true stretch five, she has a very high basketball IQ. She plays the game because she loves it. You put all that together, people who came to this program with a true intention of being my first class; it’s one thing to say it, it’s another thing to do it. As much as we all look down there and say, ‘That’s a nice team,’ I didn’t do it alone. Those four made this program attractive enough for Lexi, Maria and Indya [Nivar], as well as our freshmen.
Banghart, on the team’s chemistry: We have a really good blend of experience and an influx of talent. We’ve got more talent at all positions than we had a year ago. The depth of that should help us. What I’ve been really pleased with is some of stuff we’ve done off the court, as well as on the court. This team really likes one another. I’ve done this for a long time, and you try really hard in your recruiting process to make sure that’s the case. But there’s an organic nature of every team. This team is lighthearted. They’re funny. They’re fun. They really like each other. Today’s practice number 48, so we’ve been going for a while. I think their likability with one another will really help this season.
Courtney Banghart is entering her fifth season as women’s basketball head coach at Carolina. (Image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jerome M. Ibrahim)
Banghart, on the team’s challenging 2023-24 schedule: We have a chance to have Iowa and South Carolina back-to-back, with a game in between before UConn. There’s a challenge in every opportunity, and when you have a really good team, that’s what you want. I wouldn’t be so happy if my schedule was a good as it was, but my team wasn’t as good as it was. We’ll learn a lot about our team. I’ve learned here, more than at Princeton, what actually matters is how well your team is playing in March. So we’ve just got to use these opportunities to find out what we’re really good at, and where our weaknesses are. I believe this team will put the time in to make sure the weaknesses in November and December are not their weaknesses in February and March.
Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati
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