A few weeks removed from the abrupt and responsible end to the 2019-20 women's basketball season, head coach Sharon Versyp has had very little time off. Just finishing her 14th year at the helm, the program's all-time winningest coach turned her focus from the court to ensuring her players' well-being as a result of the COVID-19 spread
Versyp talked about how she's handling the situation, thoughts on the season and how she's staying in contact with her student-athletes.
Q: Now that you've had some time to process the 2019-20 season, what have you been able to take away from your 14th year at Purdue
Sharon Versyp: This season started way back in June with our preparations for Australia. That trip gave us an incredible opportunity to grow as a team on and off the court. We were able to try a few different things with our depth. We moved some players into different positions. It was incredible for our team cohesiveness.
In our non-conference season, we played one of the toughest schedules in the nation. I thought we performed very well. Our Thanksgiving trip was some of our best basketball with wins against two great teams in Drake and Arizona State and tight game against Gonzaga. That performance really helped us find a groove heading into Big Ten play. It was also a good experience because Cass and Jenelle needed to find their rhythm after missing the start of the season.
I thought we were in great shape to do some great things in the Big Ten. We were playing at an extremely high level, only for Tamara to go down with a season-ending injury. She is really the lynchpin of our defense, so we had to change the complexion of how we played on the defensive end of the floor. The toughest part was that we faced two of the best teams in the conference right after that.
The Big Ten was the toughest and deepest that it's ever been. We were definitely getting eight teams in the NCAA Tournament. There are a couple of games you want to get back against Minnesota and Michigan State at home, which was tough after Karissa missed three games and took a bit to get her rhythm back.
I thought our Big Ten Tournament run was really impressive. We dominated against Michigan State and played Maryland closer than almost everyone in the Big Ten. We were playing elite basketball, and it would have been fun to see how far we would have gone in the NCAA Tournament.
I was very proud of this group and thought we had a very good season.
Q: Now that you've had a few weeks to think about it, what went through your mind when they decided to cancel the NCAA Tournament?
SV: When we were practicing for the NCAA Tournament after the Big Ten Tournament, we were hopeful that we would be able to play, at the very least in front of an empty arena. It was a gut punch when the announcement was made. This group played exceptionally well and made countless sacrifices to get into a position to make a run in the tournament, as did everyone in the country.
Starting in Australia, building our culture up and bringing Purdue women's basketball back, we were prepared to showcase our program at the NCAA Tournament. At the end of the day, we all know the decision was made for the right reasons. The health and safety of our student-athletes, our staffs, our fans, our media and everyone is the most important thing.
It was so abrupt of an ending. Our staff was off campus recruiting. We gave the team a few days off, so some of the players had left. We just weren't able to be together as a team and have total closure.
Q: When the season was officially cancelled what were your first steps?
SV: The first thing I did was call our seniors Nique and Ae'Rianna. There wasn't a lot that could be said, aside from apologizing and thanking them. They helped bring this program back to playing at a high level. They knew that the decision was made for the right reason. I then called everyone else to make sure they were okay.
Q: Once Purdue had made the decision to go to online learning, what was the process like ensuring the players made it home safe?
SV: We had a bunch of calls to just communicate with our players to make sure they were either on their way home or preparing to do that. Most of the team met the following Monday to talk about our feelings, but we knew we needed to get them on flights back home. We tried to organize with them to help them get back. We knew this was going to be something that could take several months, and we wanted them to get back to their families.
It was pretty easy for most of our student-athletes from the United States. Once they got home, they all called and texted to say they made it safely. For our international players, it was a bit tougher. Leo and Roxane drove home that Saturday. They had to leave pretty quickly because borders started to close.
Jenelle was tough because people could not travel from the UK to the United State, but people could still fly there. We tried to get her a flight out, but it kept changing. There was only one flight from Chicago to London a day, but we finally were able to get her on it, and she made it back safely.
Fatou was a challenging issue to get back to Senegal. We tried for nearly a week to get her on a flight back home, most international flights were getting cancelled by the minute. Our Anthony Travel reps were absolutely amazing in helping us find flights. We got her to Chicago and her flight was canceled. We then found a flight at 7 p.m. from New York to Senegal, but at 4:30, the president of Senegal closed down its borders. So, she's currently in Indianapolis with her brother and his family. Tamara ended up staying here to work on her rehab.
Q: How have you stayed in contact with the student-athletes?
SV: I've FaceTimed with our players multiple times. We had a big Zoom meeting in order to get everyone on the same call. We talked about what we're all up to right now. It was a great chance to see everyone smiling. Even though we're all far from each other, our family bond is still very close.
It's really important to have visual interaction to see how they're doing and to keep them in good spirits.
Q: What advice have you given them during this time?
SV: It took a while for us all to process and wrap our minds around what was happening and how to get everyone home. There's a lot of uncertainty, including how long it will be until we're all together again.
Now that we've had some time, we make sure to that they have a structure and a routine every day. They need to stay disciplined. It helps we're a routine-based team. We have to get up, have breakfast, do great in school, find some time to exercise and find ways to focus on our mental health.
Q: What have you done during your time away from the office?
SV: It's a time to reflect on how grateful and fortunate we've been. After working to get all our players home, we've reached out to all our recruits. Normally, they would have had time to come on campus or we would have seen them in person, but we've made sure to stay up to date with everyone, even if it's just checking in on their well-being. We're revamping the information we're giving to them in order to show them how much we want them to be a part of our family.
Our staff has taken a lot of time to analyze our game film to see what works and what we need to revamp. How can we improve our defense? How can we utilize all the returning pieces? How will the new players fit in? How will transfers factor in?
This is going to be a long process. It's an unprecedented situation, but we all are finding a way to make improvements to this program and take the next step.
Aside from work, I wake up in the morning and workout for two hours. I've never done that before. I've gotten into a routine of making my morning calls when I get my energy going. Then it's video and text all day with our players, recruits, staff members and friends of the program.
Q: Have you been watching any shows?
SV: I've watched a lot of Law and Order SVU. I've watched through the new Jack Ryan season and can't wait for the new season of Harry Bosch to start. I've really liked Ozark. I've never really watched a lot of TV, so I've also read a lot during this time. I try to spread it out. I don't think my house has ever been this clean.
Q: Finally, even though it wasn't the ending we wanted for them, how much of an impact have Nique and Ri made on this program?
SV: Nique brought a lot up when I called her. She talked about how hard they've worked and how they wanted to make the NCAA Tournament at least twice during their careers. Both of them really wanted the opportunity to showcase the talent and progression of this program in the big dance. They knew we were playing at such a high level.
As a tandem, it was unprecedented how many records they set, some that may never fall. Probably the most amazing thing was that they didn't care about all the accolades. They wanted to play in the tournament more than anything. We all felt we should have been in it for their sophomore season, and then we would have made it this year.
Their numbers have been incredible, but their leadership for four years is what will be their biggest legacy. They've always maintained a great culture and done things the right way.
Nique will join our team as a graduate assistant next year, and Ri will continue to play professionally. Both of them will continue to be tied into this program and touching our lives.
I'm so thankful for their hard work, dedication and sacrifice. All three of us felt like we made a great team over the last four years.
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