Technician Online

March 23rd, 2007

Time change influences team

FRESNO, Calif. – The three-hour time change from Raleigh to Fresno, Calif., really seemed to take its toll on everyone today.

After arriving in Fresno, Calif., around 3 p.m. pacific time on Thursday, most everyone – band, cheerleaders and team – seemed ready for bed around 9 p.m.

That meant Friday would just start earlier. And it sure did. Kendra Bell, a former point guard and now graduate assistant, said she woke up a lot earlier than she would have expected.

“Well I woke up first at 6, then again at 6:20,” Bell said. “Then again at 7:14.”

Not surprisingly, I’ve never seen a more alert group of people before 11 a.m. The bus ride to Fresno State, where the team practices, left the hotel at 10:45 a.m. Yesterday’s bus ride to the hotel was the most quiet I’ve ever heard a bus. Today was the most joyous.

The whole team, including managers, sang aloud and went from song-to-song during the 15-minute ride to the campus.

When the bus arrived at its destination, players and coaches checked all of their bags in and prepared for the day.

Coach Kay Yow went and held her press conference at 11:15 a.m., while the players sat in the locker room and the media interviewed them there. Then the Wolfpack had its practice, which was open to the media, from noon to 12:50.

Throughout the practice, State really seemed alert. The team talked, laughed and seemed focused on Saturday’s game against Connecticut.

It is really funny watching the open practices to the media. While the Pack’s was fairly intense at some points, it’s a much different atmosphere than what the team would have during a normal practice.

This practice is 50 minutes. It’s G-rated. And it sure doesn’t give any clues about a game plan. Normal, closed practices aren’t quite the same way.

While Thursday was extremely busy and involved all sorts of tasks, Friday was a much easier day for the team. After practice, the team just had to meet for its lunch and dinner. And from there, State’s only task was to rest for its biggest game of the year on Saturday night.

So far, it’s been a really interesting trip. There were many things that I expected, but the most intriguing thing has been the following of Yow.

Yow has so much going on. Immediately when the team arrived on campus for practice, she was shuffled to her press conference then to another room. She then went to practice and then after that she had more interviews.

Her assistants are always around. Her nurse is always around. Her players always check on her. And the media is at every turn.

While non-game days have been fun to watch, I’m really looking forward to how the team operates on a game day. But tomorrow isn’t a normal game day – it’s a Sweet 16 game against one of the most historic women’s basketball programs ever – should be fun.

-Nick Jeffreys, Deputy Sports Editor

This entry was posted on Friday, March 23rd, 2007 at 6:51 pm and is filed under Women's NCAA Tournament. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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