Sunday Sit-down with Mizzou women’s basketball coach Kellie Harper

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones sat down Mizzou women's basketball coach Kellie Harper in this week's edition of Sunday Sit-down.

The pair previewed Harper's first season at the helm in Columbia.

You can find a full transcript of the interview below. Be sure to also watch the full conversation on SportsZone at 10:30 on KMIZ.

NATHALIE: Welcome back everyone. It is a special edition of Sunday sit down, joined by Mizzou woman's basketball coach, Kellie Harper. Kellie, it's probably been a whirlwind for you. Thanks for coming back on the show. 

KELLIE: Yeah. Thanks for having me, yeah. 

NATHALIE: What is the last few months? Just tell us what they've been like. I mean, last time we talked to you, it was a week you got hired. So kind of tell me, Well, what's from there for you? 

KELLIE: A lot's happened since then. So, you know, over the summer, obviously, for us, we built a roster, we started recruiting, put our staff together, and then started with the team on the court this summer as well. So we started implementing our offensive package a lot this summer, and then we had a little bit of downtime in August. That was, that was nice. And really, once we got them back for school in the fall, we've been in practice, putting them through through a lot of hopefully tough practices for them, so that, you know, we can challenge them and find their competitiveness. 

NATHALIE: Well, this time last year, you were in my seat. I mean, what does it feel like now to be able to build a roster and kind of be back into the thick of what you love? 

KELLIE: Yeah, I tell you, I think the best thing is it's the people. It's really the people, it's the I love working with our team. I love I really do love coaching them. They've been fun to work with. But also, I really do love my staff and just the puzzle piece of trying to get it right, trying to figure out how we can be our best. I love that. I love the complexities, and I love the puzzles, and I love trying to figure that out. 

NATHALIE: What was it like when you assembled this roster? What kind of girls do you feel like? Kind of best fit what you're trying to build here? 

KELLIE: I think for us, we really targeted good, high quality people who love basketball, who want to be here. You know, I think we need, you know, high IQ. We need players that are not afraid of the competitiveness that the SEC is, maybe players that actually look to that as, hey, that's why I want to be there. They want to do something special. So, you know, for us, I think it's an ongoing, ongoing thing, and making sure we continue to bring those type of players in

NATHALIE listen to you talk at SEC media days. You know, first of all, what was it like to be back in under the bright lights and everything like that down at SEC media?

KELLIE: actually, I enjoyed getting back there and seeing all the all the media folks that I worked with, and getting to spend some time with them again. Obviously, being on the SEC Network last year, I was able to to kind of see a little behind the scenes, but But I looked at it differently, but it was, it was fun to see them, but then I enjoy being able to talk about our team. I enjoy being able to really brag about and get excited about what we're doing.

NATHALIE: When you look at players like Grace and Avery and Abbey and Hannah, players that decided to stay in this program. What do you want those players to mean, to Mizzou basketball?

KELLIE: Yeah, this is a big statement. You know? I think for them, we have five players that chose to stay because they love this program, they love this university, and they believe in what we can do here. And that's a big deal, and it helps us with consistency, continuity, leadership, experience, they're sharing all of that. It's a big deal, and I want them to be proud of that decision. I really want them to have ownership in this program, not just now, not just next year, but for the future. That would be my hope for them. 

NATHALIE: I was talking to grace in the offseason, and she said one big thing she was working on was her voice. So you mentioned she wants to be a vocal leader for this team. How have you kind of seen that evolve for Grace

KELLIE: yeah, it's not a natural thing for her. And I'll be honest with you, I was quiet at one point too. Nobody believes me when I tell them that. But I think as an athlete, you have to, you have to adapt where your needs are, you know. And that's not just, Hey, I've got to play out of position for this team to be the best. I may have to do something that's out of my comfort zone. And I think, you know, she's earned the respect of her teammates. She's earned the respect because she works hard, because she's been there. And so I think she has the opportunity to have a voice, and we continue to challenge her with that, and we've seen a lot of growth.

NATHALIE: Fast paced is something she mentioned. What does fast paced basketball look like to you?

KELLIE: Yeah, fast paced basketball is not just how fast you run, because I'll be honest with you, we'd probably line up on the baseline and sprint down and back, and we're not going to beat a lot of teams. We're just not but you could play fast, and that's going to mean you react fast, you make reads quickly, you move the ball quickly, you there's not a lot of downtime within your transitions, and that's where we're not there yet. That is the goal. That's what we have been harping on all since the moment we got on campus. We've talked about that's our style. That's what we want our players to believe in. But we're still working towards that. But, um, we're getting there. 

NATHALIE: What does it look like building? Building towards that? You know, how do you get players to kind of build towards not thinking towards not thinking almost and being so fast paced? 

KELLIE: Yeah, I think a lot of that's reps. A lot of that is reps. And I think you have to have high quality reps. If I just go through the motions, I'm not not practicing the speed that we need to go. So I think, in particular, our half court reps. I think our half court reps have to be faster, cleaner, quicker. And then in a five on ohsituation, or three oh no with no defense, but then you have to be able to to change that. When there's defense, you still have to be able to do that. And there that in lies sometimes a challenge.

NATHALIE: You mentioned, chemistry was the biggest thing of this offseason. How do you feel like this team was able to come together? 

KELLIE: Yeah, I think for us, you have to have to have a common vision. You have to have a common goal. They have to understand that's what we're working towards, and you have to be intentional. Every single detail, every single decision that we made all summer and throughout the fall was by design, and it was to help our players be connected. It was to help foster and promote chemistry, team chemistry relationships. They don't have to be best friends if they are great. They don't have to be best friends, but they have to be able to have mutual respect. They have to be able to work together, to be able to communicate, and they've got to be able to pull for one another. When things get hard, nothing has been hard thus far, other than tough practices and conditioning sessions, it's not games, it's not adversity throughout the season. Yet, when those things happen, because they will, you always have adversity when they will, then we will find that challenge, then we will find out how well we did in terms of building that this summer, you have to have a great baseline. I feel like we've done a really good job at this point. We have to continue to do it so that when we have hard times, instead of pointing fingers, instead of going on our own, we link together and we push forward together.

NATHALIE: It's so hard to define success, obviously, in a first season. But what would you be happy to see in your first year?

KELLIE: Oh, man, that's such a tough question. I wish I had, I wish I had the most perfect answer to give you. I can tell you what a lot of things would be successful. You know, if we were in the NCAA Tournament, that would be a huge success for us. But it's hard to really, it's hard to quantify right now, because you, you know, we always want to take take care of the things are in our control, right? We want to control what we can control. And sometimes that's out of your control. It really is, whether you know you have an injury, timely injuries, and I think for us, we have to, are we progressing? I think we have to continue to get better. I think that's going to be a huge success if we continue to get better. And I think if we do that, we'll put ourselves in position to maybe reach some pretty lofty goals this year for this basketball team. But right now, I think it could be daunting for our team. If we look big picture, that's about what is that about five months away? So for us, it's, how can we be good today? Let's focus on today. I do think they like that. I think our team likes breaking it down and thinking about it on a daily basis.

NATHALIE: Sophie Cunningham, I mean, what has it been like to see? I mean, gosh, the past few months for her, have had been crazy. Have you guys gotten to talk to her much, kind of what she's been going through with the Indiana Fever?

KELLIE: Obviously, it's a lot. She's big personality, and she can handle a lot. I think, you know, unfortunately, we saw when we got here, we saw the downside. We saw her injury and then and then her not being able to play. I know that was hard on her, but she did a great job staying engaged with our team. We could see that. I think being part of her Hall of Fame induction was really special. I was very honored that I got to be a part of that and and have her jacket there for that ceremony, and and seeing her family, and we've been around each other a few times this summer at different events. And you know, she does. She loves Mizzou. Oh my goodness, she loves Mizzou. She's passionate about this, this university, and passionate about this program. And I think what a great ambassador to have out there selling your school?

NATHALIE: Is she someone great to point to for your players? Of like, Hey, this is what can happen at Mizzou.

KELLIE: Absolutely. The thing that I've always loved about Sophie was her work ethic. She wasn't the tallest, she wasn't the quickest, she wasn't well, she was probably the toughest actually, she wasn't the best shooter, she wasn't the best defender, but she was the most competitive and toughest player on the court. Every time she stepped out there and she willed herself and her teammates to win games that they otherwise wouldn't want, she could do it, and she had such an impact on her teammates, a positive her teammates would have done anything in the world for her. And you know, I was a fan for a long time, just getting to watch her, she's really, really special, and I think that's what I love to sell. You know, she made herself Great. That's a tribute to her.

NATHALIE: Well, gosh, the clock is ticking. We're getting pretty close to the season. How excited you to finally hit the court with this team face someone else, other than the Tigers,

KELLIE: right? Oh, listen, I'm telling you. So I'm flipping through my planner, and I was like, Oh, wow, here it is. You know, we're right here. So I know it's the season is upon us. You know, we're really looking forward to it. I think for us getting that first. Exhibition game under our belt is important. You get to put on a uniform. There are lights, there are people. I think we're gonna have some players that have some nerves, you know, and they need to get that one done out of the way. And we need to move on. So it'll be good for us to get in this season. And at some point you gotta it's time.

NATHALIE: Kelly, I appreciate the time. We're excited for the season 

KELLIE: Absolutely. Thank you 

NATHALIE: For the rest of you guys, we'll be right back after the break.