Coach Lisa Stockton Responds!!
Nov 27, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2001
Hey Coach! I always love watching your team play and think that you are a great coach. But do you think that the Green Wave will be good enough this year to make it to the NCAA Tournament again? Louisville looks pretty good.
Dan Coakley
Metairie
"I think we have a really good chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament again this season. We are fortunate here at Tulane where making the NCAA Tournament is an expectation every year. We have a lot of pieces in place that you need to be successful. If everything comes together, we should have another good season."
Coach -- I was at your game against High Point and thought you guys looked good, but that was not a very good team you played. Don't you think it would be better to play tougher teams in the early season?
Kimberly Tate
New Orleans
"Kim, thanks for coming out to support the team. I think we actually have one of the tougher schedules in the nation this season. We play both Purdue and Southwest Missouri State this season and they were both in the Final Four last year. We also play Drake, who were co-champs of the Missouri Valley Conference with Southwest Missouri State, on the road and Penn, who won the Ivy League and made the NCAA Tournament last season, at home. We could also see Florida and Virginia in our tournaments, so we definitely have a challenging early-season schedule. Plus, the Conference USA schedule will once again be very tough."
How do you get a team like Purdue to come down here to play Tulane? In the future do you plan to always have a big-time school in New Orleans for a game at the Arena?
Kristi Makarawicz
Slidell
"We're very excited to have Purdue coming down to play us this season. They were the national runner-up to Notre Dame, losing by only two points in the championship game. Plus, our game will be the first Division I women's college basketball game played in the New Orleans Arena, so that is exciting as well. The coach at Purdue, Kristi Simms, actually used to be an assistant coach here at Tulane, which I think reflects on the strength of the program that has been built here at Tulane."
Now that Janell Burse is another player for Tulane in the WNBA do you think high school players look at Tulane as a school where they can definitely move on to a professional career? Also, have scouts and WNBA teams contacted you about Teana McKiver? Do you think she could make it at that level?
Kay Tantom
Monroe
"With Janell in the WNBA, we now have three players playing professionally in the United States. Plus, we have a few more players pursuing professional opportunities overseas. There are only 14 schools that have more players in the WNBA than Tulane. If a player has dreams of playing the WNBA, I definitely feel we can help her reach her potential at Tulane. As for Teana, she has a very good chance to play at the next level. She has improved every season that she has been here and should continue to get better as she is a very hard worker. We are just glad to have her around here for another couple of years."
Hey coach. I have been following Tulane basketball for a long time, since I was in school in the early 80s. Every year I can not believe how great the women's team is. I keep expecting you to have a bad year, but you keep winning, even with your best players graduating. You must have thought a lot about going to a bigger school, right? Have a lot of schools tried to hire you away from Tulane? What are your future plans?
Lisa White
Biloxi
"Lisa, thanks for you continued support over the years. A lot of the success we have achieved the last few years has been in large part because of the support from fans like you. I am very proud of the program we have built at Tulane and I am very happy here. The level of support we receive, both from fans like you and from the Tulane administration, is phenomenal."
In your time at Tulane, what has been your favorite team to coach? And who have been some of your favorite players to coach? Do you still stay in contact with a lot of your players?
Dan Boisvert
Kenner
"We have had some great teams and great players here at Tulane. It would be hard to single out any one player or team because they are all very special to me. I think we have a great family atmosphere here and our players, both current and former, have really bought into that. It is not uncommon to see several of our former players in the stands during our games, even players that graduated before I began coaching here. We had our 25th Anniversary celebration last season and I really enjoyed meeting a lot of the players who helped begin the women's basketball program here at Tulane."
