By Sofia Montoya-Deck<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women\u2019s basketball is looking forward to a strong season under the leadership of new head coach DeRonte Polite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team ended last year\u2019s run with a losing record of 4-21 but has high hopes for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior Tiffany Manning is excited for the team\u2019s new chapter with Polite. \u201cI like him a lot and what he brings to our team,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before coming to Hood, Polite spent 4 years as a D1 assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. \u201cIt is a definite partnership when you consider D3 women\u2019s basketball versus D1 women\u2019s basketball,\u201d he said of the transition. \u201cI am not allowed to coach and train my team as much as I was able to at the D1 level. So, here, the student-athletes must take a lot of ownership in their own success and development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Polite began practices with the team in early September, placing a focus on conditioning, organizing the offense and honing fundamental skills, such as communication. He typically dedicates the third hour of practice to shooting. Polite explained that this is \u201cso those shots can feel second nature to us once we get into the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Polite praised the team for their coachability. \u201cAs a new coach with new philosophies, it\u2019s a process for everyone to kind of understand the language and understand the system,\u201d he said. \u201c[Coachability] goes beyond some of those physical attributes or skillsets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s team consists of a 12-person roster. Of the team\u2019s four new players, three are transfers and one is a returning Hood student. The team has no freshmen this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of the year, the team posted flyers advertising open tryouts for students interested in joining the team. \u201cIf it\u2019s the right fit, we could possibly take on a few new players,\u201d Polite said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a commitment. It\u2019s not easy. We practice a lot of mornings at 5:30. If anyone is considering it, they probably need to hustle up, but don\u2019t make the decision lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team is going into their season under the experienced leadership of upperclassmen Manning, Tam Stanford, Chanelle Lee and Nikki Etchison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am looking forward to everything that comes with a basketball season: ups and downs, building bonds, playing, traveling, everything.\u201d Manning said. \u201cI think we can make some noise in the conference this year and have a vast improvement from last year\u2019s results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Polite emphasized the team\u2019s focus on being process-oriented each day. \u201cMy hope is that we play good basketball, that when people come to see us play, they see us playing hard, diving on the floor for loose balls, really competing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome out and support us,\u201d Polite added. \u201cThey work really really hard, so it\u2019d be awesome to get that support from our hometown fans to kind of give us an advantage when we\u2019re playing in BB&T Arena.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"