Coquese Washington talks early season outlook and recruiting signee
Rutgers women's basketball head coach Coquese Washington discussed early returns on the season so far, as well as upcoming games against Seton Hall on Wednesday and St. Francis (PA) on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights sit at 2-1 on the year after defeating Monmouth and Wagner before falling to Auburn on Sunday afternoon.
Washington first spoke on what she and the staff have seen in preparing for this week's games against the Pirates and the Red Flash.
"Seton Hall, one thing that they are is a very well-coached team," she said. "They're athletic, and they got the guards that will put pressure on you and attack in transition. Azana Baines is a really solid player for them, a really versatile forward, she can score inside, through the midrange, she can drive, she scores at all three levels. They're really a team that's a sum of their parts. They all play together and they play with a lot of confidence in one another. When you see that, that's always a dangerous thing because it makes a team that's better than their individual parts."
Rutgers fell at home to Seton Hall 75-57 last season, and the Scarlet Knights will look to flip that result at Walsh Gym in South Orange on Wednesday. Washington also spoke on what they expect from St. Francis.
"The one thing about them this year is that they're a young team," she said. "They're still trying to find their way early in the season, but they have some pretty decent athletes and it's only a matter of time before they put it together."
The Scarlet Knights have once again been bitten by the turnover bug, one of their biggest problems from last season. Through three games, the team is averaging 20.7 giveaways per game. Washington said that number would gradually go down with experience, both from the individual players and the team playing with each other.
"Some of it is experience," she said. "This team is still really young, our core team is freshmen and sophomores. Also just getting Kaylene [Smikle] back, we've practiced with this team for about two weeks. The experience, and unfortunately with the way the schedule works, is we don't have a ton of practice time, so they have to figure some of it out on game day, so I think the key is playing a little bit with some more poise, and playing with a little more patience. John Wooden had a saying, 'be quick, but don't hurry', so we want to play fast, be quick, but not hurry, or be in a hurry to make things happen. That resulted in some of the turnovers.
Losing wing Awa Sidibe also did not help matters either. The senior was one of the Scarlet Knights' main ballhandlers last season, and Washington said after the opening win over Monmouth that she would be out "indefinitely". She spoke on how that loss has affected the team's play so far.
"That was a big, big impact," she said. "Awa is such an incredible piece to what we want to do. She's arguably our best defender on the perimeter, she's fast, so we have to adjust to playing without her until she's back so that's gonna take a little bit of time. Hopefully it doesn't take too much time, but it's definitely an adjustment."
With the National Signing Period open, Washington was able to speak on Zachara Perkins, the lone signee for the Scarlet Knights' 2024 class so far. She listed a couple of factors why Perkins was someone she wanted to target to bring in.
"Two things: her tenacity, her toughness, and her versatility," she said. "Kind of in the mold of Antonia [Bates]: a long, athletic wing, who can play a lot of positions, she can handle the ball, she can shoot it, she can score in the paint, just multiple things. She's got a toughness and a grit about her."
The 6-foot-3 forward from Texas committed after visiting the program in April. While she plays her high school ball far away, she has several family ties to the program. Her mother, DeMya Walker-Wheatfall, starred at Rancocas Valley High School in New Jersey before going on to become a staple at Virginia and later in the WNBA.
"She loves Rutgers," Washington said. "She came on one visit and fell in love with the campus, fell in love with the people, fell in love with the team. That's really important. That's why, from a recruiting standpoint, we want people who want to be here. That stuck out to us in spades."
Washington also recalled going up against Walker-Wheatfall during her professional days.
"I remember playing against DeMya. She was mean," she joked. "DeMya Walker was a mean... she was mean, and aggressive. I think [her daughter] has that. I've watched it, she's got it from her mother."
The Scarlet Knights continue their season after home and away matchups this week, hosting Fairfield before traveling to Las Vegas to compete in the South Point Shootout.
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