After running a baseline-to-baseline tip drill nine different times before getting it right, University of Memphis senior Shannon Hamp felt like some of her teammates weren’t playing hard enough.
Hamp looked around the gym and saw her exhausted teammates with their hands on their knees.
“We got down on ourselves and gave up,” she yelled across Elma Roane. “You can’t give up when you get behind. We can’t let that happen again, or we’re going to have the same season as we did last year.”
The 6-2 center isn’t talking about individual performances. Last year was great for her as a player. She was named to the C-USA second team with a 15-point per game average.
The thing Hamp wants changed is the outcome for the entire team.
Last year Memphis went 11-17.
Last year Memphis didn’t hang another banner in the rafters of the field house.
Last year Memphis had its first losing season in eight years.
Lady Tiger head coach Joye Lee-McNelis, much like Hamp, doesn’t want another season like last season.
McNelis said part of the problem was that last year’s team was unclear about how to go about representing The University of Memphis.
That understanding is the biggest difference this season, according to McNelis. She said the team didn’t know what it meant to be a Lady Tiger.
“It starts with self-pride and inner motivation,” McNelis said. “It means that when your back is against the wall, you always come out fighting.”
She said last year’s players didn’t show perseverance in bad situations and didn’t try to encourage each other.
“They didn’t have enough pride within themselves, in what they were and in who they were,” McNelis said. “This year the pride is obvious, and that’s what I think the difference is.”
Though this year’s team is ranked ninth in the Conference USA preseason poll that was released Wednesday, McNelis said she thinks her team’s newfound attitude will help it surprise teams and win more games.
The team decided to use “playing with fire” as its motto for this season, and it seems to be more accurate than the players might have imagined.
McNelis said her players have already bought into the phrase and have been practicing with fire in their bellies.
Junior guard Princess Swilley agreed that last year’s team members lacked reverence for their positions. Swilley is expected to have a breakout year and said that attitudes will have to change this season.
“Last year people didn’t understand what it meant to play for Memphis,” said Princess Swilley. “They didn’t understand the legacy that was held here on this team. I think the players we have now understand that.”
