Arizona State point guard Dymond Simon is back on the floor with the Sun Devils after missing the 2009-2010 season. She is back for her senior season and to help return ASU to the NCAA Tournament. Simon talked with LCH on Monday on the verge of the start of the season.

Q: Where are you in your recovery process?

A: I was cleared fully last Monday. I’ve been doing everything with the team for a week and a half now and it’s pretty exciting. I’m feeling really good right now, getting used to being back, getting some chemistry with my teammates.

Q: What are the kind of things you need to “get used to”?

A: Being patient. Not rushing a lot of things, especially on offense, especially coming back from injuries like this. You’re in shock a little bit. The game is a lot faster than what I’ve been used to last year and a half. Those first couple of practices it goes fast, but thing are going well. But i haven’t lost a step. I’m just taking my time. I’m moving into things slowly, but my coaches and my teammates understand.

Q: How has the last year and half been for you?

A: I definitely had some ups and down. Last year didn’t go so well for our team. We are all taking it upon ourselves, we’ve worked hard over the summer, and we are determined to make this year very special. My knee hasn’t been perfect the entire year. But I’ve tried to be positive throughout this whole transition. It’s been a blessing in disguise. I’ve matured as a basketball player and a person and I think the extra year will prepare me for what’s ahead.

Q: What is the state of the team you’ve come back to?

A: It is definitely a young team. But a lot of these players have a year under their belts and I’m excited to be able to play with them and help them see what college basketball is all about. They are hungry and they have great work ethic on the court and I’m happy to be back out there.

Q: How difficult is it to come back into the mix after being gone for more than a year?

A: It’s no. I’m thankful for my coaches, who have been great about telling me to focus on one thing at a time. They’ve told me ‘Dont worry about past injuries. Focus on how well you are doing now’. It’s helped me to stay in the moment. I’m making myself more present.

Q: Have you tapped into any of the other players who have experienced multiple ACL injuries? What have they taught you?

A: I’ve definitely learned from this experience. I have known Jacki since high school and she’s definitely a person I look up to. She’s had more ACL problems than I have. She’s this amazing person. But from me, I’ve had so much help around me here, that I didn’t have to rely on other people. I have my coaches and my performance coach and they all have kept me in a positive state.

Q: What’s the thing most people don’t understand about being injured and the recovery?

A: It’s that people don’t feel what I feel. Especially, the doctors and the trainers. No matter how bad I went to get out there and start earlier than I should, they tell me that it’s not time. And I get so frustrated and so mad. There have been times when I thought that I just want to shut it down, that ‘Man, it’s not even worth it.’ But I’ve picked my spirits back up because I love the sport. People don’t understand all the transitions you make, from being injured to getting out of surgery, to going into rehab and maintaining your rehab. It’s alot.

Q: How close were to you “shutting it down” as you put it?

A: There was definitely a time (last May). But I made a conscious decision to keep moving forward. I was getting hit at so many different angles. My knee wasn’t where I wanted it to be, I was arguing with my trainers and docs and it got to me. I didn’t really want to play. The coaches saw that. I’m a gym rat and I’m used to being in there all the time and I wasn’t able to be in there. They were questioning me about what was wrong. It took me about four weeks to snap out of it. I was putting way too much pressure on myself and once I realized that, my knee started to come to.

At the time, I was still in rehab and I hadn’t been cleared and I was forcing the issue when I shouldn’t have. But honestly, I’m happy that it happened at that point and I’m much better now.

Q: How difficult was it from your vantage point to watch the team struggle last year?

A: It was the hardest year ever. I could definitely see it in Coach (Charli Turner Thorne’s) eyes. She was so frustrated and so disappointed and she couldn’t show it to the team. In my eyes, she’s one of the strongest people I know so, I’m proud of her for maintaining her composure. I was just sitting there and watching and I felt like ‘Wow, I feel so bad for her and for the team.’ And it sucked because I couldn’t do anything about it.

Q: What words would you use to describe the team as you get closer to the start of practice?

A: Hungry. These girls, they are amazing. They will do whatever it takes to win. We talk every day, that we don’t want this to go like last year. And as a captain, I won’t allow it. We are working every day, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.

1. Stanford. One of the toughest schedules in the nation and it should be a tremendous amount of fun. Rutgers, Texas,  Gonzaga, DePaul, Tennessee, Xavier, Connecticut. The Cardinal will know where they stand, that’s for sure.

2. USC. The Women of Troy and second-year head coach Michael Cooper could end up playing as many as eight teams that were in the NCAA field last year. The highlights include games against Goznaga, Duke, Georgia, Xavier, North Carolina State and either Dayton or San Diego State. That’s a lot of highlights.

3. UCLA. The Bruins take on at least four teams that reached the second-round of the NCAA Tournament last year, including San Diego State, Notre Dame, Temple and LSU. Nikki Caldwell enters her third season in Westwood with expectations on her team and a schedule that will be a proving ground.

4. Arizona State. The rebuilding Sun Devils — this is a team that started five freshman last spring in its WNIT opener–  could have as many as four NCAA Tournament teams on the schedule, including a Nov. 21 game against Tennessee in Knoxville. But it’s not a knockout. Charli Turner Thorne clearly wants to build confidence.

5. Cal. The 2010 WNIT champions will have five postseason teams on the schedule, including Rutgers, Texas Tech, New Mexico and Texas A&M at College Station on Dec. 3. That will be the biggest test of Joanne Boyle’s team outside of the Pac-10.

6. Washington State. The Cougars have Nebraska, Gonzaga and San Diego State on the slate, good preparation for the rigors of an improved conference. June Daughtery wants to challenge her team and you’ve got to admire that.

7. Arizona. Texas A&M is the featured game on this non-conference schedule for the Wildcats, which also includes road games against Mississippi and New Mexico.

8. Oregon State. The Beavers are heading to back-to-back tournaments on the road and could have the opportunity to take on Rutgers in Las Vegas.

9. Oregon. Paul Westhead is in his second season and he must be feeling like scheduling for success is the best thing for his program. The Ducks, who have just one NCAA team on the schedule, will have a great record when the conference starts. But it probably won’t tell anyone much.

10. Washington. The Huskies go to Alaska and take to the road to play BYU and Utah, but there’s a distinct lack of true challenges on the schedule for a Huskies team, that like Oregon, wants to breed some success before the Pac-10 starts.

While the roster on the athletic department website remains blank, the Oregon State women’s basketball team will have a schedule for the upcoming season.
The Beavers, playing under first-year head coach Scott Rueck, will open the season and what the Beavers will hope will be a new era on Nov. 13 against Long Beach State in Corvallis.
OSU will travel to Hawaii for the Rainbow Wahine Tournament, taking on Eastern Michigan, Northridge and Hawaii before moving on to Las Vegas for a four-team Thanksgiving tournament that includes UNLV, Rutgers and Pacific.
Oregon State will take on Pepperdine in Corvallis on Dec. 3 before an 11-day break for Finals, before closing out the non-conference schedule with a road trip to Weber State and Southern Utah and ending with a home game against Eastern Washington.

As of Oct. 1, leftcoasthoops will not longer be billing for subscriptions. LCH will be a totally free site, continuing with content about women’s basketball on the West Coast.

Me, working hard on LCH

This is my opportunity to again thank everyone who supported this site through the first year. When I started 18 months ago, LCH was to be my way to stay close to the women’s game and to serve as an income source during a time of career transition.

Your subscription support did nothing less than help this site get up and running!

I am eternally grateful for everyone who was kind and patient and supportive and I hope to honor all of that by continuing to provide content here that you won’t find anywhere else.

I am lucky enough to come through my career transition in a very good place. I am working fulltime at AOL Fanhouse now, covering a variety of college sports — including national women’s basketball at the pro and college level.

But for me, LCH is a special place and it is that way because you were all there to help me build it.

Thank you!

In Seattle for Game 1 of the WNBA FInals today.
WNBA President Donna Orender spoke to the media before Sunday’s WNBA Finals Game 1 and one of the most interesting topics was the possibility of an expansion team in the Bay Area.
Here’s what she had to say.
“There’s quite a lot of discussion in the Bay Area. It’s quiet discussion. There are several, I would say, interested ownership groups. I think we’ve made the decision to take it slow and let them kind of find their way and put together their funding and how they would want to do business in their own time frame, at this point in time.
“We’ll probably spend time in this coming on/off-season — I often say there’s no such thing as an offseason here — trying to figure out the next steps.
“There is no doubt that the Bay Area would be a strong market for the WNBA. There are 2,000 ticket holders sitting there waiting for a team to cheer for. The success of Cal and Stanford, Jennifer Azzi being with USF is a great advantage and I think her assistant (Katy Steding) also played in the WNBA. So I think, as you know, the Bay Area would be a strong addition for the WNBA.
She was also asked whether new Warriors owner Joe Lacob, who operated the San Jose Lasers of the American Basketball League in the late 1990, might brighten the Bay Area’s prospects.
“There is no doubt. There is no doubt Joe Lacob is known as a huge supporter of the game, and he appreciates the women’s game and clearly the men’s game, and to have someone like that who is so knowledgeable and supportive, absolutely creates somebody who would be a positive force in that marketplace.”
The Bay Area failed to put together a viable ownership group late year in time to take over the Sacramento, which ceased operations in November. That team was dispersed, so the Bay Area would be starting over with an expansion team if an ownership could be found. That likely wouldn’t happen until the 2012 season at the earliest.

Jennifer Azzi is finally with her team at USF. Her players are in class and she’s working with them eight hours a week, as mandated by NCAA rules.

USF coach Jennifer Azzi - USF photo/Shawn Calhoun

Coach Azzi took a little time out to talk with leftcoasthoops.com.

Q: What has it been like to finally get to work with your team?

A: I was so excited. The fastest time passes on the court. But it’s been really great. As coaches, we all wish we had a little more court time. It’s been fantastic.

Q: What is your first impression of your team?

A: I think they worked pretty hard over the summer. I”m impressed with what they’ve been doing. And I certainly appreciate their attitude more than anything. There have been no complaints. At least not to me. They are working hard and they are into it, and I think they are enjoying it.

Q: What is the tone of the team?

A: I think motivated and hopeful are two great ways to describe what’s happening. There’s a new, good energy here. One of the things I think (the players) respect, is that we’ve been there. We don’t play on the court with them, but we go on runs with them and they get a kick out of that. We are teaching them as well as coaching them. We’re pretty hands on when it comes to the conditioning stuff.

Q: Are you implementing your plan for the program, the style you want to play?

A: Everything we are doing has a plan, we are determining where we are going on the court. A lot of it is breaking down the skills. We are doing a lot of skill development, which obviously we didn’t have a chance to do before now. It’s definitely affected the way we are going to play.

Q: How much have you been able to assess the talent of your team?

A: We’re in the process of doing that now. It’s hard to do from minute one. Some people with struggle with conditioning, but you get them on the court and you can’t stop them. We need to see them play. I can only have four of them on the court at a time, so it’s still hard to get a complete look at them. We can’t watch them play pickup. But I can see that so-and-so needs to work on going to the left, and this player needs a better follow-through. I can break them down individually very well. But for the game-like stuff, it won’t be for a bit.

Q: How was your first summer as a head coach?

A: I know I’ve said this, but it’s not rocket science, it’s basketball. I think I learned a ton about operations, but a lot of stuff I already knew, or knew from other business applications I’ve been involved with. There are a lot of things I’ve been able to apply here. But as far as the intercollegiate setting, we are staying on top of academics and all the details with compliance and all the NCAA rules and updates. What really surprised me is how much things have changed and yet not changed. I think technology is the biggest factor. We are using different types of scouting and video services, and online and video editing. I think managing that is the key to us being successful.

Q: How is your staff settling in?

A: Great. Fantastic. Katy (Steding) is just awesome. Where she shines like crazy is on the court. On the court, she’s amazing, she’s such a good teacher. I think as good a player as she was, she’s a better teacher. And everybody’s doing a great job.

Q: You couldn’t get the Stanford game off the schedule?

A: No. But what’s cool though is that our team is really excited to play them. It’s going to be fun. We are going to get fans in the gym. I don’t want it to be about me and Katy. It’s about USF basketball. Let’s have fun with it.

Q: Can you sense some excitement about the program on campus?

A: I do. But the energy and enthusiasm here all depends on our players and how they go out and play. They need to go out with a lot of energy. This is going to be about that. I’m going to fade into the background. Fans here want to see them play hard just like when i go watch Stanford, I want to see them play hard. I think that’s what’s going to sustain this.

Q: What is the response from recruits so far?

A: It’s been great. It’s been really, really positive. Everyone we’ve called, we’ve said, ‘We’re sorry we’re late.’, The timing really tough, especially with Bay Area kids. But it what it is. We’ve had really good interest. How do you not want to come to USF. I would come here. We have a lot to offer. We have a great staff and we are very positive. I’ve asked a lot of recruits, what’s important to them and they all said being positive. We will do that and we know the game, so there’s definitely a lot to offer.

A good link here: more copy coming later in the week.

http://www.usabasketball.com/womens/national/no_pain_jayne_2010_09_07.html

San Diego State is going for degree of difficulty with a challenging non-conference schedule this fall, “one of the most challenging and competitive that we’ve ever had here at San Diego State,” said coach Beth Burns.
The Aztecs will be facing at least five teams in non-conference play that reached the postseason last spring, three of those reached at least the second-round of the NCAA Tournament — UCLA, Dayton and Texas A&M.
SDSU opens the season with its first game against UCLA in 11 years on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at Viejas Arena.
They will face Cal State Bakersfield and UC Irvine in November and will travel to Reno for a Thanksgiving weekend tournament — one of three preseason tournaments – in which they will take on Minnesota and then possibly North Carolina State.
The Aztecs will play in the USC Tournament, taking on Dayton and then possibly USC. A Dec. 21 game against Washington State sets the stage for the Aztecs own tournament, in which they will take on Texas-San Antonio and then Texas A&M.
San Diego State is coming off a Sweet 16 season and Mountain West Conference title.

I needed a little entertainment on an early September evening.

It’s not college football season in Storrs…