Molly Miller Discusses 13-0 Start, Opening Big 12 Play
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TEMPE -- Arizona State women's basketball head coach Molly Miller spoke to media on Thursday afternoon following practice - discussing topics such as the program's 13-0 start to the season.
To watch the full availability, view below.
Below is a partial transcript of Miller's discussion - with commentary added.
On Entering Big 12 Play
"We're a little banged up right now, but there's a lot of teams that are facing that adversity, adversity, so for us to be able to come and practice, and whoever's able to go, they're still going hard, I think at any given moment you can give an out of, oh, we had a long travel day, or we had an off day yesterday. But this team comes in, and they play hard every single time. We don't give our social counts, so I am excited for preparation. They're locked in to scout. And now it's a new chapter, new season."
The "0-0" mindset is a strong one to hold at the moment, as the Big 12 will be incredibly competitive - including being home to one of the best players in the sport in Iowa State's Audi Crooks.
On What Miller Has Learned From Team
"They're resilient. That was tough. I mean, I didn't even play a minute, and I was exhausted, you know, but to have us kind of climb that way, and our non conference schedule allowed us to grow with it, that was really valuable for this team. We've won in every different way you could imagine, in the non-conference, with different power players and stars every given game.
So it's not like you can focus on two players. We have different players stepping up in different ways with the team stepping up in different ways, whether it's late clock, time and score, need a defensive stop, one with defense, one with offense, we've done it all."
The 13-0 start - injuries and all - is extraordinarily impressive for the Sun Devils, who are entering Big 12 play with a roster that is ready to consistently compete.
On Being Prepared to Play
"I mean, we say it's not that your name won't get called, it's if you're not ready when your name is called, that's the mix, and they were ready. You know, Deb and Marty gave us huge minutes with McKinna's absence, and they stayed ready. So when their time came to shine, they really did what the kids from a team perspective, hustle heart."
On Challenges Colorado Presents
"They're good, they're really good, really well coached team. They're athletic. They're kind of like us. They'll pick you up on the full court. They'll divide passing lanes. They'll get after defensively. They like to run in transition. So it might be a track game more than basketball game on Sunday, and sometimes that gets a little ugly, we're gonna try to keep it as clean as we can, but with the feistiness that both teams play and how hard both teams play, it's gonna be a dog fight."
Arizona State is set to host Colorado at Desert Financial Arena on Sunday afternoon at 5 P.M. in the opening game of conference play.
On Team Coming Together
"It's been awesome to see them come together. I mean, that huddle is tight. It is a group that is talking engaged eye contact. When you come into a huddle as a coach after a time out like that, in a close situation, I just breathes a sigh of relief. It's like, okay, they've got this like, I don't have to coach up their confidence. I don't have to make sure they're engaged, they're locked in.
So I think those tight situations has helped us to really settle in as a team. Have confidence in what we're doing, and one reason for that is they trust each other, and so that trust can kind of play out on the floor in those tight situations."
Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on why the bright future of the football program isn’t dimmed by the loss to Arizona here.
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Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.