Review a chat with Women's Basketball Player Rochelle Parent To Chat On January 12!

Chat with Women's Basketball Player Rochelle Parent
Friday, January 12 at 2:30 pm
Hosted By Quokka Sports & GoDuke.com

RENA GOWER asks: hey rochelle! im a baller too, and im very serious about it. playing for duke is my dream, and i totally admire you and the rest of the team. do you have any advice on how to achieve the goal of playing division 1 women's basketball?

Answer: I would say you have to put in extra time outside of practice, working on your ball handling and your shooting. At the Division I level it's very important to be able to shoot the ball and have great ball-handling skills, as well as be a good defensive player. And always seek out extra help from coaches and other players.

Lauren Rice asks: FIrst congrats on a great season. You are a great example for young players because your game symbolizes what women's basketball is all about. However, I have heard that in your first year you struggled with whether duke was the right fit for you. What made you realize that YOU were the right fit for Duke?

Answer: I think because the program is very defensive oriented ... when I came out of high school I wasn't completely defense-oriented. I scored a lot of points in high school, but that's not necessarily the focus in college. Once I realized that I could be good at other things, like playing defense and rebounding, I began to feel more comfortable. Academically I started to feel less intimidated by the people I was around, and I started to focus on myself, and my success.

Duke fan asks: What are you planning to do after you graduate? What advice do you have for a 7th grade b-ball player who wants to play for Duke?

Answer: After I graduate I want to try to play professionally in Europe next fall. I'd like to get internship this summer. I want to apply for law school while I'm in Europe and hopefully come back and attend that. As far as advice, it's important at Duke to be successful both on the court and in the classroom. Coach G is a very defensive-minded person, so it's important to be a good all-around player. We don't have superstars, we have a lot of people who do different things very well. You have to be very team-oriented.

kaitlin Tierney asks: Hey i don't if you remember me from camp this summer or not, but i just wanted to know what kind of advice you would give to someone who wanted to become the best defensive player of their team?

Answer: Start off by watching people who have been proven to be good defenders. If you can get tapes, great. Or watch at the professional level and learn from them. Ask your coach a lot of questions. But to me, the key to defense is not so much skill, but heart. You have to continuously work at it.

Amanda Adams asks: I was wondering what you do when you have troubles in basketball. For example, confidence and wanting to give up on yourself.

Answer: That's when you do more. For instance, my free throw percentage is not where I want it to be, so I've been in the gym every day this week shooting free throws. So when you're struggling in a particular area, that's when you go and work on that area. The most important thing is not to lose confidence.

TIM SHEARER asks: HOW DOES THE TEAM THIS YEAR RATE WITH THE TEAMS OF THE PAST ? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS TEAM HAS WHAT IT TAKES TO BE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS?

Answer: I think we have the components to be a national championship team. This is probably the most talented team, player by player, that we've had at Duke. But this is also a young team, and we still have so much left to learn. If we can learn it all before the NCAA Tournament, or at least a good portion of it, I think we can be contenders. In the past we've relied on a lot of leadership from the upperclass players, but this year we don't have as many of those players. In addition, I think this team is more athletic than teams we've had in the past.

Vaughn Schill asks: Hey Ro! As a great defensive stopper, I wanted to know how you are able to repeat your performance night in and night out against your opponents regardless of who they are? Basically, "what is your secret?"

Answer: Each opponent is different. I'm the type of person who relies heavily on scouting reports. Finding their strengths and trying to take a few of them away is my goal every night. Like I said before, it doesn't take a lot of skill to do what I do. It just takes heart, and will and determination. You just have to want to work hard for 40 minutes.

Lindsay Baun asks: How much did you practice basketball a day when you were in High School?

Answer: I don't think I practiced as much as I should have, in retrospect. I relied on my athleticism to get me by, because I played two other sports. But I wouldn't recommend that to anybody. I spent maybe two hours at the most, but if you want to be a great player -- especially with the way basketball is progressing at this point -- you have to work harder than I did.

Cameron Crazy asks: Congrats on another great season, Ro! What is it like to play for Coach G and the rest of the coaching staff?

Answer: In my opinion they're the best coaching staff in the country. They work well as a unit, they're a great combination of coaching and personalities. I've learned a lot from them; probably 80% of what I know about basketball I learned from them. Specifically with Coach G, I haven't met anyone who has a better understanding of basketball than she does. She can take any team and make them believe in what she's saying, and make them want to execute her game plan. A lot of coaching isn't just understanding basketball but motivating players, and she does that very well.

Stephanie Baun asks: How many points did you score in your high school basketball career?

Answer: I don't remember. I think it was maybe 1,100.

Lindsay Baun asks: How much basketball do you practice a day?

Answer: We practice three hours a day. Recently I've been spending an hour to an hour and a half outside of practice shooting free throws and working on my jump shot.

kathy trotter asks: Last year, Sheana Mosch really matured, and can score with driving in to stop and pop a jumper--how come she isn't doing it this year consistently? Are the plays designed for someone else?

Answer: I think we have a lot more scoring talent in the lineup this year, so other people are taking more stats. Maybe she isn't getting as many opportunities as in the past, but she's still very capable. In my opinion she's still one of the best players on the team. She has the quickest first step that I've ever played against. Coach G has been encouraging her to be more aggressive offensively, and I hope she can find a way to be that because she's a tremendous scorer.

colin rioux asks: what is the most nervous game you have ever played and what is the hardest team you have ever played

Answer: The most nervous I've been for a game was probably when we played Tennessee two years ago in the Regional finals. I've played a lot of great teams. Any conference team is a really challenging game.

Keiwaine Hicks! asks: I was wondering, what would the title of your autobiography be and why?

Answer: I guess I would call it "My Place" or something to that affect, because I think in every stage of my life it has consisted of me finding a niche. As you go through life you're always constantly searching for a niche, or a spot to fill, and that's been characteristic of my life and my career here.

Chat Moderator asks: Thanks for your questions! Please visit GoDuke.com again for more chats with your favorite players.

Answer:

Review a chat with Women's Basketball Player Rochelle Parent To Chat On January 12!

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