Roster building, managing the SEC, team mottos and more...here's five things we liked from Joni Taylor's visit to the SEC Basketball Tipoff event in Birmingham this week.
Roster Building.
While part of success is no question dictated by the level of talent, Taylor emphasized that you also need to bring in the right kind of people—that is what truly breeds a very successful team and program.
“We want both of those things. We believe you can have the right kind of people and the right kind of talent. I think every year our roster is designed to get better and to compete in this league at the highest level...What we set out to do this year is no different than what we do to set out every year, is to bring the right kind of people and young ladies into our program and represent us off the floor, as well.”
Welcome to the SEC.
Last year, the Aggies sat at 1-8 in SEC play following an early-February loss to eventual national runner-up South Carolina. The team, however, finished on a tear—winning six of their last seven league games and just barely missing out on an NCAA bid. Taylor said a lot of the roster last season had never played in the league, and that showed.
“If you've never played in this league, you just don't know what it's like...no matter how much you prepare for it, you watch it and you practice it. I think what you saw as we continued to play, the chemistry got better. The same shots we missed in January, we made in February...The players continued to work...they were bought in and they believed in our system. They stuck together.”
Building for 2027.
So now all those younger players have the wars of the SEC under their belt and, Taylor said, an understanding of the league and what it entails. Pointing out that the run last year was “totally player led”, Taylor said the returning players are better prepared to be leaders and competitors in the SEC.
This year, they're joined by even more who know what it takes to compete in this conference. All four transfers—Essence Cody (Alabama), Kailyn Gilbert (LSU), Kaniya Boyd (Tennessee) and Miyah Verse (Georgia)—came from SEC schools.
“That's another thing that is different. Our transfers that we brought in all came from the SEC. We have a great understanding of what the expectation is.”
Do More.
Each year the team develops a motto in the offseason. This year? Do More.
“Whether it's in the classroom, on the court, in the community...what more can we do? Let's not look to the left or the right, let's not ask somebody else to do more. What can we do every single day when we look in the mirror to do more...Everybody doesn't have to do everything, but everybody has to do more.”
Lessons for Life.
If you know Joni Taylor, you know how important off-the-court development is to her and her program. When asked her favorite part of coaching basketball, she quickly responded with pouring life into young women.
“What is most important to me, what I value and what I enjoy, is watching a freshman walk in and having their parents trust us with the next four to five years of their life…knowing we're going to do something to propel them into making their dreams come true.”