Three Points: Back In the Gym

NORMAN -- The Oklahoma women's basketball team is in the midst of individual workouts to prepare for the 2015-16 season. The Sooners have continued to put time in the gym before preseason practice kicks off in October.

Peyton Little, Maddie Manning, Gioya Carter and Kaylon Williams talk about the progress the team has made on the court and in the weight room during the offseason, how freshman Ijeoma Odimgbe has progressed and what its like to play for a Hall of Fame head coach.

JUNIOR GUARD PEYTON LITTLE

Peyton Little

1. What have you improved on the most during the offseason?
“The biggest thing honestly is just my body language. I'm pretty hard on myself as a player and as a person off the court. So I think just my body language and really focusing on the play and not letting previous plays affect me throughout the game.”

2. What are your expectations for the team this year?
“We're super excited. I mean, any time you only graduate a couple; we're excited about that. But every team is a new team, regardless of how many you graduate; it's always a new team. We're excited. We've really gotten close to each other, it's always a tight-knit group. We're excited to see what we're going to do this year. Obviously, the goals are to win Big 12 and make it to the Final Four, win a national championship. All those things are what we always prepare for, but we're excited and we're ready.”

3. How has freshman Ijeoma Odimgbe progressed?
“EJ came in as a freshman being the only one, which is tough. We really welcomed her with open arms, we made sure she felt welcome and made sure she felt like she was at home here. She's improved; she's improving each and every day. She's getting better individually and she's kind of figuring out what we're doing as a team in workouts. She's really made an impact coming in as a freshman, which is tough to do.”

JUNIOR GUARD MADDIE MANNING

1. How important is the offseason to a team?
“This offseason we had mostly everybody come back on the team, and I think we just continued to build. You know, we got better individually, but also continued to build as a team. That's just going to put you ahead when we go into the season.”

2. How do you manage high expectations?
“I think we're going into this year with a lot of high expectations. Our thing this year is to go for it. We only lost one starter, but we're still a pretty young team. We just want to go for it. We're going to dream and think we can do anything this year. I mean, I keep saying go for it, but that's what we're going to do is just go for it.”

3. What part of your game have you improved the most?
“I'd say this offseason I've just been working on kind of my all-around game. But more than anything just getting confidence. I was out for two years with an injury and I feel like last year, at the end of the year, I started to get that confidence back. So just building on that and believing in what I can do.”

JUNIOR GUARD GIOYA CARTER

1. How does it feel to have high expectations heading into a new season?
“I think our expectations are really high, just for the simple fact that we only lost two players. I mean they were obviously a huge part of our team, but we also have a lot of people back and we know what we want to accomplish. We only have one freshman coming in so I think it's easier to kind of get her on board, just because there are a lot of people who've already been here."

2. Who's one player that has caught your eye during individual workouts?
“I think Derica Wyatt is going to get a lot more playing time than she did last year. Her spot three has always been automatic, but she's added a lot of different things to her game - taking people off of the dribble and shooting a mid-range jumper. I think she's going to surprise a lot of people.”

3. What does it mean for the program to see Coach Coale inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame?
“I think it's super cool. Since I was little, I've always thought highly of her, and I've always seen her as a Hall of Famer so it's not a surprise to me at all. She's one of the best coaches we have in women's basketball today and I'm just really happy for her.”

SENIOR FORWARD KAYLON WILLIAMS

1. What's the one thing you want to improve heading into your senior year?
“For me personally, it was probably obviously staying out of foul trouble, just not necessarily not trying to foul, but just being aware of it, if I do get one to know that to just be smart with them. As far as basketball- wise, probably squaring up and working on my outside game.”

2. How have you helped freshman Ijeoma Odimgbe in workouts?
“I love EJ, she's a quick learner. I think that's the most important thing that you can possibly do, especially coming into your freshman year as useful as she's playing. Just learn on the fly because the game's really fast, and she's done a great job in progressing, making sure she's doing something right every single week in trying to get better in the process. I think she will be able to contribute this year, she's a great athlete, she has a great build on her, and you can tell she wants to get better and wants to contribute some way and somehow and have a role on this team, so I think she will.”

3. How did you feel about Coach Coale earning an induction into the WBHOF?
“Oh, it's amazing. We were actually watching the highlight video the other day and just seeing all of the accomplishments she made throughout the years is actually amazing. I think it's a blessing to be able to play under a woman like that. I don't know if this is rude, but it's like an about time that she got in there. She's worked hard to be here and I know she's turned this program around and I think Marita Hynes has done a great job setting a great foundation for her to build on. I think Coach Coale is a great coach.”

Season tickets for the 2015-16 season are now on sale. For ticket information, click here.

For more information on Oklahoma women's basketball, follow the Sooners on Twitter (@OU_WBBall) or like Oklahoma Sooners Women's Basketball on Facebook.

JUNIOR GUARD PEYTON LITTLE

JUNIOR GUARD MADDIE MANNING

JUNIOR GUARD GIOYA CARTER

SENIOR FORWARD KAYLON WILLIAMS

Players Mentioned

Gioya Carter

Peyton Little

Maddie Manning

Ijeoma Odimgbe

Kaylon Williams

Derica Wyatt

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University of Oklahoma Athletics