Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) is a senior forward on the women’s basketball team. An American East All-Conference second team selection last season, she was recently named a pre-season all-conference selection for the 2010/11 season. She is the league’s active leading scorer with 1,081 points and averaged 14.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game last season. The Statesman’s Catie Curatolo caught up with Jeter after practice:
Catie Curatolo: How do you feel about last year’s season (the women finished in fourth in the league and went to the semifinals of the AEC tournament)?
Kirsten Jeter: Last year’s season to me was more of a ‘getting to know’ each other. We had a really young team, and as the season went on is when we got better.
CC: What are your expectations for the coming season?
KJ: I would say just to have more of an inside presence than we did before because we were really small on the inside. We have more of a variety. [Coach Cherry] can mix up and pretty much put a different five in all the time. Where I believe she expects every group she puts together to come out and it’s not different, like some teams you can put a few in, you know mix and match, and it’s not going to be the same outcome, but I think if she puts anybody in she expects it to be the same and I think that’s the expectations.
CC: Young players got a lot of time last season. What does that mean and how important is it for the upcoming season?
KJ: Well, now that they’ve got an experience with college, it’s important because we still need them. There was five in that freshman class, so I mean that’s a bulk of our team and we also have the new players that transferred in and they’re getting into everything, they have to learn a lot quick but they catch on quickly.
CC: Being named second team All-Conference last year, and now the pre-season All-Conference team, does that mean added pressure for you coming into the season?
KJ: Not really. I kind of don’t pay attention to awards, I’m kind of really focused on us getting better as a team and our team goals rather than personal goals.
CC: Down one, ten seconds to go: do you want the ball and why?
KJ: It depends on what play coach would call. I would think she would give it to Misha [Horsey] for one-on-one or come up with some type of play, but I want the ball if she doesn’t go to Misha first.
CC: When everything’s said and done in your career at Stony Brook, how do you want to be remembered and what are your long-range plans after college?
KJ: I want to be remembered as the athlete that left it all on the floor, just played with a passion, not a player that was cocky or all about me. I just want to be remembered as that girl who coach didn’t have a problem with going to for anything or her team didn’t have a problem with going to for anything. Long term plans? I would love to play basketball still, professionally or overseas or … everybody’s dream is the WNBA. But if not, I have a degree from Stony Brook so I’m sure I’ll be fine.
