BLACKSBURG, Va. – The stage is set for the second round of the NCAA tournament in Blacksburg with Virginia Tech and Baylor going head to head for the second time in Kenny Brooks’ tenure.
“I just remember the confidence that they had,” Brooks’ said, referencing their meeting in the 2021 NCAA tournament. “Obviously it’s a totally different team, totally different team, and our kids remember that. What we took from that was, if you want to be that level, you have to have confidence like that. And we knew how hard we needed to play to compete to get to that level.”
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Three years later, Virginia Tech is playing at that level and confidence is something that is grown and young players like Carys Baker. “For me personally, I am feeling a lot more comfortable. I like coming off the bench bringing a lot of energy,” she said. “I’m going to scream for my teammates, I like celebrating their success more than my own, so I would say like I just like to give them that energy, give them that little pick me up if they need it, and I know Coach Brooks is a big supporter of that and he always wants me to be confident.”
It’s only Georgia and Cayla King have played in an NCAA tournament, which means lots of players with increasing minutes have had to put on their best ‘act like you’ve been there’ attitude.
“We were doing it with freshman,” Brooks said about the Hokies’ win against Marshall Friday. “We were doing it with transfers who came here so they could play in the NCAA tournament and the way they responded, I can’t tell you I’ve been more proud of a group, because they never got shell shocked. They never even looked at the moment like it was really really big.”
“I tailored probably every aspect that I’m helping with when it comes to my post moves, getting my footwork correct and being there on defense,” Rose Micheaux said. “Being able to contest and help with ball screens and my post defense as well, I’ve tailored to it all.”
Virginia Tech and Baylor will face off Sunday at 8 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum.