On why she decided to come to Michigan

I love Coach Arico. She's amazing. I've known her for a while now and we've always stayed in contact. I like the way she does things. I like, when I see, her energy on the bench. I like the way her girls play. Just talking with her, really excited to be able to learn more. This was definitely a growth move for me, just really looking to learn from her and grow. She's a powerful female in this business. I have aspirations, hopefully, one day, to have a program myself. Until then, I'm here and I'm all in. It was sort of a no-brainer for me. It was hard but it was a no-brainer because I really want to grow and it's really been my focus on anything I do. Always want to get better. NC State is a great program, with wonderful people. Coach Moore is awesome. One of the best in the business, for sure. I'm excited about this conference, it's powerful. Oh my gosh. I'm really excited to expand my recruiting connections and get out there and do more, too. Just expand that way as well.

On her impressions of Kim Barnes Arico and Michigan before talking to the program

Michigan is known around the world, and the globe. I have always heard about Michigan. I know the block M, I've seen it. The colors, all the way back to the Fab Five and all the strides the women's basketball program has been making as well. Football, just in every aspect. Also, I think one of the biggest deals is education. The academics at Michigan is ridiculous. You're doing something. You come here, you're going to get a great education. Even the facilities, I've heard about the facilities and how beautiful the facilities are here at Michigan. It was a 'wow' factor for me. I've been very blessed to be with a lot of different programs. This one right here is definitely a huge step up in a lot of different ways.

On how she would describe herself as a coach

A lot of energy. I do make sure I'm in contact with the girls. I communicate. I think I did a pretty good job of that. During a game, there's so many emotions that go on and frustrations, good things. Just a lot of things that go on that bench. Would love to give information to Coach Arico, and share information with the other assistants who are awesome. I love Harry and Val. Oh my gosh, family members. I am cooking for them. I can't wait to get back up there. I look forward to collaboration and making sure these girls are thriving throughout the game and helping with some strategies if so. Just being really hands-on, too. You'll see me. I will definitely pat the girls on the back, with high-fives. Let's go, getting fired up. My knees are bad so I don't jump up as much anymore. Hopefully, I pray they will be very pleased with my performance on the bench as a coach.

On her approach to recruiting as a Recruiting Coordinator

It's all about relationships, which I love. I love building relationships, I love people. The relationship part is big. You've gotta get on that phone, gotta stay organized and making sure everyone on the staff is doing their part. Making sure we're making the right calls, making sure Coach Arico knows what's going on. I think social media is huge in recruiting. Looking forward to—social media here at Michigan is great and I'm looking forward to contributing to that if I can. Getting the girls involved as far as knowing what's out there. Listening to them. They know a lot of players, too. You'd be surprised. Just get out and work. You've got to grind, you've got to work every day. You just do. It's really not even a job. It's calling people and talking, too. It's fun. You learn a lot. I'm getting older to the TikTok's are out there. All kinds of stuff that we're doing. The biggest deal is getting the girls to the campus. Michigan is amazing. I just think it will take your breath away. That's going to be one of my big goals is to get these recruits on campus. Getting them on the phone with Coach Arico. She's firey. A little piece of dynamite, I love her. They gotta meet her. Get her on the phone, she's so good. Such a great conversationalist. I gave you a lot of things but it's such a broad topic, there's so many things you can do. I know the relationship piece is big. I'm a mom so I think parents are very important. Love to build relationships with them because this is a privilege to coach these young ladies and be in their lives almost, forever. I've been to many weddings and things like that. I think that is a huge blessing. Definitely building a relationship and making sure they know who this woman is, Coach Kim Barnes Arico.

On her time with NC State

First of all, the players. That recruiting piece, again. We had great kids at NC State. They still do. I really look up to and admire Coach Moore on that. How he recruits and what he likes. I think that's a really big deal. Also, I would say player development. I grew in that area. I've always liked to train but I do believe, in order to get to that next level, you've got to put in more work. That is changing the culture of something. Know that it's OK and make it normal to get into the gym on your own. I really believe I grew in that area as far as getting the girls out there and let's go. If they want to work out at 6 a.m. for 45 minutes, I'm there. I did not tell them no, we're gonna do this. That grew a lot of things. Also, just watching Coach Moore's strategy. He's very good at breaking teams down. End-of-the-game strategies and offense/defense things. I really grew in that area as well. Just knowing what play to call. Really, thinking about it, he does all the calls himself but I really did a good job, I think, of watching him and growing on that aspect. I think I grew in the time management piece of being a coach as well. I'm a mom and I know it's very demanding but these girls are like my daughters as well so I think I did a good job of being able to manage my time and making sure our players feel it. Feel love. The girls will play for you if you love them. If you just spend that time, they will do whatever you need. That's what this is all about. I think I grew in that area as well. The recruiting piece, I grew there, too. Just as far as this level, the type of players, the skill, building relationships over in other countries, doing things like that. I've learned so much. I can't be more grateful for that opportunity.

On when she got into coaching and reminiscing on her playing days

I started coaching at VCU in 2004 under Beth Cunningham. My good friend Julia Huddleston who is a head coach at Lynn University, we coached together. I was coaching and I got the itch to play again so I go back overseas. After that, I got injured overseas. I came back and I started coaching some more. I love it, you can't get any closer to the game. I was younger then and I would get out there on the floor more and show them some things. After playing overseas, when you play and then you coach, you really can relate to what the girls are going through. For example, I played the four and the five positions in college. A little bit of the three overseas, not much, they wanted me to dribble a lot. It just takes post players longer sometimes to develop. I think I do a good job of relating. I get it. The conditioning, 'Oh, I'm gonna die!' You're not gonna die, sweetheart. You'll be just fine, you're gonna make it. You can do it. Manage your time, that's what you've got to do, right? Prioritize. I look back quite a bit. If anything, I am definitely going to give my mom some credit. You just gotta work, you just have to do a little bit more than somebody else does and be different. I think that has helped me as a coach and I put that in as a player. It got me really far. It's awesome. I love coaching. It's just as close to being a player as I can be.

On the players she's inheriting at Michigan

First of all, they're awesome women. I got the chance to meet everybody on the roster as far as on a phone call. I actually got to meet Whitney (Sollom), she was one of the first young ladies I got to meet. She is hilarious, wonderful, and excited. I also met Cameron (Williams) who is awesome, too. I talked to Izabel (Varejão) on the phone before she went off to Brazi to try out for her national team. That's just a few. Obviously, there are players who can play multiple positions. I'm excited about their length and that they can run. These girls are athletes. That's always fun to see a big run and go. I'm all about it. If you need a layup, let's go. I'm excited about that. I do like the fact that they do rebound and play some pretty good defense. That's a plus. I'm a defending coach, so I do defense myself. I'm looking forward to help them grow in that area as well. I do believe the post position has evolved to shooting the three. I'm trying to, hopefully, get them better in that aspect of shooting the three within Coach Arico's system. Want them to just work on that, get them some confidence shooting those 15-foot jump shots, 17-foot jumpers. Maybe outside of the three. Working on that but really excited about the post players here at Michigan.

On whether she's been able to have conversations with the players and what she's trying to do upon arrival in Ann Arbor

I called all the players. I talked to everybody. I think the theme is, 'We are not done.' This is just the beginning. I need them to expect more and to want it. I think hard work has gotta be the baseline of everything. The foundation. The hard work, the trust and things like that are all we're going to talk about. That is it. So close to getting to the Final Four and I think we can do it again. I know we can. I just think that the first 30 days is me getting to know them, them getting to know me. Come by the office, come see us. Calling their parents, making sure they know who is going to be in their lives for the next few years or so. I think that's a really big deal. I really believe it's about how you make someone feel. If you make them feel like they can run through the wall, let's go. I really am looking forward to pumping them up, breathing some light and life, and knowing that last year was amazing and history-making. We're going to do this again and do some more.

On how she's seen the game grow

It has grown tremendously. All the games that are on TV now, especially the collegiate games, the stations and all of these big contracts. ESPN, Fox, ABC, all of them. It's grown tremendously. I think that this is just the beginning. Like I said about the post position growing, it's important. I think it's fun. There's a big deal about the WNBA right now as well. It's so good for women's basketball. What's going on with all the recognition. We need more, obviously. Always pushing for more. It's definitely involved and got people—this is so crazy. I've been eating Hibachi yesterday, y'all, and these two women come in with Michigan sweatshirts and I'm like, OK! I told them who I was and who I was coaching and they were like, heck yeah! This is in Raleigh, North Carolina. I love it. It's a really great feeling and it's a really big blessing. I'm blessed to be a part of it. You've got to keep growing, though. Gotta get more, gotta get more recognition. From what I've seen, it's grown tremendously.

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