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NC State women’s basketball coach Wes Moore met with reporters as official practice is set to start Monday. He covered camp energy, a thinner frontcourt, new pieces, returning stars, and how he wants this team to play.

Quick summary
Moore likes where the Wolfpack are after summer and preseason: better energy, a healthier roster, and a locker room that’s coming together. Official practice ramps up the team stuff after a fall spent mostly on individual work.

On the floor, he expects a smaller team that has to play fast. That starts on defense — more activity, maybe more traps — so they can get stops and run. Rebounding has to be a group job.

The new group has his attention. Khady Leye’s athleticism, Desiree Wooten’s scoring, freshmen Kamora Pruitt and Annsley Trivette, local add Audrey Ericksen, and late arrival Favour Ossai all have a chance to compete. He also wants bigger steps from Adelaide Jernigan, Ky’She Lunan, and Qadence Samuels.

The biggest ask is for Khamil Pierre: more urgency every possession, plus a more reliable three. Zoe Brooks is progressing in her rehab and is back in contact. Continuity from Pierre, Brooks, and Maddie Cox matters to him.

The schedule doesn’t worry him. ACC play opens at UNC, but Moore treated that like every other game: be ready Thursday, Sunday, and wherever they travel. He also welcomed Brittany Morris back to the staff and said Ronny Fisher has been a good fit after Houston Fancher’s retirement.

Full Interview Transcript
Wes Moore, NC State women’s basketball

(0:03)
Question: So, Wes, first of all, just what has changed over the last few months? What have you seen from your players so far throughout camp?

(0:11)
Wes Moore: Yeah, I just like our energy. I think the summer and then the preseason so far here at the start of school are going really well. We’re relatively healthy now. I just feel like we’re in a good spot as far as our culture and meshing together and coming together as a team. Excited to officially start practice on Monday.

(0:36)
Question: Players talk about balancing that competitive fire, right? They really want to get out there, but they’ve had to exercise some patience. Does that go for coaches, too?

(0:45)
Wes Moore: Yeah, I think so. Again, it’s a lot different now. We only had eight hours a week for the fall, but you’re still doing a lot of things that you’re going to do once the season officially starts. So it’s not quite the way it used to be back in the old days when October 15th hit. We spend a lot of time in the summer and in the fall preseason on individual development. Now it kind of amps up more team stuff. Hopefully getting everything inputted and ready for your first games and making sure that everybody’s on the same page. But yeah, it’s always exciting to start practice for sure.

(1:36)
Question: You’ve been able to travel around and see some of your former players in the WNBA. Anything you kind of pick up on, like trends or things you want to borrow for your own coaching?

(1:45)
Wes Moore: Yeah, it was really good. Of course, just a couple of weeks ago I saw Saniya and Aziaha. I really enjoyed it, and I was fortunate enough to know some of the coaches there at Dallas. So we sat right there on the bench, and it’s always good to learn. You can always pick up things. It’s exciting to see those two, and you hope that the individual work that you put in is going to lead to that. I try to tell players, the better we can help you become, the better we’re going to become. So the individual part of it is really big for preparing yourself for that level. But yeah, I enjoyed it. Dallas in particular ran a lot of five-out stuff. We are going to be a little undersized this year, so we’re going to have to play that way some and play fast. It was good to kind of see their approach to it. But mainly it was good to see Saniya and Aziaha.

(2:51)
Question: What are your thoughts on the schedule, and are there any concerns about the strength of the non-con?

(2:58)
Wes Moore: Not really. The thing that’s different is we’re still playing the same number of challenging Power Four games. It’s just, a couple of years ago, the NCAA allowed you to play three more games. So we added a couple of games this year to boost our number up to like 31 regular-season games. But we’re still playing a very competitive schedule. Obviously we’ll play a few SEC teams, things like that, that hopefully prepare you for ACC play. So I love our schedule. Love the way it fell in place. I like the idea of going to California before we actually start classes back in January. I thought that worked out well. I do like the way it’s going to flow.

(3:55)
Question: You’re also starting ACC play with a rivalry game at Carolina. How do you think that’s going to impact the rest of the season?

(4:04)
Wes Moore: Yeah, again, I know we all get the rivalry with those two blue schools being so close. But at the same time, every game’s big. When you’re trying to put your resume together for the NCAAs and trying to jockey for position in the ACC, every game’s really important. So it really doesn’t, to me, matter that much where they are. We got to make sure we’re ready to play pretty much every Thursday, Sunday. We got a couple of Mondays in there. So it really doesn’t matter where we play them. We just got to be ready and put our best foot forward every night. As I like my old McDonald’s analogy: fries, wherever you go, you go in McDonald’s and the fries are going to be hot and salty. I hope we’re that way when we travel. Hope we’re ready to play every night out.

(5:01)
Question: What have you noticed from the new additions as you’ve seen them in the summer and seen them work in the offseason? Like, what have you noticed with the new players?

(5:10)
Wes Moore: Yeah. I mean, again, we’re excited about the young ones, the freshmen. We also added a couple out of the portal that we felt help us meet needs. So far, so good. Khady plays very super athletic, and we’re just trying to get her to make sure we’re playing full speed every possession. Desiree, talented guard, can score at all three levels. And the freshmen, KP and Annsley, I feel like they’re going to contribute. We had the local product, Audrey, join us as well. We’re excited about having her back home here. Then we added one late, Favour. So all of those kids are going to be in a position to compete, and I think they’ve been really good so far at catching on to things. We are going to be throwing a lot at them now. I always use the analogy of, for new players, sometimes it’s like taking a sip of water out of a fire hose. You’re just getting blown away with all the new stuff. But so far, so good. They’ve picked up stuff well, and looking forward to getting them all meshed together.

(6:33)
Question: You talked about the fact that you do have a little less size this season and will play a little smaller. What types of things have you done to adapt to that and get the players prepared for maybe a different scheme than what you had?

(6:45)
Wes Moore: Yeah. I think offensively we need to run. We need to play fast, and that starts with defending. You can push the ball and run a lot more when you’re getting stops than you can when you’re having to take the ball out of the net and take it out of bounds. So defensively, we’re going to have to play hard. We’re going to have to fly around. We may do a little more trapping, doubling, things like that to try to create some turnovers and get out and play, but also maybe to slow down an inside game a little bit by giving them some things to think about. So I think it starts there. It’s going to take us playing really well as a team. It’s going to take everybody helping on the boards, not just relying on one or two people to rebound for us. It’s going to be a team effort. Same way defending. Again, we’re going to have some size mismatch disadvantages. We got to try to make them uncomfortable and get the ball out of their hands.

(7:44)
Question: Where can Pierre take her game this season?

(7:48)
Wes Moore: Yeah. I met with the players this morning individually, a lot of them. Just continue. I’ve seen a big improvement, especially this summer, with her buy-in and with her effort. But she’s going to have to be a dog. I mean, she’s got to play hard every possession. She gets by just on talent. But if she wants to be all she can be, and if we as a team want to be all we can be, we got to have her take that up a notch or two. We have worked with her on shooting the three, extending her range some. Hopefully we can continue to improve there and really make people have to come out and guard us on the floor. Her and Khady both are capable of hitting threes, so now you’re really opening up a lot of driving lanes and spreading the defense out. But Khamil, again, we’re thankful she wanted to be here. And her and Zoe, Maddie Cox — Zoe and Maddie Cox have been here four years, and nowadays that’s getting harder and harder. So to have that continuity and to have that experience will be helpful.

(9:04)
Question: Also a player that you can use to change up sets, in terms of maybe bumping her down to a three or four or five?

Wes Moore: Uh, probably not a three. Not getting that crazy. But there have been times she’s rebounded, she’s led the break.

Question: Oh yeah.

Wes Moore: We’re fine with that. And Khady can do that as well. But again, we’ll give them that freedom as long as they handle it well and make good decisions. I think that’s one of the hardest things to guard. One of our assistant coaches, Kayla Jones, when she was here, when she’d get a rebound and take off with it, it really puts a lot of pressure on the defense. Because now who’s picking up the ball? Is it the guard picking her up now, which then the matchups are all discombobulated, or is it her man trying to pick her up full court, which is probably not a good matchup for the other team? So I love it when your forwards can do that. But they’ve also got to make good decisions with it and know when to downshift and when to go ahead and attack.

(9:59)
Question: Earlier this offseason, Khamil talked about needing to give more effort. What’s it like for you as a coach to kind of see her say that and know that was a part that she needs to work on?

(10:08)
Wes Moore: Yeah. Well, again, she realizes it. A lot of them realize it, but then you got to go out and do it. Like I said, she’s shown a lot of improvement. She has aspirations of playing at the next level, and she definitely has the talent to do that. But you got to realize, at that level, you got to really be a dog. At this level in the ACC, and wanting to compete on a national level, you can’t afford to just at times relax. You got to stay urgent. You got to stay nervous. I had that same discussion this morning with Zoe. We go up to Virginia Tech and I think Zoe had six steals. We talked about that. What was the difference that day? Which I won’t go into her answer, but it was interesting. Anyway, we’ve got to have that every day. Last year we finished fourth in the ACC in the regular season, but we didn’t get to host. And the only way you host is to be one of the top 16 seeds, and that’s hard. I get it. But the way you do that is you’re consistent. You win the games you’re supposed to win, especially no bad losses. But it takes consistent effort, and that’s going to be big with this team if they can buy into that.

(11:32)
Question: Zoe and Khamil talked even going back to last year about growing their leadership and learning how to do that. What are some tangible ways that you have seen them grow in that area?

(11:45)
Wes Moore: Yeah, it’s hard for them because they maybe are not the most talkative sometimes on the court. It’s also just a big responsibility when now you’re requiring it of a teammate, demanding it of a teammate, then you yourself have to be above reproach. I mean, you’ve got to do all those things. There are people that are going to resent it. So it’s tough. And we talked about that. Being a great leader on the court, off the court. Like I said, I love our chemistry. I love our locker room right now. I think we’re in a good place. Of course, we haven’t started divvying up playing time yet. I get it. But right now everybody’s in a good spot, and I think you play better when you feel good about your team and your teammates and play for each other. But they have to realize, it’s also tough when you’re having a bad day. Khamil’s had to deal with her foot and ankle, and then Khamil has her knees and things like that. It’s hard. You come in one day and you’re aching, you’re tired, but yet you got to bring it for your teammates. You’ve got to set the tone and you’ve got to bring that positive energy. It’s not easy, but that’s what we need them to do if we’re going to be the team we want to be.

(13:09)
Question: It’s a compliment that you had someone leave and then come back. What is the process like in this case with Morris, and do you kind of see new ideas when they return?

(13:21)
Wes Moore: Yeah, it is good. And, you know, I’m so charming, it’s just hard to leave and not want to come back. So, no. We’re excited to have Brittany back. She was with us when we made our Final Four run. I think she’s a good all-around coach, being able to help run practice and work with the guards and scout and those things. Also recruiting on the East Coast. She’s been really influential with people like Zoe, for instance, and with Sai Rivers when they were here and things like that. So it’s great to have her back. I love our staff. We had Coach Fancher retire. We lost an assistant. I had my administrative assistant, Felicia Mangum, retire, and a video person. So it worked out unbelievably well. I think we got great replacements, and it brings a freshness, a newness to it, and I love where we’re at.

(14:26)
Question: How helpful is it when you can replace an assistant with somebody who was a head coach previously?

(14:30)
Wes Moore: Yeah. Coach Fancher, of course, had been the head men’s coach at Appalachian State for nine years and had a lot of, you know, 20-some, 25 years experience. But he decided to retire. I’ve known Ronny Fisher for a long time. Well respected, not only as a coach, but as a person, as a man. And I just got lucky, really. When the position came open, I just called to see if he’d have interest. And ironically, he said he and his wife had been talking about that. He’s got a son in high school that he really felt like he wanted to be able to spend more time with. That position, we don’t send out recruiting. It’s more coaching and budget things like that in the office. So it was a great fit for him and an answer to a prayer for them and an answer to a prayer for me. It worked out great.

(15:26)
Question: Can you take stuff from a guy that’s been a head coach for a while?

(15:28)
Wes Moore: Sure, we can take stuff from a lot of people. But definitely, you know, he’s been there. He’s been in that seat. People talk about it’s a lot different when you move over 20 inches or whatever. But yeah, he’s been there, and I respect his opinion a lot. Obviously we’ve had some success here, so I’m not going to throw everything out the window. But there’s always ideas and adjustments and maybe something you want to do different in your system. We’ve utilized him a lot on defense, especially breakdown stuff, details. A lot of times I’m more concerned about managing the whole team and don’t do as good a job maybe with the individual footwork, angles, things like that. And he’s really good at that stuff. So that brings a new dimension to us as well.

(16:23)
Question: Two quick things for you. Just first of all, how is Zoe doing health-wise?

(16:26)
Wes Moore: Yeah, she’s doing a whole lot better. She’s worked really hard on her rehab. Our trainer Brittany Blunt has done a really good job bringing her along. It was not something that required surgery, but it was a long recovery. So she really, during the summer, didn’t do any contact. And now that we’ve had a few weeks here of school, she has been back in contact, and we just got to try to monitor it. Khamil has stuff going on with her knees. I think just wear and tear, and she’s dunking all the time. I’ve tried to tell her to chill on the dunking on Twitter and things like that, but I haven’t convinced her yet. Anyway, hopefully those two, we just got to manage them well. They’re old. They’re getting old. So we got to manage them well and try to keep them fresh and healthy throughout the long season.

(17:21)
Question: And what is the development for both Adelaide Jernigan and Ky’She looking like now at this point?

(17:26)
Wes Moore: Yeah, great question. First of all, those two were really good in conditioning. And let me mention Q2, Qadence Samuels. They’ve been really great in the summer and preseason, front of the sprints and working really hard. We’re looking at three-point shooting. Adelaide can be really good at that. So we’ve got to continue to work on it, but she has worked really hard at it. Coach Williams has spent a lot of time with her individually. I met with her this morning. I think she’s a lot more confident than she was as a freshman, so I think she’s in a better place. Ky’She can be a great defender with her quickness. She can also really push tempo. I love the way she gets us out in transition and probably pushes it better than anybody on our team. So we need those things. She just got to make sure she keeps it simple. Sometimes a little bit of this on a layup and it doesn’t go in, and then I’m not real excited about that. But she’s doing much better, and then she’s got to make great decisions, because again, she can get by people and get downhill, and then she’s got to make the right decision once the D rotates and reads it. And then like I said, Qadence, we’re hoping a lot of big things from her: shooting the three, defending, should be able to rebound as well. So all three of those have an opportunity to really step up and take on a bigger role.