Princeton Coach Carla Berube on the Her Hoop Stats Podcast
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This week on the Her Hoop Stats podcast, John Liddle talked with Princeton head coach and Ivy League Coach of the Year Carla Berube about coaching Dallas Wings first-round pick Bella Alarie, her first season coaching at Princeton, and more.
Read the highlights from the interview below and listen to the entire episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode Highlights
On coaching Bella Alarie:
Unbelievable. Just a real pleasure to coach, but more importantly just to get to know and to be around. She’s a really high-character person, a great student, great athlete, great leader. [I] Just loved having her around [and] learning from her. There was a lot for me to learn in my first year at Princeton and she really just helped out in the transition. And then just being able to watch her every day on the court and see the kind of motor she has, the way that she makes people around her better, and the drive. I’m looking forward to watching her at the next level and what she can do.
On the difficulty of taking the Princeton job after 17 years at Tufts:
Very, very difficult. I’m a born and bred Bostonian and just loved Tufts, loved the people there, my team, my players. We were ripe to win a national championship there, so it really had to take a special place, a special environment for me to leave. Princeton was just that. I certainly did my homework and made sure it was a great fit for my family and myself. Reflecting after a year, it’s been a crazy year, like I said, [and] I couldn’t be at a better spot and I’m so glad I did make this jump. I jumped in not knowing about my players, really. I knew how successful and talented they were on the court, but just who they are off the court, I’ve just been so, so lucky to be around them every day, as well as my staff. Reflecting back, I’m really happy to be — it sounds crazy, but to be in New Jersey. When you’re in Boston, New Jersey’s not really the place you’re thinking of, but it’s Princeton and it’s just a fabulous place.
On building a program on defense first:
I just think that’s got to be our foundation and then we can build from there. I think offense takes a little while, just chemistry-wise, how it’s going to flow, and you really need to — you can always go against your own teammates, but not until you’re playing against a different opponent can you really see how the offense works. Defensively, I feel like you can always be prepared for anything a team throws at you. The team just bought in right away, excited to work, and it ended up pretty well with one little slip-up at Iowa. I think it was sort of a blessing to have lost there, because I think it really showed that we had a lot of work to do still. That was in November, and they did a great job in exposing us. We learned a lot and then went on our run from there, but I’ll always make sure our defense is strong to start off the season.
On recruiting at a school without full athletic scholarships and a strong focus on academics:
Your pool is getting smaller and smaller, but it’s Princeton. I think that the right student-athletes are looking for this experience. It’s not for everyone, and it just takes us getting out and making a lot of phone calls to AAU coaches and programs. It’s following up with every potential recruit that contacts us. It’s just getting the word out. I feel like we’re always in a conversation. When you say, “I’m from Princeton,” they go, “Oh! Okay. We know about Princeton. That’s a really great school.” [We] just talk about what the expectations are and what the standards are and see if it’s the right fit. Like I said, I love being able to represent this amazing university and talk about what we have here. It’s different. It’s a different world than a Power 5, but it’s a special place. It’s a smaller pool [of recruits] but it’s a unique pool, and I love coaching these driven, talented student-athletes.
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Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also buy Her Hoop Stats gear, such as laptop stickers, mugs, and shirts!