Xavier Nation Magazine Feature: Welcome Wagon
Meet the newest members of the women's basketball team
Tabari McCoy, Xavier Nation Magazine
12/17/2019
You played at Miami University last season, then got injured and transferred to Xavier. Why the switch? Well, I saw there was a coaching change with Melanie Moore coming aboard, and I was interested in seeing what she was about. In talking to her, you could tell she was just a positive person and means well and she’s really genuine with everything that she does. I just wanted to be part of that culture.
What was the toughest part about being injured and missing part of your freshman season? I’m not going to say I’ve never been hurt, but this was my first [injury that required] surgery. I probably shouldn’t have been in the game against Florida A&M—the game was closer than it needed to be—and I kind of got clipped and it was my ACL. Surgery was pretty hard [with] a lot of pain, but I went to rehab every day. I didn’t want to slack off; I just wanted to get better. You hear all the stories about how so many people come back better after ACL surgery, so I wanted to be on that side of things and get better every day. The hardest part was obviously not being able to play.
What concert do you want to see and who are you bringing? First, I’m bringing my best friend from Miami, Kennedy Taylor, and we’re seeing Beyoncé. Beyoncé is Beyoncé, and that’s that. There really is no other explanation needed.
Favorite TV show? I do, a Netflix series called Power. It makes me mad, but I love Power. [The characters] Ghost, Tasha, and Angela are just too much!
Who do you model your game after? From my demeanor standpoint, my attitude, my drive, and my competitiveness it’s [Houston Rockets guard] Russell Westbrook. That attitude is just killer.
Phobias or fears? Snakes. I don’t know why. I’ve never seen one, but I can’t even watch snakes on TV. I’ve never touched one, but I just hate them and they creep me out. The ones with the heads that raise up, king cobras, I just can’t! Snakes on a Plane really scared me. I can’t do that.
What should Xavier fans expect from you? Off the court, I’m a nice person. I’m chill. On the court, I’m trying to hype up my teammates, I’m screaming, I’m giving high fives all the time. I just want to be that positive leader all the time.
In high school, you won three conference finals and three district championships and hold your school record for the most 3-pointers in a single season and career. What’s up with you and the No. 3? [Laughs] I just shoot the 3 well. I had some really good teammates in high school who got me the ball and a really good coach who let me shoot pretty freely whenever I wanted to.
Favorite musician/band? I like Drake. He has different vibes, and I can vibe with anything he puts out.
Books or movies? Movie watcher. [The best movie I saw recently] is Miss Congeniality. I just saw it on TV the other day. I just like Sandra Bullock as an actress. She’s pretty funny.
Favorite food? Steak is probably my favorite. [It needs to be cooked] medium [well]—not too pink!
If you could chat with any athlete in the world… Probably [2015 WNBA MVP and multi-time all-star] Elena Delle Donne. She’s my favorite basketball player. I like the way she plays and carries herself.
Biggest adjustment to college basketball? Probably [learning] a new system, new coaches, new people I’ll be playing with—just getting used to everything. The style of play, how fast you have to play because we’re running this year.
Pregame superstitions or quirks? I always have to put on my left sock before my right sock and then my left shoe before my right shoe. Then I say a prayer. I’m left-handed just in my writing; I write left-handed and I shoot right-handed. I just always do that, and it’s become a habit.
If not basketball, then what sport? Soccer—I used to be a goalie—or volleyball. My mom played volleyball at Kent State.
Any pets? I have two dogs, Roxi and Mia. Roxi is a Boston Terrier, and Mia is a black Labrador. I like running around with them, cuddling with them.
What else should Xavier fans know about you? Off the court I’m pretty shy, but on the court I’m pretty fiery. I like to scream and yell for my teammates and get everyone involved.
Being tall (6'1"), how often do people mention your height when they first meet you? They ask if I play volleyball. That’s usually the first one, and I’ll say no and they look very surprised and go, “But you play basketball, don’t you?” and I’ll say yes. My dad’s a cross country coach, so I always ran, but I stopped after my freshman year of high school. I didn’t run cross country my sophomore through senior years because I would use fall to train for basketball.
Why Xavier? I come from a small town and from a very competitive league. Coming to a college that’s in a league that’s very competitive and always having competition and never having easy opponents [appeals to me]. You’ll never get better unless you have that. Also, the campus is small and my high school was small, but Cincinnati is a big city; it’s the best of both worlds. I didn’t want to stay somewhere where I wouldn’t have many opportunities.
Favorite cartoon? I’m not really a cartoon person, but I could watch Disney cartoons because my family is a big Disney family. We’ve been to Disney World like eight times, Disneyland in California twice, and we took a Disney Cruise in 2007, so we’ve done a lot of Disney before.
What do you like best about Coach Moore? People always say she’s very positive, and she is. You can always turn to her for encouragement. Not that she’s not going to give you constructive criticism, because that’s what coaches are supposed to do, but she’s also going to tell you what you’ve been doing well. I feel like as players we always need to have that constructive criticism, but sometimes it becomes too much. You always need to have those reminders that you’re doing some stuff well.
Why did you choose to major in education? I come from a family of teachers and my brother is at Bowling Green studying to become a high school teacher, too. I was a student aide for first, second, and fifth grade classrooms throughout my high school years.
What are you most excited about? I think experiencing all the firsts that come with college. We haven’t even been here a month, and we’re all really close. There’s been absolutely no issues, so being able to experience my first game, my first Musketeer Madness, my first road trip, going to West Palm Beach with my teammates and enjoying their goofiness and personalities as everyone brings something different with them, I’m excited about that.
