In addition to the usual offseason workouts, South Puget Sound Community College women’s basketball coach Mike Moore assigned his squad reading material over the summer.
The book was “Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable” and details the life of trainer Tim Grover, who worked with NBA greats Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, among many others, during his careers.
Moore would have a roundtable discussion prior to practices and weight room sessions asking his players to dissect what they had read and how it could be applied to them not just on the basketball court, but in everyday life.
In addition to the literature, Moore took things a step further by having his team utilize what they got out of the read by participating in mental toughness training.
“(A coach) can work with players at practice and during games every day,” Moore said, “but if they are mentally not prepared then there is nothing anyone else can do. We want to be both physically and mentally tough this season.”
And while the Clippers have yet to take the court, Moore’s tactics have already started to pay off.
“The entire team has done a really good job since April,” Moore said. “I basically gave them two weeks off and when they came back they were hungry and ready to go.”
Six years after making its last postseason appearance, the SPSCC program saw a major rejuvenation last season, under Moore’s second year, as the Clippers finished 16-13 and advanced to the Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball championship tournament for the first time since 2009.
The Clippers are certainly on the upswing, and are thinking bigger and better this year.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ve prepared ourselves well for this season,” said sophomore Savannah McGill, a graduate of River Ridge High School. “I think it will be nice to see the outcome. We want to get back to (the NWAC championship tournament in) Everett.”
The 6-foot-2 McGill will play a large role in making that happen.
McGill is coming off a freshman campaign last season, which saw the Clippers lose to Wenatchee Valley in the regional round of the NWAC tournament, where she set a new single-season conference rebounding record.
She pulled down 456 boards during the year, which broke the previous high set by Blue Mountain’s Renae Griggs (453) in 1989-90.
“My whole mindset (on rebounding) just completely changed when I came here,” said McGill, who has drawn interest from the University of Great Falls, Western Oregon and The Evergreen State College, among others. “I just feel like my entire perception of the game has changed.”
Her total number of rebounds last year were 72 more than the next closest player, which was Umpqua’s Anna Mumm, who finished with 384 total rebounds, but played four more games (33) than McGill (29).
They’re gaudy figures for sure, but numbers Moore believes McGill can actually surpass this season.
“I don’t think she’s reached her full potential yet,” Moore said. “Just seeing her from the end of the season last year to where she is now there’s already vast improvements. She’s getting some really well-deserved recognition from some four-year schools. She’s really excited about not only the work she’s put in but the leadership qualities she’s put on herself going into this season.”
McGill also put up big numbers on the offensive end as well last season, averaging 16.8 points a contest – good for 13th among players in the conference – to go with the 15.7 rebounds a game she put up.
“She knows she’s going to have a target on her back this season,” Moore said. “Teams are going to go after her and double her, and she’s going to have to react to that and her teammates are going to have to react to that, but having her where she’s at right now is leaps and bounds from where she was last year.”
According to Moore, that statement can be applied to the rest of his team as well.
The Clippers open the year on the road at Clark College on November 18. SPSCC’s home opener will be on November 20 against Wenatchee Valley College.
The NWAC championship tournament will begin March 9 in Everett with the top four teams in each division advancing to the 16-team postseason tournament.
“When we do start the season I’m going to be excited just being with the team and working toward that ultimate goal,” McGill said.
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