The campus is beautiful. It's nice and small -- everything is very accessible. I really like it. The Sports Center facility itself is great; I am really looking forward to playing there. The training room area and the weight room, which has been done over, are really signs of a program being built.

Probably the best part so far has been the people, starting with the team members themselves -- they've been wonderful and working hard -- and extending to the support staff, administrators, and other coaches. It's like a big family with everyone wanting one another's teams to do well. It is very nice to be a part of that atmosphere.

I think being a role model is an important part of a student-athlete's responsibilities. Some athletes are obviously more high-profile than others, but I think every single athletic contest you go to, there are going to be little kids in the stands. They are looking at the way you act, the things that you say, what you look like, pretty much everything. You may have one kid who wants to be just like you. Being responsible and acting as a role model is super important, and that's something I will stress with my players this year.

I think that when you go to college, academics should be your first priority. I have always believed that. You can decide on a college based on how much you like its basketball program, but the reason you are going to college is to get an education, and everybody on full scholarship should be grateful that they're getting a free education. Use that, take advantage of it, and make the most of it. A very high percentage of the athletes in college don't continue playing after graduation, so getting a good education and being able to use it when you are done is the most important thing.

Playing at a competitive level, it's hard to have fun when you're losing a lot. When you work hard, give 100 percent, and see the results that you want, that's what having fun is in sports. If you can give everything that you have, it's inevitable that you'll end up having fun.

I couldn't think of a more perfect place. I have lived in the Hartford area since I graduated from college, and, obviously, I'm a Connecticut girl -- everybody says that about me, and it was hard to go away this summer and play away from home and not have the same crazy fans following me. I was planning to live here in the off-season anyway, and to be able to come home and start my coaching career right around the corner is incredible. I knew that I would eventually get into coaching, but didn't expect it to be so soon. It was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.

7. Preparing for her initial year of coaching

There are a lot of things that go into coaching, and I am learning most of them as I go along. But I think when it comes down to just the actual basketball part of it, that's what I am going to be really good at -- getting on the court and teaching basketball. I've always been good at explaining the game in a way that people can understand. Going into coaching means being committed, being dedicated, being here long hours, and pretty much doing what it takes to get the job done. I definitely have all those qualities in myself, and I expect that of my staff. As long as we're working hard and giving 100 percent, the end result will be a lot of fun.

Obviously, winning the national championship (1995) would be one. Probably my career ending at UConn was another, getting to the Final Four and losing, coming to the realization that my college career was over. The third is harder to say. Just the fact that they started the ABL (American Basketball League) and I was drafted to play in Hartford was one of the most significant events in my life.

I have been speaking to kids and adults about the value of friendship (working with Friendship Dairies). We've developed a booklet where I talk about six of my friends and the qualities that they have that have helped make me successful. It is a way for people to get to know me as a person and not just as a basketball player. Kids are always asking me, "What has made you successful?" "How come you're so good?" "How did you get where you are?" They don't realize that much of my success is because of the people that I surround myself with and their positive influence on me.

Any coach's goal heading into the NCAA Division I season is to get to the NCAA Tournament. Mine is not any different. That's our ultimate goal, but there are a lot of smaller goals that are going to have to be achieved along the way. There's a certain way that I want to try to get this team to play and a certain confidence level that I want them to achieve. I don't necessarily have any goals related to a specific number of wins or losses. It's more a frame of mind. In order to build a program, you need to raise the standards in certain areas and begin to have the players think, work, and play a certain way. I have been pleasantly surprised at how hard they have been working to get in shape. Basketball-wise, we need to have them practicing hard every day and really knowing what a 100 percent work ethic is. Most importantly, we want to have some fun this year.