Deacs step into spotlight at ACC women's basketball media day

On offseason preparation:

DH: "We worked really hard this summer. We have a great strength and conditioning coach (Greg Brittenham). He's really experienced and he got us going in the right direction this summer with crazy obstacles and different types of workouts."

CD: "We spent a lot of time in the gym, spent a lot of time conditioning and a lot of time in the weight room. I feel  like we did a lot this summer and we got better this summer."

On Lindsy Wright:

CJH: "I'm really expecting Lindsy, after a year of a new system, to kind of settle in and kind of be that enforcer, a little bit if you will inside for us. When Lindsy is playing at her best, bodies are flying and it's usually not her body...bodies are flying off of her. We really need that out of Lindsy. She's spending a lot of time right now with our staff, trying to make sure she's understanding what we're trying to accomplish."

On integrating six new players:

CJH: "I think with six freshmen, there's one really good thing about it: they don't know any better. They bring it every day, they play hard. One of the best things I talk to them about all the time is that they get to play against these guys every day. Not everybody in our conference is playing against them every day, and that's making them grow up so much faster and it's a great experience for them day in and day out."

"One of the freshmen that's really kind of stood out is Jill Brunori. Jill's a kid who missed her senior season; she tore her ACL last December. If anything as a staff, we thought she might be the one that would be a little bit behind, coming in, just recovering from the ACL. And she's not behind in any way, shape or form. She's going to be a lot of fun to watch."

On the strength of the ACC:

CJH: "I truly believe this is the best women's basketball conference in the country and night in and night out, you have to play your basketball. We talk a lot about that: What is Wake Forest basketball? No matter what the jersey says on the other side, we have to bring what we bring. I think last year we learned that."

"Obviously, our goal is to be playing the best basketball in March, but we talk a lot about we don't want to wait 'til March. We can't wait until the Greensboro Coliseum, which we love, to play our best games. Weve got to be ready now for what's coming. With our nonconference schedule we tried to schedule games that would set us up for regular conference play. With the conference expansion and bringing Notre Dame, Syracuse and Pitt into the conference, night in and night out, you've got to bring your game- your ‘A' game or you're not going to end up where you want to be when the season's over."

On getting Wake to the top half of the conference, and staying there:

CJH: "One thing we talk about a lot is we have to be uncommon. To achieve something you've never achieved, you've got to do what you've never done and we talk about that on a daily basis as a staff and I know these young ladies talk a lot about it. They're a testament to what their commitment level is in the summer."

"This is my 20th year in coaching, and I'll tell you that Chelsea Douglas is maybe the most driven kid in the offseason that I've had the pleasure of being around, and I've coached some elite kids. The different level for us is that she's understood this year it couldn't be just her. She had to take a teammate with her. As a group we have to understand that it's not always going to be pretty for us. We're going to have to be that team that grinds things out."