Coquese Washington wants to give her players injections of experience.
After scouring the country for top recruits and welcoming a highly touted freshmen class, the third-year head coach believes she's becoming closer to creating the type of team and program that she originally envisioned.
However, the coach realizes that game experience is something that her team can't gain overnight.
"It's a joke people," Washington told reporters at the Penn State women's basketball Media Day. "You can't inject experience. We're just going to wait for these young kids to get better."
A freshmen class that is ranked in the top-20 by all major recruiting outlets certainly helps Washington build her program. The size and speed of the Lady Lions' freshmen will help them close the gap between the other Big Ten teams.
"The past few years have been a little bit of a downfall for the Lady Lion program," junior Julia Trogele said. "I think that every year we try to have a clean slate and move on from everything."
While last season didn't go the way the Lady Lions hoped as they finished 11-18, Washington's team believes it has added enough players so it can once again be competitive in the conference.
Last season the 6-foot-2 Trogele and 6-foot-3 Janessa Wolff were the Lions' biggest presence in the post as the duo combined to average 14.4 points per game. While it's helpful having two consistent players who are over 6 feet tall, the Lions lacked depth.
In a conference where the top post players range from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-9, the team knew it needed another big body to help get the job done in the paint.
Facing Ohio State's Jantel Lavender, who is the conference's returning two-time Player of the Year, was no easy task for the Lions. Last season the 6-foot-4 center scored 28 points against the Lions, but this year, Washington's team may have a better chance of limiting Lavender.
The Lions' top recruit, Nikki Greene, is 6-foot-4 and will aid Trogele and Williams in providing an inside presence. The added depth in the post is something the team hasn't had since Washington took over the program in 2007.
"We're getting there," Washington said about building her program. "I think that we're definitely closer than we were when I first got here. We've got a little bit more speed overall, and I think we're getting the size that we need to be competitive in the Big Ten."
The speed of freshman guard Alex Bentley will be a nice complement to the play of Tyra Grant. The senior was used to playing alongside Brianne O'Rourke, and together the two combined to average more than 30 points per game. While it's still too early to tell what type of contribution Bentley can make, she should see a big amount of playing time.
"I'm, like, excited, you know?" sophomore guard Emily Phillips said of the Lions' chances to be successful. "I feel like we finally got some people that can have our backs and that we can do something great this year."
