Shiffer Q&A

Well, I wrote it, so I figured I'd post this up before it's up later on our J-S Sports Blog.

By the way, make sure to follow me (@jmark79) on Twitter for updates on the Highland women, among other things I cover and complete randomness.

Here's a Q&A session with Courtney Shiffer I had on Wednesday that I used for my feature on

The Journal-Standard interviewed Courtney Shiffer for a Q&A on her transition to small forward, the Highland women’s basketball team, and her thoughts on how far the Cougars can go in 2010.

Journal-Standard: How has the transition been from center/power forward to small forward?

Courtney Shiffer: It’s been going pretty good. It’s a lot different being out on the perimeter, looking for the outside shot. I’m doing more cutting than in high school, where I was only in the post.

J: Defensively, things are different too, right?

S: Right. Some guards are faster than me, so it’s just knowing how close to guard and how far to back off. So, I’m just getting used to it.

J: Was this switch to the 3-spot needed to have the opportunity to go to a Division I school?

S: Yeah. It was definitely a good thing. ... It was a good thing for my future for basketball.

J: But you do like playing the new spot right?

S: I like it kind of more because you get to touch the ball more than playing in the post. Cutting to the basket, I like doing that. I get to move more. I definitely need to keep working on my outside shooting, that’s something I’ve always needed to get better on. But otherwise it’s been a pretty good transition I think.

J: Have you adjusted to the changes in junior college from high school, like getting a feel for the shot clock?

S: For us, it hasn’t seen that much of a difference because we haven’t had a shot-clock violation. I don’t think. In high school you have plays that are longer and sometimes you try to stall. You can’t do that in college because you don’t have 30 sec -- yeah, 30 seconds.

J: The team really seems to enjoy themselves even sometimes when you’re not playing at your best. Granted, it’s a team like Sauk Valley that doesn’t have a lot of wins, but you seem to have a lot of fun. How much has that helped playing with this team?

S: It’s been a lot of fun this year. We just have a good time even when things are down we talk and make little jokes about it, so it’s been fun. I’ve enjoyed it.

J: How excited were you when Leah Dietmeier came to the team considering the two or three players that aren’t on the team for a variety of reasons?

S: We were really excited she’d play with us. We played together in high school and we’ve been friends so it’s been nice to have her on the team.

J: You’ve been on this team for about four months now. How far can the Cougars go in 2010?

S: I definitely think we can make it to nationals if we stay focused and not get ahead of ourselves. I’ve never been to nationals before and I’ve heard there a lot of competition there, so, who knows what happens after that.

Shiffer feature in today's paper, Cougs lose big game

Well, the Courtney Shiffer feature will be the Journal-Standard Web site late Thursday night.

And the same night that feature will appear, is the same night the Highland women's basketball team lost a big one.

Cougars lost 85-83 to Black Hawk East. For as well as Highland's played at home, the Cougars have just one big win on the road this year (Illinois Valley).

In a few, I'll update you on some more stuff from Highland coach Dean Buckwalter and some bonus stuff from the Shiffer interview on Wednesday.