Don Zierden Q&A



Q: What does Tangela Smith Bring to the team?
DZ: Experience, leadership and talent.

Q: How will Tangela fit into your system?
DZ: With her ability to play inside and outside, I think she's really going to complement Nicole Ohlde.

Q: What type of system will you run?
DZ: We're going to employ a system where we're going to try not to rely on just one person to get the job done. I think Tangela is an experience double-figure scorer and she lends balance. That's the one thing that we want to have, a balanced attack.

Q: How have your first 26 days as Lynx head coach been?
DZ: It's been interesting, we had the press conference 26 days ago. Of course, everything starts off with grand views and we talked about breaks. We did catch a break. A disappointing break in the sense that a team had to disband, but we caught a break in that we're able to add a player with the talent of Tangela Smith without having to do anything. I think that's a huge blessing right off the bat.

Q: Have you had a chance to scout any college players?
DZ: I've been looking at a ton of college games. Not very many in person, but some in person. I've been looking at a lot of film on college players. I'm very pleased with some of the players that I have seen. I'm excited to know that one of those players that we're focusing on is going to be in a Lynx uniform next year.

Q: What are you hoping to accomplish on your trip to Russia?
DZ: To stay warm... Our main goal is to visit with Svet (Svetlana Abrosimova), Seimone (Augustus) and Nuria Martinez. One to talk to Nuria about her situation. Basically, to meet all three players and let them know what I'm about and where we're coming from as a staff and to get to talk to them a little bit and get to know them.