Click here to view Tanya Bauer’s profile
EDITOR'S NOTE: A new era of Rock women’s basketball began in May with the hiring of Tanya Longo, a longtime NCAA Division I assistant coach, as Slippery Rock University’s new head coach.
Bauer joined The Rock staff after serving the past two seasons as an assistant at Southern Illinois University. She has previous experience as head coach at Division II Minnesota-Duluth and assistant coach at Division I Drake and Santa Clara as well as Division III Wisconsin-Eau Claire, her alma mater.
A former all-conference performer at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Bauer “hit the road running” shortly after being named as The Rock’s head coach, But she recently took a few minutes to sit down with Bob McComas, sports information director, to take part in a question-and-answer session.
Rock Magazine: Describe Tanya Bauer the person.
Tanya Bauer: I am a very intense and driven individual. I fell in love with the game of basketball early in my life. My mom remembers very clearly when I was in first grade and I came home and said ‘I can’t wait until I get to play on a basketball team.’ At my school, organized girls basketball didn’t start until fifth grade, so she thought ‘This is going to be a long, long next four years.’ But I knew from the beginning this is what I love. I am willing to do whatever it takes, morally, to get it done. I am not afraid of hard work, challenges and those types of things.
RM: What are your hobbies?
TB: I enjoy working out. I enjoy watching most sporting events. I love baking and cooking. I love reading. I love the sunshine and the water.
RM: Describe Tanya Bauer the coach.
TB: I am an intense individual. I have plan and very organized and methodical about the way I go about things. I am a fundamentalist. I am a ‘player’s coach’ because I remember what it was like being player because it wasn’t that long ago … I absolutely love to teach and mentor the players I coach. I am very much interested in them becoming mature young women and being very successful in whatever path they choose after college. A lot of our time will be spent on the basketball court, but everything we learn is above and beyond that. That’s the big picture, basketball just happens to be our avenue to get there.
RM: How would Tanya Bauer the coach describe Tanya Bauer the player?
TB: As I have said before, I was a very intense player and a hard worker. Very coachable. Very team-oriented, probably to a fault. A leader and a winner.
RM: What was it about the Slippery Rock job that peaked your interest?
TB: I think there are certain ingredients that are needed in order to achieve success in college basketball and I think all the ingredients are here. There’s a great academic institution here, so I can offer our players a great education. The campus and the community, I think, sell themselves to prospective student-athletes. I like the fact that the University and community are very family-oriented. There has been success here in the athletic program and in the women’s basketball program in the past so, if it’s been done before, it can certainly be done again. We are part of a great league, so I can offer our players great competition. That in turn prepares us to be one of the best and for our ultimate goal, which is to win a national championship.
RM: Describe your offensive philosophy.
TB: Offensively, we will be very up-tempo. But, in saying that, we will also not be throwing the ball all over the gym. We will be disciplined in our transition option. We’re going to get out and run. We want to score points and we want to put pressure on the opposition when we have the ball and force them to make mistakes that we can take advantage of. But we also have a second part to our offense and that is a very elaborate half-court offense that is very detailed and is going to take a lot of discipline and a lot of time to implement. But once you ‘get it’ it is very difficult to scout, an equal-opportunity system for all players and it’s fun to play. It’s a system I wish I could have played in.
RM: Please briefly describe your defensive philosophy and how you came to adopt it.
TB: At the core of it all will be a fundamental man-to-man defense. I grew up in Wisconsin in the era of [former Wisconsin-Green Bay and University of Wisconsin head coach] Dick Bennett and the Bennett family, so that’s where my roots are. And all the coaches for whom I have worked had a man-to-man philosophy. However, I am also a proponent of having more than one dimension to my defense, so I will again like to put pressure on the other team. Full-court pressure is something that will eventually be a part of our defense, as well. And we’ll play a little zone here and there because I like to have a little variety in the repertoire. But at the heart of it all will be man-to-man, fundamental principles.
RM: After a month on the job, based upon videotapes of games you have reviewed and input you have received, what are you impressions of Rock women’s basketball student-athletes returning for the 2010-11 season and how they will fit into your system?
TB: I have talked to all the returning players either in person or via the telephone and they are all very excited about playing up-tempo and being part of an equal-opportunity offense that’s fun to play. But liking to play it and being able to execute it are two different things. It is yet to be determined exactly how the current roster will transition into playing at such a fast tempo. Talking about it and making good decisions on the fly while playing it are not the same. But from talking to them I can tell we have a very solid group of high-character individuals that are currently part of this program. I have a core upon which I can build talent-wise and I will continue to add to that as I recruit. I think we need more depth, but I think overall we have good kids who are ready and excited for the challenge ahead of them.
RM: How do these juco players and four-year college transfers fit into your long-term and overall recruiting philosophy?
TB: I will always be open to bringing players to our program who I feel will be a good fit and make an immediate impact, so I don’t want to say I will ‘only do’ or ‘never do’ something. But in general I do like what a third- or fourth-year player brings as a veteran player in learning and executing my system. So I certainly will be working hard to bring in local high school talent to add to the program. But I think at this point in the game this year most of that talent is gone, so junior college and players looking to transfer from other Division I and Division II programs are my focus right now.
RM: What role will a prospective student-athlete’s academic effort in high school play in your recruitment of that person?
TB: Your academic credentials have a lot to do with your athletic focus and effort on the court. If you have your priorities in order, you know that you are here to be a student and an athlete and that you have prepared yourself to be a student first and an athlete second, albeit a close second, in your high school career. So I absolutely am interested in bringing to our program individuals who are quality students in addition to being talented athletes.
RM: The Rock has not competed in the PSAC playoffs since 2006 and has not won a conference playoff game since 1996. What is your timeframe for ending those droughts?
TB: I am not going to give you a timeframe. All I can tell you is, to get into the playoffs and beyond is our goal and myself and my coaches are going to do everything in our power to make that happen as quickly as possible.
RM: Can it happen next year?
TB: Yes, I think we can have a lot of success next year.
RM: What one message would you most like to deliver to Rock women’s basketball student-athletes, alumni, SRU staff and faculty and fans in general as you start your Rock coaching career?
TB: I know they have been loyal fans and supporters in the past, so I would only ask that they continue to come out and watch us play this season and in the seasons ahead because I know we are going to play an exciting style of basketball. I know we are going be a hard-working team and I know we are going to be a classy program with classy individuals who are going to be the right kind of role models for young families with kids. We’re going to entertaining for anyone who likes the sport of basketball. I also look forward to connecting with our alumni, especially our women’s basketball alumni, because those are the people who laid the foundation for what we will be able to do this season and in the seasons that follow.
