'We Want to Trust this Process': Missouri Women's Basketball Coach Robin Pingeton Focused On Team's Growth
Missouri Tigers women's basketball coach Robin Pingeton wants her team to focus on the present. The young team might have regrets from the past that have led to the team's 11-8 record or have ambitious goals for the future, but Pingeton doesn't want that to interfere with them soaking in the moment.
"I was telling them, you don't want to look ahead too far and you don't want to look too far behind because you're going to miss the moment. And I want to be in every single moment with this group. They're just, on so many different levels, such a special group."
Pingeton has frequently praised the character of her young team, constantly saying they 'do more than what's required.' The team has remained resilient and focused through their 2-4 start to conference play.
"So I love it. Like I love going to work everyday with these guys," Pingeton said. "They just continue to grow and learn and they haven't wavered."
Due to lingering injuries to Averi Kroenke, Angelique Ngalakulondi and a brief knee injury to Mama Dembele, the Tigers' starting lineup has included as many as three freshman in the starting lineup in SEC play.
"It is a lot, just the stage in the SEC but that's what they signed up for, too. There's no replacement for experience and they're getting a lot of it right now and I think our upperclassmen have done an incredible job with their leadership."
The freshman group have been thrown into the scorching fires of the SEC but Pingeton is keeping the goals and messaging consistent for her team.
"We just want to trust this process, and I know, outcomes are important. It's important to all of us," Pingeton said. "Bottom line is, we're down two starters and it changes your rotation a little bit and we've got a lot of young kids."
The group of freshman, according to Pingeton, have been eager to learn, always determined to watch film and improve from their mistakes. The team has had to navigate through the highs of a comeback win over Vanderbilt, a convincing win over Georgia and the lows of blowout losses to No. 1 South Carolina and No. 9 LSU.
"There's so many teachable moments but I think that comes from wins and losses, tight games, and not so tight games," Pingeton said. "The big thing is, for us, we've got a group of girls that want it so bad. ... There's no doubt in my mind that with the youth that we have on this team, it's going to play big dividends as they continue to grow and we move forward."
Pingeton was able to find plenty of teaching moments in the Tigers' most recent outing — a 76-71 loss to Kentucky. The Tigers trailed by as much as 11 in the fourth quarter but tied the game at 71 with just over a minute remaining.
"A couple of times, we got down big and we just continued to battle back," Pingeton said. "I thought our girls competed and I'm proud of them."
Missouri's struggles to protect possessions was again illuminated in the loss against Kentucky. The Tigers, currently averaging the third most turnovers in the conference, gave up 16 to the Wildcats.
"We've got to continue to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Pingeton said. "Just getting sped up, not playing with pace, we continue to talk about these things, we show it, we work on it in practice and so they just add up in these games."
Pingeton highlighted Kentucky's transition offense as the key weapon for the Wildcats to pierce through the Tigers defense. When looking ahead to their next opponent, Texas A&M on Thursday, she sees a similar offensive attack that her team will have to be better prepared for.
"Their (Texas A&M) transition attack is pretty lethal," Pingeton said. "Obviously there's only so much you change in your two days of practice leading up to it but just the urgency that we have to have. We can do it. ... Just having that grit and sense of urgency, we've got to play defense and rebound like the house is on fire, with that kind of sense of urgency."
When Missouri tips off against Texas A&M Thursday at 8 p.m., it will begin a two-game home stretch for Missouri, the only stretch of consecutive home games the team will have within the conference slate.
"I think taking care of your home court is really important in this league," Pingeton said. "It doesn't get any easier, every night out it's a dogfight. But there's a lot of games left to be played so I think in January, things can kind of get heavy a little bit. Important that we keep proper perspective."
Following their game with Texas A&M, Missouri will have played around 68% of their total schedule and 44% of their conference slate. With Missouri having the youngest starting lineup in the SEC, Pingeton and her staff will have to continue their efforts to keep the team, through the ups and downs, in the present moment.
