The fellas chat with Kelsey Thompson, 5'10" JR Guard from Mobile, Alabama, for Old Dominion Women's Basketball. They talk about her path from Alabama to being a Monarch, her game, why ODU fits her so well, and so much more.

I'm Simone Cunningham, and this is the

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Monarchist Basketball Show.

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Mike Langston: The following

presentation is brought to you by

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The Pride of ODU, the official NIL

collective of All Dominion Athletics.

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Be a Monarchist.

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Join The Pride.

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Hey Kelsey, thank you for joining us.

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Uh, great to sit down and chat.

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Kelsey Thompson: No problem.

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Mike Langston: How, how is this

season going for you so far?

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Kelsey Thompson: It's going good.

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I'm still finding the rhythm within this

system and with the team, but It's a

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challenge that I look up to and And I

know this system is a pro like system.

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So I know when I can be able

to feel comfortable in it.

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They don't Mock at my game as a pro,

but other than that, it's been good.

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I have built relationships with

my Teammates and the coaching

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staff and people here at ODU.

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Aaron Zielinski: You started your

career at a conference, South Alabama.

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Contributing from day one, you

started 30 games as a freshman.

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That's not common at all.

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How did your experiences at South Alabama

prepare you for success at Old Dominion?

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Kelsey Thompson: The word that you say,

experience, it took me a while to realize,

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it took me to this year to realize that.

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I played 30 games as a freshman

and I thought it was normal

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then because I was doing it.

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But to think about it, most freshmen

don't get the opportunity that I got.

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So here at ODU, when I came in, I was

just already ready set to go because

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I have two years of experience.

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But if you look at it, it's like more

experience than people get in four years.

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So it just made me already comfortable

and I already know what goals I can set

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coming in and just meeting them standards.

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Mike Langston: All right, so you won

freshman player of the year in the Sun

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Belt and then you entered the portal

What other opportunities did you have?

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Along with Old Dominion

when you were in the portal

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Kelsey Thompson: Well after the

freshman of the year when I went

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through a coaching change I had a lot

of opportunities going through that

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coaching change like a lot coming out

there freshman of the year award Which

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is a big award that suits you like, okay.

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I had a lot of eyes on me.

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I had Oregon Um, all the local, um,

south southern schools and then get

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into the finally get into the port of

my sophomore year, I had pretty much

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every top contender in the Sun Belt,

um, Tennessee schools, Florida schools,

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just a lot down there in the south, but

I just wanted to get out of the area,

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um, a chance to grow in a different

environment and different competition.

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I think this is my first time

coming up here playing all these

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different schools like Howard school.

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It's just like it's a different

level of competition up here and

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different playing styles as I'm

used to down there in the South.

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I mean, we play local schools in, you

know, Louisiana and maybe Tennessee and

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we all have the same like playing style.

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So when I got up here, it's different.

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The cutting game action,

the The big HBCUs, then you

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have the big, the Richmonds.

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It's like the play

style up here and stuff.

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That's what sets it apart from all

the different opportunities that

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I had when I got into the portal.

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Aaron Zielinski: Alright, so this

team's got a lot of new faces.

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You being one of them.

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Apart from Hoops, what should

Old Dominion fans know about you?

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Kelsey Thompson: Um.

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I'm very laid back.

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I'm to myself, but I like,

I like doing new things.

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It's just I do new things

as it approaches me.

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So I just don't think people know

that when you see me on the court, you

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probably think like, Oh, she's very

outgoing, like outside of basketball.

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But I think like outside, outside, I'm

very like to myself and very passive.

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But on the court, like I'm just very

competitive, energy going, driven.

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Mike Langston: All right.

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So every team has a different identity.

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, what would you describe this year's

women's basketball team's identity as

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Kelsey Thompson: competitive over my three

years of college basketball, this is the

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most competitive team I have ever been on.

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And I think one thing that's make

a team competitive is our talent

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level like is at an all time high.

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We have 14 people that can

score in 14 different ways.

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As you can see, I think

we're 12, 11, 12 games in.

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It's been a start.

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Different starting lineup every game.

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It just goes to show, like,

the talent level is high.

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When a high talent level,

the competitiveness is crazy.

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There's no day that you can come into

practice thinking that you can feel

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comfortable when the next man next to

you have a higher standard than yours.

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So it's very competitive

in this atmosphere.

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Aaron Zielinski: So you've got

experience playing at South Alabama.

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A lot of experience in

those first two years.

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What's the biggest difference you've

noticed playing for this coaching

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staff and you had previously?

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Kelsey Thompson: I mean,

it's in a good way.

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It's like I'm doing

less, but I'm doing more.

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So in within them two years

at South, I was doing a lot.

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Every rep was coming to me.

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I think shooting 20 to 25

shots a game, moving on ball,

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off ball, just moving around.

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I was doing a lot within rep.

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Within playing within

position within minutes.

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I play a extremely high level of minutes.

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Just I was doing a lot and here I think

I can finally be comfortable in a role.

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I think I, I have been strictly

off ball and I can get on ball if I

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want to, but it, it has allowed me

to be comfortable within my game.

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I think at South, I was in a position of

where we lost the point guard my freshman

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year to injury, and then my second year.

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It was a struggle trying to find

somebody to play point guard.

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Because so I have bounced

around in positions in here.

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I just feel like, uh, I found my

free area of playing off wing and

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now I can move to point guard move

to the four without having it being

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forced within their game plan.

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And I think that has helped

me a lot to now finally in my

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natural stand of scoring a ball.

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Um, picking up on my defense, being a

leader off ball, not necessarily always

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having the ball in my hand, in my hand.

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So it's just like, nine of them

catch and shoot opportunities there

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for me, um, just reading closeouts.

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That, that's been the best thing here

for me is I can finally play my role

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instead of, you know, on when you

attempt to play on a team like how

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I was, everything was coming to me.

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And to some people that's good, but

that, that can wear your body down.

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I was going to a conference.

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Two years ago from today,

like, I already drained from

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playing high level management.

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I think here I can afford to

catch a break because of the

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amount of talent that I'm around.

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Mike Langston: Alright, so before we

started today, we were talking to Coach D.

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We asked her, was there one thing you

wanted to hear from the players today?

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And she said, I want to hear

their best impression of me.

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So, what's your best

impression of Coach D?

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I

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Aaron Zielinski: promise you

this is not a trick question.

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She really did say it.

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Kelsey Thompson: What she be doing?

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Every time she see me, she do this.

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Hey, Kelsey.

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I say, Hey, Coach D.

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Hey, Kelsey.

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Just to get me smiling.

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That's the best one I got.

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Aaron Zielinski: All right.

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Tell us something about one of your

teammates that most fans wouldn't know.

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Kelsey Thompson: Uh, Jadyn is so silly.

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Jadyn dances, joke and play around

all day, like showing all her teeth.

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Like, Jadyn is the most, like, outgoing,

silliest person I have ever met.

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Like, it's so un serious.

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Mike Langston: Alright, um, so the next

few are going to be just fun questions.

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Don't think too much about it.

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Uh, we'll keep it running.

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Favorite pre game meal?

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Kelsey Thompson: salmon

and mashed potatoes.

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Aaron Zielinski: All right.

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What's that favorite pre-game

song you've gotta listen to?

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Kelsey Thompson: Dang.

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Um, right now I think it's Heart

of a Woman by Summer Walker.

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Mike Langston: Alright, favorite

basketball player and why?

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Kelsey Thompson: LeBron James.

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'cause he's a leader on and off the court.

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Aaron Zielinski: Favorite

thing to do in your free time?

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Kelsey Thompson: Build Legos.

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Mike Langston: Alright.

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Do you have a favorite musician?

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Or, or band?

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Kelsey Thompson: I like Rylo

Rodriguez 'cause he from Mobile.

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Aaron Zielinski: All right.

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If you weren't playing basketball

for your current team, which

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ODU team would you play on?

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Kelsey Thompson: I

gotta stay on my gender.

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No.

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Or can I?

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Aaron Zielinski: You can

play whatever team you want.

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Kelsey Thompson: I wanna be the

quarterback for the football team.

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Aaron Zielinski: Colton better watch out.

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Mike Langston: That's cool.

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Uh, you play a lot.

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You play a lot of.

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Backyard football growing up?

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Kelsey Thompson: Yeah,

I was outside a lot.

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Everything.

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Mike Langston: Alright, so.

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In basketball, there's a lot

of ways to get to the bucket.

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What is your favorite move

to pull off in the game?

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Kelsey Thompson: Probably

the spin move into my jumper.

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Aaron Zielinski: Alright,

life after hoops.

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What are you majoring in, and

where do you see yourself after

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you stop playing basketball?

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Kelsey Thompson: I'm majoring in sports

management, and After basketball,

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so that means after I'm done playing

professionally, after that, um, I

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want to be a grad assistant, and

then I want to go into coaching,

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you know, on a college level.

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Mike Langston: Very cool.

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Um, so, what is your top personal

goal this season, and what is your

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goal for the team this year, and

what will it take to get there?

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Kelsey Thompson: Uh,

I'll start with the team.

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Definitely a championship.

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I think that's the main thing.

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That's it.

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A championship.

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Whether it come ugly or good.

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An ugly win or a great win.

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A championship just at the end goal.

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Cause the championship will erase it.

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How everything happened.

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That's it.

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Um, personally,

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Um, of course I want to finish

what I left off of, um, being

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picked preseason Sun Belt.

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So I just want to, um, I mean,

it's not a crazy goal to me.

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If it come, it come.

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I'ma do my job on the team, but that's

something I do want to A conference

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just to say I did it and represent

ODU because I feel like we got a few

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players that can be on that preseason

and towards the end, and player of the

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year, defensive player of the year.

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I feel like we got all them

categories right here on this team.

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So I want to be the one to stamp

my name on it for this university.

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Aaron Zielinski: Alright, we're fortunate

to do these sorts of fun interviews.

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Um, we, we collaborate.

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We're part of The Pride of

ODU, supported by the fans.

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What's your message for Monarch

Nation and how they're supportive?

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Kelsey Thompson: Um, Monarch Nation,

I really appreciate y'all and just the

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environment y'all create at the games.

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It's really like, to me personally,

coming from where I'm coming from and

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seeing the game of women's basketball

evolve, it really set a special place in

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my heart every time I play in Chartway.

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Just coming out there, seeing y'all

be engaged on and off the court.

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I can literally be in the

store and somebody see I have

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on ODU and approaching me.

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Y'all seen this.

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It makes me feel like I'm valued here at

my university and within the community.

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So I just thank y'all for always

doing it and continue doing it.

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Aaron Zielinski: Thanks

for coming on, Kelsey.

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Go Monarchs.

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Kelsey Thompson: No problem.

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Go Monarchs.