Fitting Right In
Nov 08, 2024 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Seven months have passed since Temira Poindexter ate pasta and side dishes inside the home of Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie, and seven months have passed since she played games inside Serena Sundell's apartment. Poindexter sought the opportunity to join an established team. She sought a new college home. The Tulsa transfer, the seventh leading scorer in Division I last year, the native of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, who sought to pass the proverbial crossroads of a decorated three-year career and embark upon a new chapter, has found her home in the Little Apple.
"This has been better," she says, "than what I envisioned."
Tonight, she sits in the postgame interview room at Bramlage Coliseum after No. 13 K-State's 82-56 win over Belmont. Tonight, she smiles after pouring in 23 points and draining five of 11 3-pointers and adding four rebounds, two steals and two blocks in a team-high 37 minutes. Tonight, we witnessed something special — another step. She became the first player in K-State history with at least 15 points, five rebounds, two steals and four blocks in a debut performance in a 92-45 win over Green Bay on Monday.
Her encore against Belmont was even better.
"She seems just so … effortless," Mittie says.
At 6-foot-2, Poindexter has size at the guard position, she can see over defenders, she can handle the ball, she can find teammates, and she can shoot, man, can she shoot, one after another after another. She made all five of her 3-pointers in the first half — four in the span of 10 minutes between the first and second quarters as the Wildcats built a 42-24 lead.
"It just kind of feels like whenever we need a bucket, find Temira, and it's going in," says sophomore Zyanna Walker, who feels at home in her expanded role as point guard. "Especially at the 3-point line, she was lighting it up today. Sometimes I don't expect her to shoot it but it's a quick shot and it goes in. She has a phenomenal touch."
It's early, but it's easy to see why Poindexter was a 2024 Honorable Mention All-American selection, and why she earned the 2024 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year award while scoring more than 1,500 points in her career at Tulsa, including 36 20-point games. She averaged 21.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 blocks a year ago. She joined USC's JuJu Watkins and UConn's Paige Bueckers as the only players in the nation with 700 points and 50 blocks.
She entered her official debut at K-State on Monday and was…
"I was very nervous," she says. "I'm not going to lie. I feel like I'm nervous before every first game. But it felt good to just be out there in front of the fans and all the kids."
She smiles again while sitting in the postgame news conference.
Tonight, she feels at home — in Bramlage, and on the court.
"She's very instinctual, you know?" Mittie says. "She's smart. She's picking up things that we're wanting her to pick up."
Mittie harkens back to the days of practice after Poindexter arrived in Manhattan, the days in the practice gym, where practices are high energy, and where much is expected.
"I noticed right away in the summer when we were going through a lot of plays, she was out there with the veterans and we were running action that we've run, so everybody knows it," he says, "and she didn't take long to pick it up."
What's most impressed Mittie to this point?
"I've been impressed with her from the start with how she acclimated herself with her teammate," he replies. "I did want her to be more aggressive but that hasn't been a problem in the two games. She's found the right balance of aggressiveness and making the right play. She's got to improve defensively. She had a stretch tonight where I didn't think she played through fatigue very well. She has to play through that fatigue better. She was forced into a more ball-handling role tonight, and she did a good job for the most part. Smart player, intelligent.
"She has a little swagger to her game. She's fun to watch."
She smiles at the recollection, the recollection when she was on the phone after signing with K-State in April. There was so much going through her mind. After recounting her past, she looked toward the future. She was excited on the other end of the phone.
"It's crazy for me because I remember watching all these games and being like, 'Oh my gosh,' watching all these players play," she said on the phone. "It's the Big 12. Now that I'm in it, it's crazy, honestly. It is still kind of hard to believe right now."
The days of recruiting visits, and pasta dishes at Mittie's house and games at Sundell's apartment, have long since passed, and reality is taking form, as Poindexter in her No. 2 K-State jersey lights up the scoreboard and impacts the game in so many different ways.
There's more to come.
"I'm really enjoying my time here, and I'm just very grateful to be here and to play with the teammates I've met," she says at the postgame news conference. "I feel like we're going to do well this year."
And it certainly appears that Poindexter will do well here, also.
Seven months have passed since Temira Poindexter ate pasta and side dishes inside the home of Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie, and seven months have passed since she played games inside Serena Sundell's apartment. Poindexter sought the opportunity to join an established team. She sought a new college home. The Tulsa transfer, the seventh leading scorer in Division I last year, the native of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, who sought to pass the proverbial crossroads of a decorated three-year career and embark upon a new chapter, has found her home in the Little Apple.
"This has been better," she says, "than what I envisioned."
Tonight, she sits in the postgame interview room at Bramlage Coliseum after No. 13 K-State's 82-56 win over Belmont. Tonight, she smiles after pouring in 23 points and draining five of 11 3-pointers and adding four rebounds, two steals and two blocks in a team-high 37 minutes. Tonight, we witnessed something special — another step. She became the first player in K-State history with at least 15 points, five rebounds, two steals and four blocks in a debut performance in a 92-45 win over Green Bay on Monday.
Her encore against Belmont was even better.
"She seems just so … effortless," Mittie says.
At 6-foot-2, Poindexter has size at the guard position, she can see over defenders, she can handle the ball, she can find teammates, and she can shoot, man, can she shoot, one after another after another. She made all five of her 3-pointers in the first half — four in the span of 10 minutes between the first and second quarters as the Wildcats built a 42-24 lead.
"It just kind of feels like whenever we need a bucket, find Temira, and it's going in," says sophomore Zyanna Walker, who feels at home in her expanded role as point guard. "Especially at the 3-point line, she was lighting it up today. Sometimes I don't expect her to shoot it but it's a quick shot and it goes in. She has a phenomenal touch."
It's early, but it's easy to see why Poindexter was a 2024 Honorable Mention All-American selection, and why she earned the 2024 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year award while scoring more than 1,500 points in her career at Tulsa, including 36 20-point games. She averaged 21.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 blocks a year ago. She joined USC's JuJu Watkins and UConn's Paige Bueckers as the only players in the nation with 700 points and 50 blocks.
She entered her official debut at K-State on Monday and was…
"I was very nervous," she says. "I'm not going to lie. I feel like I'm nervous before every first game. But it felt good to just be out there in front of the fans and all the kids."
She smiles again while sitting in the postgame news conference.
Tonight, she feels at home — in Bramlage, and on the court.
"She's very instinctual, you know?" Mittie says. "She's smart. She's picking up things that we're wanting her to pick up."
Mittie harkens back to the days of practice after Poindexter arrived in Manhattan, the days in the practice gym, where practices are high energy, and where much is expected.
"I noticed right away in the summer when we were going through a lot of plays, she was out there with the veterans and we were running action that we've run, so everybody knows it," he says, "and she didn't take long to pick it up."
What's most impressed Mittie to this point?
"I've been impressed with her from the start with how she acclimated herself with her teammate," he replies. "I did want her to be more aggressive but that hasn't been a problem in the two games. She's found the right balance of aggressiveness and making the right play. She's got to improve defensively. She had a stretch tonight where I didn't think she played through fatigue very well. She has to play through that fatigue better. She was forced into a more ball-handling role tonight, and she did a good job for the most part. Smart player, intelligent.
"She has a little swagger to her game. She's fun to watch."
She smiles at the recollection, the recollection when she was on the phone after signing with K-State in April. There was so much going through her mind. After recounting her past, she looked toward the future. She was excited on the other end of the phone.
"It's crazy for me because I remember watching all these games and being like, 'Oh my gosh,' watching all these players play," she said on the phone. "It's the Big 12. Now that I'm in it, it's crazy, honestly. It is still kind of hard to believe right now."
The days of recruiting visits, and pasta dishes at Mittie's house and games at Sundell's apartment, have long since passed, and reality is taking form, as Poindexter in her No. 2 K-State jersey lights up the scoreboard and impacts the game in so many different ways.
There's more to come.
"I'm really enjoying my time here, and I'm just very grateful to be here and to play with the teammates I've met," she says at the postgame news conference. "I feel like we're going to do well this year."
And it certainly appears that Poindexter will do well here, also.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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/ Women's Basketball
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