The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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36 ■ THE WOLFPACKER said, "even though we have a whole new team." During summer workouts, she em- pathized with the freshmen who left practice discouraged by a bad day. Rivers would send texts reminding her team- mates to keep their heads up. Her mes- sage: "It's your first week. Welcome to college." Throughout the team's practice ses- sions during the offseason, Rivers has encouraged, motivated and competed with the new players to help them im- prove through tough love. She said it's important for players to never take the coaching staff's criticism personally. She knows head coach Wes Moore holds her to a lofty standard and said she would be more worried if he was not saying any- thing when she messed up. "Coach gets on me a lot," she said, "but I've learned that it's just because he has high expectations for me, especially this year tapping into this leadership role." Friendship Takes You Far When Rivers is on the floor with gradu- ate student forward Mimi Collins, they communicate on a different level, running the fast break like they have been playing together for years. "With our chemistry on and off the court, we're just naturally always in sync," Collins said. They arrived at NC State around the same time but knew each other long be- fore that. Collins played for Maryland before transferring last year, and while with the Terrapins she hosted Rivers on a recruiting visit. They struck up a friend- ship from there. After the 6-foot-3 forward committed to the Pack, she learned that Rivers was down to either NC State or UNC. "I said, 'You might as well just make this trip,'" Collins recalled. "She commit- ted, and then we've been locked in ever since." At 6-1, Rivers has the vision, antici- pation and quickness to jump into pass- ing lanes and record plenty of steals. She plays an aggressive style of defense that sometimes draws complaints from her coaches, but that's who the junior is on the court. Most of the time, it leads to a turnover and easy points for the Wolfpack. She finished No. 10 in the ACC with 58 to- tal steals during her sophomore year, and she will embrace that same mindset this season. "If I see a loose dribble, if I see a weak pass, I'm going for it every time," Rivers said. "Coach gets mad at me sometimes because, if I don't get it, then they have an easy opportunity to score, but nine times out of 10, I'm going to get that ball." Rivers experienced some thrilling highs in her first season with the Pack, beat- ing Iowa on the road and defeating North Carolina in a packed Reynolds Coliseum. Despite those exciting wins, the Wolf- pack still failed to live up to the high bar Moore's program set over the past decade. NC State is focused on getting the elite energy back around the team. Rivers no- ticed the lessened fan support once the team started to struggle last year. She knows Wolfpack nation has their backs, and the junior guard wants to return that favor with some wins. "We want to fill up the stands again," she said. "They mean so much to us. They support us even when we're on the road, so we just want to give back to them. That motivates us." ■ One of five returning players from last year's team, Rivers, a junior, said she's focused on playing a leadership role for the Pack. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS