Saniya Rivers: "We're Going to Shock Teams"
NC State senior guard Saniya Rivers met with the media in Charlotte during the 2024 ACC Women's Basketball Tipoff.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Rivers’ interview.
On continuing the growth of women’s college basketball…
Like I tell people all the time, women’s basketball has grown tremendously, and it definitely think it started with the names you said, Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, bringing attention to our game. Despite there being plenty of key players, I do say they were the ones who boosted it up for us. We’ve hit numbers for viewers that we’d never hit before in women’s basketball. We’re filling stages more than we’ve filled in women’s basketball before, and I think it’s only going to fill more. For us, personally, going to the Final Four, if we had the gym capacity, we’d probably sell out 10,000 seats. I go to restaurants, and people are like, “How can I get tickets? I want to come see a game in person” I’m like, “They're sold out already.” Our fans are locked in and loyal, and they want to see us go back to another Final Four.
On last season’s early success and carrying it to this year…
Last year and this year are so much different because last year we came in unranked. We felt like we didn’t have anything to lose because we were already at the bottom. We just left it all on the floor, played together, and had fun, and that just so happened to lead to a Final Four. We were the party crashers coming into the tournament; no one expected us to be there, and we just showed why deserved to be there from the beginning. This year, we’re at the top, and we have to figure out how to stay humble and hungry. I think we’re doing that well. The freshmen haven’t played on the college floor ever, so they don’t really know what it takes. We can prepare them as much as we can, but until they touch the hardwood on the collegiate floor, they won’t know.
On the freshmen…
They’re so special. Obviously, Zam [Jones] came in very confident. She’s a very known, talked-about player. I think if she can adjust to the college level, she’s going to be big for us as far as pushing the tempo and being at the dish. She can score at all three levels. She’s not scared at all. She’s small, but she has a big heart. She has a lot of grit. Obviously, the other freshmen, we’re really excited about. They have to step up, and I think they will. I think we have a great chance at playing all of them. It’s just up to them if they want the opportunity.
On what Jones has done in practice…
For a freshman, she communicates a lot, and you don’t expect that for a freshman. She could even be a leader right now. We could come in at practice at 9 o’clock in the morning — no one wants to be up that early — and she’ll come in like, “Come on, y’all, let’s have a great practice.” Even little things like that, those are big, and she does all those things.
On the similarities between Jones and Zoe Brooks…
I played point a lot last year, and now I’m putting the ball in Zoe’s hands. She’s not a freshman, but she’s still an underclassman. That’s me and Coach [Wes] Moore putting a lot of trust into Zoe. Zam, watching me and Zoe at times, is going to have to pick up on that because, at times, we’re going to get tired or be in foul trouble. That’s how it’s going to be, so Zam's going to have to be ready when her number’s called, and I know she’s going to perform well. Maybe she’ll get adjusted after the first few games, or maybe she’ll have the best game in the first game. You just never know. We’re going to pull her along because we’re going to need her this year.
On Brooks…
Zoe already showed me a great freshman season, so she’s shown me everything she’s capable of. She definitely has a higher standard now and higher expectations. We expect a lot out of her. I’m passing it onto her. I’m not used to not having the ball in my hands, so it’s a little nerve-wracking, but I trust her. She’s proven she can handle the ball. She’s proven she can play under pressure. You don’t know many freshmen who can go to a Final Four, so it’s amazing she was able to contribute to a whole season from the beginning. I’m excited for her sophomore season.
On drawing upon her experience from South Carolina and passing it onto younger players…
I actually played in that Final Four game. I don’t remember it very well, but I remember playing. This season just felt different. I felt like I contributed more all around. I was scoring. I was getting assists. I was getting it done on the other side of the ball. I felt like it wasn’t the same at South Carolina. They had so many other teammates who were getting it done. Here, it’s different because I’m contributing more and actually happy. That’s a big factor for sure.
On the flexibility of the guards’ style of play…
I already had a conversation with Coach Moore before talking about how I might play one through five. We might run small. We might run five guards. We might run four guards with a post player. You just never know in the heat of the game. Every game’s going to look different. It depends on who we’re playing. We’re already preparing for that early because we just never know. We’re running different groups. With me being very versatile and long, I think I’ll look good at different positions like the four and the five. I can rebound. I didn’t get to box out a lot last year because I was the person to get back on defense to stop the play. I’m excited. Change is hard, but you don’t grow when you’re comfortable. You grow when you’re uncomfortable, so everyone’s going to have to step out of their comfort zone and be ready to grow.
On the team’s speed…
That’s the beauty of this team. It’s also dangerous because we have so many people that can run. We have so many people that can handle the ball, so it doesn’t matter who gets the outlet. Everyone else can run because everyone else can dribble. It’s dangerous. I think we’re going to shock teams because transition was already our bread and butter last year, but this year, being so guard-heavy and so guard-dominant, it’s going to be so dangerous.