Latest update February 6th, 2025 7:27 AM
US based Bernard Daniels chats One-on-One as Guyana’s new Women’s National B’ball Head Coach
Guyanabasketball.com: How did the overseas player Shauntelle Nelson participation
impacted the team’s performance?
Coach Daniels: First off I must say hats off to the women, all of the glory should be directed towards them for stepping up and adjusting during the tournament. They did not choke under pressure, they embraced it. Their development of the game has improved and they have matured.
Shauntelle Nelson was definitely a plus on the team as she was able to play to the strengths and weaknesses of the team. I played her at the shooting guard position because; she’s more comfortable and can dictate the pace of our offense. Shauntelle’s high IQ and skill set of basketball really helped set the tempo of the games. She played at a very high level and is a game changer.
Guyanabasketball.com: Did you feel that being exposed to a different brand of basketball in the USA impacted your coaching strategy?
Coach Daniels: YES! It did give me an upper edge as being exposed to a wider verity of basketball in the USA. In the USA we learn many offensive and defensive strategies so we can mix up the style of play to keep the opponents on their heels. I was able to impose a new system on the team and implement techniques to get the girls mentally and psychologically prepared for this tour. I instilled in them that this was not a vacation we are going on, but we are going to bring back GOLD.
Guyanabasketball.com: In your opening game against the Wings, Guyana was down 12 points with 7 minutes left in the game. What did you do both offensively and defensively to swing the momentum in Guyana’s favor?
Coach Daniels: I stuck to the game plan. We played a man-to-man defense while implementing a full court press. We were able to wear down the opponents by creating turnovers which led to easy points. Most of the Caribbean are accustomed to playing a half-court style game where you take your time and setup your offense and defense. By switching to the man-to-man/full court press, they didn’t know how to react. We were able to easily open the lead and separate ourselves from the other teams.
Guyanabasketball.com: What were some of the struggles in making this tour a reality?
Coach Daniels: The lack corporate and government sponsorship was evident as the GWBA had to raise the necessary funds by themselves along with some overseas sponsorship. The availability of facilities was consistent in our preparation as some clubs would not give up the courts to allow the national women’s team to train for a competition of this magnitude. These girls are going to represent Guyana and the local clubs can’t buy into the supporting the women. Preparation of the team had other hurdles as the availability of out-of-town players on a consistent basis, tardiness of the players at practices and some of the players’ attitude.
Guyanabasketball.com: How do you plan to keep this nucleus of players together for future regional championships?
Coach Daniels: I would have to defer that task to the GABF and the GWBA. I am available to render my services to my country. We need to reward the local women, but the core unit will have to be overseas based players. We all witness the embarrassment of what happened to the all local team with the exception on one overseas player at CBC 2011 in the Bahamas.
Guyanabasketball.com: Are you willing to work with this team in preparation for CBC 2013? Are you planning on recruiting additional overseas based players to further strengthen the team?
Coach Daniels: Like I said before, I am available to render my services to my country. It is my commitment to basketball from the inception. I am doing this for the love of basketball and Guyana. I want to see women basketball develop and flourish.
Guyanabasketball.com: Guyana was slated to send a junior team also, do you think they were ready for this level of competition?
Coach Daniels: NO! At the risk of what we experienced, I would definitively say no. If this was a junior tournament, the junior team would have been able to compete at a higher level.
Guyanabasketball.com: What is next for GWBA and women basketball as a whole in Guyana?
Coach Daniels: This can be a catapult to bring sponsors and the government onboard. It can motivate more women and young girls to be involved with the sport. The basketball associations and clubs need to get these girls playing on a regular basis. I have addressed the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association about incorporating a women’s game every weekend in the GABA league.
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