HOOS LIFE: Q&A with Dominique Toussaint
When you look back, what part of the game do you feel like has developed the most?
“Leadership-wise, getting my teammates more involved and making sure everyone is in their position and just being smarter in the point guard role.”
How about off the court development?
“I think it’s more personal. Things like being more organized and making sure I’m on top of my academics. Doing what I have to do off the court to make sure I can stay off the court.”
How has taking on leadership been for you as a third year?
“It was a shock at first, obviously, because we had four strong leaders that graduated last year. I feel like my class has embraced the role, as well as the current fourth years. Of course, like any change, it was hard, but I think we adjusted well and we’re on a roll now.”
What was hard for you to adjust to become one of those leaders?
“Vocalization. I usually just do what I have to do on the court and kind of lead by example. I realized that it’s not always clear for every player, and if I see someone struggling, it’s now easier for me to speak up and lead them vocally instead of letting them figure it out on their own.”
What have been some challenges for you?
“Obviously, I think everyone sees the inconsistency scoring-wise. I think that’s come mostly from my lack of focus in the beginning of the year. Now that I have focus now, it’s kind of hard to get back into that groove. I don’t doubt it will. I think I’ll get back into it by the ACC tournament. Obviously inconsistencies on the court I have to work on, but my leadership is always there, so I’m glad about that. I’m going to just keep pushing because I know there are other scorers on the team and I can rely on them.”
What will it take for this team to get over the hump after some close games early in ACC play?
“I feel like our effort is always there, it’s always just little things that make us lose games at the end of games. I think it will be executing on offense. We have to put points on the board no matter what team we’re playing. Defensively, I think we’re doing what we need to do. We play a lot of scout defense and we’ve always been good at that. I think it’s just executing offensively and putting points on the board.”
What’s been the most interesting class you’ve taken?
“Oh, that’s a good question. Actually, my most exciting class I’ve had was a sociology class; it was criminology. I don’t know why. It was just really fascinating. I’m really interested in sociology, but I’m better off in the drama department right now. Criminology was pretty cool. I really like classes, but Virginia’s hard. It’s hard for everyone though, but coaches and everybody keeps us on track.”
Who have you grown close with on the team?
“Oh, everybody’s close. I think this is the closest team I’ve been on at UVA. Not that we didn’t get along in previous years, but I feel like everybody is much more open with everybody on the team as opposed to the typical clique-y teams, where one group hangs out here and one group hangs out there. I think it’s just a really fun team to be around. For example, we watched the men against Duke at my apartment. The whole team was there just hanging out and eating chips. I think this is the closest team I’ve been on, it wasn’t just one player.”
What’s the transition been like with Coach Thompson:
“She brings experience. She sees the game a little bit differently than how I would. It brings a little more versatility to my game. I think just her having been there makes it easier to relate to her and how she wants to coach us and how we respond to how she coaches us. I think she understands us as players very well.”
What do you miss about New York:
“Everything. Virginia is like a home away from home. It’s a good change. It’s a little slower here; slower pace. If I’m walking on Grounds and somebody is walking extremely slow in front of me, I’m not going to yell at them. In New York, I know they would’ve picked it up. It’s a good change; it’s different.”