At the beginning of the season, ASU women’s basketball coach Joseph Anders said he was expecting his group of forwards to be an important part of the team.
Redshirt junior forward Janae Fulcher has answered his call and stepped up her game.
The 6-foot-3 forward from La Jolla, Calif., has shown offensive improvement. She has also defended well against some the top post players in the country.
Coming into ASU’s last game against Cal, Fulcher was averaging 5.6 points and 3 rebounds for the Sun Devils.
Fulcher spent some time with The State Press to talk about family and the remainder of the season.
SP: Why did you decide to come to ASU?
JF: I really connected with the coaching staff and the team. I’m such a homebody, so I was really looking to stay close to home, but not in California because I wanted to get away and be on my own.
SP: What is your favorite part of being on the team?
JF: I love my teammates. They truly are my sisters. I never grew up with sisters. We hang out every day, even if we have a day off. We are constantly playing Michael Jackson at my house. It’s such a blast to be with them, and they’re just an amazing group of girls.
SP: Is it tough being a student athlete away from home?
JF: It’s tough just not seeing (family) every day because everybody is growing, everybody is getting older and you kind of miss the whole process of them getting older. I have a whole bunch of younger cousins that are graduating from high school. I’m trying to make it back as much as I can for big events.
SP: Because you are away from your family in California, has the team become your new family?
JF: Absolutely. They truly are my family. I do miss my parents, my cousins and my grandparents and everything. But they truly have filled that void for me being my second family. My home away from home is definitely here.
SP: You do a great job coming off the bench. What is your attitude when coach puts you in?
JF: Boost the energy on the team. My main goal is to do what I can to put my team ahead, gain some type of lead or help them do whatever they need to do to win a basketball game.
SP: Sophomore Adrianne Thomas is the point guard and leader of the second unit. What is it like playing with her?
JF: She really gets us going. She is just so calm. She just has the same expression, same attitude (and) mood all the time. So playing with her is very reassuring. We have nothing to worry about. Everything is going to be ok, our point (guard) is not antsy, so everything is going to be good.
SP: Coach Anders likes to play different combinations of players at the forward position. How are you all able to play well with each other?
JF: The post group is very well connected. We find each other. It collectively just works. Doesn’t matter what combination it is, we are constantly looking for each other and we know each other’s games, so we know where to feed each other the ball.
SP: Usually you are paired up with freshman forward Jada Blackwell. What is she like as a player?
JF: Jada is an amazing scorer. You can basically throw the ball to her at any position on the floor, and she will do something with it. It’s easier on us because we don’t have to pull our hair out about getting her the ball at a certain position or anything.
SP: The team is fourth in the conference. What is the team’s attitude toward the rest of the Pac-12 season?
JF: We are definitely staying hungry in the Pac-12. The rankings are so skewed. One person can win or lose a game and it will change the rankings completely. We are really taking one game at a time and focusing solely on that opponent for that day.
SP: Where do you want this team to go?
JF: To the top. Where else would we want to end our season? I think we can really give teams a run for their money in the tournament. That has been a goal for our season: to make it to the NCAA tournament and go far.
SP: What do you have to do to help the team accomplish that goal?
JF: Just continue what I’m doing. Obviously we have tremendous post (players) in the Pac-12, so holding them under their average is key.
SP: The Pac-12 tournament is in Los Angeles. How nice would it be for your family to watch you play?
JF: You don’t get too many of these games where you can be in front of your family playing for championships. Having them there and rooting me on is great. I am really excited for the Pac-12 tournament because it gives us a chance to show what we are really made of.
SP: Besides your parents, who has been influential in your life?
JF: My brother (Ashton). He is really the reason why I started playing basketball in the first place because I wanted to do everything that he wanted to do. If anything is going on that I cannot talk to my parents about, I can go to him. So he has been a huge shoulder to lean on. He has been a big person that I look up to.
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