Detroit sophomore guard Jalesa Jones (Detroit, MI/Pershing) is featured in this week's women's basketball Q&A.

Why did you choose Detroit?
I chose Detroit because it was close to home. My family could come watch games and my high school could come see my games. It's a private school and it has good academic programs. You are able to get close with the teachers because of the smaller classes. I also liked Coach Rademacher and the rest of the coaching staff because they were all about winning.

Coach Rad(emacher) recruited me. She and my athletic director talked about me coming to Detroit because I was thinking about going to other schools because I was recruited by Providence, Toledo, but after Coach Rad brought me over to campus, I liked Detroit and am happy I made the decision to come here. I thought that if I'm going to pick a school, I may as well pick Detroit since it's close to home and I can try and help turn the program around.

How is it for you to be close to home?
It's fun. I get to see my family a lot. They come to games and I get to go home basically whenever I want so I can talk to my mom whenever I need someone to talk to. My brother gets to come to games. I like being close to home. If I need to get away from campus every once in a while to maybe do some laundry, instead of spending my money at UDM, I can just go home. Most definitely another plus is being able to have a home cooked meal. My mom cooks all the time.

As the leader on the court, is there anything you do specific to get your teammates pumped up and ready for the games?
Just motivate them. Say positive things and have a positive mind, so when we go out on the court we can play together as a team. I don't do anything extra, really.

Is it natural for you to be in the leader on the court?
Yes, because I was the point guard all throughout high school. I was always taught at Pershing, if you are going to be the point guard, you need to know every play, you have to lead and put every player on their spot, so that's just something that I've always had to do, so it's kind of engrained in me.

Is there a professional athlete that you try and emulate on the court?
I don't try and emulate their game, but as far as women, I like Deanna Nolan's game and Ivory Latta's game. Chris Paul, the way he handles the team and he is fast with the ball, so I like Chris Paul and sometimes Steve Nash. I'll watch their game and how they stop and shoot. I really like Chris Paul's game because as a point guard, he's small and he'll get in there and pass, pass, shoot, so I look at stuff like that.

What athlete do you admire the most?
Kobe Bryant. He's AMAZING! I love Kobe. I liked Kobe when he first came into the NBA, when he was wearing No. 8. I just love his game and his approach. He's like 'No one can stop me because I'm the best player'.

How long have you been playing basketball?
Since I was like nine or 10 years old. I had one brother and two step brothers growing up, so all they did was play basketball. I grew up in Mississippi, so we would play at home. I started playing organized basketball in sixth grade in the South you can play basketball and be on the team. My first game, we were on offense and I was playing defense; I was so nervous! That was the first time I played organized ball.

Were you born in Mississippi?
No. I was born in Detroit, but moved to Mississippi when I was four. My dad passed when I was two and my mom just wanted to get away, so we moved to Mississippi where we had family; it's where my mom used to go every summer as a kid to visit her grandma. But after a divorce, my mom decided that she wanted to move back to Michigan, but we still have family down there, so we'll go visit sometimes. So, I was a traveling girl. I think my mom did a good job; she's cool. She's my mom and dad.

What has been your best experience thus far in your young playing career here at UDM?
I mean, just going around to different cities playing the game I love to play; that's a good experience. There's more to come, more to come. I'm looking in the future…30-point games. I don't think my best experience as far as playing has come yet. There's more to come in the future, like when we win a championship. But so far, I think the best experience is getting close with my teammates and traveling.

Is there any significance to #1?
No, not really. I just love the number. When I was at Pershing, my freshman year I had to wear #10. I just always liked #1 because of Tracy McGrady, he wasn't my favorite player, but he was one of my top players. Then Chauncey Billups was #1, so I thought I could be a guard like Chauncey, so I just stuck with it. I wanted #1 my freshman year, but a senior had it and she wouldn't play me for it because she was scared, so I was #10 my first two years in high school, then I switched to #1. Then the first question I asked Coach Rad(emacher) is does anyone have #1 because if they do, I want to play them for it, but she said 'No, #1 is yours', so I was happy.

What nicknames do you have?
They call me everything now. Since I've had the facemask, Coach Rad(emacher) likes to throw in her little jokes, that we're not going to mention right now. I got 'Lil' Bit', they called me that in high school, then you have 'Little J' because we had two Jalesa's last year and now that the other Jaleesa is gone, I'm just 'J'. I'll answer to everything though.

Do you have any pregame superstitions?
I have to eat the pregame meal; so good. After the meal I have to eat oreos and milk, as well as some candy. I love candy. I love oreos and milk and candy. I go to CVS and buy candy before a road trip. I take a 45-minute rest and I try and get to the gym to get some shots up, but if I don't, I have to listen to Jay-Z because I'm the Number One fan. Before the games, during Star Spangled Banner, I pray. I just ask God to keep us healthy and that we have a good game. Every game I always pray. Then strap up the shoes and it's game time.

How do you figure out who is sitting where on the bus?
We have a new team this year, so Brigid (Mulroy) picked her seat and then the returners chose where they wanted to sit and the newcomers then just fit in whatever seats were leftover. Whatever seat you sit in first is yours, but you have to let the old-timers go first.

What do you do to pass the time on long bus rides?
Sleep. We'll watch movies and now that we have Wi-Fi on the bus, I'll hook up to the Internet and Facebook it up sometimes. I'll also talk on the phone or text message. We'll also play some games with the teammates.

What's a typical game day like for the team when we're playing away from Calihan?
We arrive at the hotel the night before and in the morning we'll eat breakfast. Then we get about an hour off and then we'll go to shoot around for about an hour at the other team's gym, to get a feel for their rims. Afterwards we go back to the hotel and have about two hours off and then we'll eat our pregame meal at 3 p.m. Then we go back and sit for about an hour, take a shower and then at 5 p.m., get on the bus, then shootaround at the gym before game time.

What has been the best restaurant you've eaten at with the team thus far?
I don't know the name of it, but there was this really good BBQ spot we went to last year. I want to say it was when we played at Iowa State last year. I had the BBQ ribs; it was SO good!

What do you always order when eating out and why?
I'm allergic to shrimp, so if there's anyone sitting around me that is eating shrimp, I have to move away from them. I eat chicken fingers a lot or if it's something with chicken, like a chicken sandwich and a strawberry shake.

What's it like this year on the team?
I think we lost some big leaders from last year, but I think Bridg (Mulroy) is a leader. Sometimes they say I'm a leader, but I'm still learning because last year I didn't really pay attention to what the leaders did since I was a freshman. They were yelling at me when I didn't know what I was doing wrong. We lost leaders, but I think we gained some good freshmen, but we lost T (Washington), so that hurt our team a lot I think. We all worked hard during the summer. The freshmen came for summer school and we actually played together throughout the summer. So, this year, we just knew that this is the year and it still can be 'the year', because we still got it. But I think we have some young players and we're still learning, but I think they're fun and goofy, so I like it on the road with them. Not saying I didn't like it last year, but this year's just different because I'm more relaxed because I'm not a freshman anymore.

What are your thoughts on Coach Rademacher?
Coach Rad(emacher) is a great coach. She's intense. I love her coaching style. She gets caught up in the moment. She's learning when I'm learning because she's somewhat new to the program. I think she's a great coach; I believe she knows what she's talking about all the time. I know she can be crazy sometimes during games, but I love that. I can't do anything but laugh because I love the intensity; she wants to win as much as I do. I feel like this year our relationship has changed. I talk to her more now. We're on the same page about what's going on off and on the court. She's someone you can go talk to anytime. She's like a cool auntie type. You can go tell her anything. You know that auntie you have that you love to go talk to, that's Coach Rad. We talk more this year. You know, being a captain, I have to talk to her more. I feel like we're on the same page as far as winning. I'm so happy I picked this school. A lot of people will ask me why I chose Detroit, but I just love the coaching staff; they're they to help you out.

What does it mean to you to be a Titan?
It means a lot to be a Titan. I get to represent the city I'm from and as a team, we work hard together, like a family. Just going hard, playing hard and representing Detroit in a good way and trying to get some more wins and a championship for the school So, being a Titan means A LOT!