Detroit sophomore guard Jaimee Stoner (Valencia, CA/Hart) is featured in this week's women's basketball Q&A. She's in her first season at UDM after transferring from Bowling Green.

Why did you move from California to the Midwest?
Well, I guess there's no extremely rational explanation for that, weather wise, but BGSU seemed to offer what I was looking for. The school has architecture and I had been talking with the coaches about basketball as well. It just seemed like a logical choice because it brought me back, close to a lot of my family as well.

Did you find it difficult to move to Ohio from California?
Really difficult. It's not the first time either that I've bounced back and forth. I did it in high school my junior year. I came back my junior year, but decided I didn't like it and I went back and graduated in California and then came back to Midwest for college.

Why did you transfer to Detroit from Bowling Green?
Basketball didn't work out at BG, and I still had the fire in me to play, so that was part of my decision, just to look at schools where I could have that potential again. Also, with architecture I was two years into it and Bowling Green wasn't offering me the type of curriculum that I wanted or hoped for, so looked around and narrowed the choices the University of San Francisco and University of Detroit Mercy. Ultimately, there's pretty much four decisions that I made: it's an easier move from Bowling Green to Detroit, I'm so close to family, I had more basketball potential here and, lastly, the architecture program is one of the top in the country.

What are you majoring in now? What do you plan to do after you graduate?
Biology, strictly biology. I switched because architecture is so demanding and basketball is so demanding that it just does not work. My studio class, which is pretty much the most important class you have in architecture, was right in the middle of the day and that's when are practices are for basketball. So, scheduling wise, it conflicted too much, so I chose my next favorite subject.

I would like to do something in exercise science after I graduate. It's a pretty big field. As long as I'm around athletics, I think I'll be fine. I might go back and finish architecture as well.

What do you see your role on the team being the lone walk-on?
I need to be the most positive person and I need to work 10 times harder than everybody else. Right now, my role is to make them better, until I earn my way into having playing time.

What was the feeling like when you made your first collegiate basket?
Right away I wasn't really thinking about it because I was doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Then, about 30 seconds later, there was a foul or a break or something and I thought, 'Oh my gosh, those were really just my first collegiate points and that's pretty significant to me'. It was a cool feeling. My dad was here to see it.

How was it to have former walk-on, Brigid Mulroy, earn the assist on that basket?
I don't think it could've been planned any better than that. It's just ironic that it happened to come from Brigid as her being a former walk-on and the person that I've gone to throughout the whole process of making the team.

How was it for you to face your old school, Bowling Green?
It was really exciting before the game started because it was just good to see everyone since I don't get the opportunity to get down there and visit with them anywhere. I happened to walk in with the coaches as they were getting off the bus and coming into the gym, so I had a few words with them too. It was a nice exchange; it was really good to see them.

What age did you start playing basketball?
Competitively, I would say probably six or seven years old, when you can start playing in small tournaments. But, there are pictures of me holding a basketball when I was probably two and before I probably knew what the sport was.

I played travel ball with Springfield Storm from when I was 10 until 13, which is when I moved to California. Then I started playing with the Magic, which is an ARC team until I was 15 and then it was year round basketball with my high school team because it's nonstop there because of the weather.

Did your siblings play sports growing up?
I have two sisters and I'm the middle child. Correy played sports up until middle school and then she gave up on sports and switched to dancing. Allison played sports up until she got too busy with acting and had to give it up. She was still on a travel basketball team and trying to play on her school team, it was just too much.

Did your dad play sports collegiately?
My dad played club basketball and club baseball at Bowling Green.

What athlete do you admire the most and why?
Probably John Stockton. He's one of the greatest point guards to ever play. I really admired the way he saw the court and his knowledge of the game. If players like that were still around, I think the game would be a lot different.

Is there any significance to #20?
I've had to bounce around a couple of times with my numbers because of the moves that I've made from California to Ohio. My dad was #20 and he was also #10. So, I was going to come in and choose #10 because that was my most recent number and since Brigid (Mulroy) was #10, I said that I'll just double it and go to #20 and plus it was my dad's number, so it still has significance to me. I tried #11 because that's my original number, but the jersey was too small.

Do you have any pregame superstitions?
No, not really. I used to think that I did, but I kind of grew out of it. I focus for the game, is about all I do before a game.

What are your thoughts on Coach Rademacher?
I admire her intensity and passion for the game and her desire for us to do well.

What does it mean to you to be a Titan?
It's nice to be back with a team and be a part of something and trying to reach a common goal because I've missed it. It's also nice having to dedicate myself to something so significant, like a Division I program. It just feels good to be a part of a team with the sport that I love the most, basketball.