ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL TIPOFF MEDIA DAY

October 6, 2026

Robin Harmony

Taryn Barbot

Alancia Ramsey

Pitt Panthers

Women's Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: I am happy to welcome Pitt women's basketball to the stage for the 2026 ACC Tip Off Q&A. Head Coach Robin Harmony entering her first season at Pitt, Taryn Barbot, as well as Alancia Ramsey.

Ladies, welcome to the stage, and thank you for your time.

Robin, you have become known nationally as a rebuilder after great success at St. Thomas, Lamar, and the College of Charleston. Walk us through your non-negotiables and the process of creating a winning culture.

ROBIN HARMONY: Well, I just think it's about recruiting great players. It doesn't matter if you are a good coach or a bad coach. If you don't have the players to make you look good and a staff, you're not going to get it done.

That's why it was really key for us when we left Charleston to come to Pitt is to bring these Barbot twins with us.

You know, Taryn is still at home. Taryn is our 2 guard; Taylor is our point guard. Those two backcourt players are very good. They help us, make us look good.

Then getting Lanci to come from Alabama, you know, where she knows SEC play, it is a difference maker. I think it's really good for us to be here today so they can take the message back home to their team that, no, we got to have really good practices.

We look really good two, three days, and then, you know, two days of, like, I don't know this team. So it's about being consistent. They have to be great athletes, work hard, be consistent, and, you know, once you get that sold to your team, then you're usually pretty successful.

THE MODERATOR: Old faces and new places. You mentioned Taryn and Taylor, but you also brought Jamisen with you. How important is it to have those three young ladies to play with you and building the foundation now at Pitt?

ROBIN HARMONY: They save me from a lot of gray hairs because they already know our system, they know our press, they know the rotations. They're coaches on the floor helping the other players learn it. You know, they're just -- it wouldn't happen without them.

I knew that when I was going take the Pitt job that if I couldn't take the Barbots, it would be really a long rebuild, so they're the reason I got to Pitt.

THE MODERATOR: Taryn, back-to-back player of the years in the CAA, Charleston's all-time leading scorer. You averaged 20 points a game last season. Describe your game and what should ACC fans expect not only from you, but from a Robin-Led team?

TARYN BARBOT: Yeah, my playing style is more going to the basket, taking it to the basket or shooting the three. I think they said they expect someone who is going to work hard, someone who is not going to give up no matter what the score is. And, yeah, someone who is just going to play hard for the whole 60 minutes.

THE MODERATOR: You've been known as a great rebounder, Alancia. First of all, what has the focus been this offseason, and are you healthy going into this season?

ALANCIA RAMSEY: Well, yes. My focus has been just working on my shot. You know, just trying to get myself back into it, get more in shape, run more. Even handling, ball handling, and stuff like that, being more at the fore.

Yes, I'm healthy. More healthy than I have been, so this season is long, so I should last long.

THE MODERATOR: Robin, why and how important was it for you to bring Shavonte Zellous back to Pitt and to your staff?

ROBIN HARMONY: Oh that was -- everyone says that was the smartest thing I ever did. I say it's the second smartest thing I ever did. The first smartest thing I did was bring the Barbot sisters. Then bringing her with her 12 years of experience playing in the W, winning a championship with the Fever.

You know, when we recruit a player now that they want to go to the W, I can say, here, this coach has been there. They were working with players in development.

She knows what it's going to take to help you to get to that level that you want to be at. You know, I knew early on that I was going to hire her so I could get into Taryn's ear and say, listen, it's going to help your career.

You know you want to go to the W, whether it's after this season or the following season, whichever is best for her to be successful, and then, you know, after she goes to the W, she's going to do that same path and come back and be a coach.

I'm already telling her she's going to be a coach. Probably won't be for me, but it will be for somebody. You know, it's just going to help our young players make those goals.

She also has international connections that it was just a no-brainer. She is well known at Pitt. Everybody knows her. Everybody loves her. She's just a good person and hard worker, and what a great addition to us.

THE MODERATOR: So she said that she's already making a big impact. How has your game increased under her tutelage, and what is some of the best advice she's given you?

TARYN BARBOT: Coach Harmony?

THE MODERATOR: No, Shavonte.

TARYN BARBOT: Oh, she told me to just stay the same -- not stay the same, but keep my game, like -- like always improve my game. She told me that I could have things I could do better. She pushes me in practice to do those things and work on those things.

Q. Coach Robin, you went through the process of building a championship-winning team at Charleston. What part of that blueprint do you think can translate to Pitt, and what has to be different here at the ACC level?

ROBIN HARMONY: Well, I think that coaches get certain styles, and we're going to still continue to bring that style of pressure, playing really good defense, making teams turn the ball over, getting three-point shots up. You know, just competing.

I think that the only difference would be maybe if there's a real speedy, speedy point guard, we might get back off that a little bit. But it's really about being intense, playing defense, limiting it to one and none shots and just trying to make it happen. It's really hard work.

I like to say that no matter where I was, whether I was at St. Thomas, Lamar, or Charleston, I always tried to recruit players who I probably shouldn't have gotten where they were Power 5 or now Power 4 players.

It will make it easier at Pitt because we are Power 4. We do have the resources to, you know, attract players. You don't have to twist their arm as hard.

I think that will help.

THE MODERATOR: Robin, I'm assuming that before you took this job that you talked to some others about ACC women's basketball. What were the words that were used to describe it, and what are you expecting this season?

ROBIN HARMONY: Well, I mean, I've watched ACC just from being at Miami, and we did play in the ACC for that one season, but you know, the ACC has evolved where the teams are so athletic and quick and strong. That really was the message from most people is that it's a physical game.

Well, I miss the old-school physical part of the game, you know, so that's great for me. So they can bang a little bit more and you just have to have a great strength coach to get kids stronger and prepared for that, because it is a battle.

Once they get used to it -- we have eight practice players that play against us, and they beat them up pretty good. We want them to. The only thing that we don't let them do is when they're going up for a layup, they can't pin the ball in the glass and dunk on us. I think that's going to help make them tougher.

We are kind of old-school system where if you make a mistake, we get in the line. If you are doing the same mistake over and over, we run. It's a mental thing. It's mental toughness. It makes them prepared for, you know, officials, playing against opponents, and just digging in there that when they hit adversity, they'll be ready for it.

You know, it's just part of who we are and what we try to sell. They're getting ready for the real world too. That should help them.

Q. Taryn, you and Taylor decided to come to Pitt together. What's it been like going through this journey and starting over at a new program with your sister?

TARYN BARBOT: It's definitely exciting and fun because both, like, always dreamed of going to a Power 4 school, so having the opportunity to do that was definitely, like, fun for us, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: I want to piggyback that. What's the basketball connection on the court like with your twin, and how does she make you a better player?

TARYN BARBOT: I would say our basketball connection is really good. Like, we know each other. She definitely finds me on the court and passing me the ball, but -- you said off the court too?

THE MODERATOR: Well, just how does she make you better?

TARYN BARBOT: She makes me better, like, she pushes me. Definitely if I see her go to the gym and I'm, like, all right, I should go to the gym too. Like, you know -- so, yeah, definitely like that.

THE MODERATOR: Alancia, now that you've been through workouts and practices with Taryn, what makes her so special and unique on the court?

ALANCIA RAMSEY: One thing I'd say, she's very consistent in her play and her game. Even with the scoring, like, when you say 20 points a game, it's literally like that even in practice. Probably double because, you know...

She's very consistent and very hard-working, and she's never really tired. You can't really ever tell on the court, and that's one thing I'd say is, yeah, she's very consistent.

THE MODERATOR: Robin, you talked about some of the things in terms of the game, but if you can pinpoint it to three things that you think for this Pitt team to take the next step and elevate from an X and O perspective, what are they in terms of having success in the ACC?

ROBIN HARMONY: I think just grinding every day, defending, and, you know, putting the ball in the hole because you got to score, you got to defend them, and just, you know, really that consistency.

THE MODERATOR: Taryn, you have the unique pleasure of knowing Robin better than any of us. Describe her coaching style and how she's made you a better not just player, but also young lady.

TARYN BARBOT: I would describe it like she definitely going to push you. She definitely going to have fun. But at the end of the day she wants everyone to be better as a whole team and individuals on and off the court.

THE MODERATOR: Lanci, who on this team do you think is going on it make a major impact on the Pitt program and will become a fan favorite there, besides yourself, obviously?

ALANCIA RAMSEY: Well, obviously Taryn as well and her sister as well. Like, I think she's -- like, her being the point guard is just very -- I don't know. She's very, like, kind of demanding without even having to say a word. You just know where you should be.

She's very, like, you know, going to make sure we're all good before a play starts or anything. Just talking in the back court. Even when the front court when we're pressing. I think the twins for sure.

THE MODERATOR: You mentioned earlier it was really a big get when you got Lanci. What did you see on film that you were, like, we need her in order to help our team in the ACC?

ROBIN HARMONY: I tried to recruit Lanci twice, so I guess three times is a charm. It is her presence on the court, her rebounding. She doesn't miss point-blankers. I think that when I recruited her before, she really wasn't a great three-point shooter, but now she has elevated that in her game.

She just has the physique. She's strong. She just knows what it's going to take to win. You know, she's a good defender. Especially that long pass because she's from Florida. She knows how to intercept that. Not every player knows, you know, football, but she does.

It's just another piece that we needed to be successful. When we were trying to get her to come to campus I think she was at the airport getting ready to go back from somewhere else and we're, like, nah, kid, we'll get you ticket right now. She's, like, yeah, okay, and they were here in a couple of hours.

It was just a matter of getting that other piece of experience, the physical play that she's going to, you know, be fine with because she doesn't care.

THE MODERATOR: So to wrap up, I'm going to ask each of you the same question, and I need a one-word answer to it. One word to describe Pitt women's basketball this season. Lanci, we'll start with you.

ALANCIA RAMSEY: Grit.

TARYN BARBOT: Tough.

ROBIN HARMONY: Relentless.