Cara Consuegra looks very comfortable in the corner office at the Al McGuire Center.

It seems like the work hasn't stopped since Consuegra was hired as the Marquette women's basketball coach in mid-April, but from the looks of her desk the 45-year-old has kept everything orderly. There are piles of paperwork, but they are all neatly stacked.

Consuegra was also highly organized and logical in how she attacked her new challenge. When she took over, there was a half-empty roster and she needed to fill out her coaching staff. The work just keeps coming, as evident by the notepad that contains a 'later list' of tasks that she still wants to accomplish.

"It was extremely overwhelming," said Consuegra, who was an MU assistant under Terri Mitchell from 2004-11. "Reflecting back, when I took the head job at Charlotte, it was just so different.

"The time was so different. I didn’t even have summer workouts my first year at Charlotte. I knew there’d be a lot, but because I hadn’t taken over a program in 13 years, when I got here it was, like, holy cow. There is so much to do and there is not enough time.

"So, honestly, it was just trying to think about what is the thing that I can do right now that’s going to make the biggest difference. Or what is the thing right now that needs the most urgency. One is getting players, two is getting staff so I have people to help me. And then we just chipped away from there."

After all of the pieces were assembled, Consuegra had one clear message to her players and coaches. The Golden Eagles were building, not rebuilding, an important distinction to the head coach.

"I want us to have a feeling of, OK, we’re going to take all these pieces and we’re going to put it together and we’re going to build forward," Consuegra said. "Because rebuilding has the connotation of things aren’t good here, we’re not going to be good.

"And we don’t know how good we’re going to be, that’s not the important thing right now. The important thing is that we take our pieces and we get ourselves all aligned in the direction that we want to go. With the foundation, with the culture, with how we treat each other, how we compete. And, to me, that’s building. If we can put those pieces together and build in the right way, then the outcomes will take care of themselves."

Skylar Forbes among the six returning players for Golden Eagles

Earlier that morning, Consuegra intently stood at halfcourt of Kasten Gym, watching a small group of players do skill work.

At one end of the court, MU assistants Khadijah Rushdan and Deont'a McChester worked with guards Abbey Cracknell, Olivia Porter and Jaidynn Mason. At the other, director of player development Chaz Franklin watched Skylar Forbes work on post moves while assistant Chaia Huff did the same with Jada Bediako.

Forbes and Cracknell are two of the six returning players, though the 6-foot-3 Forbes is the only one who has started a game at MU. Forbes' length and shooting ability will make her an important player as a sophomore.

Porter, Mason and Bediako are among the six players Consuegra grabbed in the transfer portal.

"When I got here, I had five days with the returners," Consuegra said. "And I spent that time, really, teaching a little bit, but more so just evaluating to determine what we had. And probably most importantly what we were lacking.

"And I felt like we were very much lacking speed, quickness, athleticism. And the way that I want to play, particularly defensively, we were going to need that. So that was really our mentality, let’s go out and let’s find whose available in the portal that fits our culture, fits our standards, has great character and can fit into that speed and quickness."

Consuegra talked in her introductory press conference about wanting a team that is disruptive defensively.

"So much of right now is just teaching fundamentals, teaching our culture, teaching our words," she said. "Getting them to compete hard, which they’ve done. I think the next few weeks we’ll start to see what we really have."

Yes, one of the building blocks is teaching vocabulary. A benefit of working with these small groups – there will be another workout with the other players – is making sure everyone understands Consuegra's language.

"For us, we’re learning what playing with heart means," Consuegra said. "Heart, effort, accountability, respect and toughness. Those are words. To become values, we have to teach our players what they mean, what they look like. On the court, off the court. They need to be said over and over and over. So it becomes a natural part of their dialogue. Not just my dialogue."

It helps that Porter, a 5-8 guard, played for Consuegra at Charlotte.

"What makes it great having her is that the players, the newcomers, ask her a lot of questions," Consuegra said. "Because many of the drills, of course, she’s done. She knows the culture I’m trying to instill.

"She’s been through this all before. She’s been really good at just giving them some guidance. Helping them know a little more of what to expect. Answering questions they may have."

Assistant coaches include a holdover from Megan Duffy's staff

Consuegra needed a staff that could help implement her lessons.

"When I was younger, it was just like, OK, let me find the best person," she said. "Versus how can I create a staff that together we can be the best we can be.

"So I was very intentional, same as I did with the players, looking for gaps. Who can I bring in that will bring different pieces to help us be the best and strongest staff we can be?"

McChester was the first hire after working with Consuegra at Charlotte. He helped build the roster.

"He’s great with relationships with the kids," Consuegra said. "He’s good on the court. But recruiting he is relentless."

Consuegra also decided to retain Rushdan, who spent last season as a MU assistant under Megan Duffy, now the head coach at Virginia Tech. Rushdan is a former Rutgers star who played one season in the WNBA.

"In my first conversation with her, I was blown away," Consuegra said. "I think she’s going to be a superstar. Just blew me away with her presence. Her knowledge. Her buy-in. Her loyalty. She wants to be at Marquette and she wanted to come learn from me."

Franklin was brought on as a development coach, the same position he held last season with the WNBA's Chicago Sky.

Consuegra just completed her staff by hiring Smith, who was the head coach at Edgewood College.

“I didn’t want to rush it," Consuegra said. "What am I missing? I said, OK, I’m missing somebody that’s had a little bit of head-coaching experience.

"Obviously, I’m 13 years in and have a sense certainly of what head coaching is, but just to have that little more experience on the bench. Game adjustments, things of that nature, implementing offense. Things that she’s done."

It's easy to follow the logic of Consuegra's moves. Now she has is learning how everything fits together.

"I would say it’s probably still too early," she said. "We’re still feeling each other out. The players are working hard, they are competing at a high level."

The work never stops.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cara Consuegra added six new players for Marquette women's basketball