March 21, 2011
For full NCAA Tournament coverage, visit the 2011 Tournament Central page.
Audio from today's press conference is available to the right in mp3 format.
QUOTES
Head Coach Gary Blair
On significance of resting starters:
"Normally when you have the 16 and ones and 15 and twos, that is normally what is happening everywhere across the country right now. A lot of that is just due to the parity that is in the women's game. We are pretty strong through the top 10 seeds on the women's side right now. We were able to rest more because usually when you are playing the 15- and 16-seeded teams, they do not have the post players. There is not enough of those to go around in the women's game so they have to rely on perimeter players and they have some very good ones across the country."
On the advantage resting starters:
"Rutgers was able to rest too and normally they are a seven-player team. She [Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer] finds seven that can go, maybe eight and goes with it. I have a little bit of a deeper bench because of our style of play with full-court pressure and we like to run in transition more. It really develops the team in the following year because I will graduate seniors but will have juniors and sophomores that are ready to play."
On getting the players to forget the big win over Rutgers:
"I made our team sit through [Rutgers'] whole ball game. I wanted them to see 40 minutes of how much improvement Vivian always does with her teams. We'll be able to put [the last game against Rutgers] aside and go on to the next page. What really helps us is what happened with Gonzaga last year. We lost to a very, very good team in almost a neutral court situation. I think Gonzaga is going to upset UCLA because they are at home and will be in the Sweet 16. That is how much I think of his program out there and that is how much I think of Vivian's program.
"It is funny, that [C. Vivian Stringer] is who we beat for the national championship in 1982 when I was an assistant coach [at Louisiana Tech] and she was at Cheyney State. She had a team, in one way, a little bit similar. Physical kids with Val Walker, Yolanda Laney, a Kodak All-American point guard that had great size. For once, we are the smaller team. They are a little bit larger than us in most areas. Her system is so good with what she does. She had the number one recruiting class in the country when April Sykes was a freshman.
"I know what Rutgers is all about. I think our systems are very similar defensively in that we really teach hard-nosed defense. Defense creates offense and that is one of the programs that we studied when we were trying to build our program because we could not get the high-profile kids to come in and play early because we were not an established program. We were bottom of the barrel so we had to go after versatile payers that would buy in to our system."
On Danielle Adams' unique skill set:
"Isn't it refreshing to see someone of that size be able to do what she can do? She is very similar in April Sykes. April is a large three player that is going to have a great WNBA career and neither player has met a shot that they didn't like. They will come out firing and generally, if it is a last-second shot for either team that is who their teammates are going to look for. We recruited both kids and were lucky to get one of the two.
"Danielle knows the game better than the majority of my guards. She could be the point guard, she could be the assistant coach and she knows the game. I have never had a post player that could talk basketball with you and knows everybody else's responsibilities. That is just a credit to her because she is just a junkie on basketball.
"I just love Danielle; we run a lot of plays for her. The difference between our team this year and in past years is that we have scoring options at the four and the five spot that we have not had in the past."
On lack of parity in first round compared to the parity abounding in the second round:
"The Big East versus the Big 12, West Virginia will play Baylor and Rutgers will play ourselves [Texas A&M]. That is what we see every day and that is why we look so tired in March is because what we have gone through in January and February. There is no Ws, everything has to be earned. That is how much the game has changed since when I used to coach at [Louisiana] Tech in the 1980s. The coordinators on defense, the coaching, assistant coaching, scouting and the breakdowns - we are so much more prepared for what we are facing with all of the tools available to us. I just love it."
Senior Guard Sydney Colson
On comparing Rutgers to when they played them in December:
"When we played them in December, nobody was at their highest peak and it was before conference play. Just watching Rutgers yesterday and watching some of their game film, we can clearly tell the Big East has helped them improve greatly. We just know that we have to come out and play our best. They are athletic, physical, they have quick guards and they have a big post game. They have all the pieces to put together a really good team. Yesterday they were pretty dominant against LA Tech. We will just have to come out and play our game and really put that game from December behind us in terms of how many points we beat them by. Both teams are better and I don't think we are going to win by 29 points. Tomorrow we are going to have a tough game and I just think we will be ready.
On similarities to Gonzaga last year and the difference in team chemistry from this year to last:
"The difference between this team and last year's team is that we have all dealt with that pain [losing in the second round]. Everybody that returned to the team was here for the loss that we experienced last year and I think that we are all motivated to not let something like that happen again. I feel like we all have the same goal in mind in where we want to go as far as postseason play is concerned. This Rutgers team is extremely different from the team we played in December. A lot of their guards are a lot better and it will just be a matter of us coming out, playing the same type of defense we always play and making sure we execute on offense. If we do those things correctly and not let anything else get in our way then I think we will be fine."
On if any Rutgers player is any different from when they last played in December:
"I think most of them are different. Sykes, Rushdan, a lot of them just look different in terms of how aggressive they were. April Sykes, when we played them the first time, was in foul trouble in the first half so she didn't do as much and when she came in during the second half she wasn't nearly as aggressive as the player that she normally is. If we get in there and play the defense we can play, get a little help and get some charges and some steals that will help us out a lot. They just look different in how aggressive they were and getting out in transition. They didn't have that many transition baskets when we played them the first time but they were definitely getting out and running last night. It is going to be a very good defensive game and we'll just see how the offenses click and that will determine a lot."
On approaching the NCAA Tournament as a senior:
"I just want to make sure that we don't go out on a game where we knew we could have played better. I know Maryann [Baker]'s mindset is to give her all every game and the same goes for me. I definitely don't want to go out on a loss regretting anything. I am just going to go out and play my hardest every game. I think that will help us be victorious."
On how having Danielle Adams positively impacts the team's confidence level:
"We know when Danielle starts getting in an offensive zone and things are working for her, we know that we can give the ball to her in transition, when she's trailing or down in the post. She scores in bunches and she is really effective for us on the defensive end. She does a lot of intangible things as well. Her presence out there on the court just makes us all more confident and makes us want to go to her. She is not a selfish player at all so if she is not going she is giving the ball up. We just all feed off one another and play great as a team out there."
Senior Guard Maryann Baker
On if the seniors are approaching this year's NCAA Tournament any differently:
"As with all of them we have gone into it confident but this time, as a senior, it is a feeling of ownership and knowing that I have a larger role and impact on how far we really go this year. I am completely focused on not having a bailout like we did last year and losing to a seven seed like we aren't supposed to. Like coach has said, it is time for us to live up to what everyone is saying we are capable of doing and not just being the talk around town but around the nation."
On recalling the previous game against Rutgers and the potential for overconfidence:
"We watched some of the game film just to see what we did and what worked well against them. Obviously as a player, you remember games and big victories like that. I think our focus going into this game definitely has to be that that was three or four months ago. Both teams have definitely gotten better and we can clearly see that Rutgers has improved a lot. We just have to learn from the game film, see what worked well offensively and how we matched up defensively, but take that in stride knowing that both teams have gotten better and it will definitely be a higher quality game."
Junior Guard Sydney Carter
On the previous game against Rutgers:
"They were a good team when we played them before. They were physical, they were a quick team and they were really athletic. I don't think anything has changed thus far; I think they have gotten a lot better but so have we. The key to the game is who is going to come out, who is going to be physical, who is going to be smart and who is going to do the little things right."
On confidence level:
"I think that is what makes a team. You have to be confident in what you have and in the teammates you have because you are not going to be successful if you are not confident in your own team. It is just a matter of which team is going to respect the other. Everyone just needs to come out and respect the team we are going to play and not let them take us from our game."
On April Sykes:
"You have to give her credit; she is a great player, a hard match-up when she is in a three or four position. She is just a great player, you have to respect her and you have to come to the game with a sense of urgency knowing that this is a player that can potentially hurt us. We just have to make sure we are on the same page and playing team defense like we know how."
On Danielle Adams and if her skill set is amazing to watch:
"I remember when we were first recruiting her; people were saying she couldn't fit into our system. When she first got to Texas A&M, of course people were amazed at what kind of player she is. I have been playing with her for two years and her intelligence of the game is unbelievable. She is one of the smartest people on the offensive end that I have ever played with. She is a smart player and a great player."