March 27, 2011
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Gary Blair, Danielle Adams, Sydney Colson, & Tyra White [mp3] Andy Landers, Jasmine James, & Porsha Phillips [mp3] |
THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by
Coach Gary Blair of the Texas Aggies, Sydney
Colson">Sydney
Colson, Tyra White and Danielle Adams. Coach,
comments on tonight's win.
COACH BLAIR: We had no idea we could
shoot the ball that well from the 3 to start the
game. But this player over here has struggled a
little from the 3 the latter part of the year and all of
a sudden she hit those 3 bombs.
She's very good when the ball is reversed
to her. And when she feels it, you just get out of
the way, let her do her thing, don't try to over
coach. And then Pratcher came in for her and did
an outstanding job for us as well.
So great point guard play. We only had
two turnovers in the first half, ended with nine. You
win ball games that way.
I'd like to give so much credit to our
defense, because normally we're forcing teams 20
turnovers a ballgame. But I think our kids learn
you can make stops. You don't have to have
charges. You don't have to have blocked shots.
You don't have to have steals. You can just play
that Aggie defense, and I think that was the key
tonight.
Coach Schaefer had them hooked up. I
guarantee you, I've got to go check his blood
pressure. I'm a diabetic, but I guarantee you his
blood pressure was up. He was excited.
And the kids played defense with a
passion that he coaches it with. And I think it's just
a credit to these kids right here. I know Danielle
didn't have her normal percentage that she
normally has. But the kids knew we had to go in
the game and have balanced scoring and that's
what we did.
But the key to the game was the defense
in the first half. The 3-point plays were icing on the
cake. My bench, 7 out of 11 for Pratcher, Baker,
Gilbert, and Bellock. All four of those kids played
extremely well. I was able to rest kids and not risk
Carter and Colson to get their third foul. I was
even able to rest Danielle a little in the first half just
because we trust our bench and they did a great
job.
Questions?
THE MODERATOR: Questions for the
student-athletes.
Q. Sydney, what was the key to the fast
start, and particularly you on the offensive end,
and how huge was that?
Sydney Colson: Just looking at the
way that they ran their zone in film, we just saw a
lot of things that would work. Coach Blair and
Coach Bond were telling us plays that would be
effective if we were to dribble one way, reverse the
ball and skip it to the other side.
They had a girl in their I formation, the
bottom one was chasing back and forth, so we
knew if we skipped it then the person would be
open for a shot or our post player would be pinning
if they try to run out at you. So really we just
executed what they told us to on offense.
Our shots were falling. People were
offensive rebounding and getting shots back up,
and we got a few layups off of them still. It always
helps us whenever we're able to get some stops
and get out and run a little bit.
But I'm really pleased with the way we
executed on offense, and hopefully we can
continue to do that.
Q. Danielle and Sydney, Coach Blair
worked all week to make sure you all weren't
looking past Georgia. Could you talk about
proving that you were clearly focused on this
game?
Danielle Adams: It was just our focus
in practice. Coach Blair and everybody, all the
coaching staff made that point, just to focus on
Georgia and not look towards the next game.
But we just executed out there tonight.
Our defense was great. Colson hit some great
shots. Tyra hit some great shots. We were all
hooked up, like Coach Blair said, and we just
played together and as a team.
Sydney Colson: I think just respecting
them and what they do. We saw a lot of their film.
We knew a lot of their players. They're very
athletic and capable of going off. So we wanted to
come out and give them their due respect for sure
because they're a really good team.
And we just came out. People guarded
people well. They didn't have anybody in doubledigit scoring.
I'm really proud of the effort we gave on
defense today, and I think that spurred our offense,
for sure.
Q. Danielle, we were talking to Coach
Landers. I asked him A&M's three blowout
victories in the tournament should put the
Aggies into the championship conversation.
And his answer essentially was yes, if they
bring their A game every day, he says you guys
have a shot at it. Your comment?
Danielle Adams: I appreciate the
comment. Pretty sure the whole team does. But
that's a great comment. I mean, we just have to
keep our focus and just keep coming out every
game. And each practice is executing and just
getting better each practice and each game, and
just doing the little things right and just being ready
and just coming out and playing A&M basketball.
Q. Danielle, can you talk about making
it to the Elite Eight and what kind of
accomplishment that is for you and the team?
Danielle Adams: It's great. I mean,
I've never been to an Elite Eight. This is my first
one, and I'm pretty sure these girls are happy to
get back to the Elite Eight. So it's all a dream
come true to us. We just have to keep our focus
and just keep pushing towards the next game and
just focus on each team.
And, I mean, we just gotta do what we do
best and just play that aggressive defense that we
played tonight and just keep executing each game.
Q. This is for Tyra and Sydney that
have been here since the -- all four years, so since the last Elite Eight run, kind of fallen
short as a 2 seed the last couple of years, what does it mean to take care of the business to get
to the winner of the game that's going on right
now?
Tyra White: I think it's a real big
accomplishment for us. My freshman year I wasn't
able to play in the Elite Eight. Just to get back
there, be with my team, and then basically have an
inside presence. When we got back there last
time, I think the only thing that really stopped us
was having an inside presence like we have in
Danielle.
But I think the only thing really stopping us
now is ourselves. We're executing more, running
the floor. Our defense was tremendous today. So
I think if we go in with the game set, the sky's the
limit for us.
Sydney Colson: I concur
wholeheartedly.
Q. Tyra, is this the most complete
game as a team that you guys have played this
year? And what do you do now going forward
to Tuesday?
Tyra White: Yeah, I think it's the most
complete game on the defensive end. I think we
kind of struggled on offense. But that was the key
coming into this game was defense, because they
play just like us.
So, I mean, just going into the next game
we just want to watch film, study some more, do
what we did coming in for today's game, and just
execute on both ends just like we did today. When
you keep a team scoring 38 points, I think it leaves
everybody happy at the end of the day.
Q. Tyra, let's get back to starting those
3s. You hit the first one and actually got a
lucky bounce. Could you talk about was it hard
to get the ball into Adams? When you took that
3, did you think it was in without the bounce?
Tyra White: Yes (laughter). It wasn't
lucky. Shooters -- it's never hard getting into, you
just want to get her when she wants the ball, that
way it makes it easier for her and makes it easier
for us getting it into the inside. But it's never hard
because she's pretty there. When we see her,
both shoulders, we get it to her; if we don't, we kind
of get yelled at. So we just pretty much want to
give it to her.
Sydney Colson: That shot was going in anyway.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies.
Questions for Coach.
Q. From the time the brackets were
announced and all the anticipation to make it to
the regional final, how much of a relief do you
feel right now?
COACH BLAIR: A lot of relief, because
instead of griping about being in this region, we
embraced it. And obviously you'd like to be away
from Baylor in one way, but -- because I think we
have two teams that could represent the Big 12 in
the Final Four. I think we're both that good. But at
the same time, we embrace coming here because
of how much travel and a chance to build up Aggie
Nation, and that is just something that we have to
do.
And a lot of coaches, they get in the same
bracket or they have to find -- they find something
wrong with the committee, and I think it rubbed off
on our team. When they saw that I was happy,
they were happy.
And I know our fans were happy about
coming here, because if -- if we play Baylor, we
need to pack this lower bowl and everything like
that.
And I know they'll have a sell-out at
Spokane. They might have one in Dayton and
Philadelphia, and I think it's good for basketball
now because you've got the top teams there. And
I just want to play in Dallas, represent ourselves,
bring these four kids back home. I think it's very
special they get a chance to play in front of their
high school friends and coaches and relatives.
Q. Not going to be one of the big story
lines, but what did Pratcher give you coming
off the bench, Coach?
COACH BLAIR: Huge. Colson got her
second foul like she normally did. First one was a
reach and the second was coming over the back.
I don't blow up anymore. I just expect it.
It's coming. But now we've got an alternative. I
could have played her to her third foul, but
Pratcher came in. From the moment she came in,
she broke their press, made the right pass, then hit
a couple of big outside shots, particularly the one
that Maryann Baker -- shot clock when she threw it
across and Pratcher just put it up. That was a
tough shot. And the kid has no fear. She doesn't
speak a whole lot. But she knows how to play.
Q. Can you compare this team to the
2008 Elite Eight team?
COACH BLAIR: We're getting better and
better defensively. As you can tell by our stats in
the NCAA Tournament, the team in '08 was a
defensive team first, a transition team, but we had
no inside game.
We had Micheaux and Reado, and we
would have to steal the ball from Reado to go
down, and she was the best we ever had at
denying the high post. And Micheaux was
probably the best defensive 5 that we've ever had.
But we were not scoring there, so we went out and
got offense. That's the difference, we are a whole
lot better offensive team.
But we just held a very good team to 38
points. I mean, we were hoping -- we said the first
team to get to 60 would win. We almost got there
in the first half.
Q. The question I asked earlier to
Danielle, the Georgia coach was
acknowledging that A&M should be in the
championship conversation now because
based on the way you've played in your first
three tournament games, and just to get your
comment on that?
COACH BLAIR: I think we've been in that
conversation the whole year. The top six teams in
the country have not changed: Duke, Connecticut,
us, Stanford, Tennessee. Are we all still in it right
now? Nothing's changed. Everybody has held
serve.
Now, there's two of us. Duke has got to
play Connecticut. And we have to play Baylor.
They're the top six teams. But don't rule out little
Gonzaga. They've got the motion, they've got the
home crowd, they'll play in front of a sell-out up
there. I think it's good. I hope Gonzaga wins. I
think it would be great for the game. But, more
importantly, I hope A&M wins; it'll be greater for my
game.
Let me say something that nobody's asked
me: Danielle's defense on Phillips. She had four
points at half. She ends up with seven. But
nobody ever looks. They just look at how many
points she scores or how many charges she takes.
She's a very, very underrated defensive player.
That was the key to the game. They had a
balanced scoring effect all year long. But when
you take Phillips out and make it hard on her, and
it's a little bit harder because we put so much pressure on their perimeter players that they didn't
handle the rock as well as I'm sure Andy would
have liked, and they didn't have the creativity that
he's had in the past with the Saudia Roundtrees
and all those kids that have played for them.
But Georgia's a young team. They're
going to be right back. I've still got a long way to
go before I'll ever get to be 500 with that guy,
because that guy's very special and he's a great
coach.
Q. You talked so much this week about
focusing on Georgia, playing the song and
everything. When you all jumped out to such a
large lead, did you realize you had really gotten
through to your team?
COACH BLAIR: I kept looking up at
halftime, and I was telling the little NCAA lady, I
can't believe it. I was telling the officials, I don't
know what happened. I've never had an NCAA
game like this against this quality of a team.
And we kept saying we have to have that
last basket. We were coaching as hard to get that
last basket before half as we were when we got the
lead.
Because you never underestimate people
what they can do on comebacks. And I think it just
got to a point we never had to -- Andy was so far
behind, he just didn't go into a pressing type of
ballgame, which I think that's to our advantage
because of Colson.
Q. Even in the second half when you all
were up by 30, the defense didn't seem to let
up at all. Can you talk about just what that
means for Coach Schaefer and his intensity
throughout the game?
COACH BLAIR: You mean Coach
Schaefer was intense (laughter)?
I'm glad the officials let him coach. We've
got a unique situation. There are not too many
head coaches that will share the spotlight. If we
win this thing, I hope you're all smart enough to
ask for Coach Schaefer to come up here and sit up
here with me, and I hope there's a few ADs out
there that are smart enough to hire the right
person, not just the person, because he's been
that good for 14 years. He keeps getting better
and better. And there's more and more teams that
keep firing coaches that keep getting worse and
worse. Sometimes you need to give these top
assistants in the game their opportunity. I've got a
bunch on my staff that are ready right now, so
does the Big 12. They've got a number of them.
The intensity that we play the game with just comes to practice. We never let up. We never let up. And that's the way Coach Landers coaches as well. He never lets up. Okay. And the only thing I can beat Landers on for sure anytime is the golf course. But he's beaten me so many times, he's got half of his cattle named after me. He's got a bunch of cattle out there; he names them after me. Names some of them after his great players, too. I mean, what a tribute. While I'm thinking of it, I know I need to get out of here, but just hold on. I just appreciate coming back to Dallas. When you see a Richard Justice there who used to be at the Dallas Times Herald. He was my second beat writer. Jim Dent was my first beat writer. John Eisenberg from the Baltimore Sun was probably my third beat writer. David Holland, who used to be Dallas Morning News, was in there somewhere being interviewed in '77 after we won state, South Oak Cliff, the men and the women, by Frank Luksa. Richard, you're something, but back then Frank Luksa was everything. He was the Jim Murray back here. I mean, I appreciate the job that you all do. Okay? The printed word is the most important thing that we have right now. We got all those fancy cameras back there, and we got all these machines there. But there's nothing better than in the morning picking up a newspaper and reading your stories. And, please, keep changing my quotes where I sound like I graduated in four years instead of six.
I appreciate you all. Thank you.
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