NCAA First Round Practice Day

The Aggies practiced and met the media on Thursday prior to Friday's NCAA First Round game against Wright State. Hear from Coach Blair, Chennedy Carter, Kayla Wells and Ciera Johnson below. 





 

SUMMARY OF TEXAS A&M PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

HEAD COACH GARY BLAIR

Q. Gary, how do you build on that and not maybe have your players be satisfied that you got here when a lot of people didn't think you would be hosting the tournament this year with all of those starters gone?

COACH BLAIR: You build off of it because it's the expectations of Texas A&M. I wasn't brought in here to win games. I was brought in here to compete for championships. I think I've done that, particularly in the last 14 years, or else I would be out hitting a golf ball on a beautiful day like this. We're here to compete for championships, and this is what I love. I love March Madness. 

Q. Coach, what challenges does Wright State present that makes them a tough draw in the First Round?

COACH BLAIR: Three 1,000-point scorers, 1,000-point rebounder, very well-coached. Anybody that can beat Green Bay two out of three times -- and Green Bay is a perennial winner -- that's what you look at. Another veteran team, veteran coach. That presents a problem. The other problem is their associate head coach played for me at Arkansas. Took me to the Final Four in '98. She knows a lot of what I like to run, so I'm sure she was in charge of the scouting report. So Tennille Adams was very special to me from, former McDonald's All-American who is from East Chicago who would love to take her team back there. But this is not a team that's first time in the tournament. I think they were in 2014. And they're in Green Bay's league. So they could be for it every year.

What they do well, they make good decisions. They don't turn the ball over. They get it to their scorers. They shoot it from 19 to 25 feet on the threes. It is not their stats across the board or like Marquette's or Rice's, but they find ways to win. So I want to make sure what happens -- correct me if I'm wrong, David, I've only lost twice in my career in the First Round games. And both of those were at A&M and that was to UALR and that was to TCU our first year. I didn't like that feeling. We were the favorite in both of them.

Q. So when you were recruiting Chennedy [Carter] at Timberview High School, even though she was a great scorer then as well, did you ever envision she would have this much success this quick?

COACH BLAIR: No. I knew she was good. We recruited her for five years and I watched her grow, playing on a great summer team. And then from Mansfield Timberview, she played under one of my assistants at Arkansas and Stephen F., who's actually going into the Texas High School Hall of Fame this year. There's no way I thought she could come in with a veteran team last year and put up the numbers that she did in the key moments. But she's a Russell Westbrook, a James Harden-type on the pro side. I think she is the most exciting guard that's playing the game right now.

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PLAYERS CHENNEDY CARTER, KAYLA WELLS, CIERA JOHNSON
Q. Chennedy, Coach [Gary] Blair was just telling us you got your stitches out and your hand is feeling pretty good. How do you feel overall, and do you think it will affect you tomorrow?

CHENNEDY CARTER: I feel good. Just ready to get out there and play so far.

Q. Ciera, you joined the club this year, four starters out of your place. A lot of people didn't think you would get here as a team. How do you build on this and not just relax from the fact that you've gotten here?

CIERA JOHNSON: Just continuing to work hard and execute the game plan the coaches are giving us and just sticking together as a team.

Q. Ciera, you didn't play last year when the team made the NCAA tournament. How excited are you for your first opportunity to play in the big game?

CIERA JOHNSON: This is my second chance. I did play at Louisville. Took a year off, so I'm fairly excited. I have a new role, a different role than I did have at Louisville. So excited to just be able to play again and just help the team to a win.

Q. Kayla, how important is it to have Chennedy [Carter] back? And what did you all learn in her absence that could help you moving forward?

KAYLA WELLS: It is very important. Chennedy is a big piece of this team. So when she was missing, we were struggling a little bit. I felt like we handled it really well without her. We learned to play without her. And I felt like that helped a lot of people who didn't get a lot of chances get some chances in the tournament to get us ready for this.

Q. Chennedy, how anxious are you just to be able to get back and play a game? Obviously, excited for the tournament but missing the SEC tournament, does it seem like it is going to take forever for tomorrow to get here?

CHENNEDY CARTER: I'm very excited. I was in the gym literally all day yesterday, and I'll be in there all day today. Really excited to play. For me to just sit out two weeks and just come back and recover as quick as I did is really a blessing. And I give all glory to God that I was okay and I was able to go through surgery and come back pretty quick.

Q. Kayla, does Wright State remind you of anything in any team you've played? And what do you think will be the key for you guys tomorrow against them?

KAYLA WELLS: I felt like all of the opponents we've played, they all prepared for a different team. We've played against teams that drive the ball. We've played against teams that shoot the ball. All we have to do is just put that together because they're a really good team. They like to move the ball, and they have some good shooters, and they have an inside game. We just need to prepare well and we'll be fine.

Q. Ciera, you guys closed fast to be able to host. How important do you feel is it being a host opposed to being on the road this time of year?

CIERA JOHNSON: Being a host means we can still go to school, so that's important. We don't miss that many days of class. Also just being able to have the 12th Man behind us and having somewhat of a home court -- having the home-court advantage is very important to our success. But, I mean, we're very fortunate to close out the season well. So we're excited about that.

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