University of Tennessee Athletics
PENN STATE'S HEAD COACH RENE PORTLAND'S TELECONFERENCE
March 26, 2003 | Women's Basketball
March 26, 2003
Joe Paterno on Rene Portland:
"I just wanted to tell Rene great job. I haven't been able to watch them much, but she did a great job this year. I'll tell you something honestly. I hired Rene because she was a pain in the backside. She wanted a written letter and everything. I knew if she was that aggressive, she would give it a good shot. Her whole attitude about women's basketball was great. I'll never forget when we had to pay Rene more than one of the guys back then wanted to pay her. I said it would be the best deal we ever made. He said that the day you fill Rec Hall for a women's game, I'll kiss your you-know-what at half court. I'm still waiting for him to pay up."
Rene Portland Press Conference 3-26-03
On Pat Summitt and Texas' Jody Conradt reaching 800 wins:
"I think it is absolutely unbelievable. They both have a unique style. Both institutions have a separate women's program from their men's. They have been involved in how women's athletics is produced and perceived at their programs. Personally, I just got to 600 and thought it was pretty good until I read what they did. I don't see myself doing anything else but this. It is just a matter of how many games I get the chance to win."
On coming into a hostile Knoxville environment:
"I am not really sure I want to hear Rocky Top until I get there because I know I will hear it a lot when I am there. That is one thing we aren't going to listen to until then. We were in a tough situation at Purdue. Those people get after you really good. It is not like we are a lower division school going into that environment. If you are that good and focused to still be in the NCAA Tournament right now, you can't let that get to you. We probably won't address it with our players. Their building is impressive. We will get there early enough to get exposure. We will turn it into a positive. We had a tremendous crowd last night when the crowd noise was to our advantage. Hopefully, we will get some people to come down and help us. We just can't worry about it."
On coaching against Pat Summitt:
"We are both very happy to be coaching in this game. We have great respect for what Pat has done. It is pretty unbelievable what she has done not only on her basketball team, but also for the game. However, the basketball game isn't between her and I. I don't do a player personnel chart on her when we scout, but I understand what she has done for the sport and it will be nice to be on the court with her."
On personnel matchups against Tennessee:
"Our kids have a lot of homework to do, especially at the post. Their post is not only talented, but also very deep. They are very familiar with each other. When they substitute, it isn't much of a change. It is not that we got one in foul trouble and she has to go to the bench, it just means we get to see the next one. I remember when we played Tennessee with Susan Robinson on our team and they had 30 offensive rebounds against us. Last night watching ESPN, that was all that they were saying. It is going to be about rebounding and rebounding. That's their claim to fame. The post position is going to be really important for us. Their depth is really good. But that isn't all they are about. They have attempted more threes than we have. They are more athletic than they've been. However, we are going to matchup in some places and they are going to have to be concerned in some places."
On battling Tennessee's tradition:
"I don't think you spend time on it except making sure your kids understand it. It is something to talk about during the NCAA time. You talk about what did you watch on television. Is there anybody winning at any certain time? This is the first time all year we have been the underdog without the bulls-eye on our back. We have to have a healthy respect for their tradition. Athough, there is a reason why we play the game."
On improvement from last season:
"This time last year we were going to Connecticut. They were na?ve and didn't have a clue. They were just very focused and stuck to the game plan. I chuckle when we say that we gave them a good game. We lost by 18 points. There has to be more of a sense of urgency and not just them being happy to be there. They are really proud of themselves for winning the Big Ten title this year. They talk about being better than last year. They are trying to grow as a program. It is not me talking, it is them talking."
On Jess Strom and playing an emotional game:
"I don't think I can ever change Jess Strom. Part of me doesn't want to change her. I can make her laugh. She has the same reaction to me all the time. She just smiles at me. I think they need to be emotional and I will stay on that. There is a point I won't let them get to, chest bumping and all that nonsense isn't Penn State. But, there is a belief in each other. They are happy someone else is contributing. There should be excitement in a positive sense."
On building towards next season:
"I have been saying the same thing all year. It's the time of the year where they have to show me what I have to work on for next year. It can't be just hoping that they will improve during the summer program. They've had enough opportunities to show us what they will do. If they don't show us, then they won't be a high point for us next year. You devise your offense about what you know you have. We devised this year's offense with Kelly Mazzante and Jessica Brungo. Tanisha Wright has been icing on the cake. I think everybody has to show me as much as they can right now."
On Tennessee hosting four consecutive NCAA Tournament games:
"I think common sense says there is no fairness in it, but that's where our sport is. Until our sport grows, we are stuck here. You are going to have to make a choice between top seeds hosting or schools hosting by bid. That could have been the case right now. There were enough teams that bid for first and second round that we didn't need to give anyone four games. I don't like having one, two, three and four at a school. It is nice being home and I just experienced it. To have four games, it becomes your tournament and not the NCAA Tournament."
On trying to schedule Tennessee in the regular season:
"It is difficult to schedule a team like Tennessee because of their commitments to the SEC and other conflicts because of Pat's friends and associates. When you see a team like Tennessee in a tournament that is the tournament you want to be in. This is a great opportunity to play them."
On Tanisha Wright:
"I really like what she did last night. She gave me some gray hairs with the turnovers in the first five minutes. She then goes in the game and scores the next six points. She is vital to us because of her defense and is tough to guard. The jump shot is nice, but the penetration is something we don't have from anyone else. That is a super thing to have. She relishes these types of games."
On game against South Carolina:
"I like a whole lot about last night. They made a lot of things happen with each other. There was a sixth sense about them. They found open people. Last night, they weren't playing Hazel [Joseph] at all so we found her a few times. I just felt they read everything. There were changes in defense and we didn't stumble."
On supporting cast around Kelly Mazzante stepping up:
"We have gone into practice and said Kelly can't score. She can touch the ball, but she can't score. We take Kelly away from the offense and that forces the rest of them to step up. Until we do that, they don't want to shoot the ball."
On Jess Strom playing point guard:
"We have a whole list of plays that work against different defenses. Jess Strom is really familiar with what we are calling. She is really smart."
On defending Tennessee:
"It is different trying to guard a team like that. It is very different because all of them can do it at Tennessee. We knew we could focus on Jocelyn Penn last night. We really shut her down the first half. It really was something those kids were able to practice. Transition defense is going to be important. [Kara] Lawson and [Loree] Moore are going to want to push the ball up the floor. The story doesn't change this time of the year. It is going to be about rebounding and making our foul shots."
On Pat Summitt:
"Anybody that can get through this time of the year is tough. A lot of people are at their best. She has a great staff and she would be the first person to admit that with the recruits she has been able to get. She has had her staff together for a long time. Her first assistant is finally leaving to Kentucky. Pat is the driving force. She demands a lot of respect."
On coaching turnover in the Big Ten:
"I am really concerned about the turnover of the coaching in our league. We haven't had a coach not leave. I am the only one still staying. We have had change in all schools and in some cases there have been two or three coaches leave one program. I do have a concern about it. I hope these schools do a tremendous job of bringing in a coach with longevity. We need to be stronger as a league and not always be building and rebuilding. You don't see coaches leaving the SEC and you were waiting for it to happen at Ole Miss and Kentucky, but they are at the bottom of the SEC. It is a concern. I am tired of going to the coaches meetings and not being able to move forward."
On balancing parenthood and basketball:
"I was coaching a game when my first son was going to be born. It is no big deal. I flew right up to my son's due date. My son John was born on Feb. 8 and my son Steven was five days old when I coached a game here. There is no convenience with children. You just deal with being a parent. Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw's kid was sick and she won last night. There are very few of us that have had to balance both of them, but it is doable."
Kelly Mazzante
On this season's goals:
"I think last season, we had a great opportunity. We were playing against Connecticut. Out mindset this year is getting a step further than last season."
On scouting Tennessee:
"I have met Kara Lawson. Other than that, we are watching film today. We are going to scout them like any other team."
On Tennessee's 42-0 home NCAA Tournament record:
"It's a tremendous stat. We have to start something like that on our own. We have to go in there and break it."
Jessica Brungo
On playing Tennessee:
"We have a great opportunity ahead. They are 42-0 in tournament games. We can't think about that. We have to focus on what we have to do and on ourselves."
On big game experience:
"We had a huge game last year against Connecticut and that was a great experience. That was probably the first big game that any of us had played in college. We still have a similar team this year. Looking back on that game, we kept ourselves in the game. That will be big for us this year."
On playing in a hostile environment:
"A lot of the Big Ten schools have good home courts. We have never been to Knoxville. We will just have to see on Saturday."
