University of Tennessee Athletics
Pat Summitt's Weekly Teleconference Transcript
February 25, 2009 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2009
Opening Statement
"First of all I thought, coming off of our loss at Kentucky, we became a much more focused basketball team, understanding the conference race and what we have left and what we need to do to put ourselves in a better position for our SEC Tournament seeding. Certainly the Mississippi State game was a tough one for us but, I thought, one of our best 40-minutes of basketball. In the second half, when things got close we found a way to step up and play a lot better defense. We did a better job of getting the ball inside and on dribble penetration. I thought Shekinna Stricklen just did a much, much better job at that point position. We got in touch with our post game. Kelley Cain has gained a lot of confidence and our team has gained a lot of confidence in Kelley. She got a lot of good touches and did a lot of good things for us as well. Obviously, for the past couple of days we've been getting ready to take on LSU. It's going to be a great environment at LSU. It's like you have to get out the roster for them, and I'm sure a lot of people have to do the same for us. You have to get very, very familiar with so many young players. Just watching them on tape, I think they play within themselves and they understand what they have to do defensively. They're long and rangy and athletic and it's going to be a big road test for us. We know it's a big challenge and a game that would affect seeding for the (SEC) Tournament. I think our team understands that we have a lot at stake and we need to be ready to go and play together because I think this LSU teams understands how to play together both defensively and offensively, and they do share the basketball a great deal. At the same time, I think (junior guard) Allison Hightower's done a really good job for them. They just know how to play together as a basketball team."
When you look at the makeup of the rosters of the two teams (LSU and Tennessee) do you see a few differences here and there? I say that tongue-in-cheek.
"I see a lot of differences. You just look at last year's team. They had a great team, we had a great team and it was two teams that were very loaded. They had depth, they had skill, they had a toughness about them. I haven't talked to (LSU Head Coach) Van (Chancellor) about his team, but I know with our team it's just trying to get them to understand how hard you have to play and your toughness, little things that maybe you take for granted when you have such a great veteran team over the past three years."
Can you talk about how well this LSU team is playing defensively, given as young as they are, and the challenge they present with their defense?
"I think Van has done a great job with this young team, on the defensive end in particular. They've always put a lot of emphasis as a program on being a great defensive team. Just watching them, it's hard to get a lot of good things in the paint. They also do a good job extending and making you shoot over them because they are really good at guarding dribble penetration, which, as we all know, is one of the biggest challenges in the game, both men's and women's. People want to take you off the bounce. I think they are pretty stingy when it comes to giving up dribble drives and I think that's a place where, at times, we've given up a lot of penetration. What comes to mind now is the Kentucky game, early on, I think the Mississippi State game. We're learning but we're not where we need to be. (LSU) has definitely bought-in defensively."
This will be the first meeting of the two teams since the national semifinal last year. Can you talk about your memories of that game? And, in particular, the last play where Candace Parker drove the length of the court and you guys ended up with the bucket to win it.
"That was a game that clearly could have gone either way. What a great game for women's basketball in terms of just the skill and athleticism and talent on the floor. If you talk about the (NCAA) Tournament, it probably had to be the best game of the tournament, in terms of just how both teams competed and the back-and-forth. At the end, Candace (Parker) made a great play and it took a put-back after that to win the game, but clearly, either team could have been playing for the national championship and we fortunately had a break in the end."
You're not playing for a conference championship this year but this game against LSU is a chance to maybe get into the top four and get a bye in the first round of the (SEC) Tournament. How important is that?
"Well, it's very important. With our basketball team, it's just kind of a wait and see how they respond at times. We've made it very clear that this is a must-win to put us in a position to, hopefully, avoid playing on the first day of the (SEC) Tournament. I think that's always a key. It's hard. The tournament is very, very difficult. There have been teams (playing on the first day) that have come back and played in the championship game, but that's becoming increasingly more difficult, and certainly for our young basketball team, because of our inconsistency. I don't know how Van feels about that but I'm sure he's going to bite his fingernails and I'm going to pace the floor."
Could you talk a little more about the challenges of coaching such a young team and what this experience has been like for you personally?
"Well, the good part of it is that you have an opportunity to teach every day. For me, part of my philosophy has been 'every moment to teach a moment' with such a young basketball team. But I think that every coach that coaches a game loves practice. And I've always loved practice. I think I love practice more than I love games because you really feel like you have a chance to teach. Obviously, we've probably had to spend too much time motivating this year. I think just teaching players the system and how we want to play our offensive and defensive systems, you're going to challenge and re-challenge. That's the good part of it, that classroom setting. The challenging part is, come game time, when players have to take ownership and you hope you see in games what you have drilled into them at practice, and that doesn't always happen with a young team, there's a lot of break down. That's probably been the most difficult part, having the break downs and giving into fatigue. It's amazed me how much some of our players if they can play four minutes, they've done something great, as opposed to the players on our team, like Alex Fuller who, if she had to go for 40 (minutes), she'd invest her heart in it. That's just been the most difficult part for our coaching staff."
You talked about the fatigue in the course of a game, have you seen these players face that over the course of the season as well?
"Yes. I think that's not uncommon for young basketball teams and of course, this is my youngest ever. I think just being mindful of that, I've tried to be careful and calculated about taking those days off. We had yesterday off, today will be a scouting day and obviously we'll travel tonight and play tomorrow. If I had a veteran team, that would probably not be as big a concern. While, with the team last year, it didn't matter which day we took off because they knew what had to get done and, for the most part, they were committed to doing it."
Have you taken some unique approaches this year in motivating the team?
"Sometimes I don't even know who I am, and I've had a lot of times that I've been very frustrated. I've let my assistant coaches help in so many of the drills as well as watching tape. I like to watch tape, but at times I think they need a different voice than the head coach. This week I've watched tape with three players already, but my assistants have really stepped up and done a great job. Dean Lockwood and Daedra Charles-Furlow work with the posts and (Associate Head Coach) Holly (Warlick) works primarily with the guards. I try to spend more time and really look and pay more attention to our guard play. I challenged, in particular, Shekinna Stricklen to step up and embrace the role of our starting point guard. I think she's responded. Obviously Glory Johnson's a real key for us and I'm going to watch tape with her on the plane today. I'm just trying to help them understand what it is that they need to bring to our basketball team on a consistent basis."
Do you think you and (LSU Head Coach) Van (Chancellor), after the season's over, will be able to share some pretty good stories?
"I don't think we'll have to wait until after the season. We'll see him tomorrow and we can even talk about it before the game. I can only imagine. Van's got quite the sense of humor, there's no telling what he's said or done. For me, I'm shaking my head one day and smiling another, but probably shaking my head more than I've been smiling."
How has the youth of these two teams affected the overall strength of the Southeastern Conference?
"Obviously with our two teams having been very strong in the past, clearly some other teams have veteran players. Auburn's been playing really well and while there's been some upsets here and there, Auburn and Vanderbilt both look very strong. I feel like we've been on the receiving side of everyone this year, thinking that this is the year that you're going to beat Tennessee, and our young team has not always been able to battle through the runs that people have made on us. I think the other people in the league have clearly, with their veteran teams, stepped up and I'm sure that they feel like they have a chance to compete now at the top of the league."
(LSU Head Coach) Van Chancellor is going to be coaching at Ole Miss on Sunday, which will be his first time in Oxford as the opposing coach. Can you talk about your memories of Van during his days at Ole Miss?
"Well, Van and I have been great friends and I just thought he did a great job (at Ole Miss). The thing about Van, no matter what happens, winning or losing, he always keeps is sense of humor. Not only with his team but in general, he finds a place to put it in perspective. He did a great job at Ole Miss. He had some great teams and they played tough. I know the players that played for him enjoyed playing for Van. He is funny and he can be very entertaining, but at the same time he can turn it on and be very demanding. I think that players that have played for Van will tell you that they love Coach Chancellor and they enjoyed being around him and learning the game from him. He's a very, very good teacher as well."
Given LSU's strong defense, what are going to be the keys for your team tomorrow if you want to come out of there with a victory?
"I think ball security. I just think that they have great quickness and can be very explosive when they get out in the passing lanes. They get a lot of paint points in transition, so first and foremost we have to take care of the basketball. I think they do a great job of taking away the middle of the floor, they really get out and deny there. We can't have those flat passes, so again ball security. Then, paint points. I think they're quick enough to extend on the three-ball but I think we're going to have to get inside and get paint points from our guards as well. Post play is going to be critical to our offense success. Hopefully, Kelley (Cain) will be good to go in the paint because she has the ability to establish herself as a go-to player for us. Our bench play is going to have to be strong and hopefully productive as we play against this team that can defend very well and get out in the passing lanes. I think the battle of the boards is always, always a big challenge when Tennessee and LSU play. It's a war on the boards and we've got to battle. Our guards have to battle, our posts have to battle because they've got the size and the quickness that can give you problems."
(LSU junior guard) Allison Hightower has a running floater she likes to shoot in the lane, how do you defend that?
"Try to keep her from getting in the lane, and that's hard to do. She appears to be very confident with that. Again, that's where we have to be, in terms of our paint defense, our defense in the lane has got to be at the best. We've got to be at our best on the defensive end because we know that she can get inside and score over people."
