University of Tennessee Athletics
Pittsburgh Press Conference (3/20/15)
March 20, 2015 | Women's Basketball
March 20, 2015
Pittsburgh Head Coach Suzie McConnell-Serio
(Opening Statement)
"We are thrilled to be here in Tennessee. (Tennessee is) one of the best programs in the country. For them to be hosting the NCAA Tournament, it's an exciting time for us... for me personally as a coach, for our players, for this group to have their first opportunity to play in their first NCAA Tournament. And for me, (there are) mixed emotions going against (Chattanooga) coach Jim Foster, who I have the utmost respect for. I had the opportunity to play for him, I've coached against him and just think the world of him. So to go against someone who I respect--and what a great coach--but for us to be here... it didn't matter where you sent us, we're just excited to be a part of something very, very special."
(On her experience so far)
"Everything is magnified when you get to the NCAA tournament. We go on a 30-seat charter when we travel throughout the season and now we have a chartered US flight with the band, cheerleaders and additional administrators. Our party just grew. You know immediately that this is bigger than the regular season. It's more special for each and every one of us. It's the NCAA tournament. There's nothing better. It's what you play for all year. We're trying to deflect some of that. Our players seems to like simple and routine and be able to focus. At the same time, enjoy the moment of traveling first class and the excitement that surrounds us. Being at Tennessee, there's not a better place we could have gone for the NCAA tournament."
(On what she learned from Coach Jim Foster)
"He's so genuine as a person. I think that's what I took away having played for him while he was in the system on the Olympic team. The x's and o's and his knowledge of the game is off the charts. He is brilliant as a coach. What stands out to me is him more as a person. He's more like a father figure to the players that he coaches. He's very quiet in his demeanor. He's straightforward, business like. I've coached against him. I played against him when I was in college. I just think he's brilliant as a coach. Watching his team play, the team is definitely a reflection of him, his personality."
(On her experience in the NCAA tournament as a coach rather than a player)
"I think I'm enjoying it more as a coach. This is my first experience as a coach in the NCAA tournament. I was a point guard, so I felt in control of the game because the ball was in my hands. Now, as a coach the ball is in our point guard's hands. I have so much confidence in her as our point guard, as our leader and as an extension of me on the floor."
(On what Pitt has to do offensively against Chattanooga)
"We're a team that is at our best when we can create off of our defense and can disrupt what they're trying to do. That's what a lot of our preparation goes into is how we defend them, where we can disrupt, where we can pressure the ball, get in on passing lanes. This team is very deliberate, very patient. The run their sets. I think they execute on ball screens very well. He does a great job of putting his players in a position to play to their strengths. We have to find ways to disrupt that so we can create off of our defense. Watching them as a team defensively, they stay in plays, challenge stops. They have the defensive player of the year in their conference so I wouldn't be surprised if she's the one matched up with Brianna Kiesel to try to disrupt and take her out of the game, knowing she is a key factor for us. We'll just need to execute because they run the shot clock down when they have the ball and they try to force you to take a lot of time off the clock on the offensive end."
(On offensive scheme)
"If you look at our roster we have probably one true back to the basket post player in Cora McManus and she is somewhat undersized. We are a team that, really when we are at our best, is ball movement. We will go inside. We look to have a balanced attack with our post game, with our perimeter game. But with Stasha Carey and Monica Wignot as our post players they show some versatility of being able to step out to the three-point line, take players off the dribble and also play some back to the basket. But that is not truly their strength."
(On Monica Wignot)
"Monica has exceeded all expectations. Honestly when I first contacted her, I was reading about our volleyball team online one day and the success they were having and reading the article and all I saw was the name Monica Wignot and I was like there cannot be two Monica Wignots. That is not a common name. With that said I talked to our athletic director and said, `what do you think about me contacting her? Has it ever been done.' He said, `why not.' So I contacted our volleyball coach Dan Fisher and said I would like to talk to Monica about playing after volleyball season was over, going into the ACC season. She was hesitant, didn't know if she wanted to play. I was very familiar with her, I tried to recruit her before when she was in high school. The first day she came down for a workout, my sister Kathy, who is our assistant coach, told me I was a terrible recruiter because she would have helped us immediately if we would have had her that year. We knew she wanted to go to grad school, ended up making the decision to start workouts with us in the summer and take classes. We absolutely love her. The impact that she has had on our team has been tremendous, offensively, defensively, it is virtually impossible sometimes to take her off the floor. She can hit the three, she can post up, she can take you off the dribble, her instincts, the way she blocks shots, defensively, she has helped defense. The instincts that she has has transferred from playing volleyball to basketball. She has definitely exceeded expectations. We think the world of her, as a person that we will bring her back as our graduate manager next year to continue to be a part of her program."
(On the seniors ending their career at the NCAA Tournament)
"I could not be happier for our seniors. Brianna Kiesel and Cora McManus have endured a lot in the first couple years at Pitt as a student-athlete. Their reaction when our name came across that screen when we were in our team lounge, the smiles on their faces, the hugs, I mean Cora picked me up off the floor, the embrace that I had with Bri. When looking at the video and looking at those photos, never gets old, that is why you coach. For them to be able to end their careers on having taken this team to the NCAA Tournament, it doesn't get any better than that. Brianna Kiesel, when I was first hired, thought about not coming back for her fourth year. She would have graduated after three and considered transferring to play for a winning program. I just said, `give it some time.' I thought that if we could get her through that third year that we could convince her to stay. She did. She came back to me two weeks later and said, `Coach, I am going to stay, I just want you to know so you don't have to worry about that.' I promised her before this year that her senior year would be special. But I could have never envisioned that it would lead to the NCAA Tournament. Realistically, the WNIT was something that we thought was a potential possibility with the players that we had. Our freshmen have come in fearless, they have earned starting positions. The leadership of Bri, the addition of Monica, the success that we have had has been because of the team chemistry. It is ironic because you are looking at 21 to 22 year olds and now 17 to 18 year olds and volleyball players, a graduate student, immediately the chemistry has been tremendous and it has remained throughout the course of this season."
Senior Forward Cora McManus
(On Pitt's freshmen)
"I think they definitely bought into the team and what we were trying to do. And I think we've led them in a way to let them know what was expected of our program, and they've responded really well."
(On the team's confidence that it would receive an NCAA Tournament bid)
"I think we were definitely confident that we were going to get a bid. I think that confidence was a little bit shaken with where we were called. To have to wait until the last second was definitely a little nerve-wracking. But I think we were definitely confident that we put in the work throughout the whole season to get to where we are now."
(On how playing in the ACC has prepared them for NCAA Tournament play)
"I think the ACC prepares us really well for this tournament. We're going against top teams every day. We play against Notre Dame, Duke, all these high seeds, so we're definitely very used to a high level of basketball and preparing for that every single day with the opponents that we face."
(On the team's preparedness for NCAA Tournament play)
"I think over the season we tried to really focus on our opponents at that time in the ACC. We've done scouting, like we do on everything, but I think we're prepared for that now and we're focused on the now."
(On how playing in the ACC has prepared them for NCAA Tournament play)
"I think the ACC prepares us really well for this tournament. We're going against top teams every day. We play against Notre Dame, Duke, all these high seeds, so we're definitely very used to a high level of basketball and preparing for that every single day with the opponents that we face."
Senior forward Monica Wignot
(On her four-year volleyball career at Pitt)
"Toward the end of volleyball, I knew I wanted to go to grad school. And I was recruited by coach Suzie (McConnell-Serio) before I played volleyball. So just knowing that I would have the chance to play under her four years later, I think that was a great opportunity. So just being able to go to grad school and play under coach Suzie was really my main motivation (to join the basketball team this season)."
Senior Guard Briana Kiesel
(On Pitt's freshmen)
"I think the freshmen--over the summer when we got a chance to work out with the coaches--they brought a lot to the table. Our coaches do a really good job of just having confidence (in them). When a freshman comes in, they don't know what to expect, but the confidence that our coaches gave them, I think that really showed when they started to play against some of the top performers in the NCAA."
(On the team's approach to NCAA Tournament play)
"I think we're still going to go with the same mindset. We worked hard enough to get to where we're at. And we've just got to go with the same mindset that we work just as hard as everyone else does. All we have to do is go out there and perform."
(On the team's reaction on Selection Monday)
"Oh, man... word's couldn't even explain the amount of happiness I had when we were sitting in the room and we finally saw our names on that. They waited until the last minute (of the selection show), so I think that just gave us that extra boost of energy. It's no surprise that it's been a struggle for the last three years, but to go out (playing the NCAA Tournament) as a senior... And of course to play under coach McConnell--and just for her to get us here--I think that says a lot about her and how much we really buy into her system."
(On the team's confidence that it would receive an NCAA Tournament bid)
"Yeah, I would definitely agree with (Cora McManus). I mean, everyone's nervous when you are just waiting to see what type of seed you get. But as Cora said, I think we've put in a lot of work, and it's nice to see that hard work pay off."
(on Chattanooga's team)
"I think Chattanooga is a really good team and they play really well together. They also play a low-possession game, so we just need to play our game and try to speed them up a little bit. I think that's going to be our biggest challenge."
(On whether or not Chattanooga is similar to any other team Pitt has faced this season)
"I don't think so. I think Chattanooga has their own different type of gameplay. I played against Ohio State when (current Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster) was there. We scrimmaged. And I think he plays with this team almost kind of the same (way). I think Chattanooga is a very good team, and we've just got to go out there and try to execute our gameplan."
(On the team overachieving this season)
"I think for the seniors there was a chip on our shoulder because this is not the first time we've been (picked) last in our conference. So for people not to expect anything out of us and for us to show that we're a competitive team, I think that just puts a big smile on our face that we are someone you should look out for."
