Weekly Teleconference

Coach Summitt addresses upcoming games against TCU and Stanford

On the Louisiana Tech game:
"We were very pleased last night to go to Ruston and execute offensively in a much more efficient manner. I am very pleased with the leadership and direction that Alexis Hornbuckle is giving us as our point guard. I felt Shanna Zolman was much more happy and involved offensively. Our post game showed improvement, and I think Tye'sha Fluker had her best game when you consider her play at both ends. We have great expectations for our inside game, and while we play our three big players, all three played. I think the experience was good. I think the play from Fluker stood out, and Anosike gave us some quality minutes. That said, it was a five-point game at the half, and I felt we made some good offensive and defensive plays down the stretch. It is good to see that our team is making strides and improvements on the offensive end."

On TCU:
"We play TCU on Sunday and (Sandora) Irvin is a great offensive player. As a coaching staff, we are looking to see if we have an answer for a player like Sandora. We are in a situation where we will have to defend by committee. Obviously, we don't have an Ashley Robinson, who did a great job defending her last year at their place, so that will be a challenge. We are looking forward to that and having the opportunity to see where we are, to assess our interior defense.

"I just started watching tape on them this morning. Just having played them a year ago and what short amount of tape I have seen, Irvin is better. I thought she was good last year. Certainly, with her ability to shoot the three and that she can put it on the floor, it makes her a very mobile and versatile player. I think she is a difference maker and gives everyone else a lot of confidence. It spreads you out a little bit and will really stretch our defense. We are a different team with a different look from last year. The defensive transition and half-court game will be key for us if we want to be successful."

On Stanford:
"When we look at Stanford, and I do not really like looking ahead, but it is our last game before our break, and it is going to be another big challenge for us. We just have to take it one game at a time. I have not seen tape on them, but Holly Warlick watched film on them while we were on the plane coming home, and she said that they are very good and execute very well. They are good on the defensive end, and we are concerned their inside game is better. They have so many three-point weapons, and they are another team that stretches you and forces you to defend beyond the arc. They really have a good inside game."

On the non-conference season:
We played a tough schedule. I think for us, we were certainly not surprised by the play of a Texas team on their home floor. We were disappointed in not executing the way we should have. Playing Duke at home, they pushed us, and they were more prepared to play than we were in a big game like that. I do not think I was prepared or could project how our basketball team would respond without Tasha Butts and her great leadership and Ashley Robinson and her ability to defend and rebound inside. We really miss that on the inside. (Missing) LaToya Davis at small forward, our running attack has not been as strong. Those three players have been far more difficult to replace than even our staff anticipated. Our schedule is a typical schedule, which does not leave you much room for error."

On the post play:
"I do not think that we have one person right now we can count on. You always would like to have a player you can count on night-in and night-out. We are not worried about this as long as we have an answer, and sometimes we have to call roll before we get an answer. That said, I do like our depth, and while we are young and have two freshmen, both (Sybil) Dosty and (Nicky) Anosike are learning with every game and every situation. Dosty is our better offensive weapon, while Anosike is better on the defensive end. I was impressed with Fluker's play last night. I do like our depth, but, obviously, you would like a sure answer going into the game, and we do not have that."

On the play of Stanford freshman Candice Wiggins:
"I actually saw her play and recruited her some. I love her game. She can handle, she can shoot, she is a playmaker, she creates for everyone else and makes everyone else alert and better on the floor. Adding Candice Wiggins to an already talented team gives them some quickness and explosiveness in transition as well as in the half-court game."

On the play of Alexis Hornbuckle:
"Alexis stepped up big for us last night. We had a close game, they cut it to five, and I just thought she stepped up and basically made the plays. She penetrated to the basket, and she did the same thing in the DePaul game when she was distributing the basketball and everyone else was involved. Then when she thought it was a tight situation and we needed a score, she took it upon herself to make the plays. I thought that down the stretch, we put the ball in her hands, and we have a lot of confidence in her decision making. She managed to score, she managed to get to the free throw line, and she knocked down free throws for us. She played like a veteran. I think she is just gaining more and more confidence every game and is much more comfortable in her role now. I am really pleased with her play overall."

On the possibility of Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood returning to the hardwood:
"I'm excited with the progress Sa'de has made this week. She stayed on campus (while the team was in Ruston, La.) and worked out with our strength and conditioning coach and got some time in the gym as well. What we are trying to assess now is how her knee will respond after some full-court work and a lot of basketball-related drills. She responded well to all the workout sessions she has had, and that is good. She did have a little bit of pain after her workouts, but Jenny Moshak will evaluate that today. I'm optimistic at this point in time that Sa'de will be able to play this weekend. Hopefully, that holds true, and that is our plan. I think Sa'de has gotten in some good practices, but in the next three days she will have the chance to make a difference for our team, provided she can get in enough reps to understand our offensive and defensive schemes to be comfortable"

On the status of Candace Parker:
"She will visit with Dr. (William T.) Youmans before she goes home for the holidays on the 23rd. At this point (she looks) amazing. Her quad looks great. There is minimal swelling. She is not doing anything related to basketball except stationary shooting or ball handling - no jumping. Obviously, if she goes back and gets a good report, we are hopeful that in the next month, sometime in January, we will have a chance to look at her in a practice situation and see if the knee responds. I think the main thing you have to go on now is the swelling. As we move into the new year, we will be able to get her on the floor and see how her knee responds."

On how long Loree Moore will be out:
"She could be out anywhere from two weeks to a month, probably closer to a month just because of the type of surgery she had. I think we will probably look to have her back by the start of conference play, the second week of January."