Weekly Teleconference

Coach Summitt addresses the upcoming games with Mississippi and Arkansas

Feb. 1, 2006

Tennessee Lady Vol Head Coach Pat Summitt

Opening comments:
"Our basketball team made some progress, just in terms of our practice preparation. What we focused on primarily was our defense and board play and our leadership, just taking ownership of what we needed to do as a team. Overall, the majority of our players responded. We got quality playing time for Alex Fuller and Sybil Dosty. Those are two players who I wanted to play a lot. Unfortunately, I also wanted to play Lindsey Moss. She broke her nose again and could not get a lot of minutes. For us right now, it's just trying to figure out players who we can depend on and how deep we can go during the actual game. Right now, I am comfortable to go eight deep."

Looking ahead to going down to Ole Miss:


"This Ole Miss team certainly has had some impressive wins, Rutgers a big game (a 67-57 Lady Rebel win). (Armintie) Price is one of the most explosive offensive players, one of the best one-on-one players, who we will have to face and one of the best in the league. She is someone we certainly have to be ready for."

On what the lineup looks like:


"I will probably stick with our look from our last game (an 89-54 win). I took (Sidney) Spencer out of the lineup, put (Shanna) Zolman back in to give us two guards. That is ideally what I would like to do: (Candace) Parker starting at the 3. Parker can play a number of positions; she has just got to rebound more from that spot. We have addressed that. And then Tye'sha (Fluker) has been performing better on the boards. That is the key there. Our inside players and our defensive rebounding has been really weak, and I don't understand that. Hopefully, as we put more emphasis on it and just focus on trying to control the defensive glass, I think we will be a better basketball team if we can do that."

On whether she is concerned about Parker's rebounding from the 3 position:


"I think that she is aware and more mindful now than she has been. There has been a pattern there when she has been at the 3. That is my concern because she is such a great rebounder when she is at the 4. Obviously, she scored for us at the 3 on Sunday against Alabama, but at the same time, she didn't pursue the ball, didn't really play aggressive to the boards. It is a concern, but it certainly is something that is fixable."

On what Parker needs to do to become more active on the boards:


"She just has to be focused and that has to be a priority in her game. Certainly, we have talked about it. I just have to make sure that if she is not going to the boards, that she is coming out and refocusing and making that a priority when she goes back in."

On whether Arkansas has been a surprise team:


"I think that they have. I have not had a chance to watch Arkansas play. They have proven that they can win in this league. (Arkansas head coach) Susie Gardner has obviously challenged this team, and they have responded. If you look at this league, a lot of people thought that Arkansas is not going to be a factor, but that is not true."

On guarding Ole Miss guard Armintie Price:


"Armintie is a great slasher and a creater off the dribble. Even against a zone, she can get into gaps. I know that we need great one-on-one defense against her, but at the same time, I think we need great support. It's not a situation where we are going to ask someone to just go guard her and stop her. It's going to take a player and a half, maybe two players at a time to contain her in her dribble drives. And obviously, she is a great rebounder. You just have to keep her off the boards. She plays hard. She's tough minded and obviously a very competitive player."

On if Tennessee is planning to stick with man-to-man defense against Ole Miss:


"Yes. I think this team right now understands that if we are going to get this done and be a team that can make a strong run to finish out the SEC, we have to influence with our man-to-man defense, which can change up some. But right now the commitment of the coaching staff and the players is to really play our tough, aggressive man-to-man."