Weekly Teleconference

Coach Summitt addresses the upcoming games with Georgia and Alabama

Feb. 15, 2006

Tennessee Lady Vol Head Coach Pat Summitt

Opening comments:

"Certainly our win over Vanderbilt was a great second half effort on the part of our team. Obviously a costly loss with Alexis Hornbuckle, but it's a situation where Alexis was so valuable to us in terms of setting the tempo offensively and defensively. She's the one player that I thought really got us out in transition, defended the point guard and slowed down the opponent's transition game. It's a huge loss for us. At the same time, as a coaching staff and as a team, there is no time for us to have a pity party or hang our heads. As a staff we're looking at this team and calculating what we need to do. As far as a line up goes, we'll continue to go with Dominique Redding, Sidney Spencer and Shanna Zolman on the perimeter and then Candace Parker and Nicky Anosike inside with Tye'sha Fluker off the bench. I think Dom has done some good things for us and has gained a lot of confidence and experience. We know we're facing one of the best teams in the league in Georgia. Playing down there is always a tough challenge. We have to be a very efficient basketball team to compete against Georgia and be successful in Athens."

On Georgia's guard Sherill Baker?


"It's almost like playing five on six, she's that quick. She has great anticipation: I think players that have quickness are always effective if you utilize it. When I think about her quickness, I cannot do so without thinking about her anticipation. She is a step ahead; she anticipates the second and third pass. I know against us she just took the ball out of our hands, she stepped up in the passing lanes. She's a great helper from the ball side and weak side. It's not like if she's away from you she's not dangerous. She is one of the best defenders in the country. We have to be alert to where she is, take care of the basketball, shorten our passes and just really run our screens and try to be effective and protective of the ball."


On this type of situation with the loss of a key player, can you draw on things...


"Everyone becomes more responsible for the success of each possession. It's not like one or two players are involved, it's five players. We have to be not only mindful, but also committed to that and take a different level of ownership on possession basketball and individual commitment to taking care of the ball across the board. Certainly we can do some things by committee, we can play defense by committee, and we have to all be on the same page. This hasn't been what I'd call an eager team to support one other defensively, and now they have to guard the ball and provide support to each other and to the ball. Offensively, we need to be more mindful of the value of the possession and the execution of it. We cannot have lazy cuts or have a team that is not really committed to being a great screening team. We'll have to make each other better with our screens and our passes and our cutting. We've always emphasized getting the ball inside. That becomes more a point of emphasis to play from the inside out."


On Dominique Redding, what does she have to do for you now?


"She has to bring to our basketball team a commitment to play both ends of the floor. The one thing that she and Spencer have both neglected to put in their packages is a rebounding mindset at both ends. Those two are capable of getting on the boards for us and consistently coming up with some big numbers, but they are coming up with goose eggs or maybe one board. That's unacceptable for two juniors. Now if we were playing freshmen, I might say that I need to be patient, that they are not aware of what they need to do and how to anticipate covering the boards. These two should know. We expect that to be a point of emphasis for both Dom and Sidney."


On Candace Parker's versatility on offense and the mismatches she creates for opposing defenses?


"Candace has great versatility, particularly offensively. She can post up, go face up, put the ball on the floor allows her to play any of the five positions. I think she's getting better and more comfortable with each game. She understands that she has to take on even a bigger load with Alexis out. You can play her at the point. A lot of teams look to go zone on us, but she can shoot over the top. We can take her in a set and post her up. She's starting to really read well. Some teams double team her but she's terrific at getting the ball outside. Her inside action has been very good. She's shown a lot of composure there. If they want to go one-on-one, she's got a very strong offensive package in the paint."


On the breakdown of Georgia...


"On the inside, with Humphrey, that is a tough match up for anyone in the league. As I see it, it's hard to defend her once she gets the ball. We need to do as solid of a job as we can to bring the defensive pressure. She's shooting over 55 percent, and she can step out and shoot the three, so we have to be aware of playing her in the face-up game. She's also shooting very well from the line. We need to not turn the ball over and give Baker lay-ups. She is shooting the ball very well from inside the arc. I have to believe a lot of those points come off her tenacity on defense. We are clearly aware of it, but you can be aware of something and still struggle to handle it if you're not cautious. Chambers is having a good year and doing a lot for the Georgia team. We have to defend her, we have to defend all of their players. At that four spot, she can stretch us. We have to also be aware of their high-low game. They do a great job of that triple post, Macon and Humphrey's spacing and how they play well together is going to be a challenge for our post game. The biggest challenge will come from defending the quickness that this team possesses overall."


On the nature of your brainstorming over the last few days with your staff?


"It's been a combination. We look at the big picture, offensive and defensive schemes, and we really have to look at personnel and numbers. I spoke to the lack of rebounding by Spencer and Redding. Fluker could do so much more on the boards. For minutes played, Sybil Dosty is doing an awesome job, I hope she can be healthy and help us on Thursday. Anosike and Parker can both get more boards. Our guards can rebound more on the defensive end. There are a lot of nights our guards don't rebound and that tells me that they are not committed to finishing the defense. There are a lot of ways we can be more efficient. It seems to be more glaring when you lose one of your starters and key players. The overall scheme, there becomes more of an awareness now of what we have to do. We've been talking about this as coaches but I believe this team will understand it; they understand that Alexis is a huge loss for our basketball team. They can look around but can't look very far or very deep."


On Alexis' handling of her broken wrist and this situation?


"She's handled as well as you can handle it. Right now, she's not that far removed from the game. I think when she has to sit and watch and be in street clothes, I think that's when it really hits players and the reality sets in."


When Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood left, did you ever worry about losing Alexis?


"I'm always concerned. If we lose players it obviously affects the depth of our team. In this situation, you can go out every day paranoid, but I certainly don't plan to coach that way. At the same time, we've talked about it as a staff, that you cannot afford to lose a guard, period. Now we're in the situation and we cannot afford not to find other ways to be successful. We have to handle this adversity in a positive way. We need to put our heads together as a coaching staff and as a basketball team and figure out a way to get it done. We're not going to cancel the rest of the season, that's for sure."


On the rivalry with you and Georgia's head coach Andy Landers?


"The rivalry is more between the programs. I don't feel a personal rival with Andy. Probably years ago it was a bit more intense, but for different reasons. It was more for the recruiting than for the games. We were recruiting the same players and then we'd go on the court and try to be successful. I think the rivalry is more about Georgia versus Tennessee or Tennessee versus Georgia, two programs that have remained a constant in being among the top teams in this league.


On Andy Landers being the last male coach of a women's team in the SEC?


"He's loving it. That's my first thought, he's got to love it."


On the practices this week?


"We've tried to come together as a team and talk about our preparation for Georgia. That's the main thing we've worked on. We kept our routine of Tuesday off, had a good practice on Monday, we'll practice today and really spend some time again preparing for Georgia and then meet with our team and talk about how we have to execute in Athens and what to expect. The one good thing about road games is that you have a lot more time to meet with players individually and visit with your team. You don't have as many distractions."


On the game against Alabama on Sunday?


"We have back-to-back road games; that's always a challenge. I know this Alabama team has had some injuries and struggles, but it seems the best therapy for most of these teams is for Tennessee to come play you. We seem to bring out the best in everyone and I would expect that to be the case when we go to Alabama."