Coach Summitt's Teleconference
Opening Statement...
"I think our first round game against Drake we did a great job on the defensive end of negating some scoring opportunities. I thought our team was ready to play. The Pittsburgh game, playing on their home floor, I thought we went up another notch in terms of intensity. Pitt played us tough, it was a great battle, but Candace Parker did a great job of scoring and getting us paint points, which is where we wanted to go. Nicky Anosike had great poise and composure offensively and gave us the inside attack that I thought we needed. Our defense stood up against a tough Pittsburgh team that had a couple of strong offensive players. I thought we did a good job overall and I'm excited for this team. I'm excited about going to Dayton and looking forward to getting ready to play Marist. They are very efficient and will be a challenge for our defense because of their spacing and motion game and their ability to score from a number of different positions."
On Marist breaking the press of Middle Tennessee State...
"When we go into the game, we go in as we always do and that's looking for opportunities to extend our defense. We play change up, man and half court and we zone press a lot and we vary our defensive alignment. It was clear to me watching that MTSU-Marist game that Marist had great composure against the press and broke the pressure, but that's not going to keep us for doing what we do and playing to our strengths. If they go through our press like they did MTSU's it will be a situation where we will have to adjust as well."
On meeting Marist coach Brian Giorgis when he was still a high school coach...
"When I saw them play the other night, I thought `I know this guy!'. Dick Patrick mentioned that Coach Giorgis had come through Knoxville years ago when he was a high school coach. That jogged my memory, they were on a family vacation and I happened to be in my office as he was touring the facility. We spent a little time visiting. He's done a great job, his team is so disciplined. With motion offense, you can't predetermine what they will run. They read and they screen and space you very well. He has his team executing motion and taking care of the basketball. They are the most efficient in the country at that. He's done a terrific job."
Does your team this year have the championship caliber that you've grown accustomed to...
"Absolutely. I didn't know that going into the year. I didn't know how our point guard Shannon Bobbitt coming out of junior college and into Division I basketball would handle the schedule that we had in place. I wanted to move Alexis Hornbuckle to the two guard position and I think Bobbitt's maturity and that of fellow junior college transfer Alberta Auguste has enabled us to do that. Alberta has backed Alexis up all season. I think the play of Shannon has been more than I had anticipated and that has put us in a position to be a better basketball team with Hornbuckle at the off guard and freeing her up to be more creative offensively off the dribble and getting to the paint. I think we are a better team because of that. With the play of Candace, that has been tremendous from last year to this year to see Parker develop her skills, composure and toughness. She is much more aggressive on the offensive end."
On Marist coming from a mid-major conference and getting this far...
"It speaks volumes. Coach Giorgis has done a great job of preparing them. Their composure, I'm so impressed with that. They never flinched when they got pressed. They kept their focus and played together. Certainly to be a 13-seed and be in the Sweet 16 speaks in a tremendous way for what this team not only has done but can do."
On mid-majors making more of a dent this season...
"I think we are seeing it for the first time maybe more in the women's bracket than the men's. In previous years, we haven't seen the kind of upsets that we have this year. I think it is good for women's basketball. It certainly has created a lot of buzz, to have Marist do what they have done. To see some of the top seeds going down, it gives everyone a different feel or sense for where we are now in the women's game now."
On Candace Parker and Courtney Paris potentially meeting in Dayton...
"I think that is a match up that folks have wanted to see for a long time. Whether it happens or not still remains to be seen. Certainly you're seeing two of the best and two of the most respected front line players in the game right now. A lot of people make comparisons of the two. They are very different in their style of play but what they do for their respective teams is give them an anchor offensively and they both have very imposing inside games."
Is the Courtney-Candace comparison similar to the Greg Oden and Kevin Durant comparison...
"I can see that. I think with Courtney, she has great hands and great touch. She comes up big. Candace is definitely more of a face up player and she puts it on the floor. She has a combination of guard-forward-center skills. They each bring stability to their team and they are both go-to players. There is no substitute for that when you're going into postseason; you've got to have it."
On Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale...
"Sherri has done a tremendous job. I've watched her career and the success of building the Oklahoma program to where it is today. She's a great teacher and also she has the communication and motivational skills to really inspire her team. She's done a terrific job at Oklahoma. It's been a good fit for her and a great success story."
On potential Oklahoma-Tennessee matchup...
"The thing that impressed me watching them this year is obviously Courtney Paris as a force on the inside. But the development of their guard play and perimeter game and how they can stretch out the defense and knock down threes. They challenge teams in their spacing and their ability to go from inside to outside. They are very, very balanced in that regard."
On Marist guard Alisa Kresge...
"I think as she goes, so goes Marist. She does a great job of pushing tempo. In watching the game against Middle Tennessee and Ohio State, I thought she ran the ball with great purpose and composure. She does a terrific job of getting from end line to end line with the ball. She is that quarterback that you have to have. She doesn't always look to score; she tries to get everyone good shots. She can score if she needs to, but she gives everyone the ball. I'm impressed with not only her ball handling skills but also with her decision making."
On facing Marist this late...
"I don't think we've ever been in this situation, but it speaks to the parity in the game and to this Marist team. They are a fundamentally sound basketball team that executes so well together. We see Marist and think offense, offense, offense. But they are also a very stingy, tough-minded defensive team."
Note: Tennessee has never been knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by lower than a four seed.
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