Pat Summitt: Texas Loss Was Eye-Opener For Lady Vols

Pat Summitt Teleconference – December 17, 2008

Opening statement:
“I think the Texas loss was really an eye-opener for our entire basketball team. It was a tale of two halves. The first half we managed to close it out and tie the game. Then Texas did a much better job in the second half and we didn’t defend well in transition. I think the experience they had versus our youth showed and you have to give them all the credit for how they played in the second half. Looking at Old Dominion, this is going to be quite a challenge. Watching their team, size, quickness, they do a great job of putting pressure on you in transition and that was something we struggled with a bit at Texas. They have a senior point guard that is a great advantage, which is where I think we really have to identify the ball and match-up and be better overall in transition game and in our board play. I haven’t had a chance to see Stanford except for the game last night at Duke, which was a heartbreaker for them at the end. We know Stanford is always going to bring in a team that is going to play well in the high-low, they space really well, and they can shoot the ball from the three, as well as focus on going inside. Certainly, coming off of our championship win over them last year, I can’t imagine them not being motivated to the max and we, obviously lost our starting five, so it could be a challenge for this young team from the standpoint of taking on a team like Stanford, who is so talented and well-coached, with I’m sure some revenge on their mind. But, we’ll take them one at a time and hopefully get better. We’ve had some good practices. I think our team is much more focused now and I think they better understand what you have to do for 40 minutes. We’ve yet consistently perform for 40, so it’s a big challenge.”

How is this coaching experience different for you from the past few years?
“It’s made me really have to think about how I can be patient, patient, patient, because I am not a real patient person. I knew going into this year that it was going to be a different experience and that it would be a teaching experience. And as I’ve told our staff that every moment is a teaching moment. We must be very mindful of that as opposed to losing our patience as coaches. Of course that happens from time to time. It is important that we teach and re-teach, show film, challenge them to watch game tape as well, and invest in preparation. I think they are starting to get it. I think the loss at Texas hurt them. It hurts coaches all the time because it’s our livelihood, but sometimes players can walk away from it and not feel what the coaches feel. I think the loss at Texas really got the attention of our team. I think because of that, once they got over being very down because of the loss and how they played in the second half, they’ve responded in practice pretty well throughout our workouts.”

Is it similar to parenting younger children as opposed to teenagers?
“Yes, it could definitely be that. I think that I’ve already calling in individuals one-on-one and encouraging them to not get down and discouraged, and just focus on the things they can control every day. And that’s coming to practice every day and trying to understand being a student of the game, and investing. Investing in the system, your teammates and keeping things very, very positive.”

Reflect back on the championship game, and how much did UT feel disrespected going in and how much did that factor in:
“Our team gave our staff confidence and it started with our preparation on the floor and having that day to prepare, and then in pregame. They were so loose, and I just thought they’re either going to be awful or they’re going to be great. You never know. As a coach sometimes you think the worst, but I liked the fact that they were pretty loose. When we got to the arena, even before we went, I just felt like our defensive pressure, if we could sustain it, would give us a chance to be right in the game and have a chance to win. Stanford looked so strong and was so good. We knew that if we had a chance to win, we had to definitely make Candice Wiggins our priority. As we put together the game plan, Dean Lockwood was in charge of that scout and I thought he did a phenomenal job, but players have to make that commitment. I just thought defensively, they did everything we asked them to do. I felt very good going in to the game, but it’s never like ‘hey, we’re going to go in and win this game’. It’s always touch-and-go until you see how they play on the floor. I have so much respect for Tara and her team, but for us it was one of our better performances of the year.”

How much did experience factor in there?
“There’s no doubt that we had a lot of experience on our team and I thought that was a key for us. We graduated five seniors so that’s very telling when you have that experience on the court. Even when we went to the bench and played Vicki Baugh, playing with four seniors gave Vicki Baugh a lot of confidence. I think that there is no doubt that experience matters. It was a real key for us in that game. Now that we don’t have experience, it shows you how much it can affect a team.”

On the Old Dominion series and Thursday’s game:
“I think the series has been a great one. We always know when we go to Old Dominion that we are going to have a battle. Their preparation, what they bring on the court and their toughness; just watching them I know we have our hands full in the paint with Tiffany (Green) and Jazzmin (Walters), having a senior point guard being able to step up and dribble and create, not only for herself but for her team, and watching how hard they push the ball, this is typical to me. This team reflects how Old Dominion typically plays the game and they play with great passion. Wendy has done a tremendous job, year-in, year-out. No question it’s going to be a challenge for our young team. For us to hang 40 minutes of effort and intensity and execution because we’ve yet to prove we’re a 40 minute team, that’s going to be key, going to be real key. And our bench is going to be key because we’re playing a lot of people. I think that could be a positive for us if the players coming off the bench can step in and be very effective for us.”

On playing time and the lineup:
“We’ll probably tinker with this all year. We’re starting now Vicki Baugh and Glory Johnson inside and Briana Bass at the point. I think that’s really been a good move in terms of having a point guard that reminds me an awful lot of Shannon Bobbitt, certainly not the experience that Shannon brought to the program. Her quickness, her speed with the basketball is as good as we’ve had. I’m encouraged by that. Angie Bjorklund in the lineup gives us a couple veterans in there and I think Angie is gaining more and more confidence from early on, but she seems to be committing more to getting open and is getting better at creating shots. I think she’s a better player all around. Shekinna Stricklen will be on the other wing. She’s young, but she is certainly a very gifted player and can play multiple positions, and will probably have to because Cait McMahan right now, we’re giving her some time to rest. It will be up to Shekinna and Alicia Manning to help fill in behind Briana.

“Cait is having some knee issues. She has her fair share of swelling and pain to go along with it. So I said ‘that’s it. Let’s rest.’ We’re going to rest her as long as it takes. She will not play tomorrow night.”

You were the last team to beat Old Dominion at home. Would that be motivation for you if the shoe was on the other foot?
“I hate you mention that. I’m not real good with numbers, Debby can tell you that. I just move on and live in the moment. I’m sure that’ll be great motivation. And as coaches we always try to use anything that is going to inspire our team and have a reason for revenge. That’s just another incentive, as if they need any, because any time we play, those teams bring great competitive intensity.”

Coach Wendy Larry said playing teams like Tennessee is to see what it’s like to play like the best:
“You just look at the parity in our game now. It’s probably the best ever as far as the depth on a given night that can knock off the top-ranked teams. Obviously, we’re experienced in that with such a young team. I knew that there would be a lot of growing pains, but felt like going and playing Old Dominion on their home floor, that’s going to be a huge test. I don’t see us going into a lot of gyms as top dogs anymore. We’re going to be underdogs and we’re going to have to fight because of our youth. We struggled at UTC, but we were able to close that one out. We struggled at George Washington and managed to win that game. We lose to Virginia on our home court. We go to Texas and play 20 minutes of good basketball and then we struggle. I think that’s going to be something, that right now, I’m focusing on what we have to do, but I’ll tell you that Old Dominion as a team, if you’re not ready to play against that kind of pressure, it’s going to be a long night, because they do a great job of getting pressure on you both ways, offensively and with their defense.”

On matching up with Stanford and it looked like Stanford struggled with the Duke pressure:
“Well, that was an interesting game and I’m not going to comment on anything that happened in the end. I watched that game closely. Stanford is very skilled and spread you out. They’ve got size on the inside. Last year, when we lost at Stanford, their high-low game just wore us out. They got so many good looks in the paint. I think they couldn’t afford to lose a point guard. At this point, all of us, each and every day, we can’t lose players. I think that with Duke’s pressure really did bother them, but you’re talking about a Duke team that has some experience. We don’t have that kind of experience, but we certainly will press because we’re too young. You have to give it every game. I don’t think we’ve played a game in years that we haven’t pressed at some point in time.”

On the rivalry with Stanford:
“I think it’s been great for us. Obviously, Palo Alto is a place we love to go and get some decent shopping out there. At the same time, we know we’re going to play an opponent that most likely we can see in the postseason and it’s going to be a great challenge. I love playing out there; I don’t like losing out there, or anywhere. I think Tara does such a great job. It’s good for us to play against a team that has the skill and the discipline and the competitive edge to them that Stanford does. They’ve made us better. I doubt that Tara would think the series hasn’t made them better. Again, it’s a team that last year that lost to our team, but our team is different team now. But good sets of players don’t forget. I know they don’t just forget what happened and I’m sure they are coming here very fired up with a score to settle.”

On Glory Johnson playing the three:
“I think it’s something we’re going to wait and see. It all depends on how the game unfolds with Old Dominion and Stanford and where we think we need Kelley Cain and Vicki Baugh to play inside together. We know that Glory can get to the rim any place on the floor in a timely fashion and rebound for us. She just has to keep herself out of foul trouble and have more composure at both ends. She’s an incredible athlete, but at times, she is over-anxious, and just has to learn to have more composure and settle down.”