Dec. 15, 2009

Opening Statement
"I thought our trip to New York was a good one. Great place for our team to see at Christmas time, yet I thought they focused when we went through what we wanted to do versus Rutgers. Starting out, we played really strong early and then Rutgers made a tough run in the first half. Second half, we came back and managed to do a much better job. Overall, a lot of good things, we just have to continue to get better. We're getting ready for Louisville, that's a matchup that I'm excited to see how we handle. They've got size, athleticism, good guard play. Glad to be back home before we take off for the West Coast. I'm looking forward to that game. Certainly, right now, Stanford is very, very impressive. You're talking about one of the best, if not the best team in the country. I'm excited that we're going to be able to play them because we'll learn a lot about ourselves. Any time we go against Coach VanDerveer's team, we learn a lot."

Can you talk about the journey from last year to this year? Was it fun at all getting from where you were to where you are now?
"I won't say that I was having a great time all the time. It was a challenge because we had the seven freshmen. At times, we just did not play well together. I think they just thought they were going to put on the orange uniforms and win like many teams have here. They really had a false impression of who they were as a team. I think having gone through that and losing out in the first round, they really took to heart what they needed to do, they invested in their workouts and their strength and conditioning. When we came back, we went right to practice and initially they thought it was punishment, but we wanted them to know, from the coaching staff, it was an opportunity to get better because it is unacceptable in our program to do what we did."

You're No. 3 in the AP poll this week, do you see that same ascent from your team on the floor as what people think about your team?
"I think that's yet to be determined, just really how good we are. Even in our game against Rutgers, we were picking and choosing when we were really going to invest. We still have a lot of youth. Our goal is to be in the Final Four, but we've got to get a lot better, a lot better."

Angel McCoughtry's numbers were not unlike Candace Parker's numbers for you, can you talk about the challenge to replace someone like that.
"To me, when you lose a player of that caliber, you're not going to replace it right away and that's when you start to challenge the team as a whole. We have to be better collectively because we don't have a Candace Parker. In that situation, that's where we've really challenged our team that everyone has accountability. We have talent. We just watched the tape. We didn't run the floor as hard as we should have, we didn't pick up early in transition and we have some things today that we can really address because Stanford, they push tempo on every possession. That's going to be a challenge for us out there. Louisville, just watching them last night, they're not putting the brakes on. I think they're trying to score a lot in the early offense as well as the high-low game."

Can you talk about how you've watched Taber Spani develop?
"I think Taber is not only a skill player, but I think she has a great basketball IQ. She's not one to force things. I think she plays within herself and within our team; she's fit in very, very well, and had a lot of composure for a freshman. Overall, I'm pleased with what I've seen to this point, but certainly expect her to contribute more as the season moves on."

What're the things you have seen that she can improve on?
"The biggest challenge for her right now is, when we go against Rutgers, a really athletic team, is for her to get down and defend and keep her player in front of her. She plays a little more upright, she's not as quick as an athlete as like a Shekinna Stricklen. But she's very smart. She's managed to figure out ways to take away the dribble drive and keep people in front of her. That's probably her biggest challenge overall. She probably boxes out better than anybody on our team. She knows she has to do certain things to be successful because she's not as athletic as Kamiko Williams and a lot of our guard play."

What do you need to do to stop Stanford?
"They run triangle really, really well. Fortunately, we run some triangle too and hopefully that will help us not be as off guard when they make their backdoor courts. They read so well. I'm not going to give away our game plan, but I don't know that we're going to be able to matchup with them man-to-man the whole game, or zone the whole game. I think that one thing we do is we vary our schemes, offensively and defensively, throughout the game. Going into it, I would anticipate that we'd have to change up throughout the game with our defenses and maybe with what we're running offensively, but the boards will be a big key as well."

What're your impressions with this Stanford team compared to the past few years?
"I don't see any weaknesses. I think this is one of her best teams ever. I like the guard play, the toughness and the speed that they play with, and still execute very, very well."

Is your team where you expect it to be coming back from New York?
"They probably think they are where they should be. Our coaching staff thinks we can definitely get better in certain areas with them understanding how important it is for them to play hard all the time and not pick and choose; not let people put them on their heels in transition. Rutgers, they just come at you hard. Stanford does the same thing, Louisville does the same thing. I'm sitting there thinking we're going to be challenged in that area. We'll talk about it today and work on it, and watch some film from our last game. That's one of our biggest challenges. A lot of room for improvement."

Is Glory Johnson a little confused as to what she can do on the court? Is she aware of exactly how physical she can be?
"I think the thing with Glory is that she gets really over anxious offensively and defensively. She got those two early calls in the Rutgers game just reaching. She's our best athlete; the one word I use with her all the time is composer, composure, composure. When she gets in that environment, a lot time, she goes for everything. She goes for every pass, tries to deflect every one and she gets caught out of position. I'm just thrilled she's on our team because I don't know of a better athlete that I've coached other than probably Tamika Catchings when it comes to just getting after it."

Would it maybe be good for Taber to watch Angie Bjorklund on film, in terms of defense, because it seems that Angie is almost textbook in keeping her player in front of her?
"The thing about Taber, as soon as I get off this call, I'm going to be watching tape with her. I watch tape with her all the time. I think she sees Angie and sees Shekinna and she understands what she has to do. She just has to make that commitment to really learning how to lower her hips all the time and get low so she's not getting beat off the dribble drive. She's working on it every day. You don't ever have to worry about whether Taber is invested. She's in the gym, you practically have to run her out."

Can you talk about your pride in Kellie Harper and how she has developed as a young head coach?
"I'm very excited for Kellie. I think she has a great, great mind for the game. I know she's going to be successful there. It's going to be challenge, she's right there with North Carolina and Duke. There's a lot of talent, but is there enough. I think if she continues to bring in better talent, I think she'll be right in the mix. She is a very talented young coach. She knows the game. She has great composure under pressure. I was watching her last year in the playoffs, she was just so composed when everything was tight and going down to the wire, she never flinched. I'm not surprised because that's who she is."

Can you compare Stanford's post play to very many teams in recent memory?
"I think that they have a great inside game. They do have power, they have athleticism, they have quickness and I haven't seen many flaws at all. They're one of the best teams in the country if not the best."

Stanford has a schedule this week that looks like something you might do with Duke, then Tennessee and Connecticut. How do you keep a team focused in a stretch like that?
"I don't doubt that Tara is going to have any problems getting her kids to stay focused because of how she schedules, and that's how you do it so many times. When you schedule back-to-back-to-back great teams, you're players have to understand. Typically, they will be focused because if you had a patsy in between, that would be the game that would scare me. But they don't have that. I think that is what will keep them in the right mind frame. I don't doubt that they won't be focused for all of them."

In terms of Kelley Cain, can you talk about how strong of a defender is she, especially, in a matchup with Appel?
"Kelley is getting a lot better. I think the one thing that Kelley has got to be able to do is run the floor a lot harder. I think that's where she can get better because her skill set is really strong. She does understand establishing the post game and running to the rim. Obviously, she's had the injuries and the nagging stuff going on with her knee, and I think that's probably kept her from being able to go all out in transition. If we get her healthy, I think she can be one of the best post players in the game."

Would it be reasonable to say that when Kelley Cain watches film of someone like Jayne Appel that would be a good person for her to model herself after?
"Absolutely, with no doubt."

Can you talk about what it means that Stanford-Tennessee is a marquee non-conference, almost national rivalry?
"It's been great. I think it's been great because there have been great games played, there is talent on both teams. Tara does a great job and I have tremendous respect for the work that she does. We've been able to compete and go at it, and still remain good friends. I think it's been healthy, there hasn't been anything bitter, and it's all been healthy, good and positive."