March 9, 2009
San Diego State Weekly Press Conference Quotes
Aztec Athletics Center
Aztec head women's basketball coach Beth Burns
Opening Statement:
"It's been a whirlwind weekend - exciting times. A week ago, we knew what we had to do to put ourselves potentially in position to be conference co-champions and we needed a little bit of help to finish it off. When I think that we went 7-1 in the second round of league with five of those games on the road and the three home games against the three other upper echelon teams in the conference, that's a great accomplishment for our team.
"We knew an hour before we got on the bus to go to UNLV that TCU had beaten Utah. I think for the first time all year we had a bit of jitters - we were a little nervous. I think we wanted the game to end in the jump circle so we could all just jump up and down and come home. We did what we had to do and relied on what we've been relying on all year - great guard play. Q (Quenese Davis) and Jené (Morris) got us settled down. Paris (Johnson), i'm told, set a record with nine blocked shots and had 15 rebounds. We wanted to make sure that we had an opportunity to say we were co-conference champs and we did.
"Probably an added bonus is when we came home, with (the men's team) playing at (Cox Arena), they announced at the game that we were about to bus home. It was just very cool for our staff to see our team, because right when we got to the corner of 55th (Street) and Montezuma (Road), people who were coming out of the men's game just started going crazy all the way down 55th Street. A couple thousand had stayed and were at the bus turnout with signs (saying), "Conference champions." For our team, you have to realize in March 2006 we were 0-for-2006. It was really cool to look at LaSandra Dixon, who had been a 0-16 conference member, to jump off that bus into that mosh pit of people and just have a great moment. That was very cool.
"With all that said, that was yesterday and this is today. We've got to fold all that stuff away and lock in because the only guarantees are through the front door and we've got two big games this week against who knows (who), with the way our tournament is laid out. When you have the three top teams in the league all beat each other, and then we were all beaten by three different teams, I think it poses for a pretty exciting week. I know we'll take advantage of the rest and get ready to hit Las Vegas, cheer for our guys on Thursday and then tip it off against somebody on Friday afternoon."
On being selected the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year: "I won't downplay (the award) for this reason: it's a unique one because of the circumstance and because of the bill. I would say that every assistant coach, past and present, when you agree to come on a staff where you know you're going to have to build, you know what's in front of you; you know you have a lot of long hotel nights and a lot of losses in the interim. I think that the coaching staff, in not only in helping me, but in modeling for our athletes (contributed to this award). What people don't understand when you build (a program) is that freshmen don't get to look at a junior and emulate what they do. You kind of have to do every part of that growth. It means a lot on behalf of our staff and our players who made a choice to come where we told them, `You can come and do it here. You're going to risk more, but you're going to have a greater reward when you accomplish it.' For me in this league, top to bottom is as good a coaching body as any in the country when you look at the longevity and the accomplishments. There's two right now who are probably in the Hall of Fame. When you take an award that has been voted on by that group of people, it means that much more. It's a great honor."
On the team's chances of making the NCAA tournament: "I think that this last week was just critical, in that respect. We couldn't stub our toe. We had to take care of business and we did. Barring upsets (at the MWC tournament), I think the odds are high we're going to play a really good team both Friday and Saturday. Because we have a resume, we have wins in the top 50 and we have wins on the road, I think we've done what we have to do all season long, but who knows. I'd feel a lot better if Saturday night we had our dancing pumps on. Then you know. Until you know, you don't know."
On the postseason awards handed out today:
"I'll tell you what's most exciting to me is that three of the five all-defensive team players are San Diego State Aztecs. I'm going to tell our team in about 30 minutes, that the only thing that is going to be better is next year when we get all five. That's a remarkable accomplishment. I don't know if we've ever had that before. I know we've had two. To have three of our five, because you could really throw up in the air your perception of what defense is, whether Jené or Paris is the best. Jené is defender of the year. There's no one-on-one defender I'd rather have in my pocket to go against anybody. She'd be the first to tell you that you can pretty much get out there and pressure as hard as she does when you know you have a big buddy behind you ready to swat away anything that comes your way. I think Q is under the radar to everybody except our team, both defensively and offensively. I can't vote for our team. I can nominate, but I can't vote. That came from the other eight coaches in the league. That's a sign of respect from them that that's what our program is built on. I'm obviously thrilled for Jené, for Paris, for Q, for their all-conference awards, because I think they've earned them."
San Diego State junior guard Jené Morris
On being co-MWC champions:
"We're excited, especially being picked second in the preseason (poll), I think we expected ourselves to be here. After last year in Las Vegas, making it to the championship of the tournament, we became hungry. We worked hard all summer. We were excited, but as a team this was one of our goals. We expected to be here."
On the Mountain West Conference tournament format and not playing until Friday:
"I think it's going to help our team, because a lot of our players have played a lot of minutes and it's going to give us a chance to rest and get our bodies fresh for Friday. At the same time, we're going to be playing against a team who will have a winning streak going on and they'll have played a couple of games. I think it's going to be a mental game. We're going to need to come in ready to play and be focused."
On what it was like to sign on to a program that was building:
"Q came in earlier than I did, but as far as competing, I joined last year. Playing on a team with LaSandra Dixon, she reflects on when she was a freshman and this program wasn't as successful. I feel lucky to build on what they worked so hard for. A lot of players put in a lot of time and effort to get this program to where it is now. Coach Burns is an amazing coach and she made a promise. Like Q said, the team worked hard and it's great to be here."
On coach Burns being tabbed MWC Coach of the Year:
"She's definitely a motivational speaker; she's a motivator. She believed in this program when probably the program didn't believe in itself. I think it's really nice to see her dream come true, not only ours, but to see what she's worked so hard for and what she inspired us to do, has come true. That's a great honor for her."
San Diego State sophomore center Paris Johnson
On how this year's Mountain West Conference tournament will differ from last year's:
"We're still going to have that momentum, because we are the second seed and we're one of the top teams. We just have to be confident. We're going into this tournament confident, because we came off of a great win and we're co-champions with Utah. That's just giving us confidence to go in and win it all."
San Diego State junior guard Quenese Davis
On what is was like to sign on to a program that was building:
"Having a coach promise you something is one thing, but having to work hard for it is another thing. As we signed, we knew and we expected to be a part of a building program. We expected to be part of something great that other players had been working hard (for) and here we are today. We're co-champs. I think we've come a long way."
On Coach Burns being tabbed MWC Coach of the Year:
"For us as a program, just knowing how many hours she actually does put in watching film, putting together our practice plans everyday, sitting in the office just trying to get all of the coaches rallied up ready for practice. I think she's worked hard and she'll continue to work hard for us."