March 26, 2010
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -
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2010 NCAA Women's Basketball Memphis Regional Press Conference Quotes
San Diego State Head Coach Beth Burns
Talk about what has been your key to success during this win streak:
Experienced guards have been the key to our success. This is the first class (in my second stint) to graduate, Quenese (Davis), Jené (Morris) and Kim (Spinardi), the spring that we recruited. When you build a team, they log an awful lot of minutes when they are freshmen and sophomores and get better and better. The experience level and the amount of minutes that they have played, and then drawing back on winning the league, making the NCAA Tournament and hosting the first and second rounds, nothing is new for this team. We play at a high level and we schedule in and out of conference at a high level for the experience.
Can you explain the timing of how the offense has succeeded recently and how the defense has improved?
Timing is everything. A year ago, we had one way to play. We graduated one player, our power forward who was skinny and fast, so all we could do is run and press. That was plan A, and we didn't really have a plan B because we weren't big enough. That power forward graduated and we added Jessica Bradley, so we became a better halfcourt team. Early in the season, we suffered two ACL injuries to players that were key players with speed. We had to tweak what we were doing and use last year's experience to get comfortable with who and what we are. With that said, as we continue to play aggressively, we feel we can play with anyone. That has been our key and why that took so long, I do not know. I wish I had the answer to that question I would have done it sooner. With the confidence and aggression we are playing with, you sprinkle in success and we are more confident and aggressive, and we are where we are because of that.
How much does winning the opening game at Texas do for the Mountain West Conference?
I think for us the irony of having played Texas the year before. Having an opportunity to have familiarity with an opponent after two months of being locked in your league where everybody knows everybody and then it's the tournament. They had a very similar lineup to the lineup they had last year, and we won the game, so we went into that game with confidence. As I said in Austin, we have never had problems on the road. We play in the Mountain West Conference, so we love sea level. When we go on the road, you can't breathe. Wyoming is 7,200 feet and Colorado State is almost as high. If any of you are ever traveling, jump out and put your shoes on and go up and down a little bit and see how much it affects you. We didn't have competitive depth in those games, but the confidence of playing them before and the excitement of the tourney helped us. We got off to a great start in that game, and that has continued to where we are now.
Talk about the challenge that Duke presents, mostly about the perimeter:
Obviously, our strength is what I just addressed and their strength is shutting down what I just addressed. I think as we have gotten more aggressive and gotten to the free-throw line more, our defense has been relatively consistent all season long. We are all about possessions. It goes back to a year ago when we were about sixth in the country in forcing turnovers, and we are not that kind of team this year where we can get loose with the ball against Duke. If you are loose with the ball against Duke it is going to be a quick night. If you look at our last seven or eight games, we have been under 15 turnovers for about 90\95 percent of those games. The key to the game is taking care of the basketball, which is a huge challenge because of all their different looks. That is our biggest key to the game before you get to their rebounding. We have to value possessions and get shots up and when they present us a chance to take a shot we have to take it.
With Duke's strength, how much does having your post players help you compete down low?
Paris Johnson, Jessika Bradley and Allison Duffy are three strong forwards who can compete with anybody here. We need to have competitive balance. I think sometimes when you have a special guard or anything, people start to stand. I don/t think we could have beaten West Virginia without the points in the paint in the early part of the second half. They are skilled and can relieve pressure like that. We need our ladies to do those things in order to handle Duke's pressure.
Is there any temptation to re-invent the way you play this late in the season?
No, I would say there is no temptation because at this point it is very mental. The physical reps are minimal at this point of the season. Every team you have is different and we are a physical rep team and we do what we do to the best of our ability. We game plan for everybody we play and we are comfortable with it, but we are not making major changes. In the heat of the moment with a team as athletic and aggressive as Duke, that is not the way to go.
How much does the confidence help being the lowest seed remaining in the tournament?
I think our team is in the locker room playing Hangman as we speak, so I don't think the moment is all that much. To refer back to what we are trying to build, we don't have anybody to emulate. We don't look to our juniors and seniors or the banners. The coaches try to give direction on how to be and how we try to be is tough and confident. We have aspired to do that and earn respect. I am not a good listener, and everybody is telling us we shouldn't be here and we are still here. We play 40 minutes, and we don't have to play anybody 10 times, just once. We are confident and respectful of the talent in this region because it is remarkable. That is what we are working toward.
San Diego State Senior Guard Jené Morris
Coach (Beth) Burns was just in here saying that you guys are building your confidence over the last two games. How confident are you heading into tomorrow's game being the lowest-seeded team left in the tournament?
I think at this point the pressure is on everyone else, and that is helping us. We are the lowest seed, but we have just as good of chance as everybody else. We are just going out and giving it our all and continuing to build the momentum we have built thus far.
Duke is known for having a very good perimeter defense, what are you guys (San Diego State) going to do to be prepared for Duke's defense?
They're a similar team to West Virginia with their style of play and defensive mentality. The key for us is to just value our possessions and work together. That is going to be key with the way they trap and how they are aggressive on the ball (defensively). We have to keep our distance. That is how we will be successful.
Talk a little about staying on the floor and keeping the rotation that you ideally want to see?
The style of our defense, we are a gambling team. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't. That is the way we have been growing. We have learned when to be aggressive and when to back off. It is a learning process. We are going to get better. This game the key is going to be to keep everybody on the floor but still be able to pressure the ball and maintain the intensity we want to play with.
Can you both talk about the win over Texas and how it was a big confidence builder for you team?
We've kept our momentum going from our conference tournament. You want to use the conference tournament to prove how good you can be. We weren't able to show how good we can be during the regular season conference schedule. Now it has continued, and we are proving it nationally. Beating Texas on their home court, that is a big feat. To continue on that and beat West Virginia, a highly ranked team, that has definitely given us a lot of confidence coming into the game. Hopefully we can continue that and keep competing and give it our all.
Coach Burns has a number of sayings she uses to send a message to both of you. What are some of her sayings that stick with you as you head into the game against Duke?
One of them that she uses is hard work beats talent when talent won't work hard. That has been the mentality since we got here. This team works so hard. Now that we are getting better (as a team), we can combine hard work and talent and have a pretty good team. Another one is hope is not a strategy. That just goes back to working hard. You have to prepare for the situation that you are about to encounter. You can't hope you are going to win. You have to prepare and be ready. There are so many (sayings that she has). I call her (Coach Burns) the human quote book because she has so many.
Is it hard to look at Duke as just another team as opposed to a program with a great tradition like Duke has?
You just have to go into the game fearless but at the same time respect them. Duke is a great program, and they have been great over the years. That is what Quenese (Davis) and I are trying to do for our program is to try to build a tradition and continue it over the year and have the respect that they have. We have to work hard and work together and keep our momentum going.
San Diego State Senior Guard Quenese Davis
Duke is known for having a very good perimeter defense, what are you guys (San Diego State) going to do to be prepared for that?
We know they are long and athletic. They're aggressive and are going to get into passing lanes. If we are just tight with the ball during our possessions and make smart plays, we should be successful.
Talk a little about staying on the floor and keeping the rotation that you ideally want to see?
That will be key (keeping our starting five on the floor). We have a pretty good flow with our starting five. If we can just be aggressive but be smart at the same time, that is going to help us.
Can you both talk about the win over Texas and how it was a big confidence builder for you team?
It was definitely a confidence builder. Just knowing that we beat Texas on their home floor in front of their home crowd, it was huge and we made a statement. Not only did it build confidence, it was fun at the same time.
Beth Burns was in here talking about the team that was 0-16 and how you build from that. As someone who came into the program fairly close to that time period, what sold you that this was the place that you belonged?
She (Coach Burns) told me that this was going to be my team, and she was going to give me the keys. She had a vision and I believed in it. She (Coach Burns) believed in her vision. She had a great coaching staff that was telling me that they were going to help me to be successful. They brought more players in like Jen¨¦ (Morris) that were great players and athletes that were going to help make this team better.
Is it hard to look at Duke as just another team as opposed to a program with a great tradition like Duke has?
No. If you go into a game thinking about a team like that, you aren't going to be successful. As a team, you can't look as a high caliber team. They are a group of women. We are a group of women. We are just going to go out there and play hard and hope we can get the win.