The University of Mississippi Athletics
Regional Final Practice Day Press Conference
3/26/2007 | Women's Basketball
Ole Miss Head Coach Carol Ross
Opening Statement:
"The little running Rebels lived another day. It's great to be able to coach these young women another time. It is a privilege to sit on the bench and watch them play, with the intensity and enthusiasm they show for the game of basketball and also how they play for each other."
"I'm just excited that I get to be apart of that one more time, hopefully more than that. But, we have a tough one in front of us that we respect in a great Tennessee team with a great coach on the bench and the best player in the country running around on the floor. In addition to a host of players that compliment her (Candace Parker). We realize the task in front of us. It's a good thing we have some time to figure out what we need to do, because, about 7:00 tomorrow night we have to have some answers for those questions."
On asking the players about playing Tennessee's Candace Parker:
"They are probably nervous. She is such a tremendous player. We have had about 30 minutes to talk about Tennessee and so much of what they do runs through Candace Parker. I don't know what their giggles were about. Maybe that's a sign of exhaustion. The great thing about our league is that great players come through our league so often. Even though I have been in the league a long time, the greatness that is coming through our league right now is Candace Parker. She's not only what the whole SEC is talking about, but, what the whole country is taking about. Certainly, our players are aware of her persona, swagger and her ability."
On whether the players are coming in loose to this game:
"I don't know whether they are loose or not. I'll be coaching them here in a minute and I'll find out then. We play loose, but, we don't practice loose. Our practices are pretty intense. We will find out at practice what their mindset is."
On what she is impressed about with the seniors:
"Everybody gets to see how they play. That alone is a great gift if you are a basketball fan. Most of us aren't superstars. I think our seniors epitomize how most of us play. They play with such great intensity. You can tell they love being teammates, leaders and share all the responsibility both physically and emotionally. I talked to our team earlier about our three seniors and how balanced they are. They all play and bring great heart to our team. They have never lost their enthusiasm for playing the game and I love that about them. They keep things loose. I'm not the loosest coach and my intensity sometimes is overpowering. Sometimes, they balanced me well too. When things are chaos around us sometimes, they keep things in perspective. They keep the game in its proper place."
On the crowd yesterday at UD Arena:
"In that Oklahoma game, it was pretty great. A lot of the Orange people were yelling for us. I don't know what it's going to be like tomorrow night. Tennessee has a lot of people that follow them. It has been tremendous. We played the first two rounds in Connecticut and I thought it was well attended for a neutral court. Coming here and seeing the Dayton community along with the supporters from each respective school it bodes well for us. I think playing in front of a high number of people is good for us. We enjoy that and it's great for our sport."
On showing tape from the last Tennessee game:
"I haven't decided yet. I'm not scared to show it. From a mental standpoint, I have to decide how much good it will do. We didn't watch any of the Maryland tape; I didn't even travel with it. I'm not scared to show them their mistakes. I'm pretty blunt and brutal when we are not good at something. If I think there is something they need to see, we will cut it up and show it to them. We will have a good meeting tonight before we go to bed and I'll have an answer by then."
On talking about the country seeing Armintie Price play:
"The SEC has been aware of her ever since she was a young player. For me personally, it is great to know that she is going to have the national spotlight and for her to have that, our team knows that we have to keep winning. I'm happy for everybody, but, it would really be a sad, sad day if a player of her caliber is not recognized for her greatness. Certainly, if she's not a Kodak All-American, they don't need to have a team. She is one of two people in the history of the game to throw up some staggering numbers that put her in the company of Cheryl Miller. For most of the season, she was one of five players in the history of the game to throw up some crazy numbers with points, rebounds, steals and assists. She's not only made herself one of the best players this season, but she is made her mark in the history of our game. It would be a terrible injustice if she wasn't'an All-American."
On the gameplan for tomorrow:
"I would like our players to play freely tomorrow with a lot of intensity. We won't spend a lot of time talking about our opponents. It's not that we don't respect them. It just does not bode well for how we prepare. We do what we do. If it's good, we get to keep playing. If not, we will pack up and go home. We have to play with a lot of intensity on the defensive end. We have been doing it well recently, and hopefully we can continue it one more time."
On limiting Candace Parker:
"We did a heck of a job gameplanning for Courtney Paris last night, but, I'm trying not to overcoach here because she had 30 and 20 I think. We realize her greatness and the impact she has along with the Tennessee team. They are a great team and she is a part of that. We will take the Old Miss team and go up against the Tennessee team and not get too sidetracked by individual players. We are supposed to be crowding people all the time when they get the ball."
On coaching against Tennessee and Pat Summitt:
"I don't think about things in those terms. I think our team are fierce competitors. We dream big and don't limit ourselves. We don't disrespect our opponents, but, we don't play a lot of attention to them. It's not being disrespectful, but, we are in our own little world and we like that. We don't want to invite a lot of people in to it. When you get distracted by talking about the other team's players and coach, then you have lost who you are."
Ole Miss Student-Athletes
Armintie Price
On the mental approach toward Tennessee having not beaten them in her career:
"We have heard about that and have been aware of that, and we are excited that we get another chance at Tennessee, and we'll try to prepare for tomorrow night and give them the best that we've got."
On Tennessee forward Candace Parker:
"She's a great player, a wonderful player. Anybody that can dunk that's a female, I think they're awesome. She has great moves, inside game and outside games. It will be a good match-up tomorrow."
On this season's previous match-up with Tennessee:
"I think I got my fouls in about the first three minutes of the game, and I sat down and Candace [Parker] came took over like she usually does, and she made great shots and [Alexis] Hornbuckle got a little hot and [Sidney] Spencer did too. I came back in the second half, played a little zone, and we froze up, and we lost."
Ashley Awkward
On Tennessee's pressure defense forcing turnovers:
"The thing about Tennessee is that they are taller. They have longer arm span and things like that. I think that's why they create turnovers. It is because they are taller, and they have Candace Parker playing at the top sometimes out there creating pressure for the guards."
On being a Tennessee native playing against Tennessee:
"I played for a Nike team in Tennessee coached by Rick Insell, who's now the head coach at Middle Tennessee. I left his team because he said that I didn't fit into his system. So, I left his team, and then I stopped being recruited by Pat Summitt. I didn't want to go to the top team in the country. I wanted to be the person that went to the team to help change a program around, go to a state or school that beats the Tennessee's, the UConn's, the Duke's. I didn't want to go somewhere where every body is on top. Everybody is more impressed by the underdog and people who turn things around. So, that's what we're trying to do here at Ole Miss is turn things around."
What is the difference going to be tomorrow night?
"The difference tomorrow night, has been the difference the whole tournament, is we are a new team and we've been doing new things and better things and hopefully we can keep going, and keep flying around and keep making plays like we have been doing."
Jada Mincy
On the recovery from yesterday's game in heat:
"Of course, it was just like playing in a high school gym. You had a cold towel and ice around you to stay hydrated the whole time. Every day we practice, we practice really hard. We sweat really hard. It takes a lot of energy out of us. It was the same thing playing in this gym. We had a lot of energy to give. A lot of energy was taken from us. Yesterday, we slept, we hydrated, we ate."
Alliesha Easley
On getting one more shot at Tennessee:
"We are excited. Basically, it's just another chance to play hard."
Danetra Forrest
On getting one more shot at Tennessee:
"It's a great opportunity because they are a great team and to be able to play against them again and to have the time to just go out there and do what we do best and play our defense and fly around."
