Louisville vs. Bradley
March 17, 2010 | Women's Basketball
March 17, 2010
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
University of Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz
"I was really disappointed and I wish that I could put a finger on it to try to understand. I thought that we actually had six to seven good practices. They were excited, showed a lot of energy, really competed in practice and cared about the game. Win or lose, I wanted them to come out and compete, but for the first 20 minutes, we didn't show up. I really can't understand it. We've just got a lot of work to do in the offseason. We've got some players and I've told them our goal is to strive to be great, not just to be good. They're going to have to change their work habits and their mentality and its going to be a work in progress. Hopefully, they're prepared for that and excited about it and we'll get this thing going again."
(On how the WBI came about) "I was really hoping to be able to do what we did tonight. That was to try to get Nikki Burton some more minutes and LaToya Johnson some more minutes because they unfortunately weren't able to come back for our BIG EAST Tournament. With about a two week window between that tournament and this one, the doctor felt that they would both be able to compete. We had two kids that you can't get a medical redshirt because they've played too many games to start off the season. We tried to get them into a game to give them so more game experience. Nikki shot the ball really well, but unfortunately, all she had on her mind was trying to score. I thought she did a better job in the second half of trying to be defensive minded, got a couple of steals and got some hands on some passes and did a really good job on that side of the ball."
(On the play in the first half) "I don't know and it's something that I've got to figure out because there are some expectations that come along with this job and come along with this program. It was a rough year for us health wise, but there was really no excuse for how we played tonight. We just didn't play with passion and didn't play with energy and that's something that we've got to get changed. I thought we played hard, we were scrapping. We get a steal there at the end with a minute left, and Becky Burke, who's got a wide open shot, decides to throw it to the other team. There is a part of me that I just can't figure out either. I'm just thinking what can possibly be going through their mind when they need to take the shot when we need to score. We have some film that we're going to break down and try to teach them and show them. They've really got to dedicate themselves to want to get in the gym and play. That's the only way you're going to get better is by putting hours in the gym and working on your game."
(On Monique getting a standing ovation when she fouled out) "She played hard, but by her fifth foul, we jogged down the floor and didn't sprint and the kid missed the layup. We're trying to trap and trying to gamble and we get the kid to miss a layup and all we have to do is sprint down the floor to get the rebound, and now we're going down the floor. I think it was a nine point game at the time. But, we jogged and she got her own rebound and Monique goes up to try to block the shot and gets her fifth foul. That's what I'm trying to teach them that you can't take plays off and assume that something is going to happen. We assumed that she was going to make the layup, but she didn't. Monique offensively is a very gifted player, but she's really got to come into this summer and dedicate herself to her conditioning, her 15-18 foot jump shot, and just the way she plays the game at the defensive end of the floor."
(On Byrd's progress) "The doctors say that her knee is ahead of schedule, and we're really excited about that. It's just going to be one of those things where we've got to get the players that we have to get better. The incoming freshmen class will give us some depth and we can get this thing rolling."
