Louisville Postgame Quotes
November 21, 2016 | Women's Basketball
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Head Coach Jeff Walz
(On jumping out to a big lead, but never pulling away from Chattanooga)
“Oh yeah, I mean they're too well coached. There's no question that they weren't just going to roll over and we knew that. I thought we did a lot of really good things in that first start of the game. We got the pace going that we wanted, we executed well, and we passed the ball, a lot of good things. You know, when we subbed, we kind of took a step back and that's something I talked to our bench players about you know. When you go in there, you have to bring energy, like you're fresh. We shouldn't go back a step. We should go forward. So, you know that part was a little of concern for me, but overall, our effort was good. We just got to be able to do a better job of rebounding the basketball. We have to find a body. Put a forearm on somebody. Turn and box. Hold your rebounding position and go get the ball. You know, it's effort. It takes work. If you want to rebound the ball, it's a mindset. It's a mentality. So, we have to really get to work these next few days and try and try and get that vastly improved. We got a stretch here five, six ballgames in a row against some pretty darn talented basketball teams, and we're going to have to be able to rebound the ball.”
(On the 10-for-10 performance at the free throw line)
“You know, it's like I told people. Ciera Johnson and Sam Fuehring are the two that are really working on bringing up their free throw percentages. You know, they're really working at it hard. They're in the gym. They're making 200, 300 every single day. But, if you look at the rest of the group, we're shooting at a pretty good percentage and tonight Ciera didn't get fouled and Sam didn't get fouled. So the rest of them go 10 for 10 from the line. So, those are just the numbers that stick out that we have to continue and work on. Sam and Ciera are good free throw shooters. They make them in practice. So I have no doubt when they get back up to the free throw line, they are going to make theirs.”
(On how tough the next three game stretch will be)
“Well, I mean you got two top five teams, a top-20 team, and then you're playing Western Kentucky here at home, who just beat a top-25 team, Indiana at home, and then South Dakota State who just went up to Iowa and won at Iowa. You know it's five games right there against five NCAA tournament teams and not just teams who are barely going to get in, but teams that are going to get in, and win basketball games. You know, it's going to tell a lot about our group. It's not going to define us. If we go 5-0, it's not going to guarantee us a trip to the Final Four. If you go 0 for 5, it's not going to mean you aren't going to get to the Final Four. You know, but it's going to give us a lot of things to be able to work on. What did we do well? Where are the areas of improvement? You know that's the fun part about playing these games, especially early on in the year. You know, we put the schedule together. I really like the schedule. I thought it was one of the toughest schedules we've had since I've been here. You know we started on the road at UT-Martin and you know Kevin (McMillan) and myself, we didn't expect his top two players to be out you know. So, that turned into a little bit of a lop-sided game. When it was scheduled, I had a lot of people going, 'Why are you going to UT-Martin and playing? You're stupid. You know you don't want to go there and play.' My thought is if we can't go there and figure out a way to win, how are we going to figure out a way to win on the road in the ACC? They said the same thing when we went to Middle (MTSU). 'You don't want to play there.' Well, I think it's situations like that, that can toughen your team up. So hopefully we can use some of those experiences throughout those games to hopefully get us prepared for Sunday. At the same time, you know they've got a pretty talented team. So, it's going to be the most talented team we've played to date. There's no question about it. So, we're going to have our hands full. We're going to have to make sure that we don't get hit in the mouth right as it starts you know and we have to keep our composure.”
(On how the team needs to continue to improve in order to stay successful)
“Well, we're going to have to play a lot tougher. We're going to have to rebound the basketball. That's really my biggest concern. Tonight, for the most part, I thought we took care of the basketball. We just got to get out of some sloppy play when we get the lead. You know, that's where you go from being a great team to an elite team. Team's that, no matter what the score is, they're going to play the same fundamental basketball. You know, they're not going to get pass happy and try to make three or four passes when, hey, on the second pass you got a wide open shot and the post is open. We sometimes over pass because we're trying to get ourselves a highlight for social media. Unfortunately, it's a terrible thing because you go from all of a sudden 10 assists and one turnover, I think it was in the first quarter, to finishing with 14 because we just get sloppy with it. You know, 14 turnovers are still not bad. But where we were after one quarter, it should have never gotten to that.”
(On the grind of playing three games in three days and the effects of it)
“I really don't think it takes any, to be honest with you. Now, if we're playing everybody 38 minutes those first two games, then I'd agree with you, but there were situations where some of them didn't play the fourth quarter. The first two games some of them didn't play, but maybe, five minutes in the second half. The Bowling Green game, I think, we may have had Asia [Durr] play 24 minutes, which was the most of anybody. Then in the game last night I don't think anybody played over 22 minutes. You can't tell me you're that tired. I mean any kid would rather play than practice, anybody would. We would have practiced a lot longer than some of them were out there playing. It's just a matter of being mentally tough, and understanding that you've got to keep that same mental focus during a stretch you're up or a stretch you're down.”
(What's your favorite side dish for Thanksgiving?)
“I like the candied yams. You've got stuffing. There's a lot. I've just got to stay disciplined myself and not eat too much.”
(Any of them that you won't eat?)
“No, I eat about everything. That's one thing, I'll try about anything.”
(What does Durr's shooting mean in terms of opening up your offense?)
“It means we get the opportunity to hopefully get some others involved. I'm challenging her now to evolve her game. She shoots the ball as well as anybody we've had here. Now because of that and people are going to be keying on her, I'm going to see can she start to get three or four assists. That's where all of the sudden you really start to expand your game. I know she can, now it's just a matter of her getting that. I still want her to look for her shot first, but if you're double-teamed, you've got to find that next person and start getting four or five assists. Now you really start being a problem for defenses. That's one thing I'll say for Mariya [Moore], she goes 2-of-6 and 1-of-5 from 3, but she comes up with seven assists, so she's doing more while she's on the floor even if she's not scoring.”
(On Mariya Moore scoring her 1,000th point two games after Myisha Hines-Allen achieved the feat)
“It sure is. It's quite amazing that both these young women have been able to get to 1,000 as quickly as they have. I think a lot of that goes back to that senior class we had two years ago, when Mariya and Myisha were freshmen, that just allowed them to focus on scoring. They were our two leading scorers their freshmen year because they played with a group of seniors who just wanted to win. They didn't care that two freshmen came in and took over the role of scoring. I think that just speaks volume for our program and the young women we have here. Now, they've been able to continue that. They're already at 1,000 right now, but at the same time I know Asia's our leading scorer right now going through six games. Mariya and Myisha are fine with that. They're excited for her. That's what is so impressive to me about the program we've built here. It's about Louisville. It's about the name on the front of the jersey. It's not about the name on the back, and that's why we don't even have names on the back of them. Somebody asked me before the game 'I see there's no names on the back.' I just told him that I asked the kids before the year started 'what number are you?' and they told me their numbers. Then I figured I didn't have to have their name and number on the back because they knew their jersey. So when they went to get it, they didn't have to flip over to the back and say, 'Oh this is Moore. This is mine.' We don't have to have a name on the back of it. Now it's really screwed Nick up being a first year radio guy because he says he's trying to learn them all as fast as he can.”
Mariya Moore and Briahanna Jackson
(On how Chattanooga got back into the game)
Moore: "I would say lack of focus. And, also, they're a good team, so I can't take that away from them, but on our part it was a lack of focus and rebounding. And the coaches coming into this game told us that they have a really good shot blocker, and I don't think we respected her skills, I guess, or pump-faked enough and she helped them with their momentum."
(On how it feels to score 1,000 points in her career)
Moore: "It's a blessing. It just shows hard work, I guess, but I'm more happy that we are 6-0."
(On why this team is 6-0)
Moore: "I think it's a combination of everyone's skills coming together at the same time. We were very talented last year, I just don't think we knew how to play with each other, so I think we're all learning each other's tendencies, what we're good at, and also just listening to the coaches and doing what they say to be successful."
(On just how good this team is)
Jackson: "I know how good we can be, but I don't think everybody on the team knows, meaning the freshmen. They still have to break through that wall and show how mentally tough they can be."
(On losing the focus after three games in three days)
Moore: "I think for certain people, a lot, but, also, we have to realize that they also played three games in three days and it didn't seem like they lost focus. We may have come out hot, but they were pretty consistent the whole game, so we just have to remember that we have to get better now because in the NCAA tournament I think the games are pretty close too. Maybe not that close, I don't think back to back, or like a day in between so it's just that we have to remember that we aren't the only team that's doing this. The team that we're playing is, also."
(On how good of practice this is for the NCAA tournament)
Moore: "I think this is actually great practice because, like scouting. The day before we have to study and make sure that's a priority and I think for our freshmen they're learning fast, so when we do get into the NCAA tournament, even though it's a while away, it'll be habits. They'll know like bounce back, focus for the next game."
(On what this next three game stretch is going to be like for the team)
Jackson: “This three game stretch is going to prepare us for what we can expect making a run in the tournament, so we're all looking forward to it and hopefully we come out with three wins if we play hard and do what we're supposed to do.”
(On how much playing a team like Chattanooga will prepare them for the next three games)
Moore: “I think the physicality from one to the next is similar – the three game stretch, even though we have more time between each game, is going to be a battle for 40 minutes. So this game even though we didn't do that, this week we have to learn from that because these next three games are going to be insane but I feel like we can battle.”
(On favorite Thanksgiving side dish)
Jackson: “I like dressing.”
Moore: “That's not a dish.”
Jackson: “It's stuffing…”
Moore: “I like Mac & Cheese.”
(On how much of that could you eat)
Jackson: “Well I eat all day.”
Moore: “We have practice. I'm going to have to shorten it this year.”
(On what makes Asia Durr such a dominant player)
Moore: “Time in the gym. She by far spends the most time in the gym than anyone on our team, and, also, from last year to this year, I think it's confidence. We instill a lot of confidence in her, and tell her, 'AD, hit that, you got it.' So, I think that helps her a lot from last year to this year.”
(On if it helps take pressure off other players having another scoring option)
Moore: “Yeah. Especially when you don't think she's going to miss. When she shoots it wide open, I don't think it's going to go out.”
Jackson: “And when other teams focus more on her, which will get Mariya more open shots, so she's definitely a good player to have on our team.”
(On what the team can improve on headed into the next three game stretch)
Moore: “Rebounding.”
Jackson: “We need to be more physical and not just try and rebound the ball, but push them back.”
Moore: “And less turn overs.”
Moore: “Well like she said rebounding, less turnovers, and also just when we get down, to rally as a team and come back up and not let up – every team goes on runs, so don't let their run last long.”
