Louisville Women's Basketball Postgame Quotes
December 14, 2016 | Women's Basketball
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Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz
(On the defensive effort)
"It's the best we've played defensively from start to finish. I was really proud of them. It's something we've talked about the past two days, we went back and watched our Western (Kentucky) film. In the fourth quarter, we defended extremely well against Western, we boxed out, kind of disrupted what they wanted to do offensively, but the previous three quarters in that game, they were getting what they wanted. They're a good basketball team, very well coached, South Dakota State's the same way. We knew coming in here tonight if we allowed them to dictate to us what they want to do offensively, we were going to be chasing them around a lot, and that's one thing we did not want to have happen. I thought we set the tempo early, did some great things defensively, turned them over and then converted those into points, which is what we really have to continue to work on and continue to get better at, but overall I thought our effort was very good. We worked harder on post defense tonight than we have all year. We circled the post several times, kept moving so it was difficult to throw the pass in there, came away with I think five or six steals on post entry passes, not just when our posts were guarding down there, but when our guards were, too. So I was just really, really pleased with our physical and mental effort tonight."
(On Jazmine Jones game the past two games)
"Jaz was a big spark, and that's one thing I talk to her about. When she comes and practices well, it normally relates into a game and that's one of the things for freshmen especially, and some of our sophomores, it's hard for them to understand. It's like, 'Oh, I'll come and just turn it on in the game.' It doesn't work that way. You've got to bring it every single day and then all of a sudden your habits start to carry over into games. Jaz, when she attacks, she's really, really good. Our last ballgame against Western, she was always trying to pass the ball, well that's not what she does real well. Mariya [Moore] is a very, very good passer, and when I put Jaz in for Mariya, I'm wanting to Jaz to attack because that's what she does really well. Mariya's not as good off the dribble with a pull-up jumper, but Jaz is, but Mariya sees the floor phenomenal. She finds her teammates and that's not Jaz's forte, so it's like do what you do and do it well, and for Jaz, a pull-up jump-shot and attacking the rim is what she does well and she was outstanding tonight."
(On the teaching points out of the game)
"Yeah, we'll talk to them and show them the effort they gave. That's a teaching point in itself. It's a positive thing, like look what happens. Does it guarantee you success? No. But boy, it sure feels good when you give that effort and you're like, 'Yeah, I gave it everything I have,' and then we'll worry about the scoreboard after the game."
(On whether Lamar Jackson winning the Heisman helps all sports in recruiting)
“Well, I think for sure. It just puts our name out there even more. It gets our school name out there. I think everybody knows who the University of Louisville is across the country. I mean we have more success recruiting in California because they know who we are. Now with Lamar winning the Heisman, it just puts us out there even more. We definitely make sure everybody knows he won the Heisman. We're putting it out there too.”
(How valuable is this win since they did not have Macy Miller?)
“It's definitely a big loss for them, but it's one of those where I have no doubt that they'll get adjusted to playing without her. Aaron does a fantastic job with that ball club. I mean for them to win against George Washington on Sunday down, I think, 18 after the first quarter and still come back and win by five… It's going to take some time for a few of them to get adjusted to their new roles. Some of them are going to have to get more shots. But the last thing I'd call them, and I know everybody says mid-major this, mid-major that, that's the last thing they are. They're a very good basketball team, extremely well coached. When you go to Stanford and you're about 30 seconds away from winning at Stanford in the second round of the NCAA tournament, you're a pretty darn good basketball team.”
(This win is still going to be as strong in March?)
“Well, I think yes because I think they're still going to win a bunch of ball games. They have a very talented team. We played well tonight. We played as well as we have defensively all night. Madison [Guebert], number 11, she shoots 48 percent from the 3-point line, and we held her to 0-for-7 because we were harassing her. Whenever she had the ball, we tried to be there. Then on a few of them she got left open, but I think she was a little worn down and coming at her that when she was open it was kind of a surprise. We're fortunate that she missed those. I have no doubt that they're going to win plenty of ball games, and it's going to be a very good win for us come March.”
(On how important getting reserve's in the game for a while, help with fresh legs)
“I think it's really important for us, it's not just for the next couple of days. It's important for us to be able to rely on our bench more. When Mariya and Myisha get tired, I've told them you can't save anything, there's no reason to save anything. Go out there to start the game and go as hard as you can and then I'll give you a breather when you need one. When I can get Jaz to go out there and do what she did, and I thought Ciera Johnson played extremely well tonight. Defensively, she did a lot of really good things so when we can get more depth then our starters are going to be able to come back in with fresher legs and I think hopefully we can continue to play the way we are.”
(On how important having Cortnee Walton back is)
“The kid is a worker. She isn't the most talented player out there but I will say her and BJ, night in and night out, give the best effort of anybody that we have. It was great to see the rest of them play with a little more energy tonight but those two I'm never telling them you have to run or you have to do this. They're out there doing it. Cortnee, by pure will, she comes up with five offensive boards again. She pursues the basketball, she refuses to get blocked out, is what it comes down to. Rebounding is all about effort. You can run in there and run into somebody's back and make it look like you're trying, or you can actually try and get around them and Cortnee does that. That's what separates her. I'm trying to get my freshman, when they're on the bench, to just watch her. Watch what she does, she never runs into somebody's back and that takes will and it take effort.”
(On the talent coming into South Dakota State)
“He does a fantastic job I'm telling you. You look at his roster and it's Minnesota, it's South Dakota and every once in a while I think he has one from Iowa right now. But he does a great job of recruiting to exactly what they're trying to do and it's a very good system. They're kids executed extremely well.”
(Early thoughts on Charleston)
“Well, they gave us all we wanted last year at their place before Christmas and our kids remember that, so we are not taking them lightly at all. We will prepare tomorrow and then come out and play on Friday. They aren't tired. Kids would rather play every day of the week than have to practice so I'm not worried about anything like that but I am worried about now getting them switched over and start preparing for Charleston.”
Cortnee Walton and Jazmine Jones
(On Jazmine Jones scoring a season high)
JJ: “Every day in practice, coach Walz and coach Sam Purcell have been telling me to be aggressive and don't be afraid to shoot the pull up jumper. He would tell me I haven't been shooting it in practice, and was he like, 'Why did we recruit you then? Shoot the pull up jumper.' That's what I did today and it so happened to fall.”
(On whether they were surprised by the margin of victory)
CW: “A little bit because South Dakota State is a really, really good team. They lost to Stanford last year by one point, and Stanford went to the Elite Eight. We knew they were a really good team, but we did a really good job of preparing for this game and I thought we did a good job in preparing and execution.”
JJ: “I think they're a really good team. They have some nice shooters, they're an all-around team, and have nice post players.”
(On the rebounding battle)
CW: “They had some really good, big girls. Coach Walz told us going in that this was a team that had players that were our size, and their guards were pretty big guards. We really emphasized back boxing out and trying to rebound. We were really close on the boards, but I think we still did a pretty good job boxing them out.”
(On when they knew Kylee Shook could shoot the 3)
CW: “Since she's been here. Coach Walz has been challenging Kylee because her 3 hasn't been falling, so she hasn't been shooting it as much, but during the year she has been shooting it really well. Coach Walz has been challenging her to get into the gym and shoot it more, like making hundreds of 3s a day, so that when she is in the game she is comfortable to knock it down because she is more than capable.”
(On evaluating the win and what to work on for the next game)Â
CW: “Honestly, I was really happy with our performance because usually we will come out strong and kind of die off a little bit, but I thought that we consistently played really well on defense and that's what we been focusing on. We know that we can score, but we just need to do a better job executing. I guess you could say that executing on offense and getting to the spots we need to get to, but overall I think that our whole program is really happy with the way that we performed today consistently.”
(On the team winning three out of its last five games against teams in last year's NCAA Tournament)
CW: “I definitely think that there are a few that got away from us, but I think that it was good that we learned early rather learning early in the season, rather early then later. It was a great schedule that coach Walz put together; it was challenging. Obviously, we wish that we were 5-0 through this five-game stretch, but these were all NCAA tournament games and I think once the NCAA tournament comes around well be better for it.”
(On Lamar Jackson's performance at the Heisman Trophy ceremony)
JJ: “We haven't seen him since, but I thought that the Heisman ceremony was awesome, and I thought his speech was excellent. He really praised the coaches, the university, and his mom too. His mom plays a big part in his success, and I thought that was awesome, that he is a big family person too.”
CW: “I think it was great for our university, and as a testament to who he is. I thought his speech really showed how touched he was. From an athlete's standpoint, you've worked so hard your whole life, and you finally get … I mean the Heisman is the biggest honor you can get as a collegiate football player, and he is the youngest one ever now to get it. It is just a testament to his hard work, and his persistence, so we are all very proud of him.”
(On one possession when she stole the ball and scored in transition)
JJ: “It was funny to me, because when the girl threw the ball, I was denying, and I got my hand on the ball and the ball dropped. I thought she was about to pick it up because, for one, when I looked at it, the ball was almost out of bounds, so I was like OK. My first instinct was just to grab it and go, and that is when I started laughing, and I was just having fun and smiling.”
(On the first-half performance)
JJ: “I think it was pretty good. It will definitely boost my confidence as we go along in the season. I think I shot the ball well, and BJ (Briahanna Jackson) had some nice passes to me, and I just praise everyone that passes the ball to me. My teammates told me to keep shooting, like AC (Arica Carter) told me I was 7-for7, and to keep shooting. Then one play in the second half, Cortnee (Cortnee Walton) set a screen and I was wide open, and everyone said, 'You are wide open, shoot the ball.' I hesitated and I missed it and was like 'Oh dang.'
(On whether she could feel that she had the shooting touch pregame)
JJ: “It was somewhat of both. I came out early, earlier than usual to get shots up, and I was feeling OK because it was going in. Then, when the first shot went in, I was like, 'OK, I probably have something going here.'”
(On what they can take away from the victory despite South Dakota State's leading scorer absent)
CW: “I can take away that our team has the ability to consistently play shut down defense. The most they scored was in the third quarter and it was 11 points. We held a great team to 30 points the entire game, and sometimes we have people who are scoring almost 30 points in a quarter against us. I think overall our execution defensively was huge. The fact that we kept our foot on the pedal and didn't let up especially with our younger kids in, they did a really great job too only letting them score five points. This is just a great game for us as the season goes on to know that as the year goes on we have a lot of depth on our bench and that we are going to be able to pounce on people.”
