University of Connecticut Athletics
2005-06 UConn Women's Basketball Media Day Quotes
10/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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On freshmen:
“They haven’t done anything wrong yet in practice. They love it here. They think it is the greatest place in the world and they should. In addition, this is probably the most energetic and upbeat group of kids that we have had here in a long, long time. Individually and collectively they have fun and have outgoing personalities. They are just a joy to be around. They are coming here at just the right time. They are pretty good, and I think, immediately, they are going to contribute. We have a couple freshmen that are going to have to play because they are that good. That’s just the way the game is now. Every kid coming in to college is really, really good. ”
On filling the starting lineups:
“It is kind of neat already. I don’t think Renee (Montgomery) is sitting here thinking Ketia (Swanier) is the point guard and I am the backup. I don’t think she thinks that way at all, so we are going to find out who is what. I don’t think Kalana (Greene) is in here thinking about Nicole (Wolff) and Mel (Thomas) and about them being here last year. She is thinking I am here to play. We will find out in practice. I think all of those things are really, really good things because it can only make you better when you’ve got that much competition going on. To me the great teams either have five or six great players and five or six players that know they can’t play. Or, you have to have a bunch of guys that are really close in ability and the competition is fierce every day in practice. I think that is what we seem to have. They are all pretty good.”
On the team:
“I asked them the other day to fill out a form with what they thought was our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. One of the things they listed as strengths was that we were pretty interchangeable. The kids think we have a lot of players that can play a lot of different positions which is really good. We have gotten a lot quicker since last year also. Those things are obviously different from last seasons. They said our weakness that we are not very big, but one of the things that I see immediately is their willingness to compete and their attitude.”
On losing last year:
“I think losing last year was a shock to their system. When all you have experienced is winning a National Championship since you have been at Connecticut it becomes difficult when the reality of the way 99.9 percent of the country operates sets in. They didn’t realize it could be like that. It is a little bit of fuel for the fire that you probably need once in a while.”
Is it too early to get a sense of what this team will be like?
“Yes, but based on what I see there is a little bit more consistency of approach and consistency of thought. Trying to play without Diana Taurasi and Maria Conlon is very difficult, but now we have gone through it and it is time to move on.
When can we expect Brittany (Hunter) to become a threat?
“It could be the first exhibition game, or it could be later. There really is no definitive time table. She was going great and then she got the setback with the hamstring. Her knee, so far, has responded really, really well. The hamstring thing came out of nowhere.”
On the road schedule:
“Some of the tougher teams that we have to play are on the road. It is incredibly difficult. I hope they (the team) understand that. I think it is better when they know there is no easy road to where they want to go.”
It’s your senior year. How do you feel?
“Totally mixed feelings. More than anything I’m really, really excited. Especially to have the season here and know that it’s starting. But if you start thinking that it’s your senior year, it’s hard to not get sad.”
Do you have some making up to do from last year?
“I think everyone here has the feeling that the season didn’t go the way that we wanted it to. We didn’t work the way we should have to make it go the way we wanted it to. Everyone knows that and is ready to start a new season.”
What are some of the things that you have to overcome from last year?
“More than anything it’s like you wish you could erase that season and start over and I feel like there’s a new, fresh energy among all of us. It feels like we have a new start.”
On the Freshman
“They’re really good. They all add something different.”
On the guard situation
“I think Ketia (Swanier) having a year under her belt and Renee (Montgomery) coming in with a lot of competitiveness is really going to help the situation. I know it’s going to be different than it was last year.”
What is it that you carry over form last year the most?
“I think that you take what you can of the good times. The carry over feeling for me is the feeling that we didn’t do everything that we could have to end the season the way we wanted to. I think that’s what’s in all of us to want to make the season go so well.”
What could you have done differently?
“Every little detail matters. We didn’t bring enough energy or competitiveness. That’s something that needs to be there every day.”
Are you encouraged by what you’ve seen in Brittany?
“Yea. Definitely. She was out here over the summer. She’s just really talented, athletic, skilled, everything.”
How much do you need Brittany Hunter this year?
“I think she’s really going to add a lot as another post player inside that can run. We have Barbara and Will who are really strong and athletic but I think Brittany just has height and quickness. I think when you put all of them together with Charde and you have a tremendous inside.”
What did you do in the off-season as far as getting yourself healthy?
“I had some off-season surgery to fix the problems I had last year. I think they figured everything out. From a leg stand point, I don’t have any problems at all. I’ve been playing since early August. It was just a slow process getting back in. In mid to late September is when I started to feel like myself again. I’ve also lost quite a bit of weight.”
Do you feel better than you did last year?
“I feel light-years better than I did last year coming into the season physically. I’m really looking forward to it.”
What responsibilities do you have, as an individual, this year to make this team better?
“Just basically, be the energy. Coach made a point to tell me that every time I approach a game with the right energy and attitude then our team has been really good. When I don’t do that, our team is not as good. I just have to approach every game with the same energy and attitude no matter what’s going on with myself.”
What is carried over most from last season?
“Probably that we didn’t do a good enough job of preparing ourselves last year. We knew it was going to be hard but we didn’t prepare like it was going to be as hard as it was. I think that was one of our downfalls so I think this year we’ve taken it upon ourselves to know that it’s going to be hard and there will be a lot of things that we will have to do in order to bee good.”
Who will be the leaders this season?
“I think all of our seniors and I am sort of in that class.”
What is you eligibility?
“I have one year of eligibility left (after the 2005-06 season).”
Are you going to use that?
“I think I’m just going to worry about that later and worry about this season.”
What are your expectations for yourself this season?
“I’m definitely looking to improve on last season. I’m going to try to be more effective offensively, be more aggressive and just play better all around.”
How are you going to approach your new Big East opponents?
“I think the same way that we approached the ones that left the league. We take every game seriously no matter what.”
Do you think that you might be at 100% now, or even close?
“I don’t know. I haven’t really run a whole lot to get in shape so my knee fatiguing, that’s a possibility but I’m not sure. Coach knows best.”
What have you been doing so far?
I don’t squat below 90 and I probably won’t ever. I’m able to do all of the drills, any kind of cutting or sliding. Right now I’m just trying to get back in shape and improve my jumping.”
At what percent are you, would you say and what’s it going to take to get back to 100%?
“98. It’s going to take a lot of playing. I haven’t played more than two weeks in a row.”
What’s been the toughest part of this?
“Patience. I’ve had to trust other people which is hard after a surgery. I’ve had to trust the trainers and my instincts and just really be determined. It’s been hard.”
Do you know how important you are to the team?
“I know I’m a big asset because Willnett (Crockett) is a senior and we just got Cassandra (Kerns) and the others are really undersized post players. I think I add a lot more strength and size.”
How has last year’s loss changed the way you are approaching this season?
“We’re really eager to start the season. The six weeks of preseason that we’ve had to go through has really got us mentally ready.”
Is it going to be a big change going into the season?
“We know what to expect now and we can’t take it lightly because if we do then the same thing that happened last year will happen again. Basically, we just need to have the mind set. We’re going to attack everything like it’s our last.”
Do you remember sitting here last year? How is this year different?
“I had a fresh uniform last year. Now I’ve played in a Connecticut uniform before. I’m not a freshman. I know what to expect and I have a year under my belt. You have to take everything as it comes. I’m not a freshman anymore, but I don’t know everything. I’m eager to learn.”
Are you excited to get the season started?
“We’re very excited. I feel like we’re a lot closer. We took a lot of time to just be with each other so we can learn and understand one another.”
On the Freshmen
“On the court, as far as preseason workouts, they give it everything they have. They’re very positive. They lead by example. When things get hard, they’re right there with us. Off the court, good personalities. They all bring something different. We have a few that we laugh at and a few that we laugh with. They fit right in with us.”
What are your expectations for the season?
“I think it will be a lot better than last year. I think the whole atmosphere; our chemistry is a lot better.
When you say chemistry how would you describe it?
“We all live together. We’re all around each other all the time. We go out together. We are all just like one big family.”
What are your expectations for yourself this season?
“I worked on a lot of stuff that I didn’t do well last season over the summer. I think I improved on a lot of things.”
You went to point guard college this summer, how did that help you?
“It was more mental than anything. We were just learning the game. It was things that you’ve never learned and I was like how have I been playing basketball for 10 years and never learned this. It helped a lot; it made me look at basketball differently, even when I’m just watching games I think of things that I learned there.”
How is having Brittany Hunter back going to make your job easier this season?
“Brittany just plays with such energy. She rebounds, she runs the court, she’s a big presence on the team and having her in there playing is just going to help everybody out.”
Have you accomplished everything you wanted to since last season?
“I worked on things I needed to improve on, like shooting quicker, I got my shot up higher, and shooting off the dribble. I just learned a lot, when we went to point guard college I learned to look at everything differently.”
What is point guard college?
Ketia (Swanier) and I went to point guard college at Bryant University and you’re in the classroom half the time and you work out half the time. They teach you a lot of things that I never even realized about basketball.”
What is the toughest thing from being a senior in high school to being a freshman in college?
“Seniority. In high school your whole team depends on you and looks up to you because you were the senior. Now being a freshman I don’t know everything that is going on. I am confused most of the time, so my teammates help me out with that. Those are the biggest differences, being confused and learning so much at one time.”
