University of Connecticut Athletics
Coach Auriemma Holds Teleconference As Huskies Prepare For Tennessee
1/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Coach Auriemma
What do you need to have out of Charde Houston to help out the team?
“A little more effort and intensity level. Maybe a little more aggressiveness. We are trying to get her to be a little bit more consistent in what we ask her to do. My fear is that Charde will just be one of those ok players that is going to look back and realize they didn’t play to their potential. I’m not prepared to let that happen. I am not one of these guys that let players play and after the fact thinks she could have been better. You are either going to be better, or you are not going to play.
You have had success getting off to a good start in these games. How important has it been in these series?
“Anytime you are playing a good team on the road, the only chance you have of winning is to not get yourself in a hole that you can’t climb out of or that you use so much energy trying to climb out of it that you have nothing left. The last couple years getting out to a good start, having the ability to control the game a little bit, being able to control the tempo to the way we want to play, that has been crucial.”
What do you get out of playing a game like this every year?
“I think, more than anything, it is a great barometer for, not only what is happening with our team right now, but also what could happen or what might happen down the road. I would say for the last 10 years every time we’ve played Tennessee, whether it be once or twice, I have come out of that game feeling like I knew exactly what the possibilities were for the season. I think playing them give me, personally, a feeling of what the future holds. It doesn’t always work out that way, but in the 10 years it has.”
What has Connecticut versus Tennessee meant to the development of women’s basketball?
“In the history of women’s basketball there has always been rivalries. The unfortunate part is that, through the years, a lot of those rivalries and match ups have gone unnoticed by the general public, the media and just about anybody connected in the sports world. What I think has happened in the 10 years that has happened in the years we’ve played Tennessee is, not only have the games been competitive and meaningful, but they’ve happened when there was a lot of attention focused on women’s basketball. I think it’s created an environment that has allowed so many good basketball programs to evolve today. To me, that’s what I am going to take out of it when I am finished coaching here at Connecticut.”
Is the match up as important now as it was for everyone?
“I don’t know that it is. Does it have the same significance? No, because there are too many other good teams and great match ups. At one time this used to be the game that everyone in the country wanted to see, and it’s the only game that national television focused on. Now, and I think this is a positive, there are so many good match ups that this is just one of them. It is not the most important. I think it is one of the premier games in the country. It may still be the, but it’s not the only one.”
On the rebounding match up with Tennessee:
“The rebounding match ups are generally not in our favor when we play Tennessee. I don’t know that anybody has a rebounding match up that is favorable when they play Tennessee over the years. I think that is one of the strengths of their basketball programs and has been one of the cornerstones of their success. It’s very difficult to out-rebound Tennessee. I don’t expect Saturday to be any different.”
How would you rank Renee Montgomery’s performance so far, and what does she bring to the team?
“She started off pretty good and then hit a wall a little bit. She leveled off and is starting to pick back up again. I told her yesterday, I told her today, I’ll tell her tomorrow and Saturday, if she plays like the best point guard in the country we have a chance to win the national championship. If she plays anything less of that we could lose by a lot in a lot of games. That is how important to us she is right now. It’s not exactly fair when you are a freshmen.”
Senior Barbara Turner
It this Tennessee game the game for you guys?
“Oh definitely. They’re rated number one in the country. We’re going in as the underdog so this will really let us know where we’re headed. I wouldn’t say that we’re going to be national champs if we win but it will say a lot if we do.”
After what happened with Carolina, do you need to win a game to validate yourselves in a way?
“Yes. Well, obviously Carolina’s on our minds but we’re not thinking about that right now. This is a totally different team tat we’re playing against and we know that. We know what we’re going in to. This is the biggest rivalry in women’s basketball and we have to approach it that way. Not taking anything away from the Carolina game but this is a totally different ball game.”
What about Tennessee worries you the most?
“Their rebounding. Obviously. They rebound the ball really well and that’s their strength. And their pressure. How we handle that is going to say a lot. We watched the film of last year’s game and that was the turning point of the game, us handling their pressure. If we had done that, we would have won the game. I think we out-played them for 39 minutes. They made a couple of plays at the end and pressured and they won the game. Pressure and rebounding are the two key things to execute and be better at in order for us to win.”
How much has the team grown since Carolina?
“I think we’ve grown a lot. I think our guards have. I think they have been through ups and downs in knowing what they have to do to run our team. I think they understand that now and Saturday will be a huge test for them. I’m looking forward to them stepping up to the challenge.”
Senior Ann Strother
Is there a certain hatred between Connecticut and Tennessee?
“There’s something about Tennessee when you know that you’re going to play them that makes you want to get out there and get after it.”
“I think it’s just that she’s been out for a long time and for her to get back into the swing of things is just going to take a little bit of time. I’m not worried about it though.”
Do you guys realize how important she (Houston) is to the team?
“Definitely. I think for us to be as good as we want to be and as good as we can be we need everyone to be at the highest level and Charde definitely can contribute a lot and we all realize it.”
How good of a team is Tennessee?
“They’re a good team, obviously number one in the country, haven’t lost any games. They’re tough so they’re going to be a good challenge for us.”
Will this game be a good gauge for you to see where you stand for the rest of the season?
“Yes I think so. It’s definitely a good test for us. We have played North Carolina and we’ve seen the things we need to work on and to have another test like this, I think it’s a good match up for us to see where we are.”
What has to be different from the Carolina game against this Tennessee team?
“I think it’s just that the Carolina game didn’t resemble anything that we worked on in practice. It wasn’t Connecticut basketball. For us to go down to Tennessee and to play the way we know how and the way we know we can is going to be really important.”
What’s it going to take to beat Tennessee?
“Playing smart and playing tough. They are a really athletic and aggressive team and I think we’re going to have to do a lot of little things like boxing out and getting rebounds. Just be aware of everything and take advantage of everything.”
