University of Connecticut Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts Annual Media Day
10/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
STORRS, Conn. (October 10, 2006) -- The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team held its annual media day on Tuesday afternoon in Gampel Pavilion. The team will open practice on Friday night as part of the UConn First Night SuperShow and Midnight Madness.
Head Coach Geno Auriemma
Is there an upside to having a team with no seniors?
“Yes, I think so. Sometimes you get yourself in a situation where your seniors are dominant and the young kids just don’t know how to assert themselves. One of the benefits of having seniors, especially if they’re seniors that have played a lot is the experience factor. One of the benefits of not having seniors is that the young guys don’t feel constricted at all. They have to perform and there’s no deferring to other people, so it does open up a lot of doors for a lot of young kids; we’re going to try to take advantage of that.”
Is having five new freshmen a challenge as a coach?
“Yes, I think any time you get an influx of new players you get a little bit of unknown. You hope for the best and you’re anxious to see what they look like, what they can do and what they can handle. I always go back and forth; part of me wants to say ‘we’re a really young team’ and I’m probably going to use that excuse all the way up to the Final Four. We have to grow and learn how to play together and mature as individuals and as a team. I’m going to keep saying that until we get to the Final Four and if we don’t get there it’s because we were young and didn’t mature and we didn’t learn how to play together as a team. So, I think this year I’m going to be one of those coaches who says we’re young until we’re good and we’re young if we’re really bad.”
Do you sense that this team wants to go out and create their own identity in the history of this program?
”It’s a little early to tell that. I think sometimes it’s a misconception that just because you’re in the situation where you’re in a program that’s won a lot that you automatically become a winner just because you’re part of that program. As you can tell by recent events, that just because that existed in the past doesn’t mean that its going to keep happening. You always have to identify whether or not the players you have in your program are winners. You don’t know that until they win. We knew that the other guys were winners (Ann Strother, Barbara Turner, Willnett Crockett) Well now, we’re not sure whether these guys are winners or not, and they’re probably not sure they’re winners or not. But I’m sure they’re anxious to find out.
Will this be an ongoing process?
”Yes, I think it should be fun for them this year. It should be fun for all of to find out day to day how good we are, what our strengths and weaknesses are. Unfortunately and fortunately this is Connecticut. Any kid who decides to come and play at Connecticut, isn’t like ‘you know by the time I’m a senior, I’ll be ready to go to the Final Four.’ Kids that come to school here know that from the time they step on the court their freshman year that that’s what the expectation level is. You don’t get a grace period; you don’t get a ‘lets grow into our role’. And that’s good and bad because that’s what allows you to be good every year.”
Do you know who the go to person will be at this point?
”Not yet. I think that’s some thing that who ever that person is right now will have to carve out that out that role for themselves between now and when the games really start to matter. I would love to be in the situation where it’s more than one. The last few teams that we had it was always more that one. There may have been one player that was better than the others, but we’ve always been in the situation where there was a couple options at the end of the game. These last couple years our options have been limited, but now there’s maybe a couple kids that are thinking to themselves ‘I’m going to step into that role this year’. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people, I don’t think we’re going to surprise ourselves, but I do think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”
Junior Mel Thomas
Does this team need to build a legacy within the history of the program?
“I think it’s important. When people think about UConn they think about winning, and in the past few years we haven’t been to the Final Four, so I think we are just really excited for the opportunity this year.”
Do you feel this team has what it takes to win a National Championship?
“I feel that we do, and I feel like it starts right now. Its going to be determined right when practice starts and during the preseason.”
On the Duke loss last season:
“I feel like last year we didn’t really start playing our best until the end of the year. I feel that if we start off well now we will be a lot better off when March comes around.”
Junior Ketia Swanier
On Charde Houston:
“She understands she can trust us as pals. She can come out of her shell and come to us about anything she needed.”
Sophomore Renee Montgomery
Is there a team leader this year?
“Not at all, I think a lot of people have begun to emerge, we’re going to have a group leading. So far, I like it.”
What do you like about this years team?
“I like how everyone works hard, and I think that’s going to take us a far way. We are the kind of team, where the harder the workers are the farther we will go."
On Tina Charles:
“She’s really talented. I feel like she will adapt really well as a college freshman.”
