University of Connecticut Athletics
Womens Basketball Holds Annual Media Day
10/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
“We lost four players who were really crucial to what we did last year to get to where we got. It seems like so did everyone else. If you look at all the teams that we play this year, everyone has question marks including us and each hope they have the right answer. For us, filling in for a guard that was really good, a couple big players that were good, and a player that could really shoot the ball. I think they assume that it is not a big deal and that we will be able to answer those questions easily. If that is the case then a lot of other people will be able to answer their questions as well. I think that is what the regular season is all about.”
On athleticism of team:
“I think the big thing that has to happen is that all good teams have a complementary style where their offense and defense are in sync. There are few teams that are able to play quickly, but they are staggering on defense. Last November we were able to play a certain way on defense that allowed our offense to be very quick and very aggressive. As the year went on we were not able to play like that. This year we have to make sure that we don’t put ourselves in a bad situation defensively so that we can advantage of our athleticism on the offensive end.”
On Renee’s (Montgomery) Leadership:
“This team will definitely have the Renee Montgomery’s attitude because of her personality, the way she carries herself and the way she conducts herself. Her on court behavior, off court behavior and preseason behavior, everything that she has done since September first has been one more stamp that what Renee says will happen. There are no questions asked and I think Renee has been waiting a long time for this moment.”
Is this been something that has been building?
“I think over the last couple of years it has been building but when you are younger you don’t know what to do with it. There is a big difference between looking at a couple of players and saying ‘come on y'all and walking up to someone and saying ‘come on this is something that we have to do right now’. This is something that takes some time to get used to. It is easy to just throw it out there ‘come on you guys’ because you don’t threaten anyone but to actually put yourself out there, like she has since the beginning. It has been very competitive; I love the competition between her and Lorin Dixon. It has been really good.”
UConn Player Quotes
Senior Guard, Renee Montgomery
Do you think the loss to Stanford hurt’s more than any other loss so far because it was the first time you made it to the Final Four?
“Every year you lose, it’s the same. We made it further, so I guess it can hurt a little worse. I think just losing – it hurts period – whether it was the regular season game when we lost to Rutgers or in the Final Four. It’s the same feeling each time. When your season has ended not the right way, it’s not a good feeling.”
Talk about the backcourt this year – do you think it will be faster?
“Yeah, I guess you can say that. We lost one of the fastest players in the country, but I think we’re going to be quick in the backcourt. We do have a lot of depth in the guard position this year, which we had last year, but unfortunately injuries made it not seem that way. I think we’ll be fine.”
Talk about the leadership on this team. It’s you and who else?
“You know, I think collectively as a team it’s been really good, but I think Maya [Moore] of course is going to be a leader. I think actually Kalana [Greene] is going to come back and be a leader on this team. She’s been looking good in preseason. She’s not really the talking type; she doesn’t talk much, but I think she can still be a leader.”
What was the atmosphere around the team like this summer during pickup games?
“We always have a good atmosphere. I think we always have a certain level of intensity that we bring to every workout. It was good this year and again I think we just work hard every workout. We did it last year in the preseason and we did it again this year. This year’s preseason was kind of different. We had like little competitions going on, so it was different this year, but everybody was going hard the whole time.”
Junior Center, Tina Charles
Is there a different mentality about you this year?
“Yes, I believe there is, more of the fact because I’m a junior. Right now for the post-players, [the team] is looking up to me and Kaili [McLaren] especially. So I’m just going to work out hard every day.””
How do you become the consistent player that Coach expects you to be?
“Just realizing that he’s giving me an opportunity. Just realizing that every day in practice is an opportunity for you to work out, go hard and show your teammates that they could trust you and to gain the respect that you want inside the lane. So I think that’s more of what I learned.”
Is that one of the more difficult things you’ve had to come to grips with?
“Yeah, it was. It was more of thinking like, ‘you know, he’s always hard on me,’ and I was trying to figure out why, what was going on. I know now.”
