University of Connecticut Athletics
2009-10 Women's Basketball Media Day
10/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Oct. 15, 2009
How was the summer for you?
"Actually, it was kind of a fun summer because I got a chance to kind of get away from basketball completely, and at the same time be forced to think about basketball at times when I'd never think about it. In that respect, I kind of got the best of both worlds. Here I am now ready to go. I've got a lot of basketball fresh in my mind so I'm kind of anxious to get started."
Are you able to keep your UConn duties separate from USA Basketball duties and are you able to flip back and forth between both programs?
"I've always been the UConn coach. When I was over [in Russia], I didn't necessarily think of myself as the USA coach. I just thought of myself as coaching that particular group of players. When I got back here Monday, I came to work Tuesday, talked with my players and worked out with them. I'm pretty good at that. I could pretty much separate things when I have to and that's kind of what this is all about."
Is there like a tingle when you walk out their as the USA coach?
"Not really because it was just one of those, `Let's go over there, let's see what we do, let's have some fun and see how good we can be.' But, there were only three Olympians there. The rest were kids working really hard, trying to earn a spot or make a showing. Next spring when we get together at some point and we've got what looks like it's going to be close to what the team is, that's when you really get a sense of it. It won't hit me really, really hard till next September when we're playing for the World Championship. That's kind of when it will really hit home for me."
What are your thoughts on the First Night basketball festivities and might some of your players dunk?
"I have no idea what to expect tomorrow. I always take this thing with a grain of salt. It's not about basketball. It's not about your team or the season. It's strictly a media/fan event that you just hope everybody gets through in one piece. The dancing is usually pretty good. I think tomorrow's format is going to be fun. I like that. It's probably long overdue and I'm kind of excited about it. I know the players always get a kick out of this stuff. I don't think anyone wants to scrimmage. I don't think anyone wants to watch scrimmages so I think it's just filling time when you scrimmage. Tomorrow, we're having all that other stuff with the guy's team and I think it's going to be a little more entertaining for the fans."
Who is going to take the leadership void with Renee Montgomery gone? Do you see that coming from the guards? "That's something that the fact that you have to ask means it's probably not there and if it's not there right now, then it's not going to be there next week, two weeks from now or a month from now. It's something that's going to have to evolve and it can come from anywhere. People automatically assume that the best player is going to be your leader or your upperclassmen are going to be your leaders. It doesn't always work out that way. Leaders emerge when they're needed and certainly we probably could use one or two of them to emerge at some point. When that's going to be? I don't know. Where is that going to come from? I don't know that either, but eventually it will. I'm confident in that."
Can this team be as good as or better than last year's?
"I don't know. Things change, people change. Certainly circumstances change. I think each individual on our team will be better than they were last year. I can see that already. Each and every one of them is better. Does that translate into having a better team? I don't know. Again, you can't discount what Renee did and how she did it. You can have all the ingredients sitting on the table but if you don't know how to mix them, you're not going to like what you're cooking."
Do you know how the guard rotation is going to work for this season?
"No, you know I've always been one to give the benefit of the doubt to players that have been there and done it before. If you have a team that didn't make the NCAA Tournament and you say, `Well we have everybody back,' then so what. It means they weren't very good so you kind of start all over sometimes, but if you have a team that won the National Championship and you have a lot of guys back, you have to give them the benefit of the doubt. I don't know what the rotation is going to be but these guys are going to be in it. We start practice Saturday and all those guys that were on the floor against Louisville are in the rotation. How it works? I don't know. We'll have to figure that out as practice goes along. We have three new recruits: Heather Buck, Kelly Ferris and Caroline Doty, so we'll see how they fit into the scheme of things."
How important do you think the two weeks in Russia were for Tina Charles' confidence?
"Well, Tina learned a lot during those past two weeks. She learned a lot about herself. She learned a lot about what I want and what I've wanted. She saw the level that's out there that she has to aspire to be at and how you get to that level. She saw me coach Sylvia Fowles, Candice Parker and some of the other big players that were out there. She saw what I expected from them and I think it really opened her eyes as to what the expectation level is to play at that level and then because she was successful playing at that level, I think she came away feeling like, `There's a whole other level that I can get too that I didn't last year until the final game, and now the challenge is how can I get to that level every single day in practice and every single game.' I think she's much more aware of it coming back. I think she feels better about herself than I think she's ever felt ability wise, confidence wise, everything. Tina's always been really, really, really young and you just hope that this trip helped her grow up a lot because if it did, we're in for a great year from her."
