Oct. 29, 2008
Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Opening statement…
“It’s good to see everybody and we are certainly excited to start a new season and the players have been working hard up to this point. It’s always an honor for me to coach a season at Kentucky. It’s a special place to be and a special place to coach. We have an exciting season in store. Practice up to this point has been a little unusual to me. It’s my first time to coach a team like this where a lot of our major contributors are either recovering from injuries that they sustained last season and coming back from that or we had some players sustain injuries after we got back in the fall. It was an interesting preseason and we have had to be creative with how we work our way through that. From the start of practice on October 17 until now, I have been extremely pleased with the intensity level and we will have to be an intense team that plays very hard to be successful. I certainly believe we have the capabilities of having a good team. So we are excited and ready to get it underway. We are looking forward to a good year of UK women’s basketball.”
On the injuries…
“Amber Smith is recovering very well from her knee injury and has done a fantastic job rehabbing and that’s a real credit to her, our athletic training staff and our medical staff. She is far from being 100 percent, but she is looking awfully good. Our other very viable option at point guard is Carly Ormerod and she missed 16 games last year with a foot injury so we’ve tried to be very conservative with how we have used her in practice. When you don’t have your two point guards it lends for some creative combinations out there. I think it’s been good for our team. It’s put people in some uncomfortable positions and I think you can learn a lot from that. Lydia Watkins who is a major factor for us had a stress reaction last fall and you treat it with a lot of rest. Today will be her first day to see any type of practice. You have Eleia Roddy who’s battled some injuries. She’s looked very good but you have to watch her reps in practice. Victoria Dunlap had her knee scoped during the summer. I’ve never been in a situation where a lot of your major contributors are coming back from one injury or the other.”
On injuries causing depth problems…
“I think in basketball you’re always concerned about your depth because unlike football you just don’t have a lot of people on the depth charts. With 13 to 15 scholarships you just aren’t going to be able to get stocked at one position. It will be a particular concern for us. When you lose your top players, it’s very tough in basketball. It will be a concern we have but the way everybody is performing right now and the intensity with which we’re practicing right now, I feel optimistic.”
On getting players to step up into leadership roles…
“I have been giving that a lot of thought. You take our junior class for example. When they were freshmen there was a very clear cut leader in Jennifer Humphrey. She was a very vocal, very powerful personality. Their sophomore year we had three seniors that had been in the program and had done a lot. Now they can kind of wade around their freshman and sophomore year and defer to those people. They are one step away from being the seniors and leaders on the team. We just have to work very hard to start developing that leadership early. That’s something you can develop. You can put them in situations that force them out of their comfort zones. I think a big part of leading is being able to make tough decisions that aren’t always popular. It’s a process definitely but we have probably made more strides this preseason in those areas through different situations than I’ve seen this team make all last year.”
On if the second year has been an easier transition…
“I think I’m much more comfortable and I think our players are too. Our players certainly have a better understanding of what is expected from them in practice, how they carry themselves, how they go about their daily business. I think if you’ve done it the right way in year one, it’s always easier your second year.”
On the identity of this team…
“I’m extremely pleased with their willingness to play defense. It’s going to be something that we always try to do here at Kentucky. They’ve shown a real willingness to play hard on that end of the floor and that’s something that for our team to be successful we’re going to need to be able to do that. We’ve had some players really embracing the defensive end and that’s important. Rebounding is something that we did well last year and helped the team that was challenged offensively be extremely competitive in the SEC. We’ve tried to address our offensive production. We’ve gotten into game situations and in an atmosphere of being more accountable for production earlier in practice. I think that’s going to help us and it’s already started to show some progress in practice.”
On Carly Ormerod…
“I think she’ll play point guard and two guard. It’s Carly’s senior year and she has expressed a desire to go out in a very special way and she’s been willing to do whatever we ask her to do. It’s going to be important for her to truly show some leadership on this team, she’s worked hard to do that at this point and she’s getting better. Her scoring has to get back to that double-digit type of scoring from her freshman and sophomore years. Last year, she couldn’t get into a rhythm because of the injury but she has been impressive so far this season. She is a very decorated player who came in as an All-SEC freshman and then her sophomore season was productive. But then you hit something you can’t control like the injury and I think it’s difficult to go through something like that for the first time in your life. Carly and I have spent a lot of time together talking about it and I think she has learned a tremendous amount about herself and what she can do for our team through that, but know she has had some very frustrating days.”
On the 35,000 make shots this summer…
“That just came out of an observation of mine that our players needed to be more dedicated to getting in the gym and taking responsibility for their offensive game. Basketball is a very dynamic game and I tell our players this all the time, we can’t get in a huddle, you don’t have do-overs. There’s a responsibility that you have to take on personally for your individual game and if you don’t get in the gym and put up your shots and get that repetition in, then it’s very difficult to get on the court and make open shots. We had several players embrace that challenge and were successful in completing it and it was a good thing for them. The people that did that, we are seeing them shoot the ball well right now.”
On the loss of last year’s senior class…
“When you lose that type of dynamic it’s important for people to recognize that and understand that void is not just filled because you become a senior or junior. What I’ve been talking to our team about now is that we aren’t just a team because we have Kentucky across our chest. Being a team is not a given, it’s not a divine right that’s placed on you. You have to become a team. You have to become a leader. Different people have different skills, some people leading comes more naturally. We have the collection of players we have and someone has to fill that leadership role. We have three or four people that the team has come up with who they are going to look to for leadership. I’m trying to work with that leadership council that we have on our team and help them along. We need someone to fill that void (of the senior class). It’s an interesting thing to see. For me a part of the process is trying to develop these young women as more than basketball players but trying to develop them as people and to be successful when they leave here and that’s part of our mission. We work hard through our three winning tools -honesty, hard work and discipline – which serves as our baseline. When you have a group like the seniors last year and they leave, there’s a void and it needs to be filled and we’re working hard to do that.”
#34, F, Victoria Dunlap
On Carly Ormerod and Amber Smith returning from injury…
“I’m excited for everyone to be back on the court. It will be good to have Carly Ormerod and Amber Smith back from their injuries. It will be interesting to see those two on the court together.”
On practice so far this season…
“Coach (Mitchell) has been creative about what drills we do in practice. He doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt, but he also wants everyone to build their momentum. I even switch from post position to guard position and that has been giving us a nice variety.”
On making personal improvements…
“Over the summer I improved on my offensive skills like shooting and free throws. Last year my free throw percentage wasn’t very good and I worked a lot on that.”
On Kentucky’s defense…
“I believe defense will be our calling card this year. We want to have a big defensive year and get a lot of rebounds. We have a lot of athletic people on this team who work hard and play good defense.”
#23, G, Rebecca Gray
On transferring to Kentucky…
“It’s good to be home and it’s nice to have such a great facility to come back to in the Joe Craft Center. It feels like home and they welcomed me with open arms. It was tough to leave North Carolina because I committed to them and I felt bad leaving them, but it’s great to be home and be around my family and people who know me and grew up with me. It’s great to say I’m a Wildcat and play in front of my home crowd.”
On what it’s like to sit out this season…
“As a competitor it’s always tough to sit out and watch your teammates out there. There are ways I can contribute to the team. By sitting on the bench, I see things that maybe they don’t see so I can help them with things like that. This season I will just help them vocally but next year I’ll be ready to come in and make an impact and take this team to another level. I’m really excited about that.”
On rumors about health issues keeping her sidelined…
“Since I am sitting out a year, they just want to make sure that I’m as healthy as I can be. I’m going through a couple of cardiac tests to make sure everything is working like it should. These are things that a lot of athletes have that are curable with medication. We’re just waiting for the tests to come back and hopefully everything turns out the way we except it to.”
On Coach Mitchell’s 35,000 makes challenge…
“I love to shoot and the extent of my practice has been a little bit of shooting. Coach Mitchell has been incorporating a lot of shooting into practice and I can definitely see a difference in the girls’ shooting percentage from the beginning of practice to now. It’s only up from here and I feel really good about the season. It’s a big commitment to make 35,000 shots and a lot of us have accomplished that. It just shows that we’re taking steps forward to become a better team.”
#00, PG, Carly Ormerod
On this being her last year at Kentucky…
“I went to Coach Mitchell at the beginning of the year and told him that I wanted this to be a special year. This is my last year here and I want to make this time worthwhile. Especially coming off last year where my injury set me back so much mentally and physically. I am excited about this season and I’m ready to go.”
On what position she wants to play this year…
“I just talked to Coach Mitchell and told him that I will play wherever he wants me to. Amber Smith is a great player and I love playing with her. I have been playing a lot of the two-guard spot these past couple of weeks and I really like it a lot. It gives me a better chance to score and I just want to be out there on the court.”
On her health…
“I feel 100 percent, but keep the prayers coming. You never know when it could come back. Hopefully, I will stay healthy. I don’t do any of the intense cutting drills, but I do participate in 80 percent of practice. Anytime we go up and down the court, I am in there.”
On how Coach Mitchell has been creative so far in practice because of the injuries…
“He has done a great job. We have been going up and down and playing a lot. Our scrimmages have been great so far with our practice players, who do a great job. It has been a lot of fun not doing as many drills in practice but being able to scrimmage.”
On being a leader on this team…
“I have been talking to Coach (Mitchell) and we are really trying to get this team heading into the right direction. I am going to be the leader. I feel that I have been a leader on this team before but now I have to take it to the next level.”
#2, F/C, Jackie Sanders
On expectations for this season…
“I have to step my level of play up a lot this year. We need more people that specialize in scoring because that’s what we lost last year.”
#24, PG, Amber Smith
On the upcoming season…
“I’m very excited for this season. It came about very quickly, but I’m ready. Practice has been going well and I’m excited to get out there. Our team is going to do good this year.”
On how she thinks the team will do this season…
“We can do a lot, especially because we’re building on our successes from last year. We want to have a better nonconference record and have a great SEC performance. That helped us a lot last year. We can definitely improve on last season and I think we will.”
On last season’s success in the SEC…
“That is a huge boost of our confidence this year. We are excited for this year and the SEC is the best conference in the country. We really need to build on the success from last year.”
On how she motivates the team…
“When other players are down or I’m down, it’s very important to keep everyone upbeat.
I try to bring energy and let everyone feed off of it. I try to get everyone into the game with energy, because it’s contagious.”
On recovering from her knee injury…
“Health-wise, I feel really good. I’m getting back into things at practice, getting more comfortable and getting used to different situations. I’m ready to go. The injury was hard at first, especially going into the post season. When everyone was practicing I just wanted to be out there. But, I felt like I did a good job encouraging people and being a leader off the court. I learned from the experience.”
On practice so far this season…
“It’s been different at practice because sometimes we have to take it slow or take it easy because of the preseason injuries. Now that we have enough people, we’re going at it hard because the season is just around the corner.”
#4, G, Keyla Snowden
On how it feels to be back in Kentucky…
“It feels great to be home. It is going to feel great to play in front of my hometown fans and family. Coach Mitchell has been great and everybody is real nice. The team has really welcomed me in and I feel like I am right at home here.”
On how it will feel to sit out this year…
“I thought that it would be hard, but it is getting better. I am still practicing and getting to work on the areas that I need to improve on. I think this year will be helpful to me. This team can accomplish great things. We have great leadership from our seniors and some others as well. I think that we will do well in the conference this year also.”
On how the team looks so far…
“Everybody is stepping up. Amani Franklin, Carly Ormerod and a lot of the veterans have really been playing well in practice. There is a lot of leadership coming from Amber Smith, Carly Morrow and Victoria Dunlap. A lot of the younger players have really stepped up, too.”
On the chemistry of this team…
“We are all meshing well. All but three are returners from last year, so we are all getting along very well. Coach Mitchell is a great guy to play for.”
#12, G/F, Lydia Watkins
On differences between this season and last season…
“We lost some players but we’ve been working hard in the offseason to try and get better. We have a lot of people adjusting to different positions. It’s definitely been a challenge for us but we have been doing well.”
On the strength of schedule…
“I wouldn’t say [the schedule] is intimidating. It shows that each game we will have to come out and do what it takes to win, but that shouldn’t intimidate us.”
On the importance of the beginning of the season…
“The first couple of games will be very important for us. We have new players coming in and we still have people adjusting to new positions. Doing the little things that work for us to win is what’s important.”
On filling the offensive void…
“We have all been working together to get it done. There isn’t going to be one person that can get it all done for us. Eleia Roddy has been a big help, especially with her experience. We have all been working hard though.”
On Coach Mitchell’s 35,000 shot challenge…
“Coach Mitchell’s challenge definitely helps us offensively. It helped us show commitment and dedication. That’s what Coach was looking for when he assigned the summer challenge. He is very serious about us getting in shape and improving our game.”
