Head Coach Mickie DeMoss
?I can?t believe it was a year ago that we were out at the golf course getting ready to kick off the season. I am excited about this year. A lot of things have happened in a year. We have made a lot of progress with this program and with this team. Last year was a really satisfying year for me as a coach and a very exciting year for our players. Beating Tennessee certainly was the highlight last year. With getting to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year and getting all the starters back for this year, we?ve received a lot of attention in the pre-season polls. We?re looking forward to this year.?
On junior forward/center Eleia Roddy?s ACL injury?
?That was certainly a disappointing situation when Eleia Roddy went down with a knee injury. Like I told my players, injuries are the down side of athletics. There is no rhyme or reason why it happens, when it happens or who it happens to. We were just in a routine drill and she made an attempt to change directions. Her knee went one way and her foot stayed planted another way. I am very sad for Eleia because she is certainly one of the hardest working players we have on the team. The team is saddened by it because she is a member of our family. Any time you lose a member of your family it takes a while to regroup and recover, but that?s what we?re doing. We?re moving forward. We can?t change what happened. We have made some adjustments already. We?ve moved Lydia Watkins ? a freshman from Christian County ? to the front-line group. We feel confident that she is going to be able to give us some solid minutes along with Jenn?e Jackson, who has been working in that position all along.?
On whether high expectations have changed her coaching style?
?I don?t think there is anything that we change. My expectations have always been the same and that?s just a level of excellence. I think that is the way that I try to coach everyday. We talk about it with our team because they?re young and this team has never been ranked in the preseason before. It?s not something I want to sweep under the rug and act like it?s not there. We have talked about it and the expectations as a group, but as far as it changes the way I approach practice or the way I approach my players, my expectations are always high.?
On the leadership provided by the team?s three seniors?
?It has been tremendous ? the leadership that Jennifer Humphrey, Nastassia Alcius and Jenny Pfeiffer have provided for this team. It makes a head coach?s job and my entire staff?s job a lot easier because they know what we expect on the court and off the court. They certainly help us manage the rest of the team. To have three seniors who have bought into your philosophy and your system, then they certainly are the reinforcers of it. They are with those players in the locker room, in the dorm, when they are out eating, so we have a lot more consistency throughout the team. One area that I have really noticed the change in is practice. Based on the previous three years, I put down the number of items that I have on my sheet and figure out how long it is going to take. I try to plan it for a two-and-a half hour practice and now, I look down and we are done after practicing an hour and 45 minutes. We get done so quickly because they know the expectations, drills and move very quickly. It is a lot because of our leadership. We don?t have to stop and coach effort a lot.?
On the status of junior center Sarah Elliott?
?Sarah Elliott has been off the [stationary] bike. It is a very positive sign because she was limited to certain drills she could do last season and she?s been able to get through practice without having to be pulled out. That is a positive sign. Hopefully we can just keep progressing in that area with Sarah.?
On breaking through the top three (Tennessee, Georgia and LSU) in the SEC?
?It?s pretty tough. You have got programs that have been established for a long time and they continue to bring in some of the top players in the country. Tennessee, Georgia and LSU have been the big three in our league the last few years. LSU lost Seimone Augustus and it will be interesting to see how they can replace all those points and rebounds. Georgia lost its backcourt. You never know. We just keep plugging along and I think that if we can have consistent recruiting years every year, those recruits can get older and we can have a veteran team. We need to take care of Kentucky and take care of our recruiting every year. I think if we do that, it can certainly happen for us.?
On the transformation of senior Jennifer Humphrey?
?It has been a transformation with Jennifer Humphrey from the first day I walked out on that court and watched her practice. She has developed a tremendous work-ethic. She is taking her game seriously ? it?s not just a hobby for her anymore. She has become a leader. She has always been competitive, so she really brings that competitive spirit everyday. She doesn?t want to lose and she?s improved her game, so now she can back up the leadership with her game. She has developed a more consistent game on both ends of the floor. That?s one of the things that makes coaching so rewarding when you see a player like a Jennifer Humphrey and how much progress she has made not only as a player but as a person and a leader, that?s very rewarding.?
On whom she thinks has been most improved this season?
?That?s hard to say. One player I have really been impressed with has been Samantha Mahoney. She dropped 12 pounds over the summer. She took up boxing, really worked hard at her conditioning, and I have been very impressed with her in fall workouts. She is just lighter on her feet, her conditioning is the best it has ever been and she is more of an aggressive player. ?
On Carly Ormerod?s effectiveness as a point guard last season?
?I thought Carly Ormerod?s presence at the point last season was a key factor for us. Her composure, her decision-making and the fact that she had a bigger physical presence than what we have had in the past really helped us. She has got good size, she is a very intelligent player, she has an unbelievable will to win and she is just a very, very good point guard. She stepped in and probably surprised me. I didn?t know how well she could perform as a freshman point guard coming into this league against a lot of the great athletes in the SEC. She obviously did a very nice job.?
Kentucky Players
#00 Carly Ormerod, So., PG
On the expectations for this year after last season?s success?
?It?s a completely different year. I think it?s a complete 180 from last year at this point. We had the underdog role then, and not many teams knew about us. We ourselves didn?t even know what we could accomplish. This year, after the success of last year, we have a lot more confidence and I don?t think we?re going to be able to sneak up on anybody this year.?
On not being an underdog anymore?
?The team has talked about it. The coaches are making sure that we know we?re going to have to show up every game. They want us to know we are going to have to play our best every single day.?
On the team?s level of motivation in the pre-season?
?I definitely see more of a hunger in this year?s team. This summer, everybody was here and we gave it our all everyday. I think everyone is just driven to get better individually and on the whole as a team.?
On being a freshman point guard in the SEC last season?
?It was definitely a learning experience, that?s for sure. It was a lot of fun and I?m glad I got put in that position. I learned a lot of things. You have to work hard – the SEC is definitely not an easy league. Every team in there is awesome and you have to show up every single day.?
#11 Samantha Mahoney, Jr., G
On the team not being an underdog this season?
?I like it. I think it says a lot about what we have accomplished so far and I think we have really earned it.?
On whether the team has maintained its hunger and intensity level?
?We definitely still have that hunger because we want to pick up where we left off last year. We don?t want to go backwards from where we left off last year. We just want to keep moving forward. That takes hunger and hard work.?
On the Coach DeMoss? intensity level heading into this season?
?She?s just as intense as ever, if not more. She says that we?re not the underdogs anymore, and people are going to come in trying to beat us.?
On her expectations for this season and the strengths of the team?
?We definitely want to do better than we did last year. I think we?re well-rounded in a lot of areas – rebounding, penetrating and we have good shooters.?
#33 Jenny Pfeiffer, Sr., G
On the intensity and motivation in practice?
?It?s pretty intense. It?s like this (the success of last year) never even happened. We definitely still have a hunger; last year did not end how we wanted it to end. I think we?re still feeding off of that because we know we can make it further than that (the second round of the NCAA tournament) this year. We have to keep building on that.?
On how to stay hungry and not be complacent?
?We have to keep working hard every day and know what our goals are. We just have to keep reminding ourselves how it felt losing that game (against Michigan State). We cannot let that happen again.?
On not having the underdog role anymore?
?I think it?s kind of fun to be on this side of the street this year. It will be good.?
On her attitude heading into the season and her free-throw contest with media members?
?It definitely helps not being under pressure before the season starts. This is fun to get everybody out here and have a little fun competition.?
#4 Sarah Elliott, Jr., C
On what differences people will see in her game this year?
?People will see better conditioning. It?s going to be a good year for me. I?m in a much better condition right now than I ever was at any point last year. It?s going to help everybody knowing that I?m going to be able to have more minutes running up and down the floor.?
On the successes of last season?
?Last season, there were a lot of great things for us. We had a lot of great moments, a lot of firsts and made a lot of great strides. This year we are going to have to remember that what we did last year we earned. This year we are going to have to continue to prove ourselves. Last year, we earned our spot; this year we are going to have to prove that we deserved it.?
On the team?s level of motivation?
?Everybody is already motivated. We come in here everyday and we get between these lines and we push it every minute. There?s not a moment where there has been a let down. On the first day, the freshmen caught on really quick. There were rough spots just because we hadn?t played ball together in a while, but everybody is really intense and focused.?
On junior forward/center Eleia Roddy?s ACL injury?
?I cried when it happened. I sat by her side and cried with her. Everybody needs her and she needs all of us. I?m dedicating this season to her and I?m pretty sure everybody else is too. She is about to go through something that is going to be challenging and this team is going to have to go through playing without her. She is a big part of this team. I?m going to have to pick up some of the slack and put some of what she did on my shoulders.?
#20 Chante? Bowman, Jr., G/F
On receiving high preseason rankings?
?It does give us confidence and it also tells us that we need to continue to work hard. We don?t want to be complacent and take a step back, we want to keep moving forward. It is a great feeling, but it comes with people wanting to come after us. We are not the underdog anymore. That?s why we are continuing to working hard.?
On junior forward/center Eleia Roddy?s ACL injury?
?It hurt us. We just feel sorry for her because she worked so hard this preseason. We know that she just wanted to be out there playing just like any other basketball player. We know that we have to continue to work hard and maintain our status. We just have to work through adversity.?
On her favorite moments from last year?
?One of my favorite things was when I would walk in the mall and kids would come up and ask for my autograph. On the court, of course, beating Tennessee was a great moment, and going back home that night and seeing it on ESPN ? it was crazy. It?s a dream come true to see yourself jumping and yelling. You get phone calls that people have seen you on ESPN. It?s exciting.?
#32 Jennifer Humphrey, Sr., F
On preparing for the upcoming season?
?We?ve really worked hard over the summer and it?s carried over to the preseason. We?re really excited about the season and being ranked, but we can?t become complacent about where we are. We still have a lot of room to get better. Last year, we were able to sneak up on people, but this year people are going to be gunning for us, so we have to bring our ‘A’ game every game.?
On maintaining hunger and intensity after having a successful year last year?
?I think that just knowing that we?re not the underdog anymore motivates us. If we?re going to keep getting better, we?re going to have to keep working harder. It?s not going to be easy; it only gets harder from here.?
On what it takes to upset some of the nation?s top teams?
?We have to make shots, rebound, and play good defense every night. Our attitude is there ? we know we can compete and beat these teams. We don?t just want to be a good team, we want to be a great team. To become a great team you have to stay disciplined in everything you do.?
On her development as a basketball player?
?I?ve just grown up. I?m older now. I?ve matured a lot. I?ve changed a lot since my surgeries. I?m a totally different person than I was before I went into surgeries. I love the game now. My freshman year we were losing I was disappointed because I came from a winning program. Now, we?re winning again and my love for the game has come back.?
On being a leader as a senior?
?When I was a freshman and a sophomore, I know I wasn?t as mentally tough as I am now. I think my maturity level has gotten better. In tough situations, I know how to handle myself better on the court.?
#1 Eleia Roddy, Jr., F/C
On going through rehab to recover from her ACL injury?
?It?s a long hard rehab. I think I will just come back stronger. I was injured during my freshman year and I rehabbed hard and worked hard, so I think I will come back stronger.?
On her teammates? reaction to her injury?
?I am going to be behind my teammates 100 percent and I know they are going to be behind me. It was devastating for all of us, but we?re still going to be a team and still work together.?
#21 Jenn?e Jackson, So, F/C
On having to fill the void of junior forward/center Eleia Roddy?
?I have been keeping a positive attitude about it. I am ready for it ? it?s going to be a big role to take over now that she is hurt.?
#23 LaQwesha Gamble, So., G/F
On the team?s high preseason rankings?
?We can?t expect to sneak up on people this year. Our intensity needs to stay high all the time. People need to settle into their roles, and make sure that everyone contributes.?
On the Kentucky fans?
?Our fans are the craziest, and the support is great. The adults seem to be even more psyched than the kids are which is good.?
On the level of competition in the SEC?
?The SEC is the best competition in the country. All the players are on top of their games. It?s not just one or two individuals you have to watch out for, everybody is playing at a high level.?
#25 Amani Franklin, Fr., G
On her expectations coming into her freshman season…
?I just want to contribute to the team in any way possible. I want to do anything that Coach [DeMoss] asks of me to be able to help the team.?
On preparing for the upcoming season?
?The practices are a lot more intense than they were in high school. I?m excited for the season to start and start playing someone other than ourselves.?
#15 Brittany Edelen, Fr., F
On her expectations coming into her freshman season?
?I am just giving it all I?ve got in practice and working as hard as I can. I am just working on doing all the little things to be able to reach our team?s goals.?
On the difference between high school and college?
?The tempo is just so much more intense just in the few weeks of practices that we?ve had. It?s good preparation getting ready for the season because I know the games are going to be a lot more physical.?
#12 Lydia Watkins, Fr., F
On the team?s practices so far this season…
?Practice has been going good ? the team is working really hard. I?m working extra hard because I?m coming off back surgery and want to get back to where I need to be.?
On the intensity level of the team?s practices?
?Things have been pretty challenging so far. High school was competitive, but not like this. I am working hard and am excited to get out and play in front of the fans.?
