Oct. 28, 1999
Bernadette Mattox
UK Head Coach
“We are really looking forward to the kickoff of the season in a coupleweeks. After practicing for a little over a week, there are some things youcan see and some things you can?t, but for the most part we have been pleased.”
ON FRESHMEN:
“As usual, the freshmen are just hanging on for dear life right now. RitaAdams, our 5-8 guard from East St. Louis, has surprised me by coming inhere and doing more than I expected. We feel that she will be able tocontribute a lot sooner than we originally thought. Melissa Langelier, the5-10 guard out of Canada, is holding her own and learning the offense. Bothyoung ladies have displayed a great attitude and we are very pleased withthem.”
ON SENIORS:
“What a treat Erica Jackson has been this preseason. As a senior leader sheis enjoying this year, having fun with it and working hard. She is makingthe other guards play hard and she is getting after them. She is reallybeginning to understand what it takes to win by making the people aroundher better. You have not seen the best from her, she is really starting tocome on as a player. And Tiffany Wait is playing as solid as can be. Thosetwo are great senior leaders and that combination has really been good forour cast of young people.”
ON LaTONYA McDOLE:
“The thing that excites me the most is LaTonya McDole. She has grown aninch since you all last saw her and is hanging around the 6-1 mark. She hasreally come on and has taken her game to a higher level than I would haveexpected in her career. I?m really pleased with that and we are going toexpect even more than that from her this year. She is really trying to bethat extra ingredient for this team that we were lacking last year.”
ON HER CONCERNS:
“The concern right now is our forward play. With players with the abilitiesof Laura Meadows and Shantai Owens, with their skills and theirphysicality, we as a staff expect more from them. We are not gettingconsistent play out of either one of those spots. Both have workedtremendously hard in the weight room and we are very pleased with theirgreat attitudes. We need both of those individuals to become animalsinside. We play probably have one of the five toughest schedules in thecountry so both of them need to become more consistent inside.”
ON THE UK SCHEDULE:
“Our schedule is definitely one of the top in the country. We take onPurdue, the defending national champion, and Connecticut in two of thefirst three games of the season. In the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge wecould face Clemson, the defending ACC champions, and Old Dominion who arethe defending champions their conference. Then we get Xavier who aboutknocked UCONN off in the tournament. It?s going to be a tough, tough schedule.”
“The SEC schedule is always tough. It is a great conference. Georgia haseverybody back and recruited the No. 1 post player in the country. They areprobably the most talented team in the conference. Tennessee just reloaded.LSU gained a bigger person inside and Auburn didn?t lose anyone. Theconference is going to be tough as usual so we are working hard to take ourprogram to another level.”
ON THEIR PLACE IN THE POLLS:
“I told our players, our play from last year helped earn them some respectand that is where you get the votes. Obviously playing in the NCAAs hasreally helped, but we are not looking at the polls. We are looking at whatwe need to do as a team. Polls just let us know that we are getting respect.”
“Playing as a ranked team gives our team more of a challenge. I thinkplayers are going to work toward that challenge to make us a betterbasketball team. When you are thrown into that group of great teams, youhave to work hard to live up to expectations. Our Kentucky team hasn?t beenthere in quite a few years, but we are trying to build that winningtradition now. When people walk into Memorial Coliseum or talk aboutKentucky basketball, they will know that they are going to have to play atthe highest level.”
ON HER GOALS FOR THE PROGRAM:
“We are working to be one of the top teams in the country and to keepKentucky at that level. That is where we are right now. As a staff, we havecommitted ourselves to doing that because we want Kentucky back on the mapas a top women?s team, to where we are one of the premier teams in thecountry all the time.”
ON THE POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM LAST SEASON:
“The response that we got from last season had a staggering effect on ourrecruiting. We got in on some of the top players in the country and we arenow going down to the wire on many of them.”
“We are getting players at the University of Kentucky who want to winchampionships. The style of play is something that they also enjoy , butmainly they want to win and at Kentucky they feel like they will be able towin championships.”
“It takes a few years to build a program because it takes time to get thetype of players who can compete with the top teams. All of those teams areloaded with great players. UConn has 13 great players and they have twoteams on their team. That is where we want to get to, but we know it isgoing to take some time to make that happen and get those caliber ofplayers in here. He feel like that has begun. We are excited about it andwe are ready to move forward.”
ON ERICA JACKSON:
“Erica needs more rest so she can be stronger down the stretch. I reallyfeel that Rita Adams has proven thus far in practice that she is going tobe mature enough to take on that role and give us a lot more minutes thanwe thought.”
“Erica is probably the reason that we did what we did last year. When youhave a point guard with her court awareness, her basketball knowledge andunderstanding of what the coach needs out of her system, it is a hugecompetitive advantage. She made the players step up to the level that sheplayed at and that is what your point guard has to do. The point guard isthe coach on the floor, the steering wheel on the car. I cannot say enoughabout Erica and what she means to this team. Erica is a warrior and she isthe type of player who will win championships for you.”
ON KEYS TO SUCCESS:
“Rebounding will be a big key to our success. We need to take a big step inour rebounding. The post play, meaning our forwards, needs to be better andwe need our post players to score more points. Our defense also needs to goup another level. If we can achieve those three things, I think we will bewell on our way.”
“If our forwards step up and do what we are asking them to do, we will beable to play with anybody in our conference.”
ON THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE PRESEASON:
“We are very pleased with Stephanie Christman. She has taken everythingthat we asked her to do in the spring and worked on it in the summertime.She is going to surprise a lot of players this year. She has given our postplayers everything that they can handle so far this year. Her confidencelevel has really risen and you can tell that on the practice level.”
ON MAKING A STATEMENT AGAINST UConn:
“With UConn being the No. 1 team in the country it will be an especiallyimportant game. They are going to have their crowd there and they have agreat crowd. I think that game is really going to help prepare us for theNCAA tournament and the other games that are going to be ahead. We had somegames last year in that type of atmosphere so I think it is something thatour players are prepared for and ready to handle.”
ON TEAM CHEMISTRY:
“Our team has good chemistry because our talent is good. Our older playershave established a high level of play and intensity. I tell our olderplayers that if they work hard, the younger players will work hard too.”
ON TIFFANY WAIT:
“Tif is a trooper. She has given all that I have asked of her, but I amgoing to be asking for more out of her this year. From her we need morescoring, more penetration jumpers and vocal floor leadership. She has greatindividual skills, but we need her to involve her teammates more.”
ON EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS TEAM:
“We could be an extraordinary team or an ordinary team. If we do a good jobof rebounding, scoring points in the paint and play great defense, there isno reason why we would not have an extraordinary season.”
Erica Jackson
Sr., Guard
On the atmosphere surrounding the team:
“Right now the atmosphere is great. Everyone is expecting a lot from usthis year since we have so many people back from last year. We know thatpeople are expecting big things from us, so we’ve really been working hardto live up to the expectations. With three good freshmen and five returningstarters, we’re expecting a lot this year, too.”
On having a Division I year under her belt:
“I have a better feel for the SEC and our other opponents. Once you knowwhat it’s going to be like, it makes everything easier.”
On the team’s approach:
“We know we need to get our forwards more involved. It takes a whole teamto win at this level. We’re going to go to our forwards a lot more this year.”
On the teams goals:
“Our goals are the NCAA Championship and the SEC Championship.”
Laura Meadows
Jr., Forward
On the off-season:
“I really hit the weights this summer. I really tried to get stronger forthe season and the off-season is the time to do it. I’m just excited to getback to playing games.”
On her transition inside play:
“It’s been tough, but you’ve got to have strong post play in thisconference. Last season, Shantia (Owens) and I weren’t consistent enough.We’ve been working hard in the off-season and I think we’re getting there.I’m starting to believe that I can be a tough inside player. I’m morecomfortable and I’m really starting to like it.”
On the team’s attitude:
“We feel like we can compete with the Tennessees and Georgias now. We’veput in a lot of work and we’re looking forward to playing the tough teamsso we can prove ourselves. There’s just a lot of excitement around the teamnow.”
Tiffany Wait
Sr., Forward
On the preseason:
“Practices are going pretty good this year. We are learning new plays and,with three freshmen, we’re also working on our old plays. It’s exciting andwe are ready to get the season started.”
On coming off one of UK’s most successful season in recent years:
“We have to go out this year and do even better than we did last year. Itwas good last year but that is in the past now.”
On what she worked on during the off-season:
“Coach had me work on the simple things like dribbling, shooting and passing.”
On the season approaching fast:
“We’ve only been practicing for a week and a half. Our games are less thantwo weeks away and we are just getting the feel for each other. We aregoing to learn more about each other throughout the year, it’s just amatter of us playing together more.”
On UK’s tough schedule in 1999-2000:
“That just makes us better prepared for the post-season.”
On playing teams like defending national champion Purdue:
“It will give us a chance to see where we are as a team. Having thatopportunity should make us a better team.”
On the rising excitement surrounding UK women’s basketball:
“It is exciting when we come out of the tunnel (like at Midnight Madness)and see everybody here cheering for us. That’s what it is all about, havingfun out there and performing for the fans.”
LaTonya McDole
So., F
On where she needs to improve this season:
“Coach Mattox talked to me about how I need to be more of an offensivethreat and average more rebounds than I did last year.”
On the UK forwards being more aggressive and physical this year:
“Coach Mattox is trying to get us to come out with more intensity. We talkabout being more active every day. Our discussions are about reboundingmore and being more physical around the basket.”
