Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
?We?ve had a great preseason. We?re off to a good start in practice. Today will be the ninth session that we will have practiced. I think it?s such an exciting time to be at Kentucky and an exciting time to be a player at Kentucky. Certainly, it is an exciting time to be coaching at UK. I?m looking forward to showing this team off to all of our fans. I really can?t talk any more about what a hard-working group of young women that they are and what a special season I think we have in store if they continue to work the way they have shown their work to be so far. We?re very excited to get the season started. We are so proud of our football team at the University of Kentucky. We had a lot of recruits in town this weekend and you can?t imagine the excitement that creates for all of the sports here. Coach Rich Brooks has been a great mentor to me and a great friend to me and I?ve never been happier for a coach than I am for Coach Brooks. We?re looking forward to Saturday in having a good practice and then getting over to Commonwealth to watch us beat Florida.?
On the opportunity to work with the senior class again ?
?That?s the most special part about it is coming back with these players. Coach DeMoss did such a great job that first year of getting the staff focused on the task at hand. That was to bring in a very talented group that would work hard enough to get us to the position that we?re in now to have a great season five years later. That group had to be special. That group had to have players that were not afraid of a challenge because we had a huge hill to climb at that time. When I think back about getting in those living rooms and talking to those young women and to see what they have contributed to Kentucky over their three years really motivates me every day to be prepared and give a lot of thought to how we can best be successful. They are a driving force in our plans every day. I want to make sure that I do my part to give them every opportunity to make this a special season. It?s great for me to come back and just be a part of their senior season.?
On each of the four seniors ?
?The think I would say about all four of them is the commitment they have made to conditioning over the summer and in the preseason. As a group, I?ve tried to get them together and make them understand how important their attitude is everyday. As a group, they have done well. Sam Mahoney came to us from Detroit and she has been an All-SEC player. She is playing better than I?ve ever seen her play. She?s gotten better since I coached her when she was a freshman. She?s just an unbelievable player. I think Sam is set for a special season. Chant? [Bowman] is another perimeter player who is really one of those heart and soul type players that gets her motor going every day. We try to have a very intense, very up-tempo practice and she?s one of the catalysts. She brings a great attitude everyday and her shooting has improved tremendously. I look for her to provide us with some offensive production and she has always been a defensive stalwart, so we will look for that to continue. Eleia Roddy is bouncing back. I think everybody that?s familiar with the program knows that that was a big loss for us last year. Her progress has been tremendous. She is still a little limited in the time she can practice. But I was really encouraged with the way she responded down at Rupp the other night. We didn?t have a lot of time to be out on the court. That?s a tremendous atmosphere to be in. She has not really played much and the way she performed in just that short period of time shows you what she?s capable of doing. I think Eleia will be a big boost to us. Sarah Elliott is working extremely hard. Sarah has struggled with conditioning over the years. I?ve been very proud with the progress she?s made in that area. She had a hip-flexor yesterday that?s going to limit her in the coming days, but I?m really pleased with where she is conditioning-wise. I think that?s the key to her going from a 13-14 point scorer to a 18-19 point scorer if she can stay committed to conditioning. Those four will be key to the success that we have this year and I?ve been pleased with them so far.?
On the keys to being successful this season?
?We have three principles that we work on in this program every day. Those are honesty, hard work and discipline. Those are the cornerstone of our program. That?s how we?re going to be successful. It?s not a revolutionary approach, but it?s so important that they understand not only in basketball, but when they leave here that there is really no substitute for it. I think it?s my job every day to make sure that we lay out a plan to be the hardest-working team in the country. I tell them that as coaches we?re going to give them an opportunity every day to be the hardest-working team in the country. It?s up to them to follow through, just as it?s got to be up to them when we get on the court against Tennessee or Vandy or a tough team. It?s got to be our job to point them in the right direction, but they?re ultimately going to have to get it done, so I stress that the only way to prepare for that is to give your absolute maximum from a prepared standpoint. We tried to do a lot of that. By design, we?ve been going in shorter sessions twice-a-day so that we can work at a level that is going to benefit us mentally as the tough times in the SEC start. We will not be the most talented team in the Southeastern Conference this year, having said that, we do have enough talent if we maximize our talents and come together as a team to be very special. We try not to fool the players into thinking just anything can happen. We?re going to have to work hard in order to be that team.?
On the condition of Sarah Elliott?s knees ?
?She has knee pain every day. It?s chronic and it?s there. We are in close contact always with our training staff. Tricia Matysak is just phenomenal in dealing with the health of our players. With Sarah?s condition, Trish and I are in constant communication about how we can best serve her and get her in shape, while also keeping her healthy. To Sarah?s credit, this has been the most productive summer and preseason conditioning in her career. That tells me that the knee is allowing her to participate fully. The knee, right now, is not precluding her to do anything. It?s a fact of her life that she will have pain from time to time. We?re working hard with her mentally to be prepared and be productive.?
On having to build up confidence after last season?s close losses?
?We have honestly not had one conversation about last year. That goes back to that talk component. We just haven?t talked a lot about the past. That?s not anything I think can benefit us right now. I do try every day to get us in a position to be mentally tough. When you?re not the most talented team, you?re probably going to be in close games and tough games. You?re not going to be blowing people out every night, so it?s imperative that we are mentally tough. That may sound like a given, but there?s a way you can get that done. The only way you can get that done is in practice to put them into stressful situations and very strenuous situations. They are already improving on some drills that they didn?t think they could even do when we started out. They?ve already mastered some of those. Our minds are very powerful tools and we?re trying to sharpen our players? minds as well as their bodies. As you come down the stretch in close games, you?re going to have to be mentally tough. That?s why I was so impressed with our football team on Saturday night. Those guys had to be mentally tough and you can?t tell me that the coaches haven?t given those guys an opportunity to work on that.?
Kentucky Players
#20 Chante? Bowman, G
On being more mentally tough this upcoming season?
?It?s going to be really important to come out of those close games with a win. We were upset when we lost those close games last year because those were tough games. We came back from those and were able to finish off the season, not like we wanted to, but we finished strong.?
On getting back to the NCAA Tournament ?
?We need to continue to put in the work and progress. There was no guarantee last year that we were going to get back there, and we learned from that. It would really mean a lot to get back there this year. We want to get back there and compete, not just win a couple games. It?s our goal to win and compete to win the NCAA Tournament.?
On differences in playing style between last year and this year?
?We?re going to be running this year. We did it in spurts last year. Believe me, if you watch practice, all you would see us do is run. We like it because it gives us easy transition baskets and we can run teams down because we hope that they?re not going to be as in shape as we are.?
On what it means to have a former assistant coach in Matthew Mitchell back as head coach ?
?I think it?s a big advantage. As far as a completely new coach coming in, it would be much harder from an upperclassman?s standpoint. It?s much easier to have a coach you already know and are familiar with for a smooth transition.?
#11 Sam Mahoney, G
On the expectations for the team this season?
?We want to at least get back to the NCAA Tournament like we did a couple years ago, and win some games there. We want to try and have the best year in Kentucky history.?
On what it means to have a former assistant coach in Matthew Mitchell back as head coach ?
?I think it helped us with having the transition of a new coach. Coach DeMoss kind of shocked everyone by leaving, but it was a great advantage to have Coach Mitchell here because he already knew us and the type of players we are.?
On the style of play this upcoming season?
?We scrimmaged a couple times and the pace is just really fast and up-and-down. We really like it, and I think that it would have helped us already, but with the new freshman coming in and a lot of them having run in high school, they should be able to just go with it.?
On her leadership?
?I?m just trying to be more vocal and continue to be here for my teammates, especially the younger ones. I?m a senior now so it?s kind of what I?m trying to do.?
On the group of seniors this year?
?They all mean a lot to me. We all came here and took a chance on a program that really wasn?t doing that well, but we?ve been able to build it up a little bit. We really want to go out with a bang.?
On the talent of the team?
?It?s a relief to see more weapons out there this year. We have a lot of good players who can step up and help out. It means teams won?t be able to key in on stopping just one person, which should help us get a little bit more easy baskets this year.?
#12 Lydia Watkins, G/F
On the difference between this preseason and last season?
?It?s more intense and we have been staying focused more. We have been trying to practice hard work and discipline everyday. It?s been going good so far.?
On the team?s emphasis on good defense?
?We do defense everyday and everyone has been hustling. I think we have all worked hard and that is going to really help us.?
On overcoming the back injury that plagued her in high school and last season?
?All summer, I have been working hard to get in shape. That?s something I worked hard on last year and I have been focused on this year. I hope that it will pay off.?
On being a sophomore?
?I have a more experience. Last year, everything was new to me and I had to go on what I knew. I learned a lot of new things and coach taught me a lot. I have more experience, so I know what to expect.?
#25 Amani Franklin, G
On how her legs are feeling?
?It?s been going pretty good. It has been 5 months since my surgery and I?m out here practicing with the team and progressing. I?ve been on the back some during practice for rehab reasons.?
On the difference between her freshman and sophomore seasons ?
?I really understand the system now. Even with a new coach, it?s the same system. I didn?t really know what to expect last year and this year I do. This year is more intense. We are getting up and the down the court more because Coach Mitchell wants us to be a running team.?
#24 Amber Smith, PG
On the transition from high school basketball to college?
?The transition has been pretty good. I came from a tough high school, so that has made the transition easier. Practices have been hard, but we just go out there and give it all we?ve got.?
On being known as the funniest player on the team?
?I don?t know what that is about. I just go out there and give it all I?ve got, and if they laugh then they laugh. That?s just me being me.?
On being labeled a hard-working team by Coach Mitchell?
?Being a hard-working team makes us so proud of ourselves. We want to be known as a hard-working team, and we want to go out there and give it all we?ve got.?
#32 Catina Bett, C
On her first year playing college basketball?
?College is tremendously different from high school. The atmosphere is a lot different, as far as Coach Mitchell wanting us to be all involved. It is extremely intense, which is a lot different from high school. My high school coach always made sure we played intense, but it is a lot different here.?
On the importance of rebounding this season?
?Scoring is obviously number one to us, but rebounding, both offensively and defensively, is the key to winning games. It is the key factor, and that?s what we have to do. Rebounding well is how we are going to get a lot of easy baskets.?
On her focus on improving?
?I have been working hard at everything I can do to make my team better, including being a good player. My teammates make me better, and they keep me focused on getting better.?
On her fellow freshmen?
?We?re the Fab Five. The name says it for itself. We came here to help improve Kentucky women?s basketball and that?s what we?re going to do.?
#1 Eleia Roddy, F/C
On how hard it was to come back from her knee injury?
?It was really hard. It was tough to stay focused. I had to understand that it is a process to come back and it doesn?t just happen. I had to work extremely hard. I?m probably about 90 percent healthy right now, but by the time the season starts I expect to be back at 100 percent.?
On the benefit of having a new coach she already knew?
?His expectations are very high. It really helps to have a new coach come in that you already know and that knows you. Coach Mitchell knows the type of player that I am, and he knows that I?m a hard worker. The fact that I don?t have to prove anything to him has helped me come back, because I am not as worried about showing him what I can do. I?m not rushing anything.?
On Coach Mitchell and his coaching style?
?We all look up to Coach Mitchell. He is a great leader. His style is not that different from last year as far as offense. We are just going to be more of an aggressive team, more of an attack team. We?re not going to sit back anymore, and we?re going to win a lot more 50/50 plays. I think we?ll come out and do really well because we will be tough.?
On how her knee feels now?
?There is some swelling here and there, but it is not that big of a deal. People have been telling me I look really good on the court.?
On how hard it was to not be able to play last season?
?It was really hard just watching last year. I just had to play my role as far as encouraging the team. When the games go real close, though, it got a lot harder to just watch because I knew I could have been a factor in those games and help out the team. I spent two to three hours everyday just rehabbing. I had to think about where I wanted to be to get motivated during rehab. Seeing myself on the court with my teammates motivated me to keep going.?
On her excitement about this season?
?I am really excited about this season, but I?m also trying to keep it all in perspective. I just want to let my teammates know how excited I am to be back. I?m not worried about what everybody else expects of me or being an All-American. I?m just happy to be back, and ready to do all I can for my team.?
#2 Chelsea Chowning, G
On how it feels to be back playing basketball?
?It feels great. My love has always been basketball and I?m glad to be playing here at the University of Kentucky.?
On Coach Mitchell?
?He is great to work with. His passion and enthusiasm trickles down to all of us and motivates us to do better.?
On her goals for this season?
?We are looking to have the best season Kentucky has ever had. We want to get back to the NCAA tournament and go deeper than we have ever been before.?
On if Coach Mitchell influenced her decision to play basketball again?
?I worked some camps with him this summer and saw his enthusiasm and saw his love for basketball. It just made me want to play for him.?
On the reception she has received from her Kentucky teammates?
?They have been really accepting of me. It feels good knowing that they respect me like that.?
On playing for Kentucky and being from Lexington?
?It?s very special to me. Growing up I always kept up with Kentucky sports. It?s just an honor and privilege.?
#00 Carly Ormerod, PG
On practicing with Coach Mitchell?
?Practice has been extremely tough. It has been a lot of hard work but I can already see improvement in my game.?
On what makes practices extremely tough?
?We run for every mistake we make. He expects the best out of us, so when we let down, we have to get on the line. He has a vision of us winning championships.?
On the team?s expectations for the upcoming season ?
?It?s a huge motivation to get back to the NCAA tournament. Last year was kind of a disappointment, but I think we are on track with where we need to be.?
