	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

February 15, 2016

Bobbie Kelsey

Madison, Wisconsin

THE MODERATOR: Women's Head Basketball Coach Bobbie Kelsey is here, and we will have opening comments and take questions.

COACH KELSEY: We just wrapped up a tough three-game stand, having started with Purdue and ended up on the road. Obviously we wanted to try to get more than one of those games to win, but proud of the he kids that they keep battling and we just fell a little bit short. Getting to the end, 5 or 6 points and maybe we give up an assignment somewhere and somebody is not quite where they're supposed to be, but it's not for lack of effort.

We're looking forward to playing Illinois. We have had some kids really step up, Michala Johnson has stepped up her game, Avyanna Young has stepped up her game, and the usually suspects are right behind those two, but we're happy to say that we've outrebounded some folks and kept our turnovers down, so there are some positives of not closing out these games quite like we want to.

Q. Michala, her numbers for most of the season up and down, maybe not what you were necessarily hoping for and the last three games, points/rebounds, was there a discussion involved or realization on her part that time is running short?
COACH KELSEY: Probably more the latter. Not really a discussion. Sometimes you can talk to them too much and get 'em -- and I think she needed -- I think the Christmas break helped her; she started to turn it on at that point. Maybe she does realize this is it, really for her. She don't have seventh and eighth years; you don't get those. So she has two more games to put on that uniform here and obviously it's only so many that are guaranteed. If you win at the end you keep playing if you win you keep playing but if you lose you go home. I think she is realizing that, that this is really the end, capital letters!

Q. Senior class came in with you as the head coach. Can you tell us what they have meant to you personally and the growth you have seen in them?
COACH KELSEY: We did come in as freshmen, so to speak, together. That's the first class that came in that we had a chance to recruit, albeit quickly. People just assume when you get the job, you've had four or five years to recruit them. Well, we didn't. For what they have accomplished, all the school records and all the personal growth and achievements that they have had, maybe not in the "W" column, but it's a lot of records that these kids have set, Nicole, Dakota, they have set a lot of team records, a lot of individuals records that were standing for quite some time.

So for me personally, I'm going to miss their personalities, and things of that nature. And they work really hard to get from where they started to where they are now. Nicole did not come in like she is going to end, Dakota didn't, Tessa, obviously, being a walk on. Mich was different because she transferred, but through her injury, with her knees and all the things that she's had to endure, those four actually being on the court, Rosie, obviously being a transfer, not being with us for very long, and Shannon, her knee didn't allow her to finish on the court. We're going to miss 'em, but as they go, they come!

I've been doing this for a long time and they do have to leave. They cannot stay. But they're going to move on to other chapters in their lives, and we're going to be there to help them. They always call for recommendations and things of that nature when they need to get a job. All kids out there need to remember that when they are giving their coaches grief, you will be call them for a recommendation and you want them to be able to say, oh, yes, not, Hmm, may not be the best person to write that, so a tidbit for the young ones coming up.

Q. What kind of recommendation would you give Shannon Malone?
COACH KELSEY: I would give her a good recommendation. It's been tough for her, obviously she started out playing. She wants to go into journalism and PR and she's good at it, but I think she has had to come to that realization, basketball, being on the court was not going to be the end of her story, but we always try to tell them, even if it's going the way you don't want it to, there is something in there that you have to find and learn from and grow from. We're doing that as coaches. I've not lost this many in my whole entire life, and there are circumstances that contribute to that, some of that is you're just trying to figure out how to get these kids all on the same page and get them playing hard. I commend them because some people would have packed it in, but they haven't, so for Shannon, it's quite different because she hasn't been playing, but we said build up your portfolio, there are things you can do as far as social media and interviewing and things of that nature so when you leave you'll have your portfolio ready to present to whomever you are going to be talking to get that job. She has done some stuff with the athletic department and social media and stuff like that.

Hopefully she is prepared. I haven't asked her too much about it, but she's been doing some stuff behind the scenes.

Q. You talked a little bit about rebounding. After not outrebounding a Big Ten opponent, you have outrebounded two out of your last three. What has made the difference there?
COACH KELSEY: We just know if we give a team the opportunity to get the ball, especially on the old boards, we're not going to help ourselves because our margin for error is slim to none; we can't hardly make any mistakes in a game. And that's why we've been getting to the end with 5 points, and one little thing goes wrong, and then it blows up, and it's not indicative of the whole game.

We have done a really nice job of boxing out, if anybody can tell, the opponents have not gotten the 20-0 boards that the opponents have gotten in the past. I think we held this last team to 8 and somebody else to, like, 6. Indiana had none in the first half, so we did a really nice job of keeping people off the glass, and we expect that to go forward because, again, if you don't box out, you're giving the other team a 50% chance -- somebody said it's 35% on the first shot, if you give an "O" board it's 50, if you give a second one, it's 65. So all of us in the room can probably score if we can shoot 65%. We would probably be all right with those numbers.

Q. As you're winding down, you've got four games left and the Big Ten Tournament. What do you try to focus on with this group with so few games left and something you want to accomplish?
COACH KELSEY: It's been tough for them because we haven't gotten the results we wanted, but we try to keep them focused on going out, finishing strong and not having a pity party for yourself when things are going not your way. It's easy to give up, hard to stay positive, stay focused and do some of those little things that we have been doing to keep ourselves in the game. If you're not in it, you don't have a chance.

So we're right there, we just have to continue to stress to them how important it is to keep doing the little things, the small details add up. When you don't do those things or one person just not quite where they're supposed to be, doesn't matter what the four other people are doing, so you have to have the five out there working together on the same page and relaying those messages from the bench to the other players and that starts with your guards.

So Dakota and Tessa and Nicole, Cayla, Chelle, the guards have the ball, so no offense to post players, we love y'all, but y'all don't have the ball; you're not bringing it down, you're not getting people in the right spots, but by all means, if you know where they're supposed to go, tell 'em, but it does start with your guards, and they have to be mindful of that every single possession.

I can't take any breaks, go over there, get water at the cooler and chill out. I have to pay attention as a coach, and you have your assistants there to help you, so everybody's got to do their job, do their part.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else tore Coach? Thanks, Bobbie.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297