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BIG EAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 9, 2015Anthony BozzellaJanee JohnsonKa-Deidre SimmonsROSEMONT, ILLINOIS Seton Hall – 72 COACH BOZZELLA: First of all, I congratulate St.John's on another 20‑win season. Certainly they set a high bar. When I took over this job, I said I wanted to get our program to the level of success each year that St.John's has, so I give them a LOT of credit and I congratulate them. I certainly congratulate Amber Thompson. She's one of the most ferocious rebounders I've coached against in my 23 years as a coach. She's a tremendous competitor and a tremendous player. We are obviously very pleased. I knew this game was going to come down to toughness and grittiness and the ability to defend, things we struggled with on a consistent basis this year, but we spent the last week before we came here working on our defense a lot, and it showed. Yesterday and today, our defense is what won us‑‑ why we're the second highest‑scoring team in the league and 19th in the country. Defense is what won us these two games. I'm very proud of the girls for understanding and dedicating themselves to making that effort. On the other hand, we did need some offense. The lady to my right made some ‑‑ big shot after big shot like she has in so many big games, and the lady to my left has proven time and time again that she's one of the elite point guards not only in the Big East, but in the country, and the best leader I've ever had in 23 years. With that said, we're going to the Big East Finals, and I'm really proud of the kids. Q. Janee, you're down 13‑7 early on, and then you go on a 23‑8 run and you really got on fire. What was the key for you to getting in rhythm? JANEE JOHNSON: Just my teammates giving me the ball. They would dribble into the lane and kind of make the defense collapse and feed me the ball to me. I just think knock it down. Did it time and time again in practice, knock it down. Q. And for you, Dee Dee, you've been knocked out by St.John's each of the past two Big East tournaments. You know that feeling. What does this win mean to get over the hump past a team that's gotten you before? KA‑DEIDRE SIMMONS: It means a lot for the program. It shows how far we have come, and just how hard work pays off. We know what type of team St.John's is. They are a great team. They're very athletic, great players, and we feel as though we can run with them, and my team kept their composure today, and they knew what today's game meant, and we went out there and executed the game plan really well. Q. How important was it early on to get St.John's in foul trouble? KA‑DEIDRE SIMMONS: Well, we know that they have great players, and they do a really good job with getting into your body and stuff like that, so the referees were really on it today, and St.John's is very aggressive. So it was a no‑brainer, the fouls that were called on them, the charges, the push‑offs and stuff like that, very important to‑‑ they can't beat us if their best players are on the bench, and that was key today. Q. Dee Dee, Aliyyah Handford picking up two fouls in the first half, what did that mean? KA‑DEIDRE SIMMONS: It was big for us. We know that they really can't go deep into their bench, so once she got in foul trouble, it was our time to attack. Don't look to really pass the ball, but just attack and constantly drive the ball to the basket, and when they collapse, kick the ball. It was key because they really don't have anybody to come off the bench to replace what Aliyyah can bring to the game. And that's where we took advantage. Q. Janee, battling in the paint with Amber and Jade Walker as well, what was at that like? JANEE JOHNSON: They're some of the toughest competitors I play against in the Big East. It's always a great match‑up. They're just really fierce players. Like Coach said, Amber is one of the best rebounders in the conference, and it's really tough, and we just got it done today. It was great. Q. Dee Dee and Janee, the years you've been with this program, did you see your freshman year ever being in the Big East Finals down the road? KA‑DEIDRE SIMMONS: No. I always thought that by my junior year on the court that we were going to be pretty good. I don't know why, I just always said my junior year we're going to be pretty good, and my junior year on the court was last year, and we made great strides last year, and this year is even better. But nothing as big as this. This is the moment I dream of. I wake up every morning thinking of this moment, and I couldn't have done it without this man to my right and my teammate Janee and the rest of my teammates. Q. St.John's, were they approaching each of you defensively differently? KA‑DEIDRE SIMMONS: They were switching it up defensively. Amber ended up guarding Daisha at one point, Handford was guarding me, then Lewis was guarding me. We just took advantage of who was guarding us. We saw an opening and our coach made great play calls, we executed and we attacked the basket and we kicked when we needed to. Q. Dee Dee, first of all, this has been such a special season for you guys setting multiple different records. As your final year with this program, what is it like to have the opportunity to play in the Big East championship? KA‑DEIDRE SIMMONS: It's a moment that I'll never forget. It's a moment that I can always look back to and just rethink of the great memories that we've done and that we have. I don't know, it hasn't hit me yet. It will, but it's just a great moment, and I'm really, really blessed to be a part of it. Q. Janee, Coach has come in and had so much success with this program in just two years, and he's come in with some postseason experience and success, so what are the different kind of messages that he's been giving to you guys in these few days to get you guys excited and motivated? JANEE JOHNSON: Well, he's always instilled, like, the idea of family, so he just reiterated, love each other, believe in each other, believe in what each teammate can bring to the table, and that's what we've done. Everybody has their role and their understanding, and everybody has executed that. Q. Can you just talk about going into tomorrow how you, as a leader, keep your team playing at this level and not getting too excited for the game to finish and win that championship? KA‑DEIDRE SIMMONS: I always tell my team, one possession at a time. People constantly say, oh, one game at a time, take it one game at a time, but I tell my team one possession at a time. We try to dominate every possession whether it's get a deflection, get a loose ball, or make them take a tough shot, anything like that is something that we need to focus in on. And that's what I tell my team. We don't look ahead. That's not something we do, and that's something we haven't done all year. We take it one possession at a time, and when the game comes, we just play. We execute the game plan, and it's always a great game plan. We stay within ourselves, we stay within the system, which we all believe in, and just one possession at a time. Q. Janee, those threes at the top of the key, is that your shot? Is that what you're looking for? Has Coach been telling you to knock that down? JANEE JOHNSON: Yes, absolutely, since we've started the season. Actually it started last season, and it happened in the Villanova game, I think I hit two, and ever since then, he's just, like, take that shot. Don't hesitate, take it. And I find myself hesitating at times. Like, don't hesitate. And so that's really been my best shot of the season. Q. After struggling to get the three going in the first half last night or last afternoon, how big was it to get eight threes in the first half tonight? COACH BOZZELLA: Well, it was huge. They came out with the idea of facing Tab, and a month ago Tab would have been out of her mind and wouldn't have been able to function. But Tab has grown up so much this year but so much in the past month. I'm so proud of her. And you know what, we set a couple screens, she was patient, she knocked down a coupling, and then obviously they're going to leave that extra spacing ‑‑ by denying Tab, they're going to give us more spacing. That's when people like Janee come in and get an open shot, and she did. You know, it's funny, someone asked a great question, Janee made two threes this year. She's made, what, 50 this year because she's worked hard and she believes in it, and one of the things we instill as a coaching staff is being positive. So much negativity in this world, there's too much negativity, and we stress the positives, and we have pushed Janee and we have positived her to the end, shoot the shot, shoot the shot, and you know what, she's won a lot of games for us because of it. She's the first one on the court shooting. If we didn't have that hour rule, she would have been out here three hours shooting before the game. I'm proud of her. Q. You mentioned Ka‑Deidre being one of the best leaders‑‑ the best leader you've had in your time coaching. This is a team, though, that's got three grad students in your starting lineup and all upperclassmen. How much do you rely upon them and the years that they have logged now as players? COACH BOZZELLA: So much, and thank you. That's a great question because we talk about this with those young ladies, it's a marriage, and a marriage is about give and take, and a marriage is about understanding each other, and I can do that with a group like this. They've been around, they've played a lot of games, they're an experienced bunch, so it's not a dictatorship. I ask them a lot, what do you think? I must have asked Dee Dee eight times tonight what do you want to run? Because I'm not out there playing. I have to give up freedom and I have to let them play because they've earned that through the years of, A, all their life, but B, how they come to practice every day. I said to the kids today in film, those are really intelligent questions. I'm really glad you asked. Honestly, I've done this for 23 years. That's not a norm, but those three kids aren't a norm. It's very rare to have three grad kids on you team and another senior in Chiz and another junior in Tab. I say this all the time, it's marriage. It's give and take, we love each other, we're going to fight a little bit. At the end of the day, we have to trust each other, and I trust them immensely, I do.. Q. Towards the end of the game what were your words saying to Dee Dee? You called her over when you draw the foul what words did you have for her? COACH BOZZELLA: I was so proud of her because when I took over this job, not a lot of people believed that we could be successful, and a lot of people didn't buy in, and she did. I'll never forget the story from the middle of our first year. I was complaining to my recruiting coordinator who coached with me, and we fight all the time, but I was complaining to her that I can't believe Dee Dee is not leading better, I can't believe this, and she said, Coach, you're struggling to lead this time right now. People are fighting, people are this. You need to have her back better and you need to understand that it's hard for her to lead this team until you're ready to lead this team. And you know what? That was the best piece of advice I've gotten, and you know what? I brought Dee Dee in and I made sure she knew I had her back, and I made sure that when Dee Dee was struggling, I was there to pick her up because someone needed to. And you know what? She blossomed so much as a leadership. I have two of my former point guards on staff, and they talk to Dee Dee all the time. They deserve a lot of credit, but most of all Dee Dee deserves 99 percent of the credit because of the person she is and the belief she has. She loves Seton Hall University. She really does. Q. I know you guys had the run into the WNIT last year but we heard the numbers at the beginning, first time in the semifinals in just about 20 years, tomorrow first time in the championship in 20 years. The way your team has come out in these two games, it looks like you guys have been there before. What is it about this group that allows them to come out with such a confidence and such a calmness on the court? COACH BOZZELLA: Well, I think Amy said it, when you have two graduate students, they're a little older. But we instill confidence. It's about positivity. As you can see I'm a very passionate coach, and this team loves the passion. This team follows that. It's not hard. They come out, we try and make them confident, we make the plan simple. They know we're in this together, and at the end of the day they know we have their back. I think it's important nowadays for kids and players to know that the coaches have their back. You know, we're going to have bad days. They're going to have bad days, but that's when we supposed to be there for them, when they miss a couple shots, they have a bad game, we're down. We've come back, I think, six or seven times from double‑digit deficits this year. That's not a norm. But again, you have to understand that, you know what, we're going to have our struggles. That's when you need to be more positive and that's when you need to support them, and the staff has done a great job of that, and I'm proud of the kids for it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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