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NCAA WOMEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: OKLAHOMA CITYMarch 23, 2017Mike NeighborsChantel OsahorKelsey PlumOklahoma City, Oklahoma THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on a great season and your thoughts on a great tournament. MIKE NEIGHBORS: Our kids are fired up to be here. I hope our diehard Seattle Sonics fans will forgive us for going to the Thunder game last night, but we had a great time getting here. Kid are settled in and we're ready for practice. Q. What did Kelsey have naturally when you first got a hold of her, and what did she have to work on to enhance her game over the years? MIKE NEIGHBORS: She had and has an ability to stay singularly focused better than any human being I've ever been around: Not kid, not player, not Millennial; anybody I've ever met, any businessman, anybody. She has a singular focus to strive for excellence. She is not the kid that walked out of the airport and walked out in the Thunder became last night and was immediately recognized as a basketball player. She could be a lot of different things. So that focus is what makes her special. I don't know that there's anything that I've tried to get her to work on other than just enjoy the moments a little bit along the way. That's my constant strife with her because she is so dedicated to the process that sometimes she for gets to stop and look around and enjoy things like this, and that's all I've tried to help her with. Put her in great situations, challenge her. From the recruiting process all the way up, she wanted to do something that was hard. She didn't want to take the easy way out; thus, choosing a program that had not been to the NCAA Tournament for a number of years and did not have a built-in guarantee of success. She wanted to do something that was hard. Tried to make it challenging for her, from naming her captain as a freshman, to counting on her to be a focal point of our offense, redesigning a lot of our offense around her and the rest of the players that are on our roster. And she's handled it like no other person I've ever been around. Q. UCONN's dominance in recent years, people say it's been good for the women's game, a lot of spotlight for women's basketball. Is it starting to be a negative? Everybody's playing for second. Do we need more parity in the game? Do we need somebody to win the national title besides Connecticut? MIKE NEIGHBORS: I don't think so. I think what they have done is the reason that you're starting to see some parity -- maybe not winning it. We had three unique teams last year in the Final Four, us being one of them, Oregon State and Syracuse. Those were three new teams, and I know for a fact that we use what UCONN does as a model: The way they approach the game; the way they prepare. He's got great players, but they also out-work a lot of people. He gets great talent to work hard, and that's why the combination is so unbeatable right now, is they have both of them going. I think a lot of us are getting there. I think now kids see that it can't just be talent and it can't just be hard work. It's got to be a combination of those two teams. And I think you have seen, you've got more teams talked about this year. I think it's great. I think we should all embrace it, and if we spend one second worry about it being negative, then we are just adding to that argument that it is, and I don't believe that it is a negative. I think it's great for our sport. I think it's brought a lot of attention, and anybody that wants to dismiss it, I just don't think's paying enough attention. Q. Sorry to take you back to Kelsey. A know a lot's been written about her success story the last few years. Is there an underrated part of her story that people are missing along the way, do you think? MIKE NEIGHBORS: Just that she is a great teammate. I think -- I've been there every step of the way with her. She has not missed one interview question. She has not put one negative thing on social media. She has not provided bulletin board locker room material for an opponent. She's humble. And the records, she only wanted the records to occur if we were winning and our program was winning and our team was winning. And that's genuine. There's not one ounce of fakeness in her. She is very genuine. And I think a lot of times when you are chasing records and you are under the spotlight, that can get undervalued, but she is a tremendous teammate. And has been, you know, a star in her role since the second she stepped on our campus. Q. In that sense, has her personality changed much? MIKE NEIGHBORS: A little. I think initially, she's always been a chip-on-her-shoulder-type kid. Didn't make some teams she wanted to make. She wasn't as highly regarded maybe coming out of high school. She's always found something to have a chip on her shoulder about, and I think that's driven her. I think over time that chip has gone away to just now be: Strive for excellence. Don't worry about outcomes. Focus still on that process, and the results are going to take care of themselves. I have seen that change. She's a happy kid. She's really, really become a role model off the court, as well, very giving of her time. She stays well after our normal autograph sessions at home. She stays on the road to sign autographs. And I haven't seen her one time step out of character when you've had plenty of opportunities to do it. She's missed some free throws, she's missed some jumpshots, she's missed some layups, but she has not missed one chance to take a selfie with a 10-year-old or an 80-year-old. She's really been given plenty of opportunities to do it, and she has not. Q. A few minutes ago, Vic was comparing your offense and the way you use your personnel to the Rockets, and James Harden, spreading the floor, kicking out to shooters. Is that something that -- have you adopted your style from other coaches, or is this a natural progression of what you have with your personnel? MIKE NEIGHBORS: I obviously watch a lot of sports, any level, FIBA, college, high school, and I'm constantly doodling plays. We picked stuff up from Harden. There was social media, people that did a side-by-side comparison of Harden and Kelsey. Obviously you start looking at some of those things. I used a lot of Stockton and Malone. Those were my two guys growing up. I loved watching Stockton and Malone. Chantel is very Malone-ish and I think Kelsey at times could be Stockton-ish. So we've got a few of our sets, actions, the way we space, from the Rockets specifically. Also a lot from the Clippers. The best play we run I got from the Portugal team in the FIBAs a few years ago, and you just kind of tinker around with it in practice. Anybody that's been in our practice knows we like to tinker a little bit and find things, and those do come from that area. He knows. Obviously Vic and I are very, very close friends and I spent three days in Starkville last summer talking about offense, and so there's no secrets. He knows exactly what we're going to do and not even what but how we're going to do it. Q. How have you seen Collier and her game perhaps evolve and get to this point at this season? MIKE NEIGHBORS: It started last summer, before last season even. She really spent that summer, for the first time since she was diagnosed with leukemia, and overcoming leukemia, had a full summer where she could work on her skill. She was constantly working on conditioning and it really paid off for her this last year, and this summer she just kept it going. And when we talk about people starring in their role, you know, she's done as good a job at starring in her role as Chantel and Kelsey and Natalie and the people that sometimes get a little bit more of the spotlight. But that's who she is. If you were there the day she was diagnosed with leukemia, she was on an official visit to our school: She never cried. She was just making a plan on how to beat it. How are we going to guard, ball screen with her? It's not that big a deal when you've beaten cancer. I think she's drawn from that. She inspires us every single day that she steps on the court from coaches to players, everybody in our program. And I think, you know, this year, what you've seen is you have to guard her, as well, because she's going to make 15-foot jumpshots. She's going to make every lay-in that Chantel throws her, so she can score on top of the things that she's been in in the past in screening and defense. She's continued to add to her game just as much as the other players have. I've got great pictures of Vic if anybody needs them. He may have some of me, too. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach. Good luck tomorrow. Joined by Chantel Osahor and Kelsey Plum. Q. If you guys can just say, how has Katie maybe grown and matured over the years, and especially this year? And I would ask Kelsey first and then Chantel. KELSEY PLUM: Katie's just one of the big glue pieces to our team, and a lot of the things she does doesn't necessarily come up necessarily in the box score and stat sheet. She's a tough competitor. Her energy: The way she runs the floor; the way she gets people open, setting screens, and then just in there with Chantel battling on the board. Sometimes defensively she's got to guard a guard, or she's got a different type of mismatch. But Katie, can't say enough about her resilience, her strength, and just her positive attitude. She's always the first person to say, "Hey, I love you," or "keep your head up," or stuff like that. She's been great. Katie and I are roommates, so that's somebody that I spend a lot of time with outside of basketball, as well. CHANTEL OSAHOR: Katie is like the prime example of being a superstar in your role. I know Neighbs is all into numbers, so if you ask him, I know like you don't see them in the stat sheets, but her numbers for us are ridiculous. And on the defensive side and on the offensive side, our efficiencies are great because of her. So yeah, Katie is just, I'm glad I play beside her because she's a rock for our team. Q. What came naturally for you? What have you had to work for versus what came naturally in terms of your basketball skill? What would you tell me? KELSEY PLUM: What came naturally is my competitiveness and what came skillfully because I worked on it, everything else. I don't know, I guess I just, I've grown up around sports. I've grown up playing in an atmosphere where I've always been super competitive and stuff like that. But basketball, I don't think it came supernatural to me. I was actually a volleyball player, and my family, I grew up playing volleyball. When I made the transition to basketball, I had to work a lot at it. I think maybe just being fearless. Being able to shoot the ball any place on the floor, maybe that's natural, I don't know. But probably just my competitiveness, I guess. Q. How old were you when you made that transition and why did you do so, from volleyball to basketball? KELSEY PLUM: I stopped playing volleyball when I was a freshman in high school and that was because the high school coach made me pick between the two. I loved volleyball more -- sorry, basketball. I loved basketball a lot more and I decided to go for it. If it wasn't for that, I don't know if I would be here because volleyball was something I was really good at and I liked it, as well. So I don't know, everything happens for a reason. Q. What do you see from Mississippi State's defense? They are one of the top defensive units in the SEC. What have you seen from them in preparation? KELSEY PLUM: Coach Vic Schaefer is a defensive guru. Just watching on film, their intensity and pressure they put on opponents, the way they play is very apparent right from the start. They try to turn you over and try to make you take bad shots. They force a lot of charges, and then just the rotations on defense; they play together as a team and they are very deep. You know, subs come in and they play with that same type of high energy, and they are physical, very athletic. It's going to be a very tough matchup. Q. Coach Schaefer compared you to James Harden and said your style of offense is like the Houston Rockets. What do you think about being compared to someone like James Harden? KELSEY PLUM: It's very cool. I think that that's happened a couple times this year. Just can't say anything. I mean, he's playing like the MVP right now. So to be compared to somebody like that is just an honor. Q. Your coach also mentioned that even when you guys will go on the road, there will be people asking for your autographs, kids being there. When did that first start happening, when the opponents, you would have the fans come out and what has that experience been like as you've traveled to these different sites? KELSEY PLUM: I think it started to get a little bit overwhelming the beginning of this year. Just some of the exposure and the attention. But it's a good problem to have I think. I think that I take it as, not necessarily a challenge, but if I can be somebody that could be a role model and grow the game and have people watch our games and stuff like that, I'm definitely willing to be an ambassador for it and I take on that responsibility wholeheartedly. Q. All the scoring marks that you've reached this year, when the year began, did you have any idea that you would be in contention for some of those records? Did you have people telling you about it? And kind of talk, as you got closer, sort of the pressure that comes with reaching those marks. KELSEY PLUM: Yeah, I knew that it was possible, but it wasn't something that I was striving for. I was just trying to go out, be the best player I could for my team and play basketball, because I love it and because it's fun. I think that towards those days and those games that I could possibly have broken it or whatever the case may be; yeah, I would lie if I said that it wasn't extremely stressful and kind of disheartening, because people expect miracles. You know, it's tough, because it kind of took a love away from the game. That's not why I play. I was just grateful for the support I've had from my teammates. It's been unreal. There's no way any of this stuff happens if they are not there and they don't have my back. I'm just glad that the weight is off my chest and I can just play now, because we just want to win the NCAA Tournament. Q. If others compare you to James Harden, is there an NBA player that you compare yourself to? KELSEY PLUM: My favorite player in the NBA right now is Steph, but I don't compare myself to him. I don't think -- he's like a unicorn. I don't think you compare yourself to that. Probably James. Just the similarities. We are both left-handed, the way we create our own shot is very similar. I didn't realize it until some of the tape I've been showed on just his game and the way he moves with the ball. It's been interesting to see the comparisons. But I mean, I have to say James I guess. Q. Did I read where you played against, was it Nate Robinson at some point? Were there other guys that have NBA connection that is you've run with at the gym and whatnot over the years? KELSEY PLUM: Yeah, UW has a great alumni, and this summer, I play a lot of pick-up games with people: Nate, Jamal Crawford, Spencer Hawes, Markelle Fultz, Tony Wroten, Isaiah Thomas. It's just been great, and they are so cool and they are really down-to-earth. You would expect these superstars not to give you the time of day, but they are certainly very gracious. THE MODERATOR: Good luck tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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