NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - SOUTH DAKOTA VS OLE MISS

March 17, 2022

Yolett McPhee-McCuin

Ole Miss Rebels

Media Conference

MODERATOR: Joining us now, again, is Yolett McPhee-McCuin, head coach of Ole Miss. Coach, would you like to provide an opening statement or do you just want to get straight to questions.

COACH McPHEE-McCUIN: Sure. Really grateful that we're here. Last time I was able to sit up here I was at Jacksonville University in 2016, and we were a 16 seed playing the No. 1 seed, South Carolina at the time. So just excited to be back in the field of now 68. Our whole team is primed and ready. We've been preparing for this moment all season, and really looking forward to tipping off tomorrow.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. Questions?

Q. Yolett, having played in the NIT tournament, what impact are you hoping that will have?

COACH McPHEE-McCUIN: Well, the NIT was perfect for us. We were able to get five games in, with such a young team. The majority of my team last year was freshmen. And I think we only had a few upperclassmen at the time. The majority of my team last year also had never had a post-season experience. So that experience is something that we've used to continue on the momentum this whole season. And if you look at the history of the teams that have been in the NIT the year before, they have gone into the tournament and they've been prepared. So we took full advantage of it. And, no, we didn't win the NIT champion. I don't know if that's something that we set out to do as much as getting the experience. I felt like the experience of getting more games under our belt was important and prepared us for this moment.

Q. And then how about your size and the way you guys are able to score with your front court? You do a lot of things with your front court on both ends of the floor. In a game like this, playing a Summit League team, will you all really lean on that? It's something that you've seen night after night in the SEC, but maybe they haven't seen Summit League?

COACH McPHEE-McCUIN: Well, I guess I want to say first, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Dawn and South Dakota. I'm very familiar with her and her style. We competed against each other when I was at Jacksonville and she was at Northern Kentucky. When you do your schedule, you try to put it in a situation where you've played different styles that you may possibly see in the NCAA tournament. I thought we did that with Belmont, with South Florida, Arkansas, Missouri, the like. And so one thing, as far as we're concerned, we are familiar with their style. Now, I felt like they did the same thing. They played South Carolina, Texas A&M, Pitt. So as far as our game plan is concerned, you know, we're going to just do what has gotten us here and try to do a little bit better to continue to advance. If you watch us play, we're aggressive defensively; and then as far as on the offensive side of the ball, we play a lot through Kira, and we have some dynamic guards that understand how to get into the flow of the offense. And so we're going to take whatever the defense gives us, even though we feel like the defense will pack it in and we'll be prepared for that.

Q. Coach, you mentioned the familiarity with Dawn, and she mentioned that, too.

COACH McPHEE-McCUIN: Yeah.

Q. When you get into these NCAA tournaments or situations, how handy is it to at least have familiarity with who you're going against and what they like to do?

COACH McPHEE-McCUIN: Shoot, it was incredible, because once they said who we were playing against, immediately there was some sense of peace, because I was familiar with her. I didn't have to say, oh, let me see, you know, what's her style, what she does. Coaches, we're creatures of habit. And what's so funny is the first time we watched film to prepare, I pulled out the Jacksonville-Northern Kentucky film, and the exact things we did defensively to get the victory against them at Northern Kentucky we'll need to be able to do tomorrow. But we both have better teams, and we both have grown. So I expect it to be a competitive match.

Q. I'm wondering, how is it different, you know, you mentioned the last time you were here in the NCAA tournament with Jacksonville. How do you feel that you've changed as a coach perhaps from then to now?

COACH McPHEE-McCUIN: That's a great question. Well, I mean, there are tons of differences. I have a lottery pick on my roster, so that helps. And I have some really dynamic guards. I thought, you know, throughout my whole career, I've always had some really good guards, but no one -- well, I had -- I coached Jonquel Jones, but I was the assistant coach then. So as a head coach, I don't think I've had as dynamic of a post player as Shakira. And so that makes me sleep better at night. But as far as growth, it's just understanding how to evolve with the student-athlete of today. They're different. They need certain things to be able to perform and produce. And so I've had to change my style of coaching, and my former players, they think I'm soft now. So but I've had to adjust to this new generation of student-athlete. So I think that has been something that I've grown to do. And then, also, just going through the highs and lows of being a head coach, being accountable, self-reflecting, making the necessary adjustments to get the most out of your players.

When I was at JU, I didn't feel like I had to prove anything to those players. They just believed right away. You know, when you come and you're at the higher level, you almost have to like prove yourself to your own team. And then once they believe, then they'll buy in all the way. And so just being humble enough to understand that, that, you know, at this level it's more so of a partnership than anything, and being comfortable with not losing myself and still finding ways to be effective is probably the biggest area I've grown in.

Q. Coach, I know you and your players said you're familiar with their style, but looking and evaluating their team, what kind of challenges does Chloe Lamb provide, a person who's averaging 32 a game?

COACH McPHEE-McCUIN: Which number is she?

Q. 22.

COACH McPHEE-McCUIN: Oh, 22. Yeah, I mean, she's a special talent. Like I said, my players, they've watched what we've shown them. I've watched 10 games. South Dakota is really good. They're disciplined. They play hard. They're here; they're a part of the 68. You know, they earned their way here. And what she does is she's just dynamic. She can put it on the floor. She's a three-level scorer. She scores in a variety of ways. She was able to get some tough buckets off against South Carolina. I think our defense is as good as theirs. So we're going to have to compete. We're going to have to challenge everybody on their team to take tough shots and earn them. And then she can shoot the 3. And something we pride ourselves on defensively is we don't give up the 3 often. So shout out to Karl Smesko and Florida Gulf Coast and all those teams that have prepared me to have that philosophy throughout my coaching career. (Laughs).

Q. Coach, could you talk about Lashonda Monk and Mimi Reid, what they have meant this year, as well as Shakira?

COACH McPHEE-McCUIN: Yeah, well, Monk and Mimi, they're the lieutenants on the team. We have spent a lot of time together. They're the point guards. So they right the ship. They're the ones on the floor that make everything go. As dynamic as Shakira is, someone has to give her the ball. And they do that. So we rely on them heavily. One of the things that I don't know that people realize a lot is their defensive presence. They set the tone defensively. They're the first line of defense. And so I feel like they've been solid on both ends of the floor. Our turnovers are down tremendously. That's something that used to hurt us in the past. It's very -- I mean, I think we average, I don't know, maybe like 12 turnovers a game. That's like pretty good. We've had games where we've had less than eight turnovers. So that's in large part because of them and making sure that everybody is situated to be successful.

As far as Shakira is concerned, I mean, she, in my opinion, is the best player in the country. And so -- and I know that's my opinion. But that's what I believe. What she can do, the type of attention she demands night in and night out, her mere presence just on the floor, I mean, she doesn't even have to touch the ball, but you have to guard her. It makes everyone on our team -- it makes their life easier. So they all three -- and I can go through my whole roster -- bring something that has allowed us to be here today.

MODERATOR: Coach, that's all the questions we have for you. Thank you for joining us, and we wish you the best of luck tomorrow.