NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - DAYTON VS GEORGIA

March 17, 2022

Joni Taylor

Georgia Bulldogs

Media Conference

MODERATOR: Coach, if you would like to start us off with an opening statement, then we'll take questions.

JONI TAYLOR: Obviously, we're really proud and excited to be here. This is the 35th NCAA tournament for the University of Georgia women's basketball program, and it just speaks to the tradition and excellence that we've had for a really long time. It's something that we constantly talk to our ladies about in terms of leaving their legacy and leaving Georgia better than they found it. I think when we brought our senior class in in 2017, those ladies are now seniors, and for them to be at this point, we have a chance to take advantage of a really great opportunity. So do a lot of other teams. So excited to finally know who we're playing, spent some time obviously prepping Dayton the last few days, but can now really hone in and watch some film and get ready to play a really, really good team. Have a lot of respect for everything they've done, not just this year, but traditionally. You talk about another program that just continues to grow and get better, and they've got great size inside and out. Going to be a really tough matchup for us, but excited about the opportunity to represent the University of Georgia.

Q. Coach, you paid your dues. You're young, but you've paid your dues as an assistant coach. And I'm wondering, just in the relatively short time you have been in charge at Georgia, if you could speak to how the women's game collegiately is changing with the portal and how different it is, even from your first year.

JONI TAYLOR: Yeah, it's a lot different. I think about, even as a player to being an assistant coach to being a head coach, there's been a lot of changes in our game. Going to four quarters. Obviously you're asking about the portal, but changes in the game itself. The three-point line has moved. Going to the fourth quarter; our pace is a lot faster. I think there's more parity in our game. The fan experience is different. We are now for the most part, especially in our conference, on TV every single game. So the exposure is a lot more than what it used to be.

As it relates to the portal and just transferring and other things, that changes the game tremendously because as coaches you can decide a few different ways to go about the recruiting process. Aare you going to recruit the portal, are you going to recruit high school students? And, also, about how you manage your current roster, because now they have the opportunity to go into the portal and transfer and play immediately. So all those things impact your team, your roster from day to day and how you manage things.

Q. Okay. In light of that, you had some sixth year players elect to stay and play a sixth year. Can you speak to how that has positively impacted your season?

JONI TAYLOR: I think it speaks to number one, our culture and our chemistry. How many times do you see a freshman class come in and then not only do they stay for their fourth year, Que Morrison stayed for a fifth and Jenna stayed for a sixth year of basketball. So I think that points directly to our culture and our chemistry. We're very intentional about who we bring into our program and the young ladies who represent the University of Georgia. So it speaks to chemistry and culture. How it has impacted us has been tremendous. When we recruited our freshmen that are here this year, Reigan Richardson, Jillian Hollingshead, Kimora Jenkins, Alina Sendar and Tineya Hylton, we talked about them watching Jenna and them watching Que, watching those other players; and then, lo and behold, they now get a chance to play with them. So Reigan being guarded by Que Morrison every day has been invaluable for her in her progress. Jillian Hollingshead going against Jenna Staiti every day in practice has been invaluable for her. So those young ladies came to Georgia because of what Que, Jenna, Mikayla, those players decided to do, but they never dreamed they would play with them.

Then you talk about impact. You talk about the leadership they have. They are just professionals. They walk in every day and they put the hardhat on, they go to work and just lead by example and with their voice. They've been here; they've done it. And so when we are in good times, not so good times, whatever that is, there's just a steadiness about them; there's a maturity about them that just calms everyone down. It's been really, really good for us to see how they've led this year, and I'm looking forward to what they do in the tournament.

Q. You mentioned Georgia's tradition. As the head coach, do you feel a great responsibility as the head coach to keep that going and not be the one to let it go backwards?

JONI TAYLOR: Absolutely. I was fortunate to be at Georgia four years with Coach Landers as an assistant coach and just to learn from him and the other assistant coaches I worked with, to be around former players who continue to come back, and just the closeness that is shared between alumni and the community, and just the respect. It is impossible to come to our facility, walk through those halls and see the Olympians and the WNBA players and the all-SEC, the Players of the Year and not know what you're walking into. That is an expectation that I want. I think our young ladies want it. And it's something that we're extremely proud of. We are here because of what Coach Landers did and the vision he had for Georgia women's basketball. And so it's with great humility and responsibility that we want to make sure we're continuing to not only maintain, but enhance the legacy that is Georgia Basketball.

Q. You've been selected to work with the national team in Minneapolis. What does that mean for you as a coach to be able to work for USA basketball and players at that level?

JONI TAYLOR: Obviously it's a tremendous honor. I'm extremely humbled and excited to be with players at that level, the best in the world, and to work with Cheryl Reeve and whoever the assistant coaches end up being, just to learn from them and help any way I can. I think it also speaks to the staff we have in place here at Georgia. We've had the same staff for all seven years, and so it allows me the comfort to know that I can step away, obviously at the Final Four, but even in other USA basketball things that I've been fortunate to be a part of, you can step away knowing that you have continuity with your staff and that everything is going to be fine when you're not in Athens with the team. But extremely humbled, really excited and grateful for the opportunity.

Q. At the same time do you hope you're busy that weekend?

JONI TAYLOR: I absolutely hope I'm busy and then have to regretfully say that I cannot participate.

Q. I understand your husband, I read, is a general manager in the WNBA. What I wanted to know is schematically or player development, can you guys kind of feed off each other or what are the conversations you have?

JONI TAYLOR: He is the assistant GM for the Atlanta Dream. He's been an assistant coach there for three years and then transitioned to assistant GM this past year. Before that he was an assistant coach on Dawn Staley's staff at Temple and at South Carolina. So obviously basketball is who we are. We eat, breathe and sleep it, and we're fortunate to be in a situation where our seasons don't interact and we can support each other. But, yeah, we talk all the time about if it's player development, if it's schemes, just all those things. I think we both have learned when to give each other space to have those conversations and when the right time is to do it. He has a brilliant mind when it comes to player development, when it comes to post player development, guard development. And so, yeah, obviously, it's something that we just -- I mean, at this point in our relationship, I don't even think we know we're talking about. It's just the flow of our conversation, if it's in the car, at the breakfast table or in passing, because most of the time we are just two ships, you know, passing in the night. But extremely grateful to have a partner like him who understands what we're doing and what we want to do and supports everything that we are doing; and, likewise, when it's his season, we support him.

Q. All season you have had goals, you want to do this by this time, different teams and different personal goals. What would be a measure of success for the team this weekend and going forward in the tournament?

JONI TAYLOR: I think for us, it is exactly what you heard Mikayla and Jenna say. In this tournament it can be daunting if you start looking too far ahead. So, obviously, the overriding conversation when you come to Georgia is not only to make it to the NCAA tournament, it's to make a deep run into the tournament. But now that we are at this point, the conversation has been -- before last night it was Dayton and DePaul. Now it is Dayton, and that is the only thing that is in front of us, because there's no other -- that's the expectation, because if you don't take care of business there, then there's nothing else to look forward to. So, obviously, I think we have overall goals for what we want to do, but our main focus is what's in front of us now, and that's the Dayton Flyers.

Q. Coach, I was at the Dayton game last night, and you're right; they're big, and they can shoot. Are there some things that stand out to you the most after watching them on site? How do you guys kind of go about defending the three-point line?

JONI TAYLOR: Obviously, it's a tremendous focal point for us, defending the three. They've got a few people who can just really stroke it. What really stood out last night was how they shot it in transition. So that's a key area for us, making sure we get back and we get checked up and run people off the three-point line. This is a team where if you let them do what they do well, you're going to be in for a long night, so we've gotta buckle down and just bear down and make sure that we take them out of what they want to do and force them to score in other ways.

Obviously, they have a really balanced approach in terms of their guard play and also can get it inside, so we're going to have our hands full. I think it's an area of concern, obviously. When you look at in the past couple of games, we've struggled to defend the three. So it's going to be a focal point for what we do, and we've gotta be keyed in and locked in on it.

Q. And I just wanted to ask about Jillian Hollingshead. I know the other day you said everybody is healthy. How would you guys like to use her this weekend, if at all?

JONI TAYLOR: Excited, because there's an opportunity to play against three guards, two posts. Our last couple of games, even though she has been healthy and ready to go, it's been a four-guard lineup. And Dayton can do that as well. But we'll have an opportunity, hopefully, to get her in tomorrow, because she's been able to practice as of late, and she's got a good rhythm going. And she's obviously someone who's helped us, especially in the nonconference before she started having some issues and some injuries. So excited about what she's done and the progress she's made over the last couple of weeks, that she's been able to string along a couple of practices and certainly hope to be able to get her on the floor at some point tomorrow.