NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - BUFFALO VS TENNESSEE

March 18, 2022

Felisha Legette-Jack

Buffalo Bulls

Media Conference

COACH LEGETTE-JACK: What a time this is. This is what you wake up every morning for as a coach is to get to March. You see all these coaches that have been in the business for 30, 40 years, and it's that feeling you get, something you can't describe. It's just excitement and enthusiasm.

It's like the purpose of breathing, if you will. And we're so thrilled to be here. We're so here humbled by this opportunity. And as a head coach, and I've got to tell you, it's been part of my life for the last 33 years, as a coach, and a player probably a couple more years before that.

Every single March it's been the most important month of the year. My birthday is in September but for some reason I get more excited about the month of March. So let's go.

Q. Obviously Tennessee hasn't had their leading scorer Jordan Horston for the past month. Not having her, though, does that change how you prepare for this game because she's not going to play again on Saturday? Or maybe how does that factor into the game plan I guess for you guys?

COACH LEGETTE-JACK: We don't have our best defensive player either. Cheyenne hasn't been with us for six weeks, and we had to adjust and I think Tennessee adjusts. You adjust what you have. There's no excuses. There's no asterisk to the win or the loss. It is what it is.

And unfortunately I hate these injuries for both teams. I certainly wish Cheyenne could be with us. We'd be I think a better defensive team with her. So it's unfortunate, but it is what it is. And we're not going to -- Tennessee is Tennessee. They've got multiple players that can do multiple things.

And our goal is to just not look at Tennessee but to really focus on Buffalo and do Buffalo and focus on Buffalo, because it can get overwhelming for young kids, young players, if you think about all the history behind here and the greatness that happened before here, for the years of NCAA berths. And so we say, let's just do Buffalo.

Q. You talked about having it not get overwhelming, but this team and a lot of players on this team have that NCAA Tournament experience, and some players that went to the Sweet 16 with you guys a couple years ago. How does that help in the process of not making the moment too big and getting overwhelmed?

COACH LEGETTE-JACK: We're just excited. We're just in the now. We're just so about what's today is about, where our feet are. And really can't look back a couple of years ago and say this is what it felt like is what it's going to be like. Summer can't answer that, I can't answer that. It's for these young people.

It's what makes it so exciting to be part of March. It's so different and so new. And the difference is Ade is now Ade Ade(yeye). Just seeing her right now at this moment is all I care about because it's just beautiful to see. If you haven't met Ade you're missing out on a treat.

And to sit next to Summer, Summer came to us six years ago and would never speak. She just (indiscernible) her shoulders. She really had -- she didn't value her voice. When we hear her speak and articulate and speak so long and beautiful and graceful and look so beautiful over here and watching Dyaisha learn from her -- and Dyaisha is going to be that person next. We get texts from Cierra Dillard just before I got on this stage. And to hear her say, you know, Coach, we put Buffalo in people's mouths already by just being who we are. Don't go through that stage and be somebody else. We're not. We're not going to look back. We're not going to look forward. We're just going to be.

Q. Having your team, really one of the cradles of women's basketball and you think about Pat Summitt's influence on the game, how do you communicate that history to your players as they're entering here?

COACH LEGETTE-JACK: We talked about Pat a lot earlier and what she's done, how I had my first sit-down with her and how she paved the way for women's basketball. And we also talk about Vivian Stringer, how she paved the way for women's basketball, and also Coach Washington from Kansas, and what Dawn Staley doing right now with South Carolina and the opportunity for us all to become.

What's neat is, as this place grew, other places can grow as well and just gives us a formula to start beginning somewhere else. And why not Buffalo? Why not now?

And so as this unbelievable start with all the blessings we received because of the foundation that those incredible women have set, these young people's time is right now and they can build Buffalo to new-found heights. And if you got a dream, why not dream in color? Why not dream of a statue of someone in front of the University of Buffalo that's a woman, that played a sport, that happened to become and said that her time was right now.

And so that's how we talked to our players about history. It's about becoming history one day for yourself. In order to do that we've got to believe that you can play anybody, anytime, anywhere and any place.

Q. You mentioned Summer just a bit ago. Summer herself talked about just the injuries she had to go through a few years ago and the COVID year, being a sixth year senior. I know there's probably a lot to say, but what has Summer meant to this program and to you just over the incredible six years that she's been here?

COACH LEGETTE-JACK: You can say a lot of things about Summer Hemphill, but the one thing I would say about Summer's culture, she bought into the culture. She bought into what we stood for. She bought into the defensive side of the ball. She bought into the little silly things that I think are important for young people to grow into young women and eventually phenomenal women.

And she not only believed it for herself, she shared it with the other players. And certain things won't be accepted. Being a part of our women's basketball program. We've turned out a lot of talent that wanted to be a part of our program because they didn't fit our culture.

She's the one that's here with us. Hey, coach, this young lady came up for her unofficial visit. She's really good, but she doesn't fit our culture. I trust her and she trusts me. We trust our culture here. We're building something different than any other school in the country.

It's just who we are. And Summer is a part of who we are. And I'll tell you, she's not just a player and a six-year vet. She's like my daughter. And I love these young ladies hard. I push them hard but I love them hard as well.

Q. Your first meeting with Pat Summitt, what do you remember about that?

COACH LEGETTE-JACK: I was with Gail Goestenkors and Carol Ross and we talked about the players having meet five people they would love to meet living or dead. And one person I said that was living, I said I would love to meet Pat Summitt because Pat Summitt actually recruited my sister when my sister was the best basketball player in my family.

And she never played because she got pregnant at 15 and turned the scholarship down and stayed home. I said I would love to meet her. I would love to know if she remembered anything about my sister.

Well the opportunity came, we were in Washington D.C. She was there to see one of her players. We were all getting our food, fast-food place. I sat down and who sits right in front of me? This icon of a human being. It's Pat Summitt. I'm, like, oh, my God, what do I say. I mentioned nothing about my sister. It was all about me and coaching. I was so selfish for that moment and I don't even regret it.

She was so giving of her time and so giving of all that she -- that's what makes her so great. She would give you her whole playbook, but she'll beat you because there's something that she brings that no one else can bring.

And then eventually I ran into her at a Final Four. Her team was in it. They were walking down the street. I was walking towards her. Couple, three years later. And I said there's no way, this lady knows so many people, she's just an icon. I'm going to wave and continue. How are you doing, Coach. How are you doing, Felicia?

And that's so disrespect of her accent, but it was an accent, a beautiful southern accent. She walked by and I said, 'Thank you for saying hi.' She said 'sure, have a good day.' I walked by and I honestly had a tear in my eye. This is the most incredible lady. I don't get star struck. I met President Obama and Magic Johnson, I've met a lot of people in my life. Nothing, hi, hello.

But Pat Summitt was somebody. I said, it's going to be etched in my brain for the rest of my life. And so I get that the awe-ness and greatness that these young people may feel here, because I sense it too.

I think the way you respect somebody like a Pat Summitt is you stay authentic to who you are, you build it the way you build it and you trust in your skill set and let the chips fall where they may.

Q. You mentioned Dawn Staley and the piece of the Net. Can you tell us when you got that and was there a note attached to it and what did that meet to you?

COACH LEGETTE-JACK: She sent a note to everyone. Basically she said dreamers dream, coaches coach and we all can basically become. And I just need you to know that that's from a person that went to a Final Four and won it. This Net is just a reminder of I see you, I know you're working hard to try to build something.

Just kind of a friendly reminder that you too can be; you just got to go out there, find a way to take it. I paraphrased it for sure.

This is my 33rd year in the business, and sometimes you kind of get complacent. You don't realize it. You just go on game day. The kids. You tell your husband for the 97 thousandth time, what's for dinner? We've got to order out because I'm not cooking because I don't cook. And you get comfortable in your own way.

And that net said "Stop." "Think." "Realize." "Go take it." And that's all of us. It's not just for Black women, it's for anybody.

And I think that I shared that with my son. I think my son's best days, his latter days, even though you'll don't have some success at the beginning, if you keep fighting, keep trying, keep believing you too can, and you just got to believe it. A net is a specific piece I have over my computer. Every day I turn on my computer, I look at it, yes, today is the day I take it one inch better.

Q. You've talked a little bit about your interactions with Pat Summitt what that meant to you. You're now facing her prodigy tomorrow in Thompson-Boling Arena. What's it like for you to face against a former Lady Vol who learned from someone you admired like Pat Summitt?

COACH LEGETTE-JACK: Coaching is coaching. I have a lot of respect for Coach Harper and her staff and what she's done from Western Carolina to NC State, to Missouri State, to here, and this is a coach that she breathes out 25 wins a season. She's a winner.

And she's an incredible winner. She has a great team. And she's got a great university. I think the only way I can respect somebody like her is give her my best effort. And so that's what I'll do. I'll give my best effort. Our kids will give their best effort. I'm certain her kids are going to be ready to go.

It's coaches coaching, having a good time at the sideline. At the end of the day, I tell my players all the time, my goal is to take you to a MAC championship. Your goal is to take me further to where you need us to go. So this is for our players. Our players are in charge. They're in control. And these young ladies, they love to go to the mall. Want to go to the mall twice a day. That's where we went. Went to your mall here twice.

That's what they want to do, I'm in the mall, too, getting massaged by the little chair and never bought Lululemon, I'm at the Lululemon store. What am I going to do at the mall? This is what they want to do.

I gave them my word: I'm going to do what they want to do. The majority went to the mall. I went to the dadgum mall with them. This is for them. This is for them. I don't make it bigger than what it is. If they want me to take it higher, because that's what they asked of me, I will take it higher.

Q. You've been at previous tournaments. As you look around, do you see some differences from past tournaments, and is there something that you maybe have noticed that needs to be changed in the future?

COACH LEGETTE-JACK: That's a loaded question. I'm not prepared for all of that question. But I will say I'm excited about our hotel being closer proximity. Last time we were in a tournament, we stayed an hour away. And we couldn't take our shoot-around because we couldn't come shoot-around go back come to the game. The proximity of our hotel is different.

I feel in the air that the NCAA has taken notice that we're here. We just want to be a part of this thing. We're not trying to be better than anyone. We're just trying to get what's respectfully ours and respect to the NCAA. There's more things that's going to be done. There's more things that can be done. And I think that you've got to let things grow. And I think it's important that we don't look at this tournament and say, well, we didn't get that two pair of socks and someone else got two pairs of socks. Let's not nit and pick everything. Let's see the growth. I'm all about, as I say to my players, every second they grow and every minute they get better. Every day is a whole beautiful day. I think that we have to be as patient with our organization that we're in as well and allow it to continue to grow. They raised their hand. They're making changes. And just be patient enough to see the growth become what it's supposed to be and not nitpick everything.

Q. How far away are you?

COACH LEGETTE-JACK: I think it's 15 minutes. And the my bus driver, if I ask him to get us in 12, I'm scared, because we were on two wheels at one point. I think 15 is the minimum we should take. So we've got a great bus driver. Kids are laughing and having a good time. And we get here in plenty of time to do what we have to do.