NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - BELMONT VS TENNESSEE

March 20, 2022

Bart Brooks

Belmont Bruins

Media Conference

BART BROOKS: We're excited to be here. Obviously, anytime you're preparing to play a game at this time of year, that means you're still alive and this is where you want to be as a coach and a program. And I know these players are excited that we get to represent what I think is the absolute best university in the world. And when we put that uniform on, we understand that we're doing a lot more than just playing a basketball game, but we're showcasing what I think is one of the most unique educational experiences that you can get. We're really blessed that we get to do that. And we get to do that on a really big stage, on a national spotlight, a nationally televised game, against one of the all-time great programs in the history of women's basketball, on their home court and in this great basketball state. So, we are so thrilled and excited to be here. We're ready and we're rested, I think. We got another night to get a good rest, but yesterday was an exhausting, difficult game, so we're going to have to be really sharp about how we bounce back and prepare for a really, really good Tennessee team.

Q. Coach, is it time to retire the term 'mid-major?' Have we got to come up with a much better word than that?

BART BROOKS: I like it when we can motivate or players that people think we're mid-major players, that we're a level below. That's a cool spot to be in as a coach, that you can use that as motivation. I've said this about Destinee (Wells) and Jamilyn (Kinney) and Tuti (Jones): we'll have the three smallest guards on the floor most of the time tomorrow night, and three smallest players on the floor. There's nothing small about how they play and there's nothing small about how we operate our program. There's nothing small about running a program that has an emphasis on basketball at a high level, on academics at a high level, on community engagement at a high level, on spiritual growth at a high level. And we can offer all four of those things, at a really high level. There's nothing small about that. There's nothing small about Belmont and that's what we preached to these kids when we recruited them. That's what we preach to them when we coach them; and when we get a chance to compete against the big guys, we don't view ourselves as small or mid-major. We view ourselves as equals and we love the opportunity to go prove that. And so, you know, Destinee has been playing against bigger kids her whole life. What's the difference in 6'6 and 6'3 when you're little? There's not that big a difference. I'm just excited for these kids, they get a chance to compete at that level. And the mid-major thing, I love it to motivate them, but other than that, yeah, let's get rid of it.

Q. Bart, you say that in viewing yourselves as equal, but when it comes to NCAA tradition and tournament history, there is a big gap between the program you're going to face and what you all are building there at Belmont. What's the approach? How do you attack dealing with and talk about dealing with facing that team, that sometimes just seeing that name on the front of the jersey can be intimidating in itself?

BART BROOKS: Yeah. I think from the outside looking in, that's -- you know, it's a big name when you see it in women's basketball. You know, we went to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame on, I don't know what day it is anymore, whatever day before our first game. And it's pretty hard to walk away from that building without having, and already myself having, a huge respect for this program. But to just really understand what this program has done for the women's game. But when we play, it's not about a name on a jersey. It's not about a ranking or a number next to a team. It is about the matchup and it's about the player that's in front of you and you doing your job at executing the possession. We don't have to play against the however many national championships. We have to play against this Tennessee team tomorrow night, at 7:00. And that's what we're prepared for. And our players, you know, we don't talk about all this outside stuff. We don't talk about it. We talk about executing the possession that's in front of us and how we're going to get our shots, how we got to defend them, what we got to take away, play to our strengths, try to exploit their weaknesses. So, I think maybe from the outside looking in, that could be an issue, but I think our players are pretty focused on what their job is and who they're competing against and they know these players. They played against them in AAU, growing up. There's a lot of familiarity with their roster. So I don't think -- I know we're not going to be scared of these guys. We're going to come out and come out swinging.

Q. Coach, obviously the 12 threes played a huge factor in yesterday's win, but Belmont was outworked in the paint and out-rebounded. So when you approach Tennessee and a player like Tamari Key, just how do you defend that?

BART BROOKS: Speaking of Belmont being a great place, case in point right there, Miss Madison. You know, I can't remember the exact number of offensive rebounds they got last night, but their second-chance points were pretty small. So, a lot of those second-chance shots they got were still guarded, tough shots. And I think that's a really big key for us that ... I don't expect us to beat them on the boards tomorrow. You know, if we scrap and claw and fight and do the best we can, we're probably still going to give some up. But those can't turn into easy layups. And I think that's been a really big key. And they've got -- they're unbelievable on the glass. This is probably the best rebounding team we'll play against this year. So we've got our hands full in there, and I thought we played against a really big, aggressive offensive rebounding team last night, and they exploited us some. And I thought we did a pretty good job of fighting and competing those, and there's things we're going to give up, but hopefully we can take advantage of some things at the other end. And that's why basketball is a beautiful game. You can win a lot of different ways. And I think our last two tournament wins we've been out-rebounded by about 20 a game. And we've won the games. So there's a lot of different ways to win basketball games.

Q. You touched on it a little bit, but based on what you saw from Tennessee yesterday, where do you feel like you guys can find the most success against a team that is definitely kind of similar matchup wise to Oregon, with a big presence in the middle and guards on the outside?

BART BROOKS: I don't think Tennessee has a shot blocker, do they? Do they have a good shot blocker? I don't know. I'm kidding! They have a great shot blocker! Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot of similarities. And then also, I think a lot of differences. I think Tennessee is one of the best, most disciplined defensive teams that we'll play against. I think they do a really good job of making things difficult. You know, I'm not sure. I wish I had a better answer for you. I watched a lot of film, and sometimes as a coach when you prepare for these games, you're just waiting for that get struck by lightning and have an epiphany about how we're going to get it done and I'm not sure I'm to that place yet. But, we've got a lot of stuff in our back pocket that we can use and our normal flow and concepts that I think is going to get us some looks. And as we play and as we understand how we're being guarded in certain scenarios and situations, we've got to adjust and be ready to adjust, and there's a lot of different ways that we can attack them. But the biggest part of it is they're really, really solid at that end of the floor. So we're going to have to work really hard to get shots, and when we get them, we got to make them.

Q. Coach, you said your team will not be intimidated, and you bring up a really good point. Historically speaking, in these NCAA tournament games, particularly the first and second rounds, jersey names would -- you can see it on the faces wen the players stepped on the court. Tennessee benefited from that for years, UConn has benefited from that for years. I am seeing that across the country these teams are not walking out there scared. They're walking out there ready to challenge. One thing Pat Summitt wanted, she worked her whole career for, is parity in the women's game. Do you think it has finally gotten to that point? It obviously can go further, but do you think we can say that women's basketball parity has finally arrived?

BART BROOKS: I think so. I mean, I think there's the gap between a 14 seed and a 3 seed, you know, I didn't watch the game, but I saw the score, the LSU score yesterday and there are a lot of really good basketball teams out there. You know, whoever played Iowa State, that was a really tough game. I mean, I think there's really competitive programs at all levels of women's basketball. And when you get in this tournament, the beauty of this tournament is it's one game. It's not a seven-game series. It's a one game, the day you play you got to be really good, and you got to beat them one time. And I think that there's magic in that, that these players understand that anything is possible at this time of year. And I think the parity of the women's game, since I've been in it, I've got a little bit of gray hair. So I've been doing this for a little while as an assistant and now as a head coach, and I think it's exponentially better than it's been when I started. And I see it continuing to get better, especially being on national TV yesterday. So, wherever you are in the United States, you could have watched that game. That's a really cool thing for our program.

Q. There's certainly much more pressure on Tennessee to win this game who hasn't been to a Sweet 16 since 2015-16, and with the history of the program there's that expectation. Is that kind of, in a way, maybe freeing for your team to not have that load of expectation of you have to win this game to live up to these expectations?

BART BROOKS: Yeah. I mean, I think it could be. I think there's -- whatever position you're in as a coach, I think you use it to your advantage, and if you're Tennessee, you approach it one way. If you're us, you approach it another way. And I think we're going to use that to our advantage, that we're coming after it. We talk all the time that, you know, you're never defending anything in this sport. You've got to go take it, you got to go take it. No one is going to hand it to you. It's not going to be given to you. You've got to go take it. You've got to earn it. And that's the approach that our players have had all year, and as we enter this game, that's how we're going to look at it. And the pressure, everyone handles that differently. We've got an unbelievable baseball coach, Coach (Dave) Jarvis who told me pressure is like unicorns and dragons. Doesn't exist. It's not real. It's not a real thing. It's in the mind. That's it. So, I think players handle that differently, programs handle that differently. But we'll try to use that to our advantage the best we can, for sure.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach, for joining us.

BART BROOKS: Thank you guys.