BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEDIA DAYS

October 20, 2005

Lori Allen

Kurt Budke

Destanie Sykes

COACH KURT BUDKE: Good morning. The players I brought with me Destanie Sykes, a junior from Duncanville, Texas. Destanie has been tremendous leader for my new program so far, great athlete, comes to work every day willing to do whatever we ask. No question with this team, I think as a starter. She's earned it. She's earned from it day one since I have been there. And very proud to be working with her everyday. Lori Allen from Moore, Oklahoma the reigning Miss O.S.U., if you didn't know that, was voted Miss O.S.U -- is that what it is -- just last week. So Miss O.S.U. is sitting with us. Again, she's a senior. These two people have made my transition into a new program so easy for me because they both are just -- they are two people you would adopt too. Two people I hope my daughter grows up to be like. They have made just made it so easy and helped with the younger kids and showed them exactly that as we do things there's a purpose for everything we do and to hang in there and work hard. I am proud to have them. Lori has had a few injuries over the years. We're hoping that she can be injury free this year and have a great senior year as she leaves O.S.U. and goes for Miss Oklahoma in June; is that right?

LORI ALLEN: That's right.

COACH KURT BUDKE: I am proud to be here. I have worked my whole life for this opportunity, every move I have made along the way was for a chance to come back and coach in the Big 12. I grew up in Big 8 country in Kansas, and it was just a dream of mine from the day that I knew I wanted to coach to come back to the Big 12. I left a lot of people that think I am crazy. I left the Top 20 team, Top 25 team at Louisiana Tech, left All-American pointguard team that returned 8 of their top 10, I think, this year. But, you know, I was looking to the future. I think the future are the major conferences. I think if you want to build a powerhouse that's going to be around for the next 10 to 15 years, that the Big 12 is a good place to start. It's not a good place to start if you want to go go from last to first, I understand that, because we have the got Hall of Fame coaches throughout. We have got All-American, Kodak All-American players throughout. But you know what, we're going to show up every night and we're going to give you our best every night and we're going to represent Oklahoma State very well.

COACH KURT BUDKE: I am not going to put any limitations on these young ladies. We're picked 11th. We're going to show up and try to win every game. I think that's what Gary did at Texas A&M right away. Was they didn't win a whole lot of games his first year but they made sure anybody that came into his house, it was going to be a tough night for them. They didn't win very many of those games, but they were close. We're going to try to make sure that we're close and we have an opportunity to win at the end of the night. So the girls are still getting to learn me and me them, and we're still trying to figure out the correct system for this team. We're going to experiment a little bit in the preseason games as far as the none conference games, and then once we get into Big 12 play we hope that we have establish today where we can be competitive night in, night out.

COACH KURT BUDKE: Our biggest challenge, I think the biggest weakness of our team is our team speed. Our team speed and quickness -- and you are in a league of great athletes. So our biggest challenge I think is going to come out and control the tempo. We have to have teams play the tempo that we're comfortable with if we have a chance to win this year. If we can do that I think we're big enough, strong enough to push around a lot of people. We're going to have to do the little things better than they have ever done it before. We're going to have be the first one diving on the floor, first one taking charge, have our turnovers down every single night. Those are the little things. If we can do those things, to give ourself a chance at the end, I think we can overcome the team speed issue.

COACH KURT BUDKE: Well, I think that's important with any team. I really do. This team did not have much success the last couple of years, so I hope in our nonconference schedule that we can come out and show the people in Stillwater that we're going to play hard, we're going to be competitive and we also know how to win. I think we need to learn how to win in the nonconference games because that's a tough thing to learn once you get into conference.

LORI ALLEN: The difference is with this coach and the last coaching staff, I have said this before, is it's again a discipline and attitude that has been brought to the program. Cowgirl tradition, we had a big Cowgirl tradition in the Big 8. We can be a huge force in the Big 12 and Coach Budke and his staff brings that attitude and discipline that we're going to do the things the right way and this is the way we're going to do them and we're going to do them this way because that's the what it takes to win. We don't cut corners. Everybody goes as hard as they can all the time. With Miss O.S.U., it starts as an application process and there's preliminary and then the actual final pageant. I wanted to do the Miss O.S.U. pageant because I feel everyone has gifts and talents and sometimes we have to seek out opportunities to use those to help other people and Miss O.S.U. title will get me in place that maybe being a student athlete won't.

COACH KURT BUDKE: Coach Sutton from day one has been there for us. He's been there for me as a coach and my staff, his whole staff, Sean, James, Dicky, everybody else, Jimmy, has been there for us. They welcome us into their practices. I think I can learn something new every single day that I am out. I have been doing this 20-something years now but I know if I go into his practices and watch how they tweak one little drill that I have been doing for 15 years that can help us then I am going to take it. The thing is now this isn't my first time around. I have beaten some teams before. I have beaten the Penn States at Penn State in front of 11,000 and New Mexico in front of 15,000 at the pit. I have beaten Texas Tech twice. I know what it takes to win big-time basketball games. I know the level of intensity it takes every single day to win big-time basketball games. That's what we're trying to get across to these girls. We're not there yet. They are trying and they are giving it their best every single day but we talk about there's another level that they have to get to if we're going to win in the Big 12. If Coach Sutton can help me with a few ideas and I have told him he's welcome to come to our practice every day too because as many times as what -- 19 wins away from 800 now I think is what it is. Well, then I will sit down and listen to him all day long if he will give me the time. We'll build a tradition here. We'll change this program. We just asked people to be a little bit patient but we also ask them to come out to the games an let's do it together.

COACH KURT BUDKE: Absolutely agree. I think the power conferences are going to get the seeds. Last year's team we had a lot of injuries so we got the seed we did deserve. Couple years before, we're 31-and-3, 29-and-3. Beating some great teams on the road. Only lost to Duke and Connecticut, the Tennessee people like that, and they just seed you at 6-and-8. I think the respect for the power conferences is going to continue to grow. I think the division between the power conferences and the rest of the mid majors and small major conferences is getting wider and wider every single year. So I think you know, you are going to look up this year you are going to see six, seven, maybe eight teams out of this conference back in the N.C.A. tournament with good seeds. I just wish we would have brought the piano so Lori could have played. We can move this in the hall if you want to hear the song she won it with.

LORI ALLEN: Bumblbee by Jack Fina.