	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEDIA DAYS

October 18, 2006

Kurt Budke

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA

PETER IRWIN: Coach Budke has joined us from Oklahoma State University. We would like to welcome you to the podium and make an opening comment or two and then we will take questions.
COACH BUDKE: I figured out one thing. When you are picked 12th in the conference, you go last. That's all right. I can handle that right now.
There is no one more excited to be here than me today. We are very excited about this upcoming year. We obviously had a very tough first year, but I knew when I took the job it was going to be a tough first year. And I appreciate how the kids competed and we made the best of what we had, but we went out and we signed the 12th best recruiting class in America. We have nine new players. And our early practices have been tremendous.
And it is really exciting as coaches coming into the gym every day and getting to work with these new players. So we expect -- we expect to take a step this year.

Q. Having so many new players is pretty rare, I would say. Is it a good thing as far as you are concerned? Just maybe a complete overhaul, is that what you would consider it?
COACH BUDKE: I think it is a good thing because we knew we had to upgrade the talent. We're -- obviously I think we are in the greatest league in America in the Big 12. I don't think any women's basketball league from 1 to 12 is better than what we are playing in.
And that was one of the advantages last year of not having any expectations, is getting a chance to go through the league and figuring out exactly what we do need to win in this league. It is exciting because the new players coming in, we went out and we tried to recruit winners. We tried to recruit people that have had success at the high school level and at the junior college level and they expect to win. They don't care about the past. The past is over. We are ready to move on and we are ready to go out and compete this year.

Q. Kurt, as successful as you have been everywhere you have been coaching, how difficult was last year for you personally?
COACH BUDKE: You know, I will be honest, it was. I knew it was going to be a tough year but until you actually live through it, it really was tough. You know what was tough on me, probably was I understood as a coach where we were at and what our limitations were. It might have been tougher on my family, my kids. Their dad has never lost before. My mom and dad, their son has never lost before. My family, my friends, my relatives, my college roommates, they would call me all the time, Hey, are you doing okay? Are you going to be all right?
I was fine. I knew as a coaching staff that we went out every day and we prepared our team to win a ball game every day. We didn't cheat the kids at all. And they didn't quit. They never quit all year long. As a coach, if you know you are doing your best and giving your team the best chance they have to win, that's all any of us can ask. We survived it. The Good Lord doesn't give you any more than you can handle, and we handled it well and we are ready to take the next step.

Q. Coach, can you just maybe pick out two or three of the newcomers who might make the biggest impact?
COACH BUDKE: I think and Andrea Riley will make a big impact for us. Freshman point guard. I have had some great athletes over the years. She is as quick as any player I have ever had in my 20-plus years. I think she has a legitimate chance to be one of the top five freshmen in the Big 12. She is definitely going to get the playing time to put the numbers up to be one of the top freshmen in the Big 12.
I think last year if you saw us at all, we had to walk the ball up the floor. We had to sit in the zone defense. She is going to bring a whole lot of excitement to the gym and she is going to -- she is going to -- as the Oklahoma State fans come out and watch, they are going to fall in love with that young lady for the next four years.
I think her and I think Rashidat Sadiq, who probably set out last year transfer from Connecticut has a chance to be our leading scorer, has a chance to be our leading rebounder. We only get her for one year, but she is well worth it.
We are really excited about those two. I can keep going down the list. I think one thing we are better at, we do have depth this year. I think we can go about ten deep. And all the other girls will have their night. The good thing about our early practices so far is we have kind of had -- we kind of point out a practice player of the day, someone that has had an exceptional day and I think it has been someone different every day. So we are excited about that.
We have a lot of people that can make contributions this year.

Q. Kurt, the Big 12, you have ten newcomers, have you lost one?
COACH BUDKE: One is a register. We have a transfer from Rutgers who transferred this year.

Q. Kurt, you said that last year you had a chance by going through the Big 12 season to figure out what you needed and you have already stated you defined winners, people that will come in with that kind of mentality. What else did you garner from last year's Big 12 season? What types of players and what style of play?
COACH BUDKE: I think when you are in the Big 12 South, like we are, and you need to increase your athleticism. There is just some unbelievable athletes, especially in the south part of the Big 12. That's the biggest thing. We need to pick up our team speed. We had some people that can run like a Chris Hood, who is here today, but we had nobody that could get the ball up the floor fast enough to get it to her.
But we think we solved that problem. I am not saying we are going to come out and run and jump and press 40 minutes. We are not to that point. But we are to a point where we can go out and do some different things defensively and try to be on the attack a little bit.
Last year, we were always just trying to take care of the basketball, just trying to get it up the floor and not throw it away. And defensively we were trying to shorten the game, play it sitting in the zone so they wouldn't have as many possessions. We feel this year we can get out there and get after it just a little bit more.

Q. Kurt, just looking at the schedule, you guys have a trip to Hawaii. I think you only leave the State of Oklahoma once. I think that was probably by design having so many new people, maybe having the aid of being at home and getting some consistency in play.
COACH BUDKE: I really -- Michelle, I went back and looked at some of the other programs and what they did in building their programs at Baylor and A&M and looked at their schedules, and they kind of did the same thing we did. I am not saying we can win every game in our preconference schedule, but we have given ourselves a chance by staying at home and competing against teams that I think we have a chance to beat.
We just want to build momentum, Michelle, as we get into Big 12 because obviously as you know, once we get into the Big 12, there is absolutely no give-mes. Coach Holder has done a wonderful job as our athletic director, coming to me as the women's basketball coach and saying, what do you need to be successful? What's it going to take to get us on the top tier?
I think one of those things was scheduling and have as many home games as we can. Our administration has been great with women's basketball.

Q. Kurt, with last year's season with Oklahoma having the great success that they did, 16-0, and with your first season being on the opposite end of the spectrum, recruiting such a big part of it, what do you say when you are going out to all these kids in Oklahoma homes that know what kind of success Oklahoma is having, what do you say to sell your program?
COACH BUDKE: I think the biggest thing right now is an opportunity to play, they look at it like there is an opportunity to play right away, and some of the other more established programs in the Big 12, you might have to go in as a freshman an sit for a year or two and share time and get ten minutes a game.
I think some of the recruits have looked at my past and have seen how I liked to play the game and how we like to get it up and down the floor. At Louisiana Tech we were always in the top five or ten in the nation in scoring and that's how ultimately we want to play.
It is amazing how many Louisiana Tech people are in this league now with Gary Blair and Kristy Curry and Kim Mulkey, you can see the style of play that every one of them like to play and that's where we want to get to. I think recruits recognize that.
And I still have one big advantage on my side and that's Gallagher-Iba arena I think is the best basketball arena in America.

Q. I was going to ask you about that, that is kind of fascinating to have four -- Kim played there and coached there. A lot is a reflection on Coach Barmore, a way that all of you guys developed your style in coaching and how your teams play.
COACH BUDKE: Coach Barmore, I don't know if he will ever get the proper respect for what he did at Louisiana Tech. I mean, he is not out at Tennessee or Connecticut. If you have ever been to Ruston, Louisiana, it is about as big as this room. For him to build, I mean, his record of 14 final 4s and from Ruston, Louisiana, is unbelievable.
We got to learn from the master. And I don't think there has ever been a greater coach in women's basketball than Leon Barmore, and getting to watch him every day and how he handled his players and handled his practices, it has helped me. If you look at the success of all the other coaches, it has helped them, too.
PETER IRWIN: Coach, I think they will let you off easy. Have a great season, Coach.
COACH BUDKE: Thank you all very much.

End of FastScripts...

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297