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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: BATON ROUGEMarch 23, 2008Van ChancellorSylvia FowlesRashonta LeBlancAshley ThomasBATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA THE MODERATOR: We have No. 12, RaShonta LeBlanc; No. 34, Sylvia Fowles; and No. 54, Ashley Thomas. Now for the introduction, head coach Van Chancellor. Coach? COACH CHANCELLOR: We have a lot of players on this basketball team that get a lot of publicity. Today I thought I would bring two players that have been the difference in our team by accepting great roles and doing whatever is good for the team. Ashley and Tai-Tai don't need the ball, and if you're gonna win, that's what you got to have. Y'all know everything about our team. Let's open it up for questions. Q. Ashley, kind of what Coach alluded to. You were always a post-season killer. People don't expect you to have an offensive game. You get the ball and knock down shots. Talk about your focus once the second season begins and taking some teams by surprise. ASHLEY THOMAS: When it comes down to these last six games, either you win or you go home. I want to continue playing until the last game and finish our season on a win. Q. (No microphone.) ASHLEY THOMAS: That's -- with, I guess, any team we played all season. They're always focused on Sylvia, so whatever opportunities I get I take advantage of them. Q. I know we had senior night a little while back, but tomorrow night will be the last game in the PMAC for the Lady Tigers. Can you talk about the emotions for tomorrow night. SYLVIA FOWLES: It's going to be a lot of emotion, after the game. During the game or before the game, I don't think we'll think about it as much, but after the game I'm sure there will be a lot of emotions. ASHLEY THOMAS: During the game you can't worry about that, because sometimes you can let your emotions affect how you play. We'll just worry about that when the game is over and as long as we come out with a win in our last game at the PMAC that will be fine with me. RASHONTA LEBLANC: Like Ashley said, you can't worry about it when you're playing, but after the game we'll deal with it then. Q. No one ever had to call your name to ask you to talk, did they, Van? COACH CHANCELLOR: No. Q. Ladies, talk about, is there a more quiet intensity on this team? There is not a lot of talk or hoopla from the players but just the determination to win and, I guess, take care of business, which is what you've been very adept at doing in the NCAA tournament. If it's not a lot of emotion, what is it between you guys that helps you succeed? The determination, business-like attitude, what is it that helps you succeed in these situations? ASHLEY THOMAS: I think because we do have the same goal in mind and we are determined we play off of each other. We don't have a lot of hoopin and hollering, but we play off each other, and I think we have the same goal, which makes us successful. Q. Coach, I know you've been through this before, but what was it that got you off the golf course to get back into it? From watching them last year, what changes did you want to make? I know specifically more outside shooting. COACH CHANCELLOR: Everybody thinks I came back to LSU because of the contract and because I wanted to play for a national championship. Those were the two great reasons, but I really got off the golf course because I felt like I had in my life a lot of gas still left in the tank, and I wasn't ready to go out and play golf every day, and I wanted to make a difference in people's lives. When you're coaching in high school and college, you have the opportunity to influence kids' lives, and that's what I wanted to do. Then the biggest change I wanted to make was let them enjoy the game. Sometimes -- the great news -- this team does not show, Scott, a lot of emotions, but that is what has made them play consistent all year. I don't think we played but one bad game all year. And that's why we're so consistent. We don't have a lot of ups and downs. But I came back into college coaching because the best way to be young is to be around people that are young, and this team has been a lot of fun to coach. They listen to ya, they do what you want, and you tell 'em something to do, you're going to pretty well get it done. Q. What about your impressions from watching them last year as a commentator? COACH CHANCELLOR: I did LSU's games in the SEC and then I did their games in Austin, Texas in the first and second round, and it's pretty eerie at times. Every time I played by my house out here, and I come back and see Tiger Stadium, I say to myself, "Are you the LSU coach?" It's hard for me to believe that I'm in purple and gold. Last year I was worrying about subjects and verbs on the air, and this year I'm worrying about winning a game. I never dreamed this time last year that I would be coaching a team. But when you move and take a coaching job -- this team has gone far beyond any expectations I had for it, as far as enjoying it and being a lot of fun. I want you to be aware Sylvia is 12 rebounds away from being the all-time leading rebounder in the SEC history. Of all the great players I've been associated with from my time at Ole Miss and doing TV, it's mind boggling she is about to become -- I'm trying to motivate her for tomorrow night. I need 12, Biggon, I'll tell you that right now. Q. You've known Gary Blair for a long time. How good of a marriage is that between him and Texas A&M? COACH CHANCELLOR: I think Blair was the perfect hire for A&M. They needed a guy that wanted to build the program, work the program, wanted to work the state of Texas. He coached high school basketball in Dallas, so in turn he had a great connection, and I thought it was really good. Gary Blair leads the nation in coaching and making out the most NCAA brackets in the history of coaching, by the way, if you don't know that. Before the NCAA Committee makes their brackets out, they ought to call Blair. They could save themselves a lot of time. He called me and told me I was No. 1, but that just shows he doesn't know everything he thinks he knows about it. I'm just kidding. Q. Ashley and Sylvia, talk about your defensive effort and going up against Marist. They put up a nice run, did some nice things behind the arc. Talk about your defense and stepping up and knowing that they were a 13 seed to advance last year. Anything is possible. ASHLEY THOMAS: You can't overlook any team that you play in the tournament. Guarding their post players, they can step away from the basket, but where our post players, we're quick enough to guard those players that can step away, so I think we'll be fine on our defensive end of the game. SYLVIA FOWLES: I agree with Ashley. Their posts do step out, and they will shoot three's and they will drive, and it will be a challenge, but I'm willing to take it. COACH CHANCELLOR: They present a unique challenge for Sylvia. She'll have to guard a post player on the perimeter, and that's something she is not used to doing, but she's pretty quick, so we don't anticipate that being a major problem. I think she presents problems for them, defensively. Q. Coach, I know you're aware that none of the young women sitting up there with you have any idea what it's like to play a season without making it to the Final Four, and this is their last year trying to make it four in a row, and you're here in your first year, and I wonder what kind of dynamic that adds or challenge that adds to you as a coach. COACH CHANCELLOR: People ask me all the time, is there a lot of pressure trying to get this team back to the Final Four, and I've given all the answers that are not necessarily the ones I was ready to. Here's the facts: I feel no pressure for Van Chancellor. I feel a lot of pressure trying to help them -- being frank with you, I don't want to mess it up. I want them to have every opportunity. I study tape every day, because I want these players to experience that. A lot of high's have already happened for me in my life, but I also believe in this: I believe with all my heart that you do the best you can when you play a game. You do the best you can as a coach and as a player, and if you've done that, everything is fine. I would like to be in a position that we could play for a championship, so -- because I think we're pretty close right now, pretty close. Q. Tai-Tai, could you talk about Erica and how she's improved from last year to this year? She seems to be more confident. ASHLEY THOMAS: Erica is more of a leader on the court. She runs the team well, moves the ball well in transition, and she's clutch on her free-throws, and she's developed her jump shot more this year. She shoots the ball better this year than she did last year. COACH CHANCELLOR: I want to make sure, since we have more of you here today than we had the other day when I made this announcement: For everything you hear about what's wrong with college athletics, I'm going to give you to my right what's right about college athletics. Ashley Thomas has received a scholarship from the NCAA very few people get, combining character, academics and basketball, to go to postgraduate work. That doesn't make headlines, but that's what I'm proud of. What I'm proud of is these players right here are ready to graduate. Some of them on our team have already graduated. Some of them are going to graduate with a 2.8, 2.9 and 3.0, which is pretty good. They might be smarter than their coach, but some might say that ain't very smart, but that don't bother me. (Chuckles.) COACH CHANCELLOR: I'm smarter than you Biggon, so don't get carried away over there. Thank you for covering this tournament. We've enjoyed it. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. End of FastScripts |
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