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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 6, 2009

Rory McIlroy

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

RONALD TOWNSEND: Good afternoon. We welcome Rory McIlroy, it's his first Masters appearance, the youngest player in the World Ranking at the end of 2008 and winner of the Dubai Desert Classic, and one of three 19-year-old teenagers in the field this week. Rory we would like to have a few comments before questions. You're on.
RORY McILROY: Thank you. Obviously I'm very excited to be here. It's my second trip to Augusta, but first Masters week.
It's great. It's a huge thrill to be here, and you know, it's been a dream of mine for a long time to be able to play in the Masters, and for that dream to finally come true is a pretty special feeling.
It's a week that I'm going to enjoy and hopefully I'll be playing pretty well. Hopefully I can carry that good golf into this week, as well. But I'm here to enjoy myself and hopefully pick up some valuable experience. If it doesn't quite work out this week, I'll hopefully have plenty more to try to do well in. You know what, it's just going to be a great week and one I'm really looking forward to.
RONALD TOWNSEND: Thank you, Rory. We'll invite your questions now.

Q. What are the logistical challenges coming to a tournament for the first time? Do you have people helping or do you have to find out how to get to the house and here and where to park? Do they explain that pretty well?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I'm very lucky to have such a great team around me, International Sports Management, they make everything very easy. I got off the plane last night was taken straight to the house, met my mom, dad, girlfriend. It was pretty easy.
But I came here last Sunday, I came to Augusta, and played, and sort of just got to know my way around a little bit, know where the locker room is, where the range is, just where everything is, just to make it a little easier this week.

Q. You talked about how your manager helped you settle in last night but how crazy has it been this morning?
RORY McILROY: It's been okay. It's been a bit of a rush. I had to go and register and pick up my car. I knew that I was doing this press conference, but I only remembered it about ten o'clock this morning, so I had to sort of rush through my practice and try to get on to the golf course and play quite a few holes.
But yeah, I mean, there's so many people around. It pretty crazy, just to think this is the Monday of the golf tournament. But yeah, obviously it's going to get even better as the week goes on, so that's great.

Q. We saw the commotion, the amount of people looking for your autograph on the way to the practice round. How are you enjoying your new star status this side of the Atlantic?
RORY McILROY: It's great. Obviously I've received a lot of attention the last few weeks, and you know you're doing things well when you are -- well, most of the time, when you are doing things well, you are receiving attention.
You know, it's been great. I wasn't able to sign that many autographs. I was rushing to the range to hit a few balls before I went out. After I've done this, I'll sign as many as I can.

Q. Gary Player was talking about the progression of winning the Grand Slam. He did it at 29, Jack did it at 26, Tiger at 24. He said it's time for you and some of the younger guys to think big, perhaps 22. Is it doable or is that too much?
RORY McILROY: Is that a year from now?

Q. Maybe two a year.
RORY McILROY: I don't know. I'd have to play extremely well. But obviously, it's not out of the realm of possibility. But there are so many great players out here now, and the depth of the fields are so strong that it's very difficult to win a major championship, let alone a PGA TOUR event.
So you have to play incredibly well on that week, and you've got to get a few lucky points here and there if you're going to pick up a major.

Q. Just what are some of your impressions, your first impressions of being here today and walking around and playing and being out on the course and being here with people and not just practice?
RORY McILROY: It's the Monday of a tournament, but there's already a great atmosphere. I got to play nine holes. I played the back nine, which was cool. I got to skim it across the water on 16 and did all that, which is cool.
But it's a week that you just have to enjoy. Obviously you want to play well and you want to do as well as you can, but I've played well to get here, and not only I'm here, I might as well enjoy it and just see how far I can get. I'm expecting to play well, and hopefully I'll be in the mix come the weekend.

Q. In the holes you played last Sunday and now today, you've obviously tested your short game against this course a bit. What's your initial thoughts? Do you have the game in that respect, do you feel?
RORY McILROY: I think so. I spin my chip shots quite a lot. It sets up well for me in that respect.
But you can hit chip shots you think are going to go two feet past the hole and they end up 20 feet past the hole. You've really got to take into consideration your pace and just try and get it within a 6-foot sort of -- I think putts from between three and eight feet this week, they are all going to be crucial, because you are going to have a lot of putts that length for pars.
I'll be doing a lot of practice on those putts this week and trying to get my stroke good for those.

Q. And have you enjoyed the challenge of it, what you've tested yourself with so far out there?
RORY McILROY: It's different than any other golf course, because you have to play so many shots. You have to bump it up hills or you might have to land it up on top and try and spin it or get it to stop. There's so many different variations, and I think you have that to have a good imagination for it, as well.

Q. At 19 you are the oldest of a little trio of teenagers. How special is that for you and the tournament as a whole?
RORY McILROY: I think it's great for the Tournament and for golf in general, for guys that are still in their teens to still be coming up. You look at Ryo Ishikawa, he's won twice on the Japan Tour, once as an amateur; and Danny Lee, won the U.S. Amateur last year and on The European Tour this year, and myself.
It's good. It's great for golf. Hopefully it inspires people that are not that much younger than us to take up golf and try and one day emulate what we have done.

Q. Apparently he supports Manchester United, as well; did you know that?
RORY McILROY: Yes, I read that somewhere. I think we are all pretty pleased about the result yesterday. It was a very lucky win and keeps us on top, so that was good.

Q. Did you have any feeling of awe when you first stepped on the grounds here last Sunday, and if you did how do you keep from getting overwhelmed by that this week?
RORY McILROY: I didn't. I really didn't. I thought I would be. I thought I would be nervous hitting my first shot here. But you know, I think maybe if I was a little younger and maybe if I played here as an amateur it, would have been a little different and I would have been in awe of the place.
But having been on Tour now for a year and a half, I'm not saying that it's not any different, but you try and, you know, just treat it as if it was another golf tournament. I'm not really one to get overwhelmed by much these days for some reason, don't know why.
But yeah, obviously I'm really excited to be here, don't get me wrong. But I want to try and get the most out of this week as possible. So you can't really be in awe of anything.

Q. For somebody to be in the position that you and Ryo and Danny are at that young age, are there other situations where it might be too young or it might be rushing it? Some people think Michelle Wie might have been rushing it or Justin Rose might have come out a little bit too early; does it always depend on the individual now and the support team that he's got to make it work at this young age?
RORY McILROY: I don't even think it's the support team. I think it's the mental capacity that a certain individual has. I just touched on it a couple of seconds ago; I'm not one to get overwhelmed by much. I just go about my business and play my golf, and if it's good enough, then so be it.
But I think it definitely makes you -- playing on Tour at such an early age, I don't feel like a 19-year-old. Obviously I am, but I feel like I've matured very quickly since coming on Tour, and I'm sure Danny and Ryo will tell you the same thing.
But it's obviously a great position to be in, and one that I've wanted to get to for a long time. Now that I'm here, I want to make the most of it, and become the best player that I can be.

Q. When is the last time you did feel overwhelmed, and what was the occasion?
RORY McILROY: Maybe when I won in Dubai. Probably just the whole -- I had been sort of coming close a couple of times and sort of thinking to myself, when was I going to win, and to finally get that win, it was a bit of relief, a bit of just everything and a lot of emotions. But that was probably the last time.

Q. What did that do to your profile? Everyone had known you were talented and coming, but to have finally won, did it take the scrutiny to another level, and is it something that you were prepared for, do you think?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think so. It gave me a lot of confidence, beating a field like that, that had at the time the No. 2 player in the world; you had I think maybe seven or eight of the Top 15 in the world. It was a great confidence boost for me and knowing that I could beat a field like that, it gave me a lot of motivation to try and go on and do better.
And obviously to get into the Majors and to get into the big championships, it's just another step in the progression and hopefully I can keep progressing for a long time.

Q. What was the first Masters you watched on television and the one that first made an impression on you?
RORY McILROY: The first one that I watched -- I probably watched a lot on TV. But the first one that I can remember is when Faldo beat Norman in '96.
'97, I could probably tell you every shot that Tiger hit. '97 is probably the one that stands out most.

Q. You seem to be extremely focused and motivated on what you're doing this week. How do you think the atmosphere here will affect you? You like to be the center of attention; you've said that. Do you think it could maybe give you an extra spurt?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, it could do. I do enjoy the attention and just seeing by the crowds today, it's only a Monday, and they are going to get better and they are going to get bigger.
Yeah, I mean, whenever you're playing well, if the crowd are with you, it definitely spurs you on. So it's a nice advantage to have on your side. If the crowd are behind you, it gives you a little momentum. Even if you bogey the hole, people are shouting to you the next hole, come on, Rory, you can get it back. It's nice to have everyone on your side.

Q. You mentioned being able to recount every shot that Tiger made in '97; some feel that Tiger has sort of intimidated a lot of his peers out here. Has it been less that and more inspiration for, say, guys your age, to see a young guy win the Masters in 1997 and maybe you think, okay, he did it, we can do it, too?
RORY McILROY: I think so. Yeah, I think the guys that are playing in Tiger's era, I've seen them do all of these things and play in the same tournaments as him, and maybe thought this guy is almost unbeatable; where, you know, the likes of myself and Danny and Ryo have seen him on TV. You know, we can relate to him in a way, especially that first Masters. He was only 21 and you could sort of relate to someone that age. You were think to go yourself, "Well, hopefully when I'm that age, I can do something like that."
It was definitely inspirational to see someone come out and make such a great start to their professional career. That's what I've always wanted to do. You know, if I can play well enough this week, I might be able to emulate it.

Q. You had been doing remarkable things for the last four years, anyway. Is there any sense in which you feel yourself to be special, to be different, as a golfer?
RORY McILROY: No, not really. Well, not as a person. I'm just an average guy that can play pretty good golf.
But no, not really. I mean --

Q. Even in terms of your talent, and what you know you have and can do.
RORY McILROY: No. Because I realize that I have the talent, but you need to put the hard work in to be able to make the most of it.
I think it's a combination of talent and hard work, plus other things.

Q. I think every mother in the world is fascinated by your hair and wondering if you are ever going to get it cut, and if so, when?
RORY McILROY: I don't know. It's starting to annoy me a little bit. It's getting a little much. I might get it cut whenever I come back from this little stint after Hilton Head before I play TPC.
So, we'll see. It won't be much. I'll just get it trimmed and see how it goes.

Q. It will go before you win a Major?
RORY McILROY: Not sure. Maybe. Depends how fast I win a Major.

Q. You do have a barber, though, right, at home?
RORY McILROY: Can't remember. (Laughter) Yeah, I do -- yeah. I haven't seen him in a while, though.

Q. You talk about not being intimidated by Tiger and maybe being from a little different era, but how do you think you would react if you were in the final group with him on Sunday?
RORY McILROY: You know what, it would be an occasion that you would relish. That's what you've practiced so hard for your whole life, to be able to play in the final group of a Major with the best player in the world. So it would be a great experience.
You know, it's hard to -- obviously he makes players do things that they probably wouldn't do. But you've got to go out and play golf and you've got to think if you shoot something in the mid to high 60s, you're going to have a chance and that's all you can do. All you can control is your golf ball, and if you can control that well enough, everything else will take care of itself.

Q. You played the back with Mike Weir, a former champion here. Did you learn anything from his game, how he managed the course, did you ask him questions? Did you learn a lot from that nine holes?
RORY McILROY: I didn't really ask him too many questions. I was just putting to the tees he was putting to, so he probably knows the greens pretty well. Mike's game and my game are completely different. He can plot his way around the golf course more where I would just try and hit it as far down there as possible.
It was great to play with him and see the spots where he was chipping from, because he knows where you're most likely to miss the green. So to chip from the spots that he was and to chip to the same parts of the green; in that respect, it was quite good to play with him.

Q. Just in terms of shot selection, and club selection, how are you finding the yardages out on the course?
RORY McILROY: It's actually quite difficult, because the wind swirls so much. You get on the 12th tee, and you look at 11th pin and it's blowing down and you look at the 12th pin and it's blowing into you and you're sort of like, what am I going to do here. You just have to trust it.
The wind today was probably a little stronger than it's going to be this week, but you've just got to trust your numbers and commit to the shot. I mean, I had a shot -- I hit two balls into 12 today. I hit a 7-iron into the front of the green because it was into off the right and I hit an 8-iron to the middle back of the green because it switched completely down wind.
You just have to pick your club and commit to it.

Q. And what did you hit on 16?
RORY McILROY: I hit a 7-iron and 4-iron from a little skimmer.

Q. Are you going to hit that again on Thursday, the 7-iron?
RORY McILROY: It depends where the wind is and where the pin is and where they put the tee box.
You know, it depends. I think I had 160 to the pin today, just a little into the breeze.

Q. Have you had an opportunity to get to know at all the other 19-year-olds? Have you taken over a corner of the locker room? Are you setting up a sound system in there?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, we might do. That would be good. Set up a little Man United TV.
Actually no, haven't been in the locker room yet. Haven't been in. Need to go in and pick up a few balls and gloves and stuff.

Q. Is there a sense among the three of you, fellow travelers and this, or is there?
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I've seen Danny Lee on the putting green today and it was the first time I seen him after he won the Johnnie Walker, so I went up to him and congratulated him.
It's pretty cool to have three teenagers in the field. Probably, well, I won't be a teenager next year, but hopefully Ryo and Danny will be back here and back in the field, and they will still be teenagers. Yeah, I think it's a great thing to have, and as I said, I think it's great for golf for the future.

Q. Obviously it was a little before your era, but Gary Player was in here before you and said it would be his last Masters. Do you have any impressions of him, as you're arriving as he's setting sun.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, Gary has been a tremendous competitor for, I don't know, since the 60s, would it be, 70s? Something like that.

Q. 50s.
RORY McILROY: 50s? Really? (Laughter).
You know, I think it's great to see him here every year. The golf course has got extremely long for him these days, and he can't -- but he still, I think last year, did he shoot 77 or 78 in the second round?
So, you know, he could still play. I think it's great that especially at this event, that you could see all the past winners; they can come back and they can play. It just makes it a little more special and a little different. I think that's what the Masters is about. It's special and it's completely different than any other week or any other golf course that you play.
You know, I think everyone comes here and they enjoy it. It's one of the events of the year that's on everybody's mind.

Q. Having played the course a couple of times, are there any holes out there that scare you?
GARY PLAYER: It depends. 12, you've just got to trust -- you could think it's downwind and it's actually into the wind. You've just got to commit to your shot.
But apart from that, you know, you've just got to play to your spots. I've said this before, sometimes you've got to play away from the pins here and take a 30-footer and 2-putt and go to the next, because you know, par is a pretty good score around here.

Q. Do you have a favorite already?
GARY PLAYER: 13.

Q. That you can really overpower?
GARY PLAYER: Yeah, 13, I've got quite a high ball flight, so I can take it over the tree on the left, so it gives me -- I don't have to try and hook it around the corner. It gives me a bit of an advantage there.

Q. What did you shoot there today?
GARY PLAYER: I hit a great drive down there. I had 170 to the front of the green. Pin was all the way in the back, so I hit four.
RONALD TOWNSEND: Other questions? Thank you, Rory. Thank you all, and good luck this week.

End of FastScripts

AMY YAKOLA: I'm joined by head coach Jeff Walz of Louisville as well as student-athletes Deseree' Byrd, Becky Burke, Keshia Hines, Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham.
Coach, an opening statement when you're ready.
COACH WALZ: Yes, ma'am. Again, we'd just like to thank everyone involved with the Final Four for just giving us such a great experience, everyone that's worked with our student-athletes to make their experience here -- I'm sure they'll agree -- it's been outstanding.
K And I'm proud of this team. I'm proud of everyone involved in our program, from my assistant coaches to our managers, to our administration, everyone that has given it all they have this entire season. And for us to be able to sit here today and say we're going to practice the last possible day you can practice is an awfully good feeling.
We'll come out tomorrow night and throw a game plan out there and see what can happen. So we're excited to be here and appreciate everything you all have done.
AMY YAKOLA: Questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Angel, last night there was a reference at least once during the broadcast about the lesser team. Do you think by now this whole underdog thing should go away? Are you surprised by that? Where do you stand on all this?
ANGEL MCCOUGHTRY: No. We want them to keep saying the other team's going, because that's how we win. So I hope they wish Connecticut wins tomorrow. That's what we've been thriving off of, so we don't want that to change.

Q. Are you surprised by all this? Frankly, even we were a little taken aback by someone so polarized in the national semifinal, and then of course you come back and win.
ANGEL MCCOUGHTRY: We just came out and believed. We weren't surprised at all when we won the game. We knew we would win the game. We just want people to keep doubting us.

Q. Candyce, can you talk about the three of the last five games Becky's made two 3s that came at the most opportune time, the biggest time in the game? Talk about her development as you've seen it through this year.
CANDYCE BINGHAM: I mean, she's come on at the right time. I know a couple of us during the game just kept telling her to shoot. And at one point she said she will, she will. So we kept looking for her, and she knocked down 3s at crucial points in the game. And that's what we need.

Q. Candyce, UConn was saying yesterday that they're convinced that you're a different team than you were on March 10th when you played them in the Big East final. How has Louisville changed in that month?
CANDYCE BINGHAM: I believe we are a different team. I think that our freshmen are really starting to buy into things more and putting in the time. They started putting in the time and knowing that they are a crucial part of our program and being successful.
I mean, Coach said when they don't play well, we don't play well. And I think they finally realized that we don't play well when they play well. So they're really starting to pick it up. And we are a different team than what we played them the last time.

Q. Angel, can you just talk about the Big East championship game and what it was that either Connecticut did on you defensively or what you did. I mean, was it just an off night for you?
ANGEL MCCOUGHTRY: That was a time, you know, we don't want to use it as an excuse, but we did play a double overtime game, then we went down to the wire with Pittsburgh, then we played in front of all their fans at home. And then they were just getting rebound after rebound after rebound.
Now we have to take it upon ourselves to really box out and don't give them one chance on the offensive end. And that's what I think the difference was.

Q. Angel, have you given any thought as far as tomorrow being your final game, and also can you just give us your thoughts on your career as a whole at Louisville?
ANGEL MCCOUGHTRY: Yeah, it's great to play the last game of the college season. My career has been great. I'm blessed. And I have no complaints, win or lose tomorrow. This is what everybody dreams of doing. And to be here is just amazing. And then to play one of the great teams of America, it's great. You wouldn't ask for anything else.

Q. Becky, this is for you, how does the team start to believe that you can beat Connecticut after what's happened? How do you get over the -- if there even is an emotional hump to get over? And, secondly, what does that tattoo on your back say?
BECKY BURKE: This is a national championship game and it's for everything. So I think we're not looking at what happened in the past two games. Obviously we're pretty familiar with them because they're in our conference. But this is a national championship, it's for everything. You're laying it all on the line. So I think anything can happen.
And my tattoo says "Be strong in the Lord and the victory is yours."

Q. Geno said last night on the TV that he thought you were the biggest difference or one of the biggest differences in the team in the last month. Talk about how much you've improved in this round and what you've done different in the NCAA tournament.
DESEREE' BYRD: I just think I've been more relaxed. Like I've been saying, the patience with the coaches and the patience with my teammates and the confidence they have in me just being out there running the point guard for this team has been lifting me up. I think that's what's been the difference maker.

Q. Deseree', do you see this as a David-Goliath thing like so many people do, and, if you do, are there advantages in that?
DESEREE' BYRD: We were just talking about that before we walked in here. But, yeah, you can look at it like that. I know many people said Geno never lost a national championship game. But neither has Coach Walz. (Laughter.) Thank you, Ms. Kim.
Like I said, we still want our doubters. They add fuel to our fire. I think, like Becky said, this is the national championship. Anything can happen. And we're going to leave it all out on the floor.

Q. Could you just comment on Renee Montgomery and what she does and what a tough matchup that is for anybody?
DESEREE' BYRD: I mean, Renee Montgomery, UConn's point guard, she had a great game yesterday, offensively and defensively, and I think it's one of the best games I've seen her play, all-around game.
She's a great point guard. I think a lot of people look up to her. I mean, we come out defensively, play a perfect 40-minute half. This is anybody's game.

Q. Angel, can you tell us how you ended up getting to Louisville after the St. John's situation? Do you ever think about how your career may have been different if it played out at St. John's instead of Louisville?
ANGEL MCCOUGHTRY: After not being able to go to St. John's I had to take another route. But I knew once I came to Louisville that this is the place I needed to be.
When I signed with Louisville, everybody was like why are you going there? Why would you go to Louisville? Nobody ever heard of Louisville, and the women's program wasn't the caliber that it is now. But for some reason I seen something that a lot of people didn't see. And I think now they're saying -- now we see why you went to Louisville.

Q. Deseree', you all have obviously built up a pretty hardcore fan base. I wonder if you have any words for them before tomorrow night's game.
DESEREE' BYRD: We just appreciate all the support from all our friends and family. I mean, we're blessed. We're truly blessed to be in this position that we are in. And, like I said, we really appreciate everything that everybody has done for our program and all our fans who came out and support us.

Q. Candyce, can you give us your thoughts what it's been like to play with Angel and your thoughts on her as a player?
CANDYCE BINGHAM: It's been great coming back home. Again, I never thought we would be in this position. But Angel is a phenomenal player. I love playing with her. Some people might think it was -- I should be different as far as she gets all the attention or whatever. But I love it.
She just makes it so much easier for other people to play with her. And, I mean, sometimes she has her moments. But other than that, she's a great player. And she's going to be phenomenal at the next level, too. So I just really enjoy playing with her.

Q. Keshia, we see you all the time in the Big East obviously in Connecticut and we're wondering how you guys think the program is going to carry on next year when Angel and Candyce are gone and what the next step for Louisville basketball is going to be. Just wondering what your point of view was on that.
KESHIA HINES: Well, we have some great freshmen coming in next year. Even though we're going to miss Candyce and Angel, it's another year and it's part of life. We gain some and we lose some. We're going to do the best we can.
DESEREE' BYRD: Can't replace a Candyce Bingham and an Angel McCoughtry. But I think we feel like we all feel the same way, and I think we want to have the same feeling next year. Everybody is going to get in the gym and work on their weaknesses and get better as individuals. Because as Coach Walz said, if we get better as individuals we get better as a team. He's going to push us just like he pushed us this year.
With Angel and Candyce -- without Angel and Candyce he's still going to push us to the fullest, to the best as we can be.

Q. Candyce, I was wondering, could you talk about just like since the beginning of the tournament, since Selection Monday, you guys got sent down to Louisiana and just the ride that it's been, like just keeping winning and winning to get here?
CANDYCE BINGHAM: I'm so glad we got a 3 seed. Because I think we had the most promising route to get here. I mean, I don't know. You know, people are doubting us, saying we couldn't do this, we couldn't do that, but we beat two No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 seed. And we believed. We didn't let the 3 seed get down. We didn't let having to play at LSU get us down because we all just believed.
We've played in front of crowds like that all season. So we just believed in each other and believed in the coaching staff and now we're playing for the national championship.

Q. Candyce, how have you changed since you first got to the program? How are you different now than maybe when you started? And I would even ask that about the team. What have you seen in that time how the program and the people in it have changed?
CANDYCE BINGHAM: I think for myself, leadership has been a big factor in me changing, and then with the team, just believing in one another. And then when we got a new coaching staff I know at first it was hard to buy into what they were saying, but we knew that Coach Walz had won a national championship. He knew what it took to get there.
So I think it didn't happen overnight. But we knew that in the end him coming here and bringing in that staff would get us to the point we are today. And it worked.

Q. Candyce, just following up on that. Maybe, Angel, you can chime in here if you would like. But do you recall that first drill of the first day of practice, and what was that? And when you were going through that, did you ever, in your wildest dreams, think about that it would lead you here, that doing something like that would lead you here? And how far away did that dream seem then and now that you're on the threshold of it? How real does it seem?
CANDYCE BINGHAM: Yeah, we have this drill, what is it, 21 free throws. And you have -- you and a partner. And you have to make basically a 1-and-1 free throw, whatever, but we didn't make it. We just ran. This was last year. We just ran for like an hour straight. And this year there were different drills. We had one person pretty much give up on the drill and you were just looking around and saying, wow, what are we getting ourselves into.
But with six freshmen on the team that's what's going to happen. You're going to have days where you're just kind of like, What is going on? What are we getting ourselves into? But we had plenty of meetings and talked to them and told them how things were going to be. And it finally ended up working.
We didn't think it would at that time. But it finally came through and we're in the national championship game.
ANGEL MCCOUGHTRY: Well, it's just been crazy. We had to run for hours. It seemed like it was going to be a long year. But ever since the North Carolina game last year, that's all I dreamed about was getting to St. Louis and getting to this. I've actually had a dream about it, putting on the hat, running up and down the court. So hopefully my dream can come true tomorrow.
AMY YAKOLA: Thank you. Questions for Coach.

Q. Jeff, can you just talk about what -- you talked a little last night about the development of everybody other than Candyce and Angel, especially in the tournament and what Becky kind of has brought to this team.
COACH WALZ: Yeah, it's been a year. It's been a two-year process for Keshia and Des. And we had our freshmen, we had to put them on a fast track because they didn't have the luxury of playing like a normal freshman. With Keshia and Des, their first year we could throw them out there and if they had some problems I could sub them back out.
To just give them time to reflect on the bench and relax and put them back in. But we've started two freshmen the entire year, just about. And it's been good for them, but at the same time it's been tough on them. Because they've had to learn as the game's going. There's no time for them to sit on the bench and kind of reflect and try to take things in.
We've had to have freshmen step up and play, and especially this past month in the NCAA tournament, Becky Burke has stepped up big. Monique Reid last night -- I watched the game film this morning, and Mo was as good as anyone on the floor defensively for us. She just did an outstanding job.
She took the ball hard to the hole in the last two minutes of the game. Just did everything we asked her to do. And our kids are starting to play a year ahead of what they really are. Des and Keshia are starting to play like some juniors and our freshmen are starting to play like sophomores. And that's what we have to have if we want to have a chance to compete tomorrow night.

Q. How would you rate yourself as a motivator? And in your career where does this game rank as a motivational challenge?
COACH WALZ: You know, we keep it real. I mean, that's the one thing we do. I've always been a believer in being honest with players. So when it comes to motivating them, I just try and challenge them. I told Angel last night at halftime, she was bad. It's the worst I'd seen her play, and it was.
So I wasn't going to walk in there and tell her it's okay, because it wasn't. And that's what we've done for the two years I've been there. And our players, you know, at the moment they might not appreciate it, because every player, when they leave a locker room after a game, they go back and see their parents and the first thing they say is, Great job. You did a great job. It's a lie. Just tell them the truth.
So I've told our kids after our UConn game in the Big East finals, I told them, When you walk out of here, if your parents tell you you did a good job, they're lying to you. Just tell them you're awful. And that's what they appreciate now because they at least know they're going to get the truth.
When our kids play well, I tell them they play well. I'm the first one to praise them and tell them they've done a great job. So we motivate by just telling the truth to them.
And our entire program is based on that and our players learn to respect that, and that's all I really care about.
I tell them, I'm not trying to find 15 new friends. I'm there to coach a basketball team. But what I do care about is when the day's done and we walk off the floor that they respect me and they know I'll take care of them. And that's what it's all about. It's not just about winning basketball games. We've done a great job of that this season, but I'm just as proud of what they've done off the floor as I am what they've done on it.
So motivation is not tough if you're just honest with players. And for myself, it's going to be fun tomorrow night. We're going to have to come out and play a great game. There's no question UConn is the best team in the country. There's no doubt. But what we have to do is find a way to play better for 40 minutes. That's it. It doesn't have to be 42, 43. We've got to play a better basketball game for 40 minutes.
If we can find a way to do that, well, then we win tomorrow night. And that's not going to say that we're a better basketball team if we can figure that way out. It's going to be a challenge for us.

Q. I know you've talked in the past, but can you revisit the tape that you showed Angel to kind of open her eyes to how immature she was being and how far she's come since then? And kind of as a follow-up, did that really present itself at halftime in the national semifinals? I mean, in the past could her maturity even allowed her to come out and play as well as she did to end that game?
COACH WALZ: All we did was -- Steph Norman, my assistant, we sat down and I watched some game film and I'd ask her, Hey, let's clip out about four minutes of Angel her freshman and sophomore year, just the way she reacted to the officiating calls, to her teammates and just show her how she's handling different situations.
And it's not that she was immature, it's just the kid's a fierce competitor. She wants to win, and that's what it all comes down to. And people, I think, had talked to her in the past about, how, you've got to watch your behavior, you've got to relax a little more. But no one had actually shown it to her.
And my wife -- we've got a three-year-old that threw food on the floor once and we laughed at it and we thought it was funny. The next day she starts doing it again. So we realized we better not laugh at that anymore. So if you show them stuff on film, especially, kids will change. It just takes some time.
And last night's game, Angel, there was no doubt in my mind she was going to come out and play a much better second half. But she needed to know that the way she played in the first half was not acceptable.
And she took the challenge and came out and just played extremely well for us.

Q. Jeff, you mentioned they're the best team in the country. Could you just talk about what weaknesses you can see such as maybe depth and what do you do to try to exploit those?
COACH WALZ: I think I saw their manager drop a bottle of water. So that's a weakness.
You know, that's the scary thing about them. They've got three of the top 10 players or 12 players -- 10, right? State Farm team's 10. Yeah. Three of the top 10 players in the country. Then you've got Tiffany Hayes, who is shooting the ball extremely well.
Kalana Greene, I mean, it's just a list of them. We're going to have to come out and we're going to have to try to find a way to make them uncomfortable. How we're going to do that, I haven't quite figured out yet. I've got until 7:30 tomorrow night to try and figure that out.
But we're going to have to try to control the tempo of the game. We're going to have to make some shots early. The difference is if we come out tomorrow night the same first five minutes the way we played last night, instead of being 11-0 it's 25-0. So I'm aware of that. Our kids know that.
But at the same time, who expected us to be here? I'm not sure anyone did. Well, actually I know no one did. So we've got nothing to lose and everything to gain, and that's how we're going to approach this game. We're going to come out and lay it on the line for 40 minutes. And we'll be proud of our effort, there's no doubt about that. And hopefully we can play better basketball than they do for 40 minutes.

Q. Two-part question. Following up on what I asked your players. When you ran them for an hour in that first practice, you say you like to keep it real, and they were asking themselves what have we got ourselves into. With as many freshmen you had to integrate on this team, were you asking yourself the same thing? As a coach, as you motivate your players, is it tough to kind of, I guess, reconcile wanting them to keep focus but at the same time to have a purpose for what they do in terms of playing for a national championship? Do you dangle that as kind of a carrot out there in that first practice and say, Look, if we do the little things, this is what can happen at the end of the year?
COACH WALZ: You know, our first practice, we go into it each year and I tell them exactly what drill we're going to start off with. So I tell them that our first individual workout. It's the same drill we do in individual workouts. So they know what to expect.
I told them this is our goal. And until we meet it we're going to run. So it took us an hour. So our first day of practice was just up and down. But what that did was that got a group of players to understand, hey, when Coach says something, he means it.
So it started -- I thought even though it was a bad first day, I thought it sent a message to all of them. And I've said all year long that our margin for error is very thin. We've got Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham who are two fantastic players, and we've got really good role players, and we've got some that are starting to step up and get better.
But it's the same thing. We can't afford a lot of mistakes if we're going to win games. And we've done a really good job. If you go back and look at our last five games, we've, I think, cut our turnovers down from averaging about 18 to averaging about 12 or 13. And those are things we're going to have to continue to do if we're going to have a chance to win tomorrow night.

Q. Jeff, you're a pretty animated guy on the sidelines. I was wondering how you gauge how you approach the officials during the game and what you can get away with and when you cross the line, or how do you feel them out and know what kind of conduct or decorum to carry through on a game?
COACH WALZ: I've watched film of Coach Auriemma, Geno, and I've learned from him. He does an outstanding job with the officials.
And we try to have conversation with them back and forth. You know, there are things I question at times and I'm sure they question my coaching at times as they're officiating a game.
But I've got to try to protect my players as much as the next coach does. And, you know, when they warn you, I say okay, and then you try to back off some. But I just go as the game goes. Some games are better than others.

Q. This was the year there was so much talk about the Big East men and the possibility of three teams in the Final Four. As it turns out, there is no Big East team playing for the title tonight but you have two Big East teams playing for the title here. Could you speak first to the pride of the conference, what you think it says about the conference? And also, from a Louisville point of view, after the disappointment with the men's team, whether this game alone is enough to bring the campus back up to a very spirited level, or would it take you guys beating Connecticut to do that?
COACH WALZ: You know, we had two bus loads of students that came up for the game last night, bused back home after the game. And I think we've got three or four bus loads of students that will come back up tomorrow night. So our campus pride is great. Our men's team had a great year. They ran into a very, very good Michigan State team that's playing for a championship tonight.
So that's just one of those things where, you know, our men would have loved to have been playing in the game tonight. And unfortunately they're not. Speaking on behalf of the Big East now, I think you just go back and look at what our conference has done. 13 of our 16 teams played in post-season play. South Florida just won the NIT. And now you've got two teams playing in the championship game.
So I don't think there's a question of what league was the best. I know this year we were being told we were the second or third best conference in the country. But I think we showed everybody with the performance we've had here, not only with the teams in the NCAA tournament, but the teams that played in the NIT, who the best league was.

Q. Jeff, just wondered if you as a sports fan have a favorite upset and whether you -- I don't know, Villanova over Georgetown, U.S.A. Hockey over Russia, and whether you might draw on that in talking to the team?
COACH WALZ: We've talked about those things, and, no, I really don't have one that I'm going to sit there and go on. I mean, we've kind of gone on the philosophy the whole year that we're the Bad News Bears. So that's still going to be our approach to things.
It's like I said, no one -- even when I listened to the game of last night, the commentators, Oklahoma is letting a lesser team come back. They should have buried them in the first half. This team's not as good. But it just seems that our kids find a way.
And we might not have been the most talented team on the floor for the past four games that we've played. But I think we've been the tougher team and the team with more heart. And that goes a long way. And we've got a group of players here that are buying into a system and buying into their role.
We have kids that aren't shooters that aren't shooting, which is a good thing. It's like I tell a few of our players when they come over to me and they say, Hey, coach I'm open, I tell them, There's a reason you're open; they ain't guarding you. Those kids aren't shooting anymore. Which is good. They're passing and setting screens for our shooters.
And I think when you get a group of players that buy into what their job is, you've got a chance to be successful. Because our past three games we've tried to make kids on other teams that normally don't score take shots. And we've been successful with that.
So hopefully we can continue to do that. Now, tomorrow night my problem is they all make shots for UConn. So it's a matter of trying to figure out who we're going to have to try to make more shots compared to what they normally make.

Q. How much did the way the Big East championship game play out help you guys regroup for the NCAA tournament, make this run? I think I remember you saying your team sort of quit towards the end and gave up in the last couple of minutes. Did that get you refocused and help say, okay, we've got new life here, new season, and play that way?
COACH WALZ: You know what, we looked at the film for about one time through, just real quick, and it was kind of like it was ugly. It was bad. And just kind of explained to our kids that's not us, we can't let that happen again.
And the nice thing about it was we had about a week and a half off to forget about that game. And then a chance to start things over again. And they bought into coming back and practicing hard and working on the small things. And now we're playing here.

Q. Coach, it's been more than two decades since two men have coached in the national championship game. What significance, if any, do you find in that fact and that time gap?
COACH WALZ: None. Honestly, it's just one of those that -- our team has just been playing well and I happen to be a man and he's a man and we're playing tomorrow night.
I don't think there's any significance in it at all. I think there's a bunch of great coaches in our game, male and female. When we go to play somebody, I don't look down the bench to see if it's a male coach or a female coach; I just look at their coaching and what they've done.
So to me there's really no significance in that at all. We're just thrilled to be playing tomorrow night.

Q. Can you sum up Angel's accomplishments in her career and also how fitting is it for her to have the opportunity to play for a national championship tomorrow night?
COACH WALZ: What she's done for this program you really can't put into words. I think the easiest way to sum everything up is her freshman year I think they average about 1,400 fans a game. And by her senior year we were averaging close to about 8,000.
So that sums up her career in my mind, just the fact that she brought women's basketball in our city to a brand-new stage.
And I think it's going to continue to grow. We're opening up a brand-new arena in two years, and our goal is to have 10,000 season ticket holders when that opens. And I really think we have a great chance at that.

Q. How fitting is it for her?
COACH WALZ: It's wonderful. I mean, she's one of the few players that, you know, you come out of high school and she was recruited by some good teams. St. John's, Kim does a great job up there. And she saw in her before what everybody else saw what she could be.
And the amount of work Angel has put into her game to go from being ranked about 80th or 90th out of high school to being a three-time All-American doesn't happen very often in women's basketball.
So for what she's done for her career and how fitting it is to play in this championship game, I'm so excited for her and Candyce.
We have two seniors that have been the heart and soul of this team the entire season. And I'm happy for both of them. But I know they're not satisfied with just playing in this game tomorrow night.

Q. How much of the film from the previous two games do you show today and tomorrow before the game, or do you use it as motivation?
COACH WALZ: None. Not going to watch it. There's no need to.

Q. This is a little off-the-beaten-path kind of question, but following up the question about the male coaches thing. Geno talks once in a while about how he aspires someday perhaps -- daydreams about coaching men. And I'm wondering if you ever thought about that, and, more importantly, how you thought an elite women's coach like you and Coach Auriemma would be accepted by male players on the college level?
COACH WALZ: I had the chance, my second year, at Western Kentucky, to possibly switch over to the men's side and really had no interest in that. I enjoy coaching the women's game. I enjoy the fact of recruiting, that when you recruit players you've got the opportunity to see them grow and develop for four years.
On the men's side, I've got a lot of respect for what they do because you have coaches that go out there and bust their tail recruiting to get the best player and then they're there for one year. We can sit there and -- Geno, you get a Maya Moore and you're going to get a chance to coach the kid for four years, and that's a pretty darned good feeling.
So I enjoy being in the women's game. I don't really have a desire to switch to the men. But I don't think if he wanted to do it or if I decided to do it, if the opportunity came about, I don't think it would be a problem about coaching men. I don't think they'd have a problem respecting us. Basketball's basketball. You still have to put the ball in the basket. You've got to be able to draw up some plays.
So Xs and Os are about the same. I think it's how you handle your players on and off the court that are going to make a difference how you can adjust coaching a female athlete and a male athlete.

Q. Can you just talk about the Bad News Bears analogy. I mean, you guys have been a top 10 team all year. Do you just see things inside the program that you are busting the kids about that they have to fix to get better?
COACH WALZ: No, you know what, we've been a top 10 program all season long. But I really believe that it's one of those, I think we're voted the top 10 because we just kept winning. It's like, golly, I really don't want to vote them there, but they didn't lose; so we're stuck voting them there.
I mean, our center is six-foot-two and about 145 pounds. When they announce the starting lineups for last night's game, and again Gwen Rucker runs out to half court and here comes Courtney Paris, were you not like, wow, that could be a problem for them.
Our point guard goes out to shake hands and, you know, Des has just done a phenomenal job, but she's not your typical point guard. I've had everybody be like Des will tell you she was a quarterback for a pee-wee league football team. She played with the guys.
And when I say that, that's what I talk about. We don't have your six-foot-four post player. We don't have your five-foot-ten lightning-quick point guard. We're just different. And I think it plays well into the way we play.
But that's what I refer -- when I sit there and I say we're the Bad News Bears, that's what I talk about.

Q. I know you talked before about your relationship with Rick Pitino, could you expand on that? Do you know if he's coming here tomorrow to watch you guys play?
COACH WALZ: I'm not sure if Coach is or not. Got a text from him last night congratulating us on the win, and some of his staff are here and said that he's going to try and come to the game tomorrow night. He's been outstanding to us.
He's given us the opportunity to come and watch practice, pick up some Xs and Os from him. He'll sit down and talk basketball whenever he's got time and we have time. It's a very good relationship, and I appreciate the time he's given me and my staff.
And, you know, it's one that hopefully it will continue to grow because it's benefited me greatly.
AMY YAKOLA: Thank you, Coach.

End of FastScripts

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