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NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOURMarch 31, 2012Skylar DigginsBrittany MalloryMuffet McGrawDENVER, COLORADO THE MODERATOR: Joining us is head coach Muffet McGraw and student‑athletes Skylar Diggins and Brittany Mallory. Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Brittany, after eight times in 14months, is there anything about UConn that you don't know, and do you think there's anything about them about you guys that they don't know? BRITTANY MALLORY: Not really. Like Coach said, there's no mystery left. There's not going to be any surprises. It's all about heart, who is going to play the hardest, who is going to execute and play well. Q. Skylar, along those lines, is it good or bad that you know this team inside out; they know you guys inside out? Maybe for the Final Four you come in prepared, but you already know everything about them? SKYLAR DIGGINS: Like Brittany said, it's a matter of execution now. We watched them over and over, and I'm sure they have done the same, and now it's just a matter of can we stop those plays that we know they're going to run, can they stop our plays, who is going to get more hustle‑back plays, 50/50 balls, rebounding, stopping them in transition, and just executing our offensive and defensive game plan. Q. Skylar and Brittany, because of the frequency that you played UConn, would you consider them your biggest rival? BRITTANY MALLORY: Within the Big East, I would say so. We've played each other so many times, it's been No.8 in the past two years. I mean, there's a lot of heart between these two teams, when we go out, we just want to play hard and win and come out on top. And every time you match up with them, you know it's always going to be a battle. So it's become a rivalry. Q. Skylar, can you talk about what the focus of the deciding factor was the last time you guys played Connecticut? SKYLAR DIGGINS: Hustle plays. Those hustle plays. They kept balls alive. They got offensive rebounds. Second‑chance points. Transition. Just hustle plays for them. They outhustled us. Q. Can you speak about what it would mean to have Kayla McBride playing this time around? BRITTANY MALLORY: It's been great having her back in the NCAA Tournament. Last year we could have used her, and this year it's just been great. She's contributing so much offensively, defensively. She does whatever Coach or the team needs. And she's just really become a great player this year, and she's really matured a lot. And we're glad to have her back. SKYLAR DIGGINS: Like Brittany said, she brings a lot to the team. Offensively, her ability to create her own shot, her ability to guard the 4. And like Brittany said, she does whatever the team needs. It's going to be good having her because I feel like she's the X factor. Q. What would you guys say has been the most important moment this year where maybe if things would have gone a different way you wouldn't have been here? SKYLAR DIGGINS: I don't know. I have to say when we lost to West Virginia. It kind of was an eye‑opener for us. Definitely humbled us a lot. We've been on a roll. In the Big East, I think it shows that you can't overlook anybody or underestimate anybody. And that's what happens. We played a lot of good teams, a lot of tough games. I think that one really made us turn it up. And we had close games. I think a lot of games do that. So I think we had more drive after we lost to Baylor. I think we had close games with Duke and just a lot of good teams that we played. Q. Have you guys ever experienced playing one team so many times like in high school or AAU? And, if you have, how did that inform you as to what you're going to experience tomorrow? BRITTANY MALLORY: I personally haven't played a team that many times in any season or AAU or anything. And it's just something that it's going to happen when you play them twice in regular season and then you play them again in the Big East Tournament. We just so happen to be on their side in the NCAA Tournament. So there's not really much to expect. Just you gotta go out and play hard and just kind of hope for the best outcome. SKYLAR DIGGINS: Brittany said it all. Q. How do you explain the success that you've had against UConn over the last two seasons? BRITTANY MALLORY: I think in previous years it was almost like they had Maya Moore, and it was a lot‑‑ they were a great team. And once we beat them last year in the Final Four, we kind of realized‑‑ it was an eye‑opener for us‑‑ that we can play with this team. We have just as many good players as them. And we can play with them.  And after we won last year, just kind of opened our eyes for us this year and just realized that we're not playing anybody special. It's just another game, another team, and we can really play with them. SKYLAR DIGGINS: I think sometimes a lot of people get lost in the history of the program and the jersey and that can intimidate you right away. I think this team, the past previous games especially, we haven't been intimidated. And no Maya Moore helps that out too. Q. A couple of days ago Kalana Greene was saying when UConn players come to Connecticut they come with an inherent dislike for Notre Dame and playing against Notre Dame. Do you guys come to Notre Dame with the same feeling about playing Connecticut, and how necessary is that to ensure inspiration and competitiveness in a game? BRITTANY MALLORY: I think you come to any school you go to wanting to beat any other school. You don't necessarily have to like the school, because you go to beat them. That's your goal. You go to win a season, a regular season, Big East championship. So I don't really know how else to say that. But you're not going to go and be best friends with them on the court. And afterwards, like Sky and them, they played U.S.A. ball together, and they're going to have friendships. But when it comes down to it, you're there to beat the other team. Q. What kind of community service do you do and how do you manage your time between basketball and community service? And as a coach, how are you involved in your community? BRITTANY MALLORY: We do a lot of community service. Our team‑‑ we're out at the homeless shelters at elementary schools reading to the kids, trying to get out there as much as possible, because our fans really give a lot to us and they support us so much so we're trying to give back to them. And with schoolwork, it's tough being on the road and practice and trying to get out in the community. It's a lot to handle. But you have great advisors and a support staff that will help you kind of manage your time. SKYLAR DIGGINS: I think it's important, especially being from South Bend, just to get out there. And with women, I think we're so much more available than men, if that makes sense to you. Just being able to get out there and just let them know, look, you have role models, you have people that want to help you out. And just being involved in the community is important, and Notre Dame has always done that, when I was young and Coach McGraw would bring the team around, till now. Q. When is the last time you guys either collectively or individually watched footage of the last year's title game? SKYLAR DIGGINS: Never. BRITTANY MALLORY: I haven't. I only watched the game personally once. SKYLAR DIGGINS: I watched the game last week, played it last week or something like that. Me and Dev caught the beginning of it. But I haven't watched the full game either. Q. What classes are you taking? SKYLAR DIGGINS: Brit doesn't take class anymore. She's a seventh‑year senior (laughter). BRITTANY MALLORY: I graduated already. I was a management entrepreneurship major. I'm just taking some‑‑ a light class load. SKYLAR DIGGINS: I'm the same major as Brittany. Graduated in business management with a focus on entrepreneurship. So strategic management, process analytics classes, like the fun classes. Q. I was wondering, what advice would you give a 13‑year‑old if she wanted to become a basketball player? BRITTANY MALLORY: First and foremost you've got to focus on school. You can't get to any college really without good grades. You've got to stay in school and really study and just try to get as many camps and play with as many people as you can all the time, day and night. It's really about repetition and practicing. SKYLAR DIGGINS: I agree with Brittany. Practice makes perfect. If you're serious about it, get in the gym. Don't have to go to the gym with somebody. Get to the gym. Get a basketball, dribble outside; get a tennis ball, dribble in the house. That's what I did. My mom didn't like it too much. But you just practice. And you set your mind to it, and you can do it. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach. Q. It seems when UConn lost to you guys in the last game of the regular season, they were disoriented and sort of lost. But then they found themselves and they've been on a run ever since. You guys lost to them in the Big East Tournament Final, and then that was sort of running through and got refocused. Did that game help you guys? A loss is never good, obviously, but did it help you get the team ready and make the run back at the NCAAs? COACH MCGRAW: I think it did help us in some ways. I don't think refocus is maybe the word with this group, because I think they're pretty focused. But I think coming off a loss, you just get a little hungrier. I think it definitely motivated us to get back in the gym, work hard, and just prepare for the NCAA Tournament. Q. Having seen all three games, Natalie Novosel got to the line like 10 times, 11 times the first two games, and only twice in the third game. And I know she initiates contact so often as she brings it into the lane. What do you see there? Because there's such a free‑throw disparity to that third game. What do you tell her or what does she expect of herself as far as getting the calls? It seems to be such a key part tomorrow night. COACH MCGRAW: It's a big part of her game. And she's really good at it. She's been good at it in just about every game. In that last game she was in foul trouble. And she didn't play quite as much and that probably had some impact on it, because when you get two fouls in the first half you get a little tentative. I'm guessing that's what happened to her in the third game. But it is her game. She can really drive the ball. She can shoot it. And getting to the line is a big part of how she scores. Q. Would you focus, in particular, on any of the three games this year and can you give us a sense of just how much game tape you will have watched of those three games knowing obviously that you know their roster very well already? COACH MCGRAW: We focused on the last one. It was the best one to see. I would watch clips of it right before practice, just so I was in practice in a good frame of mind, to really get out what we could from the team. And we showed them a lot of clips about that, too. The assistants watch a lot more film of other games. I focused on ours and was able to watch a few of those games. But really I didn't watch the game at home. That was too long ago. I think they're a much different team now. So really focused on the last two. Q. Being here for the second year, how is this team different than the team that you brought to the Final Four and the championship game last year, and in what ways? COACH MCGRAW: You know, I think we're really similar to that team. We returned four starters, and I think the veteran core group that we had, along with Natalie Achonwa, really was well prepared. I think last year coming in to the Final Four as the underdog and the upset coming in, it was like a Cinderella story. And I think there was a completely different mindset. This year, coming in as the No.1 seed, I think it's a little more businesslike. So I think that's the biggest difference. Kayla McBride, of course, for Becca Bruszewski is the trade we mailed. Kayla's having a fantastic year. She brings the excitement. This is the first tournament for her, so it's different looking through her eyes. Q. What do you see as the biggest difference in UConn the way they're playing now as opposed to the February27th game? COACH MCGRAW: I think Tiffany Hayes is playing better. I think Bria Hartley‑‑ you know, I think Faris is looking to score more in the NCAA Tournament than she did before, a little more aggressive. Bria Hartley to me is just‑‑ she's really good. I really like her. I think she really runs the team and does so many things well. And I think she's a huge key to their success. Q. Just wondering your relationship with Geno, how it has evolved and how you deal with some of the things like when he questions about the score against Pittsburgh and some of the things at the Media Day when he talked about Notre Dame football being the reason for the dissolution of the Big East Conference and those sort of things. COACH MCGRAW: I've known Geno for a long time. I was the assistant coach at St. Joe's for Jim Foster back in the'80s, and he was the previous assistant coach who had just moved on to Virginia. So we've known each other for a long time. And people from Philly have a different way of looking at things. And I think we understand each other, where we're coming from. He likes to engage and try to get in people's heads, but I don't. And I don't‑‑ I don't read a lot. I don't get online. I don't look for reasons to get involved in that. So I just‑‑ I really just try to stay away from that. And we continue to have a pretty good relationship. Q. How has your team evolved in the last couple of weeks through this tournament? COACH MCGRAW: We're playing really well. I think we've been challenged. I think we've really been questioned a lot. When the brackets came out, a lot of people had Maryland in the Final Four. The other three teams were solid. But we were the No.1 seed that was going to lose first. I think we played Liberty and Cal, who were in the both top five in nation in rebounding, and our rebounding numbers were questioned. Then we played Maryland and the size and rebounding were questioned. So I think we've answered a lot of challenges. And I think it's made us a really strong team. I think we've come out with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder, having seen some of those things. So I think it's made us better. Q. What would be a good early indication on Sunday that things are going well for you, systems running well? What will you be focused on, at least in the first five minutes? COACH MCGRAW: I think most people feel like when you make your first shot it's going to be a good day. So I think when you can score. When you get a really good look and you make it, I think that kind of gives everybody a chance to breathe a little bit. Defensively, I think when you can stop them. I think you get a couple of stops. That gives you confidence. So I think the first few minutes really kind of‑‑ you could take some motivation from either end, if you can get some stops and you get good shots. We can say we're getting good shots, they're going to drop. But it's always a lot better when they do fall early. Q. I've lived in Philly for 30years. And I just wanted to ask you, in Philadelphia, there's always a flamboyance to all the basketball coaches. There's hardly anybody there who is a wallflower. So does that make it easier‑‑ first I would ask you: What's the mindset do you think of a Philadelphia coach? And, second, because you've heard this kind of bluster from every other coach who has been in Philadelphia, is it easier for you to just let it roll off your shoulder? COACH MCGRAW: For people who don't know Philly, the saying is when they don't have anything better to do, they go to the airport and do bad landings (laughter). I think the Philadelphia coaches are brash and outspoken. I think there's a lot of sarcasm used. I think they are right to the point. I think that's something that even with my team had to deal with: I'm going to be honest and I'm going to tell you. And I think that's how most of those coaches are. I forget part two of your question. Q. Because you grew up in that environment, is it easier to let the bluster roll off? COACH MCGRAW: Yes, it's so easy to let that go, because I think initially you kind of want to get into a fight. But it is easy to let it go. Especially being‑‑ I'm a Midwesterner now. So I'm so much more laid back than I used to be. Q. First of all, why haven't you allowed yourself to be the quintessential Philadelphia coach? Why have you kept your personality in the background? Secondly, did you and Skylar sit down before the season and talk about a strategy in terms of all the national opportunities she might have for publicity and other things that might come her way this year? And has there been a lot of stuff that you've had to sort of counsel her to stay away and wait until April or May or whenever? COACH MCGRAW: I'll take part two first. You know, I did not. We sat down with Chris Masters and‑‑ and ‑‑ Chris and Sky right at the beginning of the year to try to talk about how to help her navigate through the amazingly high number of requests that she would get to do things. So we talked more from a trying to shelter her a little bit. We talked about her Twitter account. She has goals for Player of the Year. We have the same. But we really didn't talk about how we're going to publicize you, how we're going to do things for you. We kind of felt like you're going to play and that's what's going to get you the attention. So I don't think we have a strategy coming in to how to promote her. I think we just let her promote herself by playing and for everything that she does. And certainly agreeing to give her those opportunities to go to ESPN Science and do some things like that, we thought that was really important, and to do the blogs for espnW, I think that was important, too. I think her Twitter account is really‑‑ that's an important thing for her to do. And I feel like I still am the same person. I'm just an introvert, which is a very different person to be as a head coach. Q. As a competitor, do you have an appreciation how this rivalry has really escalated over the last two seasons because how many times you've played? COACH MCGRAW: Yeah, I'm excited it's a rivalry. I think when you lose to a team as often as we did for a number of years, I think it's kind of an exercise in futility more than a rivalry. So I'm happy that now it is a game that when we go in we look forward to it. I think the challenge of it and‑‑ and I think in the Big East having two great teams going at it like that with national attention all the time, I think that says great things for the Big East Conference as well. Q. Wanted to follow up on the Twitter thing, in New York in October I remember asking you about Twitter and nail polish, because Connecticut's got all these rules about things that their players can't do, they can't wear. Notre Dame seems to be a lot more relaxed in those areas. And I'm wondering why you feel so differently than Connecticut and how necessary you think some of these things are for team comportment. COACH MCGRAW: I think nail polish is essential (laughter). I think that‑‑ I have a girly team and they love to get dressed up, as you saw last night. I think it's important to have that kind of image off the court as well. I like to treat them like adults until they abuse the privilege. And so far nobody's abused it. I've got great kids. They're really, really good citizens. We don't have a lot of problems. And so as long as that stays the same, I'm willing to give them whatever they want. Q. Curious what you think‑‑ you turn around and there are men who leave college after their freshman or sophomore year, they jump to the NBA. But, yet, in the women's game, you're not eligible to go to the WNBA until you're either 22 or you've played four years. One, is that fair for women? And, two, just your overall thoughts of players that you have had that could have done the same thing. COACH MCGRAW: I think it's a great rule. I think getting your education is the reason you go to college. I think that you want to come out with that degree so after your career ends at the old age of 30 or so you're ready to go into the world and do something else. I think it's a really good rule. I think the money is so small that there isn't the attraction that the men have to leave college and make that kind of money. So I think that's a big part of it as well. And if I was Brittney Griner I would definitely go (laughter). And I think Elena Delle Donne, too, I think both of them should leave (laughter). Q. What has made them so tough defensively this year? Tough for coaches, and they can contest 2s, they're a tough team to score against. Why is that? COACH MCGRAW: They really are. I think Geno is just a really good coach and their game plan is so sound. They look at your strengths and try to take them away. I think they have some personnel‑driven rules, just have some general rules. They do a lot in the half court. They don't have to come up and play a lot of full court. They don't play a lot of zone. They just have really good fundamentals and man to man. And that's hard to teach. And that's something that you have to really buy into as a player. And clearly they have bought into that. Q. What was the team's biggest distraction, so to speak? COACH MCGRAW: The media. I think there's so many extra things that you have to do when you get here that you feel like you don't really get to enjoy the time with your team and your family. There's so many things that you have to go to and so many people you have to talk to, and it would be really fun for them to be here and just play the game. Q. Have you ever wanted to get involved in U.S.A. Basketball at a higher level? And I don't know in the past if you were involved at all, but a lot of major coaches participate. And like obviously Geno is going to coach the Olympic team. Do you have those aspirations at some point? COACH MCGRAW: I don't. I was asked a few times over the years, I was on the committee, which I really enjoyed being on the Selection Committee for four years, but I really don't. I enjoy the summer off with family. I think the job is a 12‑month job as it is. And I'm pretty happy giving all my attention to my team. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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