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NCAA WOMEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS: BATON ROUGEMarch 23, 2013Nikki CaldwellJeanne KenneyTheresa PlaisanceAdrienne WebbBATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. The LSU Lady Tigers are with us, Coach Caldwell and players Adrienne Webb, Jeanne Kenney and Theresa Plaisance. We'll start with questions for the student‑athletes. Q. I just wanted to know with the run you guys made late in the season up until that loss against Georgia, what was the difference there compared to the rest of the season that you hit a hot streak? THERESA PLAISANCE: The difference in that was we were doing the little things. Coach put the emphasis on defense and rebounding, and in all those games you would see that we were outrebounding our opponents and our defense was there, and we were keeping it to a low percentage game. We had to keep doing those things and battling back and it worked out for us then and we'll see how it works in the future. JEANNE KENNEY: I felt we matured following Texas A&M and our Tennessee game. Losing that Tennessee game in the last couple seconds, it just‑‑ it shows that you have to play forty minutes, play until that clock hits triple zero. I thought that was our turning point, and we all started caring a little bit more about our seniors and this is it. I just felt like we grew up a lot. ADRIENNE WEBB: As they said, we started focusing on defense and started coming together as a team. After the Tennessee loss, we kind of brought ourselves together in saying that there weren't‑‑ speaking of our seniors, me and Bianca, we weren't going to let us go out bad in the last six games of our season. Q. Adrienne, how do you prepare for such a versatile player like Adrian Ritchie, who leads her team in stats with points and rebounds? ADRIENNE WEBB: It comes down to when we broke it down in practice. We really keyed in on where she gets her shots and where‑‑ how she receives the ball and not only focusing on her. We have to lock up on everyone else so that they don't go off in the game, also. But just applying‑‑ it really comes down to defense and knowing personnel, how they get shots, how they, you know, penetrate and kick. It really breaks down to knowing that you haveto cover everyone on the floor. Q. When did you find out you were playing Green Bay? What do you know about them? I know you check on the stats and stuff, but what have you been preparing for this week? THERESA PLAISANCE: Green Bay getting that draw we knew it was going to be a tough game. Right now they are 29‑2, and that's probably one of the best records in the nation. Not only are they 29‑2, but they are on a 24‑game winning streak which is highly recognizable and doesn't go unnoticed by anyone; and we were ranked one week out of the season and they were ranked throughout the whole year. They're tough competition and they shouldn't be taken lightly. JEANNE KENNEY: We thought they were going to be a 6 seed, so it's just preparing for anybody that comes our way. Everyone has done their job to get to the NCAA Tournament. We're lucky; they're lucky, and just taking it in stride. We will play whoever comes to us. Q. You said you all expected them to be a higher seed, so going into this game what's the attitude? Is there a calm with how y'all have been playing lately, or is there nervousness that y'all drew a bad seed? JEANNE KENNEY: There is never a calmness in playing any team. I feel like we have prepared and we're going in there prepared, and I feel like confidence is very important. Our coaching staff has done a great job of preparing us, and we know Green Bay is a great team. You have to keep everybody‑‑ you can't look past anybody or anything. Everybody is their own team, and we're going to do our best. Q. Going along with that, a lot of times when we talked to Green Bay throughout the season they said it doesn't matter where you're ranked, when you start the tournament it's a clean slate. Is that the mentality that you go into the tournament with as well? JEANNE KENNEY: Definitely it's a clean slate; it's a whole new season. Just going in there and being humble about being able to have this chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, it's a great feat. So taking one game at a time, you can never look over anybody or any play. THERESA PLAISANCE: Second what Jeanne said, everybody has to go down the same path. You have to win the same amount of games. We're fortunate to be on our home court and not everyone has that, but everyone has to win the same amount of games to get to the Final Four. So the bottom line is whoever comes to play that day is going to be the winner and you keep on moving. ADRIENNE WEBB: I believe Jeanne and Theresa covered it. Honestly we're lucky to be in this NCAA Tournament and lucky to be playing at home, but it's a new season. Seedings don't play a factor in it. You have to go out every game and play under control. Q. Talk about the mismatch. Green Bay hasn't seen your height all season long, so talk about that as a strength for you guys. THERESA PLAISANCE: We do have a height advantage but on the defensive end we are going to have to match up with smaller, faster athletes. On offense, we will stick with the postgame; but defensively the advantage is on them because we have to be able to defend and guard their outside game and their penetration and kick and knocking down that 3‑point shot which is deadly for them. Q. I know you guys were 8‑9 when this happened, but in 2004, LSU host the first two rounds, played the regional in Washington and the Final Four was in New Orleans. Is there something extra special of playing at home and the goal is playing someplace that you know is 80 miles away? JEANNE KENNEY: It's definitely extra special, being able to play your whole way through the first couple of games and Final Four in your home state is definitely a great perk. We haven't looked that far ahead yet. We got Green Bay Sunday. THERESA PLAISANCE: I was at that Final Four game in New Orleans way back when and it was‑‑ so many years ago! It was a great experience just sitting in the crowd and growing up in New Orleans, you know, that's‑‑ LSU is who I wanted to play for, and being able to wear that purple and gold at the Final Four was tremendous. I'm in that spot, having the opportunity to play on that court again is a great one. But we need to come out and play ever game like it's our last and keep fightin'; and if we get there, then it's a blessing, and it's a blessing itself. Q. I think Green Bay is the 10th ranked opponent you have played this year. How has that readied you for this tournament? ADRIENNE WEBB: Right now every team is good, so you have to go into every game playing your all, knowing‑‑ carrying over what you went over in practice into the game, because it's win or go home. It's not really who is ranked in the preseason; it's what you have in front of you right now. JEANNE KENNEY: I feel like it doesn't matter about rankings. It's about how prepared you are and how focused you are and how prepared you are to play the team that day. Rankings don't matter; so it's one game at a time. THERESA PLAISANCE: Earlier in the week before we knew what the seedings were, before anybody knew about the tournament Coach told us in postseason play you can't worry about the seeding or the name, you just have to come out and stick to your game plan and play your game, control the things that you can control, and everything else will fall into place. Q. Jeanne, we're trying to illustrate how coaches in the tournament now have great playing backgrounds as well and if the basket was broken down to one‑on‑one games. How do you think Nikki would do? JEANNE KENNEY: She may have just had a baby and torn her Achilles tendon, but she'll beat anybody that comes her way. Her competitive nature is unbelievable, and it rubs off on us, too. So that's a good thing. She'll beat anybody. Be scared! Q. At practice the other day you guys broke out gold shoes. Is this what you're wearing tomorrow? Oh, you got 'em out, okay. You guys had the pink shoes you wore for a while. I love that. It was good luck. Then you lose to Georgia in the tournament so they are retired, I guess. So now you're starting a new streak with the gold shoes? What do you hope to get from the gold shoes and are you superstitious? JEANNE KENNEY: I apologize. It's probably not appropriate, but they're the same brand just a different color. So if you're superstitious it goes a long way. Doesn't matter about shoes, we just got to come out and play. THERESA PLAISANCE: We like the style of shoe a lot, so we stuck with the pink shoe; and after the first couple of games we were winning and we said everybody wear the pink, wear the same socks, do the same thing, listen to the same music, keep going. We wore down those pink shoes pretty good, so she decided to give us a new pair. Thanks, Coach. Q. Jeanne, have you or anybody played Nikki one‑on‑one? How did it come out? JEANNE KENNEY: Last time she played against us she tore her Achilles tendon. We watched some previous game footage while she was at Tennessee‑‑ THERESA PLAISANCE: Quite a competitor. JEANNE KENNEY: Quite a competitor. THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thank you and good luck. Questions for Coach? Q. A lot of talk about seeding when you looked at Green Bay's record, 29‑2, and they're an 11 seed. Do you think the committee made a mistake? COACH CALDWELL: I looked at the bracket and I thought, we're going to have a tough road. But the competitive side of me is, you are going to have to play the best; you're the top 64 teams in the country that's left. Like I told Theresa and the rest of the team, that's something that's totally out of our control, but what is in our control is how hard we are going to come out and play tomorrow, what's going to be our attitude. Are we going to have the spirit of a warrior? We talked about all those things, but I was also complimentary of the body of work that our team has done to get to this point, because there was a period during this season where we could have tanked. They stayed the course. They matured. They grew together, and we're just grateful to be able to come out, and again, practice today while teams aren't practicing, a lot of teams aren't playing. I've been around for a while where you can't read too much into the bracket. You just need to read into your team. That's what I've learned to focus in on is what our team has to do, no matter who is above us or below us on that basket line. Q. With Green Bay, what did you know about them this week, and what are you preparing for when you see them with this game? COACH CALDWELL: First, they're a well‑coached team. You don't win consecutive games, 20‑plus in a row and not be well‑coached and prepared. Two losses on the year, that's a pretty impressive record. They've got a team which we have seen similar style of play when we played Florida Gulf Coast and Missouri. They can shoot the 3 ball. We've got to be aware of that with the match‑up zone we're going to have to extend our bigs. That's what they were talking about is going to be a challenge for them. They understand that. We're 6'5" and they're not about, but they're capable and skilled at their respective post positions. The one thing about Green Bay that I like a lot is their ability to share the basketball. They have a balanced attack. They do a great job of finding the open player, and they had a very patient way of playing the game. So that's why they've been very useful. On the flip side, to me, they have been one of the best defensive teams we have seen in a long time, as far as lending support and not overextending, not doing anything outside their comfort zone, again, a very mature basketball team. Q. You've seen similar teams. You lost to Florida Gulf Coast‑‑ COACH CALDWELL: And could have easily lost to Missouri. Q. What do you do different this time around? COACH CALDWELL: Well, after the Florida Gulf Coast we were a different team than we are now. We have started‑‑ and I've said this a lot, we finally started to like defense. We don't love it, but we definitely started to like it. If we can continue to like it a little bit more today, a little bit more tomorrow in the shootaround, and keep going, then I think our defensive scheme can help us. This team has gelled, so that made us different, because now we're closer. We have had a lot of adversity that hit us, but they have also found success, and they found it in a big‑time way by going through the last six, seven games of our season and really performing the way we needed them to. We're going to take all of that with us into tomorrow's game. Q. Nikki, with only having eight, nine girls for the majority of the season, what has been the challenge in keeping them fresh and getting that kind of run out of them that you did at the end of the season? COACH CALDWELL: We tried to keep practice light. We try not to go over two hours. Their attention span is probably a good 60, 70 minutes on a good day. So we try to get everything that we need in, in that 60, 70 minutes, and then at that point it's fun time, like we do competitive shooting drills where they're against the clock, and we put 'em on teams. It baffles me that, you know, I'm from old school where you practice two and a half, three hours, sometimes over that, Coach Summit back then you didn't have rules, but I will say this: We are trying to get the most out of them, and with only having eight bodies in practice you have to be pretty creative. The other thing we have done is if they want to watch scout tapes, they can. I stopped making them do it. I made them‑‑ before, here is your film, watch it, what have you. Now, if you want to, go ahead; if you don't, don't worry about it. So they now do it on their own and they're owning up to that, so I guess you kind of trick them because you can watch. But I'm not going to enforce it, and I will know if they did or didn't. But it's making them take ownership of how they want their season to play out. Q. Going off that, y'all have had a lot of injuries, you come in with eight and you've got this motto "eight is enough." But with less than a day until the game, what's the final assessment on how healthy this team is and how y'all will be able to go through the tournament? COACH CALDWELL: We're about as healthy as we're going to get; this is it for us. They understand that. Jeanne Kenney has been banged up all year, but she has been such a warrior. She has played through every injury there is. Our strength and conditioning coaches, they understand when we're weight training let's do everything in moderation. We're rehabbing, doing everything we can. But this time of year, there is no excuses. There is no reason, there is no reason for you to say, I can't go, unless you're unable to go. But right now every one of our players, all eight of them, they're ready to go. Q. How much do you expect Jeanne Kenney to play tomorrow, since she has had a couple of weeks to rest from your last game. Starting lineup? The bench? What are your thoughts? COACH CALDWELL: Jeanne is somebody who‑‑ she is going to be ready. You can tell by watching her in the press conference, but she was the first one‑‑ I think she talked about this after the Tennessee game, she was the first one after we lost the first to say, "We don't want our seniors to go out this way, and I'm going to do everything I can to make it a great year for them and finish off the year for them." And she is going to do whatever role we need her to do, off the bench, starting player. We may have options there, but she definitely is going to be playing. Q. You said earlier they don't make a lot of mistakes. I believe they have the fourth best turnover ratio in the nation. What do you have to do to counteract that? COACH CALDWELL: Well, we can't make a lot of mistakes. We can't go into this game with 20‑plus turnovers. We've got to take care of the basketball as well. When you have a team that's played as well as they have and have the maturity, the leadership, the experience, you got to stay true and not have those plays where you're not focused. That's when they're going to be able to capitalize on that maturity. We're a team that when you look at us on paper, do we press? No. Do we run our match‑up? Yes. We're simple in our action, but we got to be precise. Again, against a team like this, you respect every player that's on the roster, because this time of year anything and everything can happen. Q. When Green Bay found out they were going to play LSU they didn't know much about your team personnel‑wise, but they knew your name and they grew up watching you. Is it more exciting to be in the NCAA Tournament as a coach or as a player? COACH CALDWELL: As a player. I will tell you, and sometimes I forget I'm a coach and I have to be on the sideline, but when you're a player it's different because you've done all those sprints, you've had those 6 a.m. workouts, you've cried, you've laughed, you've been on the back of the bus with your teammates, you've traveled, you had to get up to go to class; you experience it totally differently than you do as a coach. Not that the journey is any less, but I would love to be playing again, especially, they got new shoes? We had one pair; you wore those out. They get pink, gold, purple; they get all this stuff. So our contract is very good to us. I will say this: As a player, you have more control over the game. Coaches will tell you we would love to have control over the game.  We have none. We have 0. We can call a play, but ultimately, do they run it? It's up to them. It's their choice to execute the game plan or not all you can do is provide the shell. I would love to be playing today especially when you look at where women's basketball is today. It's definitely a lot more grandiose than it was when I played. Q. Coach, what can you say about Theresa's development, her coordination, her game, just over the last three years? Where does that come from? COACH CALDWELL: She'll probably tell you DoBee, her mom. But Theresa is that player‑‑ I recruited Theresa when I was out at UCLA, so I got a chance to watch her in high school. I thought, wow, she is an L.T., and my coaches know I label people, and what does that mean? She is a lazy talent; she is a talented player. But she has lazy in her game. She'll tell you that, too. I've told her this, but I will say she is no longer L.T. she is talented. She took the off season in transforming her body, conditioning, making sure she came back in great shape which transformed her mentality. So she is now mentally tougher than when I first met Theresa. She is someone who‑‑ I don't think she even realizes everything she has done in such a short period of time as far as statistically where she stands in the record books here at LSU, but also nationally. I put her up against anybody in the country as far as one‑on‑one, her game, she can shoot the 3, go off the bounce. She can post. So she is skilled in that area, and she has more upside to her. She is one who is starting to like defense. It was interesting that she commented on the defense because she made the SEC All‑Defensive team which is great for Theresa, but it was her work ethic over the summer which has transformed her into the player she is this year. Q. How surprising to hear you talk about shoes earlier (Laughter). Again, the point is to illustrate the competitive background of the coaches as players. If it was one‑on‑one, coach‑on‑coach bracket, who would you consider the favorites? How do you think you would do? COACH CALDWELL: I'm going to be competitive; and, you know, I'm going to do whatever I can. I was that type of player and probably still am, if I was out there. If you needed someone to take the charge, I was going to do it. If you needed someone to take the extra pass, I was going to do that. I could box out, I believe, in defense; and I could shoot the ball and triple pass. So I would do everything I possibly can to put myself or my team in a successful situation by doing that and focusing in on the little things. I know the coaches here, especially with Coach Washington having played; and we played against each other, you know, you don't get to this point without having some type of competitive greatness in you. There's a lot of opportunities here for our team and for the other teams that are here if the team if you will, will take on the spirit of their coaches it's going to be a great weekend, a great tournament all the way through here at Baton Rouge. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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