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NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOURApril 3, 2013Muffet McGrawNEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Muffet McGraw. Coach, an opening statement. COACH McGRAW: This has been a dream season for us. I think when you looked at us in the beginning of the year, nobody predicted us to be in the Final Four, and certainly the improvement we've made throughout the year. But how well we've played throughout the year has been just so fun to watch. Skylar Diggins leading the team in just about every way possible, but great performances by Kayla McBride and Natalie Achonwa and Jewell Lloyd. We've had some fun along the way and we're so blessed to be back for the third time. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. Looking statistically, and statistics can be used however you want, but in some ways it looks, Jewell Lloyd actually played more games as a freshman than Skylar did. I know point guard adjustment is much bigger. But can you just talk about how fast Jewell adjusted to the enormous role you've given her and maybe even compare it to how Skylar adjusted? That's the first part. The second part, you could have three good looks at Morgan Tuck, particularly in the triple overtime game. I just wonder what impresses you most about her. COACH McGRAW: Well, Jewell's progress throughout the year was really tremendous. She really came in as an immediate starter. I think the first day of practice it was pretty obvious that she was that good and that ready. She started out the year well with a career high against Baylor December5th. I think she went through a little bit of what most freshman go through where there are a little bit of ups and downs along the way as you're just getting used to the rigors of the college basketball season. But she has really come through late in the year, which surprises me because a lot of freshmen hit the wall in February and don't really recover past that. But she has been tremendous. And I think a lot of it is because of Skylar. I think when you have veteran players around you, they make it easier for her to do her job. And we try not to give her too much early on. I think obviously not playing the point you don't have as much responsibility. So I think it was easy for her to make that adjustment. And I think Morgan Tuck has really improved throughout the season. And she is coming into a starting position. I think that she's a very good post player. She can score around the basket, and she can face up as well but her rebounding and her inside game I think are really good. Q. Could you talk about just the fact that teams like you and UConn and some others, even a Stanford that has really become very adept at what I would say is read and react offenses and I know you guys have said but have players who can freelance and can react and how that makes it difficult for defenses to stop you. And then the second question is if we have a Final Four first‑timer in Cal, if you can sort of talk about what it meant to your program back in'97 to make that Final Four breakthrough and how you build on that after you get that spotlight? COACH McGRAW: The Princeton offense is a really fun offense to play in because it's all reacting to the defense. I think there was so many options. There's never a point where you have to go from A to B. There's always different options and the ability for the guards especially to be creative and to play to their strengths and to move without the ball, I think, is it's a great offense for this particular team because they are such smart basketball players they read the defense so well. And it's effective against man and zone. So I think the transition game into the Princeton offense gives my players a chance to use their own creativity. I don't like when the point guard looks over and says what are you going to run. And fortunately I don't have to worry about that because Sky pretty much can make up her own mind. So we've been blessed there. I don't like a team that runs a lot of sets. I want it to be more of an open game. Second question, I think going to the Final Four for the first time is an unbelievable experience that you just treasure. The first one is always special. You remember that team, those players, those kids and just the joy, especially when you've overachieved to get there. When you're a team that was not the No. 1 seed and yet you still managed to get there, I think it makes it even more special. And I think they're going to enjoy them mentally. Q. Couple of years ago lost three times to UConn and turned the tables at this point in the Final Four. Now that's kind of reversed. I'm wondering, was there a mental obstacle that you and your team had to get over that year and if that's the case how did we do it? And then this year do you feel like you have a mental edge because of the three wins over UConn? COACH McGRAW: We beat them in 2001 and won the national championship, I think that was a big moment for us to finally get to that point and to win a national title upsetting UConn in the semifinal. And I think that game certainly gave us and our program kind of a great momentum swing. And in the last couple of years, I guess the last two years, we faced them and come out with the win. And I think we just‑‑ we go into the game with a lot of confidence and we know it's going to be a battle. But I don't think there's an edge really either way. I think coming into the last two games we won a couple. We lost one. And I don't think we felt any differently than we feel right now. Q. You had talked a little bit about Morgan Tuck. The other two Connecticut freshmen have really stepped up their game in the NCAA Tournament. You haven't seen a lot in the three games this season of Moriah Jefferson. Can you just talk a little bit about what the improved play of those two freshmen mean in terms of giving you guys different looks and what you're most concerned about when they have like Jefferson and Hartley on the court at the same time? COACH McGRAW: Jefferson gives them speed that they didn't have before. I think she is somebody that can really get up and guard the ball, and she can make the offense run a lot faster, because she just is so quick and she really likes, seems to like the transition game. So she presents some problems because she puts their game at a little higher pace. Breanna Stewart I think is just a great shot blocker. I think that's the thing she does better than anything. She's really been that all year long. Somebody that can really change your shots around the basket and she's playing much better offensively now, which gives them just another person that can really score. Q. This Sunday there will be two Hoosiers on the floor together for the last time in Skylar and Kelly Faris, and they both really elevated themselves to a pretty exalted position in storied programs. And I wonder if you have any thoughts on those two and what they've done and how they've represented their schools? COACH McGRAW: I certainly have a lot of thoughts on Skylar. Miss basketball, state champion in Indiana. To stay home has meant a lot to everybody in the state of Indiana. Certainly up here in the community it's been amazing the support that we've gotten. And I think people like the home‑ talent. They appreciate that kids stay close to home. When we went to Indianapolis for the Final Four we got a huge crowd. The entire state was cheering for us. So I think it's a bonus to have a player like that stay close to home and help us grow our fan base and create more interest in the women's game. And to be Player of the Year candidate the past couple of years, Player of the Year in the Big East, it's just brought even more notoriety to women's basketball and certainly to the state of Indiana. Kelly Faris has had a fantastic career at UConn, and she's had tremendous success there, and I'm sure that they will miss her next year. Q. Do you have a favorite Skylar story? COACH McGRAW: No, I don't think I have one. I just enjoy her so much, the way she pops in the office every day and staff meetings, sits down and asks what we're working on. I think she's just been so involved in what we're doing at every level, that it's been really fun. She's a very different type of player in that she‑‑ I could see her being a coach. I would really look at hiring her one day on my staff because she has that kind of basketball IQ basketball. And I think we relate in a little different way than with most players. And I've really enjoyed that. Q. It's just her sitting with you and the coaches? COACH McGRAW: Yeah.  Not for a long period of time. She pops in on the to the training room, locker room, hey, what are we doing today? And five minutes. It's not a long time, but it's just interesting. Q. Going back to the idea of playing them for the fourth time. Two years ago when you were on the other end, you said, quote, it's difficult; I hope to beat a team four times. I'm assuming that you're hoping you're wrong at this point? COACH McGRAW: Yeah, it's tough to beat a team three times. It's tough to beat a team two times. And the battles we have had this year have gone back and forth and down to the wire. Every one of them. So we've really done some really great things at the end of the game to win the game. We've made some huge plays. When you look back at every game, whether it was a defensive stop or a huge basket or something good, we've been able to make something happen at the end. So we would certainly hope that the karma continues. Q. You faced Geno's teams many times. Is there a common thread or trademark that you think all the teams have in common and also can you talk a little bit about the rivalry, is there a rivalry between you and he? COACH McGRAW: Well, all his teams are really talented. I mean, they get great players. They've had No. 1 player, they've got Lewis and then Stewart, best player in the country. So they've always had great talent. He's a very good coach offensively. I think the way their team moves and the style of game they play I think really fits what he has. He tinkers with it year to year based on what he has. I think they're really strong defensively. They're a very good defensive team. They rebound. They do everything really well. He's a really good coach. I don't know that there's any trademark, except that they're really talented and very well coached. And do you see, do you have a competitiveness between the two of you? COACH McGRAW: I think we're both competitive. I think it's been quite a rivalry. In the last few years, I think it's gotten even more competitive. Q. Going back to when the bracket came out, it couldn't have come out as too much of a surprise where teams were seeded, did you think: Couldn't we at least be in opposite brackets so we don't make it to the championship game, or is it you play them when you get to them? COACH McGRAW: I do think that. I thought the way the bracket was set up, it was interesting to see we have to play Duke who was the next No. 1 seed, I thought, the highest No. 2 seed. So I was curious as to how we ended up playing Duke and yet in the top four lines they said, oh, you're the 2 and they're the 3 so you have to play. So it didn't work that way the rest of the way through. So I was hoping that it would be a championship meeting as opposed to the semifinal, we've played them three years in a row now and it would be nice to play somebody else. Q. Also being familiar with Louisville. What did it take for Louisville to beat Daly? COACH McGRAW: Unbelievable. That was just a remarkable offensive performance by their team the way they shot the 3. And that was the only way they had to win. That was their chance. They were much smaller. They spread the floor and shoot 3s. And they made them and set the NCAA state record, and that was about the only way they could have won that game. And it was a masterful plan. Defensively they did a really great job. And a lot of pressure on the No. 1 seed when it gets down to late in the game, if you can stay in the game with them, it was difficult for them to come back from all that, and they had all that energy to come back in the game and then Louisville makes it by making two free throws from one of their seniors who had a great career for them. So what a great finish. And I think a great thing for the game to see a team that didn't think they could be beat to get beaten and have some new teams in the Final Four. Q. Realize some conferences are changing but what are your thoughts on seeing three Big East teams this year in the Final Four? Is it surprise? Delight? Pride? Annoyance? COACH McGRAW: Well, I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled for the Big East. I think it proves we were the best conference. I don't think that there was any question when you have two No. 1 seeds coming out of the same conference but to see Louisville join us in the Final Four I think shows what depth and strength we had in the Big East. And it's a little sad to think that next year we'll be gone, the year after Louisville be gone. A shame it has to end but a way to go out. And we're very, very happy and take a lot of pride in that. Q. Two questions about Skylar: Was there ever a moment when you realized how much of a difference‑maker she could be for the program? And have you noticed a change in her intensity, her sense of urgency in this tournament compared even relative to the last few tournaments she's been in? COACH McGRAW: I think I noticed her arrival on the national scene starting in the Big East tournament her sophomore year and continued through the NCAA tournament in the game where we beat Oklahoma and then Tennessee to advance to the Final Four. I think that was the moment that she really stood out and became the iconic symbol of our team and what she's done for the game of basketball, I think she started to really understand her position and what she could do, what she was capable of. And I think the last two games she has been unbelievable. I think she always has a sense of urgency a drive to win but the way she's playing, she's managed to somehow relax and play and have fun and at the same time have the tremendous drive and sense of urgency. So she's in a really great place right now. Q. I think when somebody becomes for lack of a better word the "it" girl in a sport, it sort of chooses them. It's not like Skylar's just chosen to be the center of attention; it shows her. She's a great player. But she has all this charisma, all these other things. Can you tell us how she's handled that, because seems like she has wonderful relationships with her teammates, it hasn't caused any chemistry problems. But that's a lot to put on somebody besides just playing basketball, to be really one of the faces of her sport at a young age? COACH McGRAW: I think it's a tremendous burden to be placed on a player at that age. And somehow she has embraced it. I think she talked to Ruth Riley years ago, like after her freshman year, maybe, when just about what it's like to be the one that everybody's talking about. And Skylar's in a completely different generation now with social media and how that has blown up to her Twitter account numbers. But I've been so impressed with the way she handled it. But I haven't really been surprised because when she was going into ninth grade, I sat her in my office and offered her a scholarship and she was so poised and mature at that point, I thought this girl is just going to be special, and she really has done unbelievable things, I think, for the women's game. Q. What are the ways you think she's most improved this season and how has she most impressed you with the way she's developed her game? COACH McGRAW: You know, I think she has become a very confident scorer and somebody who has welcomed the opportunity to be one of the leading scorers on our team. I think last year she was in a little bit of a, not a back‑up role, but certainly with Natalie Novosel and Skylar, they were going to be probably the top two scorers. So I think she's worked hard to get this opportunity. I think her jumper, I'm surprised when she misses. She has worked on her shot so much and the mid‑range game I think is her specialty. So I think that's the thing she's improved the most. Q. The end of the first half when you guys were struggling and Skylar hit those three 3s it seems as many times she carried the game it seems like that was the best example ever, because you could have been in real trouble without that happening.            The second general question is, yes, Cal is new to the Final Four but Louisville has been there fairly recently. Why does it seem like all the players still wind up going to the same schools? COACH McGRAW: The first question, we were in serious trouble in the first half against Duke. We were really struggling to find our rhythm offensively and couldn't make shots, which we're normally pretty good at. I thought Skylar hitting those three 3s gave the whole team a sigh of relief that the pressure was off them and Skylar was going to carry us for a couple of minutes until they got their shot back. So that was huge. I think that was something that we absolutely needed. She knew it. Similar to the game at UConn when she hit the back‑to‑back 3s, but that was just so key in our comeback. And then the other question, I think that players look to‑‑ everybody wants to win a championship. And I think they want to go to the school they think has the most opportunity, and a lot of players now are looking at what other kids are doing in their class, which for us in our recruiting, we want kids to have the confidence to come in and know that they're going to be able to compete for a national championship. And they don't have to bring in other players with them. But it seems as though Duke and Connecticut, Tennessee, they still seem to attract the best players. And I think when we get a little more parity in the high school game, I think that maybe you'll see more parity in the college game, because the top players won't always be looking to go to the top five schools. Q. When you have a rivalry that's gotten as intense as Notre Dame and UConn, how much of a plus can that be for the game as a whole? Does any sport need to have a rivalry just like this one? COACH McGRAW: Yeah, I think they do. You've got the Yankees and the Red Sox, and I think there's always big games that attract the casual fan to the game. And so I think that's what we're doing for women's basketball. I think it is the most heated rivalry in women basketball and it's a game that everybody enjoys watching. And we enjoy playing. I think it's a fun game. And you know it's going to be a battle. It's going to be a war. So I think that makes it even more fun to watch. Q. What is the advantage of having been here the past two seasons, the team, knowing what they're going to go through and that sort of thing, and also is there any added weight just because they've been there twice and not achieved their goal? COACH McGRAW: I think that going in knowing what to expect is good because you're prepared for, you can prepare the freshmen for it. I think it gets to be a little more of‑‑ I'm not sure what the word is. It's not quite as fresh and as fun to be stuck in for five hours of interviews and so many other things that because you always want to get out and enjoy it. You don't really have that chance to really spend the time with your team in New Orleans, because you're always doing something else. So I think we're going to have some fun on our own, I'm sure. But I think we do have at least a lot of experienced players that know what the grind of going through all the media work is going to be and all the practices and the open practice and I think they'll be able to focus better because they know what to expect. Q. Is there any added weight to it just because they've been there before and haven't achieved the goal? COACH McGRAW: Yeah, so I think I answered that. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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