Colorado University Athletics
Texas A&M-Colorado Quotes
February 27, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Colorado Head Coach Kathy McConnell-Miller
OPENING STATEMENT - "We got beat by a very good team today. We got beat on the offensive end, and we got beat on the defensive end. They came out and were efficient, and they hit shots. They shot a high percentage, and they took high percentage shots. We came out strong, but once they got on a roll; we couldn't battle, we didn't battle, and a level of frustration set in. It was a tough night for the Buffs."
ON SCORING FEWER POINTS THAN IN PREVIOUS WEEKS - "They don't give up a lot of points. If you go back and look at them statistically, they are one of the strongest in the conference. They just do not give up a lot of points. Their on the ball defense is great. We don't have a post presence, but their post defense is good. On drives they don't come off of shooters, and they battle every possession. If it's called it's called, and if it's not it's not. It doesn't even matter because they can go to their bench and bring two or three off that can defend just like them."
ON WHAT THE TEAM CAN DO TO IMPROVE - "We need an interior presence. It's something that, when we had it, we didn't have experienced guards to be able to balance that. Now, we've got strong, balanced guards that can score and shoot and we don't have an interior presence. You need good guards in this league to be successful. That's one of the most important things, but I think you need an interior presence and a balance with the five players on the floor. I think it's an ongoing process to try and get an interior presence. I think that's devastating us right now. I think the strong our guards get, the better we'll be. How we fight, and how we battle, and how we persevere is going to be the character of our program. If we feel like we can't battle and this challenge is too great, then we are going to struggle."
ON RECRUTING A POST PLAYER - "You're always recruiting. You're always looking for better players. At this point, we're just trying to find the best big we can. If something comes available, we'll take advantage of that. If it doesn't, we have to look inside. Any coach that sits up here will tell you that recruiting is an ongoing process. If you were to come with me to Salina [Kansas], and you were sitting on my left and every coach that came sat next to me on my right, they would say that they were looking for a big. At this point there are not a lot of high school bigs around. The ones that were any good have typically been recruited and signed, so the junior colleges are where the late signees come from."
ON COMPENSATING IN THE MEANTIME - "I think when Courtney Dunn is available we're better. I think even though she is not that dominate scorer, we feel like she is a presence inside. She's a player of size and some strength who can alter some shots and do some things, but she hasn't been physically available to us for the amount of time we want her to be. We have to continue to do things. If we go small, we have to play zone, but that presents some challenges in itself."
ON WHERE SHE EXPECTS THE PROGRAM TO BE IN HER FIFTH SEASON - "Nobody is happy with the wins and losses, first and foremost myself. I do think there is a strong foundation and the players continue to get better. They continue to battle. I think we're in a very difficult league, where it's very difficult just to make a jump. If you look at some of the coaches in the conference that have come in, and you look at their progression, unless you inherit a program in the top 20 you're not jumping in their real fast. The foundation is strong, and the players have all bought in. If you were in the locker room four nights ago, it was a totally different team. They battled, they performed, and we just have to have more nights like that. We have to believe we can win."
ON WEDNESDAY'S VICTORY OVER MISSOURI - "I think the league sometimes wears on you a little bit. They were playing a top ranked team, and they believed that from the time that Missouri left here that they were going to get them at Missouri. That's the mentality we have to have night in and night out.
Colorado Players
Bianca Smith, Sr. G
ON BREAKING CU's 3-POINT RECORD -- "Shelley Sheetz was a great player. I'm actually glad that it's now behind me because I can focus now on getting these next two W's."
Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair
General
"When you shoot the ball like we did today, we shared the ball; we did an excellent job making assists. I thought we passed the ball very well. Our bench was good. We were here less than 24 hours and the altitude did not hurt us, at least that is my assistant coaches theory; whether that is a truism or not".
On Adaora Elonu
"This girl here (Adaora Elonu) played with a stomach virus today, and possibly had her best game of the year so I am going to have her keep that stomach virus for a little bit longer. This is the first basketball game since I was a high school coach that I coached without a tie. I have a head cold and I could not breathe."
On Damitria Buchanan
"I am happy for this kid (Damitria Buchanan) right here. When you think about it, just like your Courtney Dunn who sat behind good people for a couple of years, this kid sat behind (La Toya) Micheaux for three years and now in her senior year it's working out for her. If you are going to keep playing the game, you are playing in the best conference in the country, you have to be patient."
On Colorado
"I want you Colorado writers and media to start thinking that Nebraska was 15-16 last year, and look at what they are doing now. It takes time, in this league, to build a program. It always starts with recruiting. Kathy (McConnell-Miller) is going to get it done. You have to be patient with your team. You saw what happened with your men's program today. They pulled one out and you have got one of the best young coaches around right there. Be patient. It doesn't happen all the time. You all know how bad Texas A&M was at women's basketball before we got there. You all were light years ahead of us, and you still are ahead of us. Every team in the conference is ahead of us in win-losses over the history of the Big 12. We just had five great years in a row, and we still can't catch you. Hopefully I will eventually catch a few of you. It just takes a little bit of time."
"Personally, I don't think that (Boulder Daily Camera) article should have been written this morning; the day of the game. That wasn't quite fair to the coach (Kathy McConnell-Miller). She is class. She cares, and she is developing her team. Give her some patience, instead of writing her off into the sunset. She deserves a break. She will get the job done, I will guarantee you that. If you wait your time at great schools like Colorado and A&M, good things will happen for you".
On Bianca Smith
"I was extremely happy to see Bianca Smith get that record against us. That kid has been to my camp two or three times, and I love the kid to death. She wasn't a Big 12 player when she first got here. That coaching staff has turned her into a Big 12 player. She is one of the best catch-and-shoot players in the league, along with a kid from Oklahoma State and a couple more. She has done a tremendous job and she is a class kid. She will represent your school for a number of years afterwards."
On Colorado Facilities And Big 12
"When you get the new facilities built here, you do not realize how much that helps you. We have had ours now for a year and a half and it's huge. You all deserve new facilities. We are in a grassroots program of growing fans and a fan base. We love each other. This is a league that no coaches leave. You have had five hall of famers leave to retire. Everybody else comes to this league because of the quality of play, because of the fan base, and because of the recruiting base. This is what you have here, but you cannot catch up automatically. You see what our football team is going through trying to catch up with Oklahoma and Texas, and you have to do the same thing here. But just think, had they (Nebraska) given up on (head coach) Connie Yori she might not have won the national championship. It takes a lot. Before we build our next mountain out here, appreciate what you do have. You have had a hall of fame coach here. You have a damn good coach here now. Give it time, and it will run its course and she will deliver for you."
Texas A&M Players
Damitria Buchanan, Sr., F
ON CHANGE IN INSIDE PLAY- "Just working hard and being more aggressive on offense. For this game it was just building off of my energy; building off of my teammates' energy. Like I said earlier, building off of Adaora's (Elonu) energy; seeing how easy it was for her to score and seeing how hard she was working made me want to go out there and make every game special, because each game is destined to be my last. So I am just trying to make sure that every game is as special as possible, and I don't want to have any regrets ending my career here."
Adaora Elonu, So., F
ON IMPACT OF THE ROAD WIN- "It was really important. We don't want to lose anymore. We want to keep winning for the seniors; for Damitria (Buchanan) mainly, because this is her last year and we want to make it memorable for her. And she played great so we want to keep up her energy. It's very important for us going into Oklahoma. We have to just continue to keep going. It's going to be senior night. We want to just continue to play hard and just come out with a win.
