Oct. 31, 2006

Opening comments:
It's been a very busy off-season, one that we wouldn't trade for anything. A visit to the White House, a trip out to the ESPY's for Team of the Year, our book Overtime is our Time, and a foreign trip that we took overseas, where we had just a tremendous experience.

As we move forward and prepare for the 2006-07 season, we're excited and welcome the new challenge. Obviously, you have a lot of question marks when you come in at this point in terms of how your team is going to handle expectations with the new target on their back; how we're going to be able to get everyone's best games for the next 35-plus games; what our chemistry is going to be like; and obviously how healthy we're going to be. We were fortunate last season to stay very healthy and avoid injuries.

We welcome the fact that 98 percent of our offense and 95 percent of our rebounding is back. I feel very fortunate to be able to coach a team that is so humble and so grounded. They're extremely hungry right now. The amount of confidence they're playing with right now is a completely different level than where we were a season ago.

On team's newcomers:
Christie Marrone sat out last season after she transferred from Virginia Tech. She'll be a sophomore for us and is just a tremendous three-point shooter from the guard position. She'll really help spread the floor for us with the way she can shoot the ball. Freshman Emery Wallace has been slowed with a knee injury. She had minor surgery on her knee coming off an ACL in high school and we anticipate that she'll be able to come back in December. Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, the transfer from Tennessee will become eligible in December and she really has had tremendous practices for us and will really aid in keeping us up-tempo and helping us in the guard position.

On sophomore Marissa Coleman:
The exciting thing is that our most improved player going into this season is Marissa Coleman, which is kind of a crazy thought. She was the ACC Freshman of the Year, and has dedicated herself in the weight room, has lost about 15 pounds, and is just going to have a tremendous season for us. To see the kind of shape she's in, her conditioning level, if we were to go out and play a game, she could play forty minutes. She's the best conditioned right now. The biggest improvement is on the defensive end. Marissa saw last year that she was probably one of our weakest links defensively and I'll tell you, at this point, she's our best perimeter defender.

On team's 2006-2007 schedule:
This is our toughest schedule to date with 18 teams that played in the postseason, 13 in the NCAA tournament last year. We have tripled season-tickets so we're excited about the buzz and the type of crowd we should be able to secure. Obviously, we're really looking forward to our first home game on Nov. 12 when we'll unveil our national championship banner against George Mason at 2 p.m. You can't ask for a better situation going into the season, and the amount of exposure we should receive.

On team's chemistry:
We've been very fortunate with the chemistry on this team. Of any team that I've ever had the chance to coach, whether as an assistant or a head coach, this team just has amazing chemistry. They're really like a bunch of sisters with the way they are both on and off the court. Winning a championship, if anything, will only help. The chemistry has always been there and I think the biggest thing is the confidence. The confidence Jade Perry is playing with right now is great. She's just going through people. She's playing as strong as she looks. That's probably the greatest thing that came about with winning the championship.

On team's focus:
Obviously that's a big concern, that your team is looking forward to March where they obviously had the most fun. But that's a challenge for this coaching staff, keeping them in the now, keeping them in the day-to-day. But once we start playing competition starting Nov. 10, after our exhibition game on Thursday we'll better be able to keep them in the process.

On junior Laura Harper:
It's been exciting to watch Laura come out, having been named the Most Outstanding Player of the Championship game. She's really just taken off from that moment and she's playing with a tremendous amount of confidence and at a really high level. Last season, non-conference, she had to work on getting her timing back and her rhythm from her injury. But she's dedicated herself in the weight room and is playing really strong down in the post.

On team's motivation:
Winning a national championship allowed them to taste it and feel it and really be excited about wanting to do it again. So a lot of them have really dedicated themselves this past summer, and worked extremely hard. We know that players are made in the off-season and a lot of them have dedicated themselves to wanting to get back.

On expectations:
That has to come from within. It's not reading what other people's expectations are, it's our own. And that comes from within our program. From the leadership to our coaching staff as well as the communication we have with our players. We don't feel like we're defending a title this season, we've already won it. We feel like his is a new season. Everyone at this point is undefeated and we're going into the 2006-2007 season with a new team and we've got to see what kind of team we're going to become. I'm not going to put those kind of expectations on our team, that if we don't win it all it's been an unsuccessful season. That's not how we measure ourselves and our season. It's about improving everyday as a player and as a person.

On team's attitude:
We're fortunate because there are so many competitive players on this roster. I feel like as a coaching staff we're there to kind of aid them along in the process. I feel like I have about seven, eight, nine coaches out there on the court. When they make a mistake they already know what they need to do and they're already correcting themselves. It's great to be at that point in the program.