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Transcript of Duke coach McCallie's teleconference
A special thanks to Duke women's basketball SID Lindy Brown for not only setting up a teleconference with Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie but putting up a transcript. This was especially helpful for me since the traffic nightmare courtesy of the latest round of snow prevented me from jumping onto the call.
Here is the transcript of the call
What getting here at 20-0 has done for Duke’s confidence?
“Well it’s just been great to play against the teams we’ve played against. I think the significance is in the body of work and the real interesting games that we’ve played. I’m not a bit concerned over wins, losses and streaks, because that can happen a lot of places depending upon who you play and that kind of thing. So I think for us, being able to play some great opponents and really learn a little bit about ourselves and challenge ourselves, especially our young players. I think it’s been very productive for us and playing Geno’s [Auriemma] teams is sort of that experience even further relative to kind of looking in the mirror and getting a sense and a feel for what we need to do to get better. So it’s a great opportunity because his teams are so well-coached and so good at what they do, that, which certainly enhances some of the stuff that we’ve already gone through.”
On what they learned from last year’s game that might help this year:
“The efficiency factor and the difficulty in disrupting them is something you learn when you play them. I know we’re a different team this year. And half of our team did not play them last year, so that doesn’t carry over per-say. But I just really think it’s an overall experience thing. Just, you know, being able to compete each year. This year’s team, our Duke team, against this year’s Connecticut team, and every year that would be different, different people, but still a great opportunity for us. So we’ll see.”
On the progression of the freshman:
“Yeah they’ve really been great. They wanted to be special, ready and even in the recruitment process they wanted to come to Duke and be an immediate impact -- all five of them. And they really have. All five have been terrific and they keep getting better. There’s still a lot of growth needed there because I think it’s hard, you know, it’s hard to be in high school and the next year be playing at Connecticut or some of these teams. It’s quite a leap for them. But they’re very eager, they work really hard. They’re very talented of course. They have committed more to defense, you know, have committed more to the kind of shape you have to be in to play at this level. And they’re just great. They’re fun because they have a take on artist mentality a little bit, but yet they listen a lot, and they’re very coachable. It’s been a really fun time trying to put this team together and trying to grow it a little bit.”
On senior Jasmine Thomas and her leadership:
“Yeah I think her game has just grown to new heights in all areas. I look at last night as an example, and she really was a double-double last night. Some assists got dropped or didn’t convert. But Jasmine’s ability to score, her ability to take things on in different situations, it’s always been there and she keeps growing every year. But I think this year she is better defensively. She also is a better passer, a better creator. Again, a scorer as well. Most importantly she is a team person, a team leader, in terms of communicating philosophy -- talking to the young kids, giving the direction. She really has had an incredible role for us. There is no question that we’ve had success because of Jas. You know, Jas is our All-America, Jas is our key player. She’s our glue. And she’s been that way for us all year. At times, certainly, making winning shots and all. Also at times, deferring. And others have followed. I think that’s the greatest compliment I could give Jas that other people follow her and emulate her and are growing with her in their game. So she has an enormous effect on our team.”
On whether Duke has the scoring ability type of team to beat UConn this year?
“Yeah it’s hard to know until we are in the situation. I feel very good about our team. We’ve had some tremendous offensive games. Pittsburgh for one, Oklahoma State for two and Florida State another great one. Last night’s dominance offensively as well. We’ve had some really good ones, but at the same time we’ve had some other games when we were a little bit more inconsistent. So we’re working on that and it was great to see five people in double figures and people attacking last night. But I think it’s something that you can’t really predict. Again, we will learn a lot from this game. This game is a great opportunity for us to learn about ourselves, who we are and what we want to do out there. That’s an important thing to have. Again, given the nature of Geno’s teams and how they are coached, it’s a really tester that way. And again, environment too. I’ve coached at Gampel before and it’s a great place for women’s basketball. And again, being able to look in the mirror a little bit and be in an environment that will be quite loud, very crazy. And there’s simply no way to simulate that environment. It’s not about pumping in a crowd noise. It’s about having the experience.”
Here is the transcript of the call
What getting here at 20-0 has done for Duke’s confidence?
“Well it’s just been great to play against the teams we’ve played against. I think the significance is in the body of work and the real interesting games that we’ve played. I’m not a bit concerned over wins, losses and streaks, because that can happen a lot of places depending upon who you play and that kind of thing. So I think for us, being able to play some great opponents and really learn a little bit about ourselves and challenge ourselves, especially our young players. I think it’s been very productive for us and playing Geno’s [Auriemma] teams is sort of that experience even further relative to kind of looking in the mirror and getting a sense and a feel for what we need to do to get better. So it’s a great opportunity because his teams are so well-coached and so good at what they do, that, which certainly enhances some of the stuff that we’ve already gone through.”
On what they learned from last year’s game that might help this year:
“The efficiency factor and the difficulty in disrupting them is something you learn when you play them. I know we’re a different team this year. And half of our team did not play them last year, so that doesn’t carry over per-say. But I just really think it’s an overall experience thing. Just, you know, being able to compete each year. This year’s team, our Duke team, against this year’s Connecticut team, and every year that would be different, different people, but still a great opportunity for us. So we’ll see.”
On the progression of the freshman:
“Yeah they’ve really been great. They wanted to be special, ready and even in the recruitment process they wanted to come to Duke and be an immediate impact -- all five of them. And they really have. All five have been terrific and they keep getting better. There’s still a lot of growth needed there because I think it’s hard, you know, it’s hard to be in high school and the next year be playing at Connecticut or some of these teams. It’s quite a leap for them. But they’re very eager, they work really hard. They’re very talented of course. They have committed more to defense, you know, have committed more to the kind of shape you have to be in to play at this level. And they’re just great. They’re fun because they have a take on artist mentality a little bit, but yet they listen a lot, and they’re very coachable. It’s been a really fun time trying to put this team together and trying to grow it a little bit.”
On senior Jasmine Thomas and her leadership:
“Yeah I think her game has just grown to new heights in all areas. I look at last night as an example, and she really was a double-double last night. Some assists got dropped or didn’t convert. But Jasmine’s ability to score, her ability to take things on in different situations, it’s always been there and she keeps growing every year. But I think this year she is better defensively. She also is a better passer, a better creator. Again, a scorer as well. Most importantly she is a team person, a team leader, in terms of communicating philosophy -- talking to the young kids, giving the direction. She really has had an incredible role for us. There is no question that we’ve had success because of Jas. You know, Jas is our All-America, Jas is our key player. She’s our glue. And she’s been that way for us all year. At times, certainly, making winning shots and all. Also at times, deferring. And others have followed. I think that’s the greatest compliment I could give Jas that other people follow her and emulate her and are growing with her in their game. So she has an enormous effect on our team.”
On whether Duke has the scoring ability type of team to beat UConn this year?
“Yeah it’s hard to know until we are in the situation. I feel very good about our team. We’ve had some tremendous offensive games. Pittsburgh for one, Oklahoma State for two and Florida State another great one. Last night’s dominance offensively as well. We’ve had some really good ones, but at the same time we’ve had some other games when we were a little bit more inconsistent. So we’re working on that and it was great to see five people in double figures and people attacking last night. But I think it’s something that you can’t really predict. Again, we will learn a lot from this game. This game is a great opportunity for us to learn about ourselves, who we are and what we want to do out there. That’s an important thing to have. Again, given the nature of Geno’s teams and how they are coached, it’s a really tester that way. And again, environment too. I’ve coached at Gampel before and it’s a great place for women’s basketball. And again, being able to look in the mirror a little bit and be in an environment that will be quite loud, very crazy. And there’s simply no way to simulate that environment. It’s not about pumping in a crowd noise. It’s about having the experience.”
posted by Jim Fuller at
2:49 PM
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