Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Basketball Media Day Quotes
October 27, 2010 | Cowgirl Basketball
Oct. 27, 2010
Oklahoma State's women's basketball team participated in its annual Media Day on Wednesday. Below is a transcript of head coach Kurt Budke's session with the electronic media.
Opening Statement
“I appreciate everyone being here today. I know the girls are excited. They think they are ready for a game. I know we're not ready for a game, but it is getting close. They are practicing hard. I think we have more to replace than anybody in the Big 12. I think we lost 50 points and 19 rebounds, but it is an exciting time because we got some great youth in the gym. It's just really kind of refreshing to see that they are a little scared and a little excited. They don't know what to expect, but the one thing they'll do is they will look me in the eye every single day and try to do what I ask. So it has been a lot of fun for the coaches to have this group in there. Like I said, it is a true rebuilding year, but I think we are going to have a lot of fun with this team.”
Is it rewarding to you to have a new group of girls?
“It is exciting because, let's face it, when you are in college for four years, you think you know everything by the time you are a senior, and you've probably been told the same thing about 1,000 times, and probably tired of hearing the same thing 1,000 times, but I told these young ones just yesterday that the reason we are having so much fun coaching them is because if we correct them once, they really try hard to fix it and you can see it. It might not be perfect the next time, but you can tell that they are listening to every word and they are trying to do the right thing.”
Who do you consider a big leader for you?
“Well, I think the last couple of weeks Toni (Young) has really upped her game and her work habits have gotten better. Lakyn Garrison, Carolyn Blair-Mobley, the returners are working really hard. Really, this team is working harder than any team I've had at Oklahoma State, and that is, again, why it has been fun. Do we have a great vocal leader? No, probably not, but they are leading by example right now. You like your point guard to be the leader and I think somewhere down the road that is going to happen because Tiffany Bias and Carissa Crutchfield are playing as hard as they can play right now.
What do you see from Toni that she can do?
“The biggest adjustments all these kids have to make after high school is that you have to work hard every day. I know there are great coaches in high school, but things came easy in high school, or easier. How many games did they play where they played maybe two hard-cores and then cruised the rest because they were up so much? I think that's what Toni (Young) fell into last year. Her work habits weren't where they needed to be to compete in the Big 12 on a nightly basis. This year, you can definitely tell she has taken a step in her work habits and taken more pride and is more disappointed when she does something wrong and she just takes a little more ownership with the team. That is definitely a step Toni (Young) has taken.”
Schedule-wise, how does it shape up for you?
“I think we had the seventh toughest schedule in America last year, and I think we are going to be right on the edge of that again, but we like to play people. We have Duke and Wisconsin coming in. A team like Arkansas-Little Rock that has everyone coming back that won 27 games last year. We figured the bottom line is that it's going to prepare us for the Big 12. Us going to New Mexico playing in the pit in front of 10,000 to 11,000 people was definitely by design because that is what we face in the Big 12. So, it is going to be a very tough schedule. I think we play Baylor twice in the first eight games in the Big 12. I'm not sure quite how we got that, but they rewarded us with that. So, if you look at our first eight games, I don't think anybody in the league has a tougher eight in the league with Baylor twice, Texas A&M, we go to Iowa State. So we need to survive that part of it and finish strong and just see what happens.
“I think we have had five years in a row of being the best league in America and I don't think there is going to be any change this year. I think Baylor was the pick by every coach to win the conference and deservingly so. They are absolutely loaded. They have the best player in America and they can go 10 deep. They've had a couple of great transfers come in. So I think they will win the league, but after that I think it is wide open. You have to look at A&M again, OU again with key players back that have the ability to make a run also. So there is no question in my mind of being the No. 1 league in America again.”
Is there a big gap between Baylor and the rest of the conference?
“I don't think they are going to go to a place like A&M or Iowa State. If they have to go there and win easily, but if you look back at even last year when they were very young, they gave Connecticut the best game Connecticut had all year long and it will be an interesting game in November because Connecticut and Baylor play right away and I think Baylor has a definite chance to end Connecticut's winning streak at whatever it is, 76 games or something like that. But yeah I think Baylor is the clear favorite, I really do.”
Do you think there is something wrong with one team winning every single year?
“I don't think there is any question the parody is getting better. You still have the Connecticuts, the Tennesees, the Stanfords at the top that are going to be there every year. As long as those coaches are there, you're talking about hall of fame coaches at those programs that aren't going anywhere anytime soon. So they are going to stay right there at the top. But I think everybody else is getting better. With the summer basketball and the girls playing year round, you are seeing more teams jump up and get in the mix that when you have an NCAA tournament, there is a possibility for upsets now. I do like where the game is going. It's funny how whoever is on top, everyone kind of adjusts to. Here's Baylor with their 6-foot-8 girl and we felt we had to go get a 6 foot 6, and I think OU got a 6 foot 6, and A&M got a 6 foot 6, Texas got a 6 foot 6. Whatever the best team is doing, we are all trying to match it.”
Would you be hesitant to say to look out for a newcomer because maybe you don't know exactly what you have there?
“You are exactly right. I truly don't know. We have to wait until the real lights come on because practice lights are a lot different. We are really anxious with our scrimmage against TCU because it's coming up here in about 10 days. They are a top 25 team and with everybody back, it is going to give us a much better idea of where our points are going to come from. But again, it has been fun for the coach's everyday because it seems like we walk out of the gym saying, a different two every day, had a great day. Where in the past it has been that Andrea (Riley) dominated practice again, but it is someone different every day. You could look up and see five freshmen on the floor at any time with this team.”
How do you feel about your point guard positions?
“You know I really like it. I think that's just something that people can't compare my two freshman points to Andrea as a senior and I hope the media does a good job of recognizing that. Andrea was 12 points a game as a freshman, and it was a rollercoaster ride. There was nights she had 10 assists and nights she had 10 turnovers, and that is what this league will do to you. Andrea was in the gym the other day watching practice and she left saying “Coach, those girls are doing some things I didn't do as a freshman.” She was obviously being very nice, but we do feel very solid. It is just hard to understand that you are going to go into every game in the Big 12 and maybe turning over 10 times a game with two freshman point guards. It will be a rollercoaster ride, but I promise you those two work hard. They will pick you up 94 feet and they will let you know they are in the house.”
What are goals that you have set for this team?
“We haven't put a number on anything. The goal for this team and program is to go out every night and to have a chance to win. Every night that we suit up, we feel that we can win the ball game and that is what I want these girls to believe and how far we've come and go out on the floor and protect the home floor and go out and steal some on the road, and see what happens.”
What's your stability about this program and reloading with freshman?
“First of all, with my bosses Mike Holder and Burns Hargis rewarding me with a new contract, showed me that they had faith in what we are doing and that has also allowed me to go out and go after freshman class after freshman class because we do feel there is a lot of stability in the program right now. We don't have to take as many chances. I will never turn my back on junior college or transfers. I think the great Eddie Sutton always seemed to find one here and there, and he had a lot of success, but there seems to be a little bit of different pride level in kids that have been here four years versus two years, and we have had some great two-year players here but we want to continue to get in the homes of the best Oklahoma players. We are getting in homes now of Texas that we couldn't get into two years and three years ago. So we are really excited about the next class here that is going to sign in November. So it does say a lot. The program has come a long way. It is exciting.”
