March 21, 2001

On Confidence
"Confidence is high but I don't think it's too high. I think we know what the task is and are focus is being grounded. Our approach has always been to outwork everyone that we play, and that will continue to be what we strive for. It seems like it's going to be ok. I say that after yesterday's practice wasn't one of our finest. But it was tough because we did give them a day off, they are a little worn down. They're trying to get focused academically, getting everything organized. It was a little wild, but hopefully today will be better."

On National Media Exposure
"I think that they get a kick out of it but I won't say it's something that affects them too much. They've been on TV enough and gotten that kind of exposure. We've had 10,000 fans here at home and they have played in front of 12,000 people. I think it's something they're kind of becoming accustomed to more than it's something that's getting out of hand."

On Experience
"I think what's been key for our success thus far is that we have so many players on our team that have experience in the tournament. Whether it's the National Junior College Championships where both Marlena and Amanda both won. You've got Kerensa Barr being in the state championship, Natalie Bright, Evan Unrau has been in the state championship, and the list goes on. They've all been in championship type situations and I think that's helping with this. But the nerves are always going to be there. It's how we control that type of emotion."

On Time off Between Games
"It would have been nice to play again right away. It is your goal but at the same time playing wise it's good, academically it's great because for us to be home. I think the kids needed to be home to take care of their classes because that's why we are here and we don't ever lose focus of that. And then we have time also to focus on Louisiana Tech so it's not rushed."

On Their Regional
"As far as the so-called experts say that the East region's the toughest. But they also said that we couldn't beat Georgia. Many said we couldn't beat Wisconsin. So we're looking at it like well it's going to be tough going down the stretch anyway and we know that. Our kids just have to be ready to play and play hard."

On Opponents Coaching
"Well, everything that (Baylor head coach) Kim Mulkey-Robertson has learned has been from (Louisiana Tech head coach) Leon Barmore. As a player, than as an assistant coach. So (Baylor and Louisiana Tech) run comparable systems and that's going to be beneficial to us. Their style of play and what they're trying to do, I know in her recruiting, she is the one who brought Lambert in and they've got some kids who are similar to a Sheila Lambert. There are some comparisons there that we can use to help out with and for our kids what's been nice is that we've been able to compare (Regional) teams to other teams in our conference so there's a comfort zone there."

On Support from the Basketball Community
"We've had several phone calls from people who have played Louisiana Tech and it was the same with Georgia. You have friends in this business that will try to help you in whatever way they can. I don't want to divulge those names, obviously you don't want to give too much out. We've had a lot of people working to help us out. The main key for us is that we've got to continue to do what we do well, and focus on us and not really look to change a whole lot. Because that's when it's not natural for your kids anymore. And we tried some stuff against Wisconsin and it was just little things but they were new things we were not very good at it. So it really changed our approach with Georgia."

On Rise of MU's program
"You have to give credit to the players. I truly believe that the chemistry of this team and the uniqueness that we have with this team, and I've spoken about that since the middle of the season, this team, they get along, they're there for one another, they care for one another. They've been through tough times. We've had kids leave because they were dissatisfied with their playing time and they were great kids and that made our kids mad, they did not want to be a part of it. There was a lot of selfishness, and so we've evolved from taking over a program that was trying to figure out a way of how to win. And recruiting kids in that second year to where we had a mix of kids that really wanted to win but didn't know how, kids that were talented enough and knew how and now you're trying to blend the two personalities and try to get them to get along and sometimes they did and sometimes they didn't. Then to this year, when there was a total focus from day one on what we wanted to accomplish."

On Getting into the Tournament
"Prior to the Big 12 tournament I felt like we were playing well and it was very frustrating and I felt like our kids were frustrated too. We didn't feel like we went into the Big 12 tournament playing our basketball. We played timid for some reason, and things just didn't go right. We didn't handle certain situations well and it was like they were very nervous. I just attribute that to wanting to be in the NCAA tournament so bad. Everybody kept saying, 'Well, you beat KU you've got it, ' Ok, well now you have to beat Texas A&M and you've got it.' Then it was like,'Well, if you beat Colorado you're for sure.' When was it going to stop and have somebody say 'You're in.' Obviously being a ten seed, things could have been a little shaky if those things didn't occur. So finally when we got in, we relaxed, and it was like finally, we're in and now we can concentrate on what we need to do. I think that's how everything pretty much evolved."

On quality of play
"Watching the Georgia tape, we had a lot of breakdowns. That's something we're trying to work on now. Because the game was so fast, it was almost like nobody noticed, which was nice. We did play well against Georgia, I'm not saying that we didn't but being the perfectionists that we are as a coaching staff we also see ways we can improve, and ways we can improve in the next four days. So that we'll continue to do that, and that's nothing new. We've taken every game and learned from it and keep moving on."

On Leadership
"The three seniors have been incredible. Marlena and Amanda probably get the most publicity, especially Amanda, and we get all these requests for Amanda all the time and the glue has always been the three of them together. Sometimes I don't think Pep gets the recognition she deserves and neither does Tracey, and they're not really vocal, none of them are really vocal people and it's always their actions. Just like yesterday's practice wasn't a great practice, but Marlena was all over the place and working and that's how she speaks, and that's how she motivates. Just trying to do it all and get people to follow her. They have definitely been so incredibly important to this aspect of keeping everybody focused and down to earth. The other two people I would put on that list are Kerensa Barr and Natalie Bright. Both have been great at the point guard position at keeping everything organized and controlled and calm."

On Final Four being in St. Louis
"I can't say for them because we haven't really talked about it. We talked about it a long time ago that it would be neat because it is in St. Louis. But we also know that our task at hand is such a great one and you can't look beyond that. Same focus as going into the Georgia game. We were confident but we didn't look beyond, because this is what's important right now. The present."

On the Mood
"We've tried to stay pretty loose with this team and get them to understand what the game plan is and that's the focus and not worried so much about the results. That we HAVE to win this game, it's more, this is what you do and you put yourself in a position to win. I think that our team handles that much better."

On Louisiana Tech
"The player that will probably give us the most fits is going to be Ayana Walker. She is a 6'3" Amanda Lasitter that plays inside. She's got some incredible moves, incredible quickness. She's built a lot like Amanda. She shoots an excellent fadeaway shot. Louisiana Tech posts up better than anyone you'll see. They've got incredible skills. They're more like Oklahoma's post players. They've got a great shooter in Brooke Lassiter, who is a lot like Megan Taylor from Iowa State. They've got Essence Perry at point guard who plays speedwise like Booker from Kansas State but a lot better shooter. They've got a lot of weapons. They've got the Freshman of the Year of the Sunbelt Conference, Obaze (Amber), she probably plays a lot like Gia Perkins from Texas Tech. You can kind of just compare all of those kids, and they're incredible players."

On Pre-Game
"It's never been some huge motivational story. Actually going into the tournament, we've been pretty loose, we've talked about the game plan, we've approached it from that standpoint, and that's always been our first very serious talk. When we go back at the ten minute mark and talk to them again it's basically a reminder, and I tell them, it's really up to you guys. If I have to motivate them now, we're in trouble. It's just basically keeping them calm. I am running out of jokes. I try to keep them loose."

On the Difference in Men's and Women's Tournaments
"I think it will be there. I don't think it's something we can say is not right. It's getting to that point. I think that men's basketball and the NCAA tournament has been around a lot longer than the women's tournament. My junior year in college was the first year there was a women's NCAA tournament. That's not too long ago, I hope. I feel like I'm still fairly young. So I think it's going to evolve to a point where it will be a moneymaker for everyone involved. Are we at that point yet? We're getting there. ESPN does a great job of covering the women's tournament, and it's going to grow. We're a very exciting game, but we're still trying to get that exposure. Hopefully, people will begin to realize that. I think that they are. I think that the crowds are starting to be there, especially in our conference. I think all of those things are evolving but it does take a little bit of time. I don't think we can demand it immediately, I think you have to deserve it and the sport continue to grow. I think having someone like a Jackie Stiles has been incredible for our sport and you can go on and on about Uconn and Tennessee's dominance, and then you've got Notre Dame and Duke coming into the mix. It's getting there."

On being in the Tournament as a coach and a player
"I don't think it's any different. You're still juiced up. You're still looking at what you need to do. As a coach I've always tried to look at things from a player perspective, on how I would want it done as a player, or how you're approaching someone. Obviously, I don't get to go out there and play, and that's probably a good thing."

On being met at airport by Mizzou fans
"I had mixed feelings about that. I thought the crowd was awesome. It was extremely appreciative of that. But there's a side of me that doesn't want our kids to be satisfied with that. I think that's really neat, and a huge step for our program. It's given us great exposure. But at the same time I want us to stay extremely grounded. I feel like we can continue this quest. I want our kids to believe that. I don't want our blue collar work ethic to go. All of a sudden you get pampered, and people are sending you cookies, and we're going to sit back and get fat. I want us to be hungry still. That's the thought that was going through my head: how do we keep them focused on beating Louisiana Tech."

On keeping players focused
"You yell at them a lot. In practice yesterday, I was hard on them. I don't want them to be satisfied. And we will continue to do that. Whether that works or not is yet to be seen. We're still going to work hard. We're still going to be intense in practice. This is no time to be soft. Louisiana Tech is probably one of the most physical teams we'll play. Now is not a time to be soft."

On Stein's time at Mizzou
"I've always known about the University of Missouri. As a player, it was one of the schools I considered. So I knew about it as I was recruited by Missouri and I knew all about the academics and the social life and the community and just watching it. And as a coach, playing here and as an assistant coach bringing teams here. I've always felt that Missouri was a sleeping giant. There were a lot of things that could be accomplished here. I think that anytime you have the academic community that we have and the richness of that and the type of community we have here. It's not a huge city, it's a college town, people are very into the University of Missouri, and I think that those are intangibles that are important to any key success down the road. That's in our favor so obviously when this job came open, this was one of the jobs that whenever I was asked I knew I would be interested. Being a Midwest person, I knew I wanted to stay in the Midwest. It's always been Illinois or Missouri. Those were always my two responses. So having the opportunity to be at Missouri was an awesome feeling. I do feel like we can be very successful here. Did I think we could do it in three years? Well, I feel to be consistently competitive for the national championship, that is a nine to ten year plan. I think that we knew when we got the caliber of players that we got we had a chance, especially this year, to be one of the top four in our conference and to play for Big 12 conference championship, which is putting yourself in the position to be recognized nationally because of our conference strength. We felt a little disappointed in the quest this year. We felt like we could have done a little better job in the Big 12. A lot of people thought we were happy being fifth because that was the best and we weren't and that has given us some fuel for the fire going into the NCAA tournament. It's not disappointment in anything but us. We were disappointed in our play and wanting to prove that were better than that."

On the Big 12 vs. The rest of the NCAA
"Coming back, we kind of thought, wow, two games and we're in the Sweet 16. That was kind of easy. It's easy when you're playing like that. You always give credit to our players and the fact that they have always bee extremely coachable. We haven't always had that fun part of the game when we've been here. You have to keep them focused on that. I would say that our players have not gotten wrapped up into all those intangibles that sometimes you can, and maybe that's good. When we started our conference play, and we had to play all the biggies early going to Texas Tech and then Iowa State a week later and then you are going to Colorado, it kept going on and on and that was tough because it was a long stretch. Now we have a little bit of a break before these big games. Our Big 12 conference schedule definitely worked in our favor for this kind of stretch. You just hope you can take the opportunity now."

On the talent of the team
"I don't think that it's just one thing (motivating the team.) Our kids are here to play. Kerensa Barr probably said it best, The game of basketball doesn't change regardless of who you play. The game doesn't change. You've just got to go out there and do it. Some of the young kids we've had out on the floor have not played young. I think that's been a key. Kerensa, only being a sophomore, handled Kelly Miller pretty well, the SEC player of the year. That's pretty big. Natalie Bright's done pretty well. Wanette Smith as a sophomore, and Evan Unrau starting as a freshman guarding some big kids. And not getting frustrated with it. I think those are intangibles, along with, obviously Amanda and Pep knocking down the shots. Playing big in big games."

On Recruiting
"Selling the University of Missouri to student athletes is fairly easy because we have such a good school. Everybody loves the town of Columbia so that's easy. It's selling them on what we can do down the road and how can they help us right away, what kind of impact they have. People like our style of play. We make our kids better. The players we have gotten we have made them better, and they've made themselves better. You've got to work hard. But we've been able to get these kids because basically they've been able to see that. I was able to do it at Emporia State. I've tried to use that as we've done it before. This is what we can do here. I think obviously getting someone like a Leann Riley, who has won a national championship, she's the national coach of the year, her wanting to come and be a part of this. She's a huge spokesman for us on what it takes to win and how we're going to get you there. Those are key components to getting the best student-athletes."

On Possibility of New Arena
"If we have the opportunity for a new arena, that's huge, and it would be great for our program. And it's very desperately needed, and we've been able to do a lot with very limited resources. But that's what been neat about the type of kids we've had, that they haven't been wrapped up into playing at a place with the best facilities and the biggest lockerroom, the biggest hottub. They haven't been wrapped up in that. They're grounded. But that doesn't mean that we can't try to improve what is needed to have a big time program at the University of Missouri and that is a new arena."

Outlook for the game
"Coach Barmore is one of the best in the country. I have tremendous respect for him. The tradition that Louisiana Tech brings is incredible. It comes down to that we have the talent and we can match up. We know that we are going to have to play well and we are going to have to play hard. That has never changed. We want to match intensity for intensity. It's the NCAA tournament. Anything can happen. I'm confident in our players. All year long they have shown the personality and chemistry that is needed to be successful."