Gail Goestenkors & Duke Student-Athlete Interviews On Friday

Head Coach Gail Goestenkors

On the victory over N.C. State last night:
“N.C. State's a quality team. They've been in and out of the top 25 all season. They're very athletic, have excellent three-point shooters, and an outstanding post game, so we knew they would pose a formidable challenge for us, and they did. I thought we played pretty well. We opened up a 12-point lead at half time, and then they fought back, which, you know, good teams do. I think our depth helped us a little bit because we were still fresh and I think we wore them down a bit and continued to attack and came away with a win. We're happy for that game to be over with and now we can turn our focus to Tennessee.

On the Tennessee game on Monday
“I think it's been good that both programs have had some tough games leading up to this because they've helped to prepare us and also to keep our focus, and I think that's good for the players and for the coaches as well. I haven't really had a chance to be stressed about Tennessee because I had to stress about other teams along the way. We're looking forward to the matchup. I'm glad we both came through and we can have that No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. After watching a Tennessee tape; they're obviously a very balanced team. I think everyone thinks it's supposed to be a Candice Parker show because what she does is so phenomenal and the way she does it, but when you look at it, it's really a great team that they have. Shanna Zolman is certainly the leader of that team, and even if she's not hitting her shot, she struggled against Connecticut, she still finds a way to help her team win. I think she went 10 for 10 from the free throw line in that game, so she's still going find a way to score or to help her team win. Their post players, Candice down on that low block, she's just a tough matchup for anyone in the country on the low block, so I think we're going have to try some different things, change things up a little bit, give them some different looks, and see what we can do. We're certainly looking forward to the challenge.”

On the Duke-Tennessee rivalry:
“We've had some great games, especially lately. Early on, I wouldn't have called it a rivalry because they were so much better than we were, but now I think we have such great respect for one another as coaches and what we've done with our programs. I think the players on both teams really look forward to playing against one another. We recruit a lot of the same players so there's a great familiarity with the program, so I certainly hope this rivalry continues. I'm sure it will continue to grow.”

On Tennessee's greatest strength:
“They're so aggressive with everything they do. They change their defenses it seems to me this year more than any other year. They're really changing things up and they do a great job with that. You really need to be on your toes and execute and be willing to understand when are they on man, when are they switching on screens, have they gone zone. They've got several different presses that they throw at you so maintaining your poise. We love to attack, we love to run. Finding that balance between pushing the ball and attacking and having that mindset, yet having the poise to recognize what defense they're in and where we might be able to exploit them.”

On the market for women's basketball in the Durham area:
“I think it's a tough market here because we have so much great basketball, both men's and women's. All the triangle schools: us, Carolina, and State, have all been in the top 25 several years in a row. I think there's a lot of great basketball going around, and then you have the men's teams as well that are also very successful. I think it makes it a little difficult because there are so many teams and games to choose from. “

On the team's comfort level playing in front of large crowds:
“We enjoy playing in front of packed crowds. We've had a couple of sellouts here at Cameron and that's always exciting. Over the years our crowds have grown. We had close to 8,000 last night. Initially, when we had our first sellout against Connecticut, and our kids were not prepared to handle that. The Connecticut players were because they were used to playing in sellout environments. Since then, we've had several sellouts. We've played at Maryland and they had 18,000 or 17,000 at that game. Penn State was close to being sold out, Old Dominion was close to being sold out, so we've been fortunate to have played in those environments more over the last several years.“

On containing Candace Parker:
“She's just a great all-around player. If you try to double-team her, she's an exceptional passer out of the double-team, so she's going find the open player and make her teammates better. She has such great vision because of her height at the low post and the high post that she can make great passes. I think she has tremendous patience on the offensive end of the floor. She's not in a rush. She sees what the defense has given her and she takes it. I don't think it's any one concern in particular. She's averaging about 15 points a game. I can take that. I can handle that. I don't want her to get 30, but that's not really her game. Her game is getting her 15 points and helping her team to be successful. We're not going to keep her from scoring, I have no illusions of grandeur, and that's fine. I just want to win the game. It's going to be about playing team basketball.”

On this season's most pleasant surprise:
“Probably the attitude of the players that have had to come off the bench. Wanisha Smith, now she's starting again for us, but she started all last year and played the most minutes, and then all of a sudden she was coming off the bench for most of this season, and Jess Foley who started all last year as well. To have a senior and sophomore who that played the most minutes to go from starting roles to coming off the bench, it could've been a tough situation. But they have been two of the most positive and energetic people on our team which just helped our chemistry so much and was so important for us.”

On the team's focus for this season:
“We just try and stay in the moment. Last year and in years past we've focused on and talked about winning a national championship almost daily, and I think it put too much pressure on the team so we don't even discuss that. We talk about being champions, what it takes to be a champion, but we don't talk about the national championship. We talk about doing the little things to get better every day and let the future take care of itself. I don't think it's been anything in particular other than focusing on the here and now, and enjoying it along the way.”

On having Lindsey Harding back:
“Lindsey just changes the game for us. I watched our game last year with Tennessee and we're both a lot better this year, I can tell you. We were an entirely different time, and really, it's because of Lindsey Harding. She just pushes the wall so well and knows when to push and knows when to pull back and make us run our sets. Then on the defensive end, she's our stopper. We can put her on anybody on the perimeter and we can feel comfortable that if I say don't let her touch the ball, she's going to do that. She does exactly what I ask her to do, and she has the skills and the athleticism to do it. She has really changed the game for us on both ends of the court.”

On Duke's post game:
“Our post-defense, sometimes it's really good. Against Maryland, I think we played some excellent post-defense. Other times, like last night, I don't think we did nearly the job we needed to do. I think it's good that we have great depth., we can give teams different looks, going from 6'7” to Mistie at 6'3”. Mistie's so physical. Chante is just really athletic at 6'5”. She can get around people and get some steals and tips. And then Laura Kurz, although her post-defense isn't particularly good, she can defend a post player who likes to face up. On the other end, she can hit the three so she really changes the game when she goes in because she forces teams to extend their defense.

On whether Duke and Tennessee are the two best teams in the country:
“I'm not quite sure. It's so early. I've think it depends on the day. I've seen [North] Carolina play. They are exceptional. They may be, on any given day, the best team in the country. Connecticut, I think, is playing their best basketball now as well. LSU, I know they lost a game, but I wouldn't be surprised if most everybody didn't lose a game this year. It's just that competitive this year. As of today, maybe they're the two best teams, I don't know. I know Carolina's breathing down our necks pretty tough right now.”

On recruiting Candace Parker:
“We recruited Candace very heavily. I actually thought she was going to come to Duke. We were that close. It was tough when she decided to go to Tennessee, and I told her I'd always be a fan of hers. And she's such a quality, not just a player, but such a quality person. I think the year off really helped Candace physically because she's so much stronger than she was. She was very wiry. She's still thin, but you can just see that her body type has changed and she's really gained a lot of strength. And then, I think just maturity, probably both on and off the court. She was young heading to college, so I think that year really helped her in all respects.”

On Duke's current starting lineup:
“We feel pretty good about things right now. I think Abby [Waner]'s doing a great job coming off the bench. Chante [Black], she's doing a good job as well coming off the bench. So I think we feel pretty good right now.”

On Monique Currie's play to this point:
“Monique's having just an exceptional year and not many people are talking about her. Her numbers are a little bit down, but her minutes are way down and that's because we have the depth and we've been very successful and we've been beating some teams by quite a few points so I really hold her minutes down in those games. But again, she's another person, I think, that's been sacrificing for the team. She's sacrificed minutes, she's sacrificing points, but she's more efficient. She's a better player this year, by far, than she was last year because she's more efficient in her minutes. And she's shooting the three. The one knock on her over the years was that she wasn't a great three-point shooter and now she's shooting about 53 percent from the three-point line, which is phenomenal. So, she's really expanded her game and she still understands that when we need a bucket, she's the one that's going to provide it for us. N.C. State made their run last night and we put Monique back in the game and she has a calmness about her and she's also got that aggressive attitude, though, that we need and she just kind of closed the door on them. She's having a great year, but she's just not being talked about, I think, because her numbers aren't off the charts.”

On the evolution of guard play in women's basketball:
“To win championships, I think you need great guards. That just goes without saying. But I think in the women's game too, we feel like you've got to establish a post game as well. You can have great guards, but if they're not hitting their shots, and sometimes in stressful situations you're not going to hit your shots, you need to be able to rely on somebody down low to get you an easy bucket here and there.”

On what Duke hopes to take away from the Tennessee game:
“I guess just continue to learn about how we're going to perform in pressure situations against great opponents in a tremendous environment. I know, for the most part, what I'm going to get from some of my upperclassmen. They've been in these situations before, but anytime you have freshmen in this situation it's new for them and they have to go through these experiences and you're not quite sure how they're going to respond until they get out there. So just continue to see who can play well in these situations.”

On the impact of the Cameron Crazies:
“It's huge. It showcases our program, but more importantly it also showcases the environment that the players could have the opportunity to play in for recruiting. It helps our recruiting. It means so much to our players to have that same type of environment that our men are able to have everyday. We're hoping that over the years this'll become the norm. We're heading that was, but we've still got a ways to go.”

On Pat Summitt reaching the 900-win plateau:
“It is astounding to me. I just can't even, honestly, picture myself coaching in 900 games, much less 900 wins. It's just remarkable and especially against the level of competition she plays year in and year out. I just think it's phenomenal and I just have so much respect for her. It's unbelievable.”

On the team's practices this season”
“Because we've opened up all the starting lineup so they know it can change at any time, our practices have been extremely competitive. It's good, too, when we're scouting opponents, usually we can find somebody on our second team that can be a particular player and they take pride in that. Our scouting team is much better. We are going against guys as much as we have in the past. We'll bring some in periodically, especially big post players for our posts to work on. Other than that, it's really been nice to have a full squad to go against. We can put different people on Monique Currie. Sometimes we'll put a big post on her. Sometimes we'll put a quick guard on her just to give different looks to our players so they feel comfortable no matter who we may come up against.”

On Monique Currie's decision to stay at Duke for her final year of eligibility:
“I thought she was going. Actually at the Final Four last year, if anybody asked me I said, ?Well, I think she's going to go, but I'm not sure.' I was kind of surprised when she decided not to go. We had a lot of long talks and I was very honest with her about her draft potential and where people saw her in the draft, et cetera, et cetera, because I wanted her to have all the correct information. I kind of thought she was going to go, especially when LSU lost in the Final Four, I just thought that that might change her mind. And, fortunately, she said she wanted to give it one more shot. She felt like we would have a really good chance to win a national championship and she wanted to continue to improve her game and she wanted to get her master's as well, so it all worked out.”

On the value of having Gale Valley on the coaching staff:
“Having Gale Valley here, I've been so fortunate. I knew Gale before I got the head job here and I trusted her. When you're getting your first coaching job ? any coaching job, but definitely your first one ? you want to have somebody that you know is going to be loyal to you. Because we had a friendship over the years, both being coaching, I knew she would be loyal. She knew Duke because she was already here, so she could help ease my transition, and she was a phenomenal recruiter. The fact that she stayed here, remained loyal, I think is a tribute to our program and to Gale, really, because she enjoys what she does. She loves being an assistant coach. She loves working here and Duke and I think that's the reason she hasn't taking another head coaching job is that she is so very happy here in her role, in her position with our program.”

On the number of former players wanting to attend Monday's game:
“Too many. We, unfortunately, have had to turn a couple away because we're so far over our ticket allowance. Just about everybody's coming back for this game. So it's going to be great to see them. But if you've got any extra tickets out there y'all need to give us some media credentials that we can give to some of our former players because we're struggling.”

Sophomore Wanisha Smith

On Playing Tennessee
“It is probably one of the biggest games of our season this year. We are No. 2 and they are No. 1 so this is going to be a great game.”

On challenge of playing Tennessee
“The challenge is going to be both teams playing with intensity because we are both trying to keep our spots as the top ranked teams in the nation. It is going to be a hard fought game and whoever plays smart and the hardest is going to come out with the win.”

On any matchup problems they face against Tennessee
“I feel like we match up with them pretty well. They are a pretty big team also and both teams are quick. I feel like it is going to be a great matchup.”

On coming off a win against N.C. State
“It is a great push coming off a win like that. We are at home so that is a bigger cushion for us. It is just good to come in with a win like that.”

On what makes Tennessee tough to beat
“The key to the game is going to be our post defense because their posts are pretty good and so are ours so we are just going to have to do a really good job with our post defense, transition defense and the rest of it will take care of itself.”

On what Coach Gail Goestenkors told them about the game
“Coach G told us that it is going to be a tough game mentally and physically. She is just getting us prepared in these next couple of days of practice.”

Senior Monique Currie

On if she has seen Tennessee this year
“I have seen them play on t.v. a couple of times and I am doing the scouting report on them so I have been watching film with Coach G so I have seen a good amount.”

On Candice Parker
“She is a great player. With someone her size who can handle the ball, she is tough to block because she is so tall and can get her shot off over most defenders. I think she is an excellent player and can help their team a lot. She will definitely be a challenge the way she can face up and go to the basket. I think our post players and guards will step up to the challenge and do a good job of defending her.”

On what the game might come down to
“I would say rebounding. That is definitely something that Coach G stresses in all of our games. It comes down to the boards, keeping them off the offensive boards and to one shot. Then we get the ball and us crashing the boards really hard. I think whoever wins on the boards is more than likely to win the game.”

On No. 1 vs. No. 2
“I think it will be tough out there. Both of us are undefeated. Neither one of us wants to lose that position. We are looking to get in to the No. 1 spot because that would mean we won the game. It will be a fight out there and whoever survives will win the game.”

Junior Lindsey Harding

On sharing minutes against No. 1 Tennessee
“The more people we can play, the better so that we can use our depth. We all have the same goals. We all know that if someone is not playing well that we have a whole line of people that can come in and contribute. It's not going to be a major factor.”

On playing No. 1 Tennessee
“It's good for us to know where we really stand. It will help us evaluate ourselves for April and March.”

On playing in front of large crowds
“When you're a freshman and you see that many people, it may be a little intimidating. We have a lot of experience on this team playing in big games and in front of big crowds. We actually feed off of that whether it's a big game away or a big home game.”

Sophomore Chante Black

On Duke's depth and versatility
“That goes with everyone on the team knowing their role. When you know your role that definitely helps boost your confidence to go out there and play that role. Everyone has been able to step up and hit big shots this year.”

On playing No. 1 Tennessee in Cameron Indoor Stadium
“The Cameron Crazies are definitely one of a kind but Tennessee is used to selling out their gym. Our court is up close and personal so they are going to experience something different.”

On sharing minutes against No. 1 Tennessee
“We never know what to expect with playing time. It's all about who steps up that night and can finish the plays and be effective for us. We'll see when Monday comes who will be on the floor.”

On playing in tight games
“We've been in those type of situations during the game when we're only up one or two possessions. Luckily we have great leaders on our team that get us buckled down and help us get into a groove so that we can go on a run. If we get into that situation, I'm sure our captains will take over and help lead us to that win.”