University of Houston Athletics
Women's Basketball Quotes from Media Day
11/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 5, 2009
Women's Quotes from Basketball Media Day (Nov. 5, 2009) in PDF Format 
Quotes from University of Houston Women's Basketball Press Conference
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 * Houston, Texas * Athletics/Alumni Center
HEAD COACH Joe Curl
Opening Statement:
"We're good to go. We have a closed scrimmage on Saturday and an exhibition on Monday. Then we open the season at Gardner-Webb. We play as good of a schedule as there is in Conference USA. We have LSU, Miami, Kansas, and Oregon State here at home so that should challenge us early.
"We still have a lot of youth on our basketball team. You probably will not see a senior start. There's a potential to have five juniors on the floor.
"We finished really strong last year in the regular season by winning two games on the road, which I hope will carry over to this year.
"Courtney Taylor is on the verge of doing something that would be pretty special. She has 25 double-doubles in her career and Sancho Lyttle, who made the WNBA All-Star Game this year, has 35. We really expect her to surpass that record this year, hopefully 10 games into the year.
"I don't know if we've really bought into the No. 1 phase in basketball that we keep talking about. I hope that this is a strength and not a weakness and that is team rebounding. We have 12 girls on the squad and a 6-3 girl who came in from Albuquerque, N.M., Zalika Dyson. She's a little bit beat up right now and we don't know if she's going to redshirt this year. Other than that, we are pretty healthy and ready to go. One of our strengths is that we will be able to play eight, nine or 10 deep.
"I really think that we will be a really competitive team even though our conference has really improved. SMU and Southern Miss are getting top-25 votes, so is Central Florida. We were picked in that mix in the top three or four. Honestly, our goal is to win Conference USA and to be very competitive in our non-conference schedule, which again is the best conference schedule in the league."
On transfer Lesslee Mason being able to contribute in the middle: "She can be a monster for us this season. She's a sweetheart and a beautiful kid and has had a lot of experience in the recruiting process. She has really found a home at the University.
"We really think that she is going to fight for a double-double every ball game. She just plays hard. Because she plays so hard in practice, I wouldn't be surprise is she went to another level during a game. She will really impact us. As a transfer from the Big 10, she's seen their rough style of play. That's going to help her help us chase after the ball and do the things that it's going to take to be competitive."
On the leadership of the team:
"We have not picked a captain yet. We won't pick one until probably after Monday night's scrimmage. I really see our junior class as leaders, but there will be one captain on our team this year. We're going to go with what the Boston Celtics do. We'll have one captain; it's a privilege and honor. That position is not a popularity contest. That's a position that has a lot more weight put on them."
On the inside-outside combination of Courtney Taylor and Brittney Scott:
"The inside-out game is going to be a strength of ours. There are going to nights where it's outside in, which will really open up the inside game. Yesterday, we had a game-like scrimmage and I believe the score was 38-32, so our strength is transition basketball and getting up and down the floor. We play the entire length of the court."
On the rough stretches from last year:
"For several years, we've fought for the conference title and the conference tournament title. The rough stretches we faced were because of the people we were playing. We weren't playing bad basketball, just playing good people. We finished up really strong. What I'm excited about with our basketball team is that we have 87 percent of our scoring back this year. The one young lady who is no longer with us only started a third of the games. We have four starters back, but we have five starters back in my mind."
On expectations for the season:
"The thing we talk about is the difference between expectations and goals. Expectations are external, like what people might think we should do. Goals are what we think inside our team and family. We will travel 21 people next week and those 21 people are going to understand our goals. Certainly expectations are good, but we turn expectations into certain goals. Our goal is to play really well this Saturday and Monday and then prepare for a game on Friday."
On Conference USA:
"The conference is starting to get better. We did take a hit when some teams transferred out of the conference, but two of our teams are now getting top-25 votes. One time we had five teams in the NCAA Tournament and three teams in the WNIT. Unfortunately, we have turned into a one tournament team conference. Just like the men, we're not getting as much love. I think what we have to do as a league is what we are doing; playing teams like LSU, Oregon State, Miami and Kansas. When we do that we will get respect we deserve.
"We are a one-tournament team league right now but we're hoping to fight for two or three. The WNIT has changed their format; it used to be if you had 20 wins you were automatically qualified That's not true anymore because they upgraded to 48 teams and they have a situation where if you won the regular season but didn't win the conference tournament, you're automatically in the WNIT. That's made it tougher for at-large teams like us last year. There's fewer spots which made it harder for us last year. So you really have to take care of business during the season."
On tough scheduling:
"I've always done that. I think we had an 8-50 record my first two years, but we were playing tough teams. The third year we won 20 games and beat a ranked team convincingly. That started to put us on the map. We have always played that kind of schedule and I think that makes you a better team. I don't think the schedule can break us because of the type of kids we have -they're too competitive, too good of kids, too much heart. It will not break us but will only make us better."
JUNIOR FORWARD Courtney Taylor
On improving this year:
"I plan to do everything I did last year and more. I have to be more of a leader and more of a teacher. To do that, I need to lead by example."
On double-doubles:
"My scoring is going to go up. You will see me stepping out more and taking the big point shot a lot more. I am in better shape than I was last year. We are going to be really good, so everybody should watch out for us."
On Lesslee Mason:
"Lesslee can run the floor really well and move up and down. She is a great offensive player and an even better defensive player. She is physical and I am glad I have that with me."
JUNIOR GUARD Brittney Scott
On expectations:
"Coach Curl always talks about our roles on the team. My expectations are to keep up with the roles he gives me."
On being a young team: On pressure of expectations:
JUNIOR FORWARD Lesslee Mason On being at UH: On what the team is capable of doing: On Courtney Taylor:
"I like pressure. It makes me play better and stay focused more on my game."
On getting acclimated during first year at UH:
"I think a year of sitting out and getting to watch my team play and bond with my team was an advantage because this year I can come in to the program and I already know the plays and how my teammates play. Then again, it also made me hungrier to play because I can appreciate being on the first team, last year when I sat out I had to be on the second team."
"I'm so excited. I think this transfer was necessary and I love Coach Curl. I think this program is better because I feel more appreciated here. I can relate to the coaching staff. Coach Curl expects so much out of me, and the fact that I feel wanted here makes it a different team."
"They were only one game away from winning conference last year, and I feel like all they needed was an extra push. I feel like I can be that extra push and put them right over the limit to get us to the tournament. I think we're capable of anything. We have a great team right now."
"Courtney plays hard. We have a lot in common in the way she plays. She can play inside out, rebounds well, and I'm like her. I'm more of a post player than she is, though. She's a great player. "
