You were a No. 1 seed forced to play a No. 9 seed on their home court. Do you think that the NCAA Tournament is flawed in how its treat its Tournament locations?
Well, to me, if you could have put us as a No. 2 seed in Chattanooga, that's where we should have gone. You want to protect your top seed, and you shouldn't provide additional motivation. The committee should create objective reality, in other words. We rekindled the whole spirits of Michigan State.... I think everyone wonders what would have happened to us in the Tournament on a neutral floor.
Around the beginning of the year, you won a home game against non-conference powerhouse Stanford. What mindset did that put the team in, and do you feel that it was kind of Karima Christmas's coming-out party?
That was a terrific win against Stanford. It was a brutally physical game.... I think that Karima has made enormous strides this year. She had an incredible game against Stanford. She shot 46 percent from the 3-point line this year, so we obviously need her to shoot more. She played only 19 minutes a game, so I can see her playing at least 10 more a game next year. She's in the process of getting better, developing her game more, and there's no limit as to what she can do.
Can you talk a little about Abby Waner this year? She seemed to go through shooting slumps-do you think that it was a result of her trying to carry the burden of the team on her shoulders? Also, how bad was her injury in the loss to Michigan State?
I think she developed further this year. She led us in assists with 110; she led us in steals. I just think that every year is different in terms of what it calls for. Abby did many good things for us and became a better well-rounded basketball player. She created shots off the dribble and was a defensive threat. I think she outgrew what the media boxed her into-only looking at her shooting percentage. Sometimes there can be a trade-off in what she can do. I'm really impressed in what she grew into over her four years as a basketball player.
I thought it was courageous [that she played in the Michigan State game]. A lot of kids wouldn't have played-she was less than 50 percent, but she desperately wanted to play. She hit that first three, but then you see her falter, especially defensively, but it was a very difficult thing, because she wasn't where she wanted to be.
What are your thoughts on the home win against North Carolina? How did that affect the team and help finish the season strong?
That was a great time for us. We were playing our best basketball at the end of the year. We did it over a period of games, which I think is very important. After the loss to Maryland on the 22nd of February, which was very disappointing, we beat Wake Forest, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida State. It was a crescendo and an incredible finish down the stretch, and it fell short in the NCAA Tournament.
How good was the Michigan State defense? And why did Duke's defense break down-how did the Spartans beat the press?
The press wasn't effective. When you don't score you can get spoiled, when you don't score readily, it can certainly affect your pressing ability if you're an immature kind of team. And in that environment, we sort of played that way, because we weren't scoring readily when they packed it in with their zone. We didn't have the offensive maturity, we threw up quick shots, the press is only as good as the people pressing, and the kick in our step was weak.
What lessons have been learned from this year?
We learned lessons of accountability, physicality. The Michigan State game was extremely physical, but you've got to want it bad enough, even if the conditions are not ideal. You've got to be ready, be a multiple offensive team as well as a multiple defensive team. I think there's an important point here that this was an incredible season; we went undefeated at home, only the second time in Duke Women's Basketball history that has happened. The body of work is phenomenal, but we want more than that-the march into the tournament.
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