Lady Bear Basketball Signing Day Quotes
11/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2008
BAYLOR HEAD COACH Kim Mulkey
Opening Statement...
"Well most of you know it's been a long time for some of these young ladies, and the first time I'm able to talk about them. They committed long ago and as with all recruiting classes, I'm very proud when a young lady decides to come to Baylor University. While this one will probably rank as the highest rated class, I will quickly protect them just like I do those athletes that don't come with a number in front of their name.
Mariah Chandler is one of our signees, she's a 6'2 post player that can play the perimeter as well, she's a left-handed kid, she plays at the same high school as Dwight Howard and it's a private school in the Atlanta area. She sat out last year with major ACL surgery and is looking forward to her senior year.
Brittney Griner needs no introduction to those of us from Texas she's a 6'8 young lady. She just blocked 25 shots in her first game last night. She's a young lady that committed to us long ago and we can now say Brittney Griner is a Baylor Bear. Then you have Kimetria "Nae-Nae" Hayden, from Lincoln High School she's a 6 ft perimeter player that can play any of the perimeter positions, she won a state championship last year. Local media has followed her because she played against Midway in the playoffs, which is where my daughter (Makenzie) plays. Nae-Nae had meniscus surgery a week ago and doesn't know if she'll play her senior year. She is a young lady that brings not only winning from a winning high school program; she brings size on the perimeter.
Jordan Madden, a young lady that has blazing speed. As quick, a first step as you'll ever see in the women's game. She committed to us; she's from East Poinsett County High School, kind of in Rachael Allison's hometown area. I think one of the neatest things about Jordan is I watched her film after we'd gone to see her play a game...She comes from a very successful high school program as well.
And Shanay Washington, last but certainly not least. Shanay committed to us a long time ago, comes from the same high school as our Curtis Jerrells on the men's side and Angela Tisdale on the women's side. Shanay sat out last year with an ACL tear, she's back playing and she is a perimeter player at 6'1.
All of these young ladies just bring Baylor to a new level, they keep us at the level we've been used to but they also take us to a new level. And it'll probably be the highest ranked class we've ever signed. Those of you who know me, I don't get involved in rankings. Our greatest players at Baylor never had a number in front of their name. What a ranking does is bring great recognition to your school. More important to me is four out of the five of these recruits committed a long time ago to us. And they never ever wavered. That just tells you what kind of kids they are, how focused they are, how committed they are, and that goes back to their upbringing and their families because they could play anywhere in the country and they made a commitment to us a long time ago, and you don't see that this day and time."
When asked about the wait and anticipation of just a verbal commitment...
"It has been stressful but let me tell you how verbals work in my eyes. I don't take a verbal commitment very lightly, I think it's a two way street. I think too many young athletes will verbal and then take their commitments back. And to me that embarrasses the school and embarrasses the kids. Maybe embarrass is too harsh a word, but it's not good. So when a young lady wants to commit to Baylor it's not taken lightly, questions are asked, lots of statements are made; "Do you understand what that means? Because if you're not committed and you're going to change your mind next week, next month, next year when a coach calls you, don't commit. Those were the conversations I had with these young ladies, do not commit, if you're not committed. And that's what's so amazing is that they committed, they never wavered. I'm certain they got phone calls from other colleges, I'm certain they got emails, letters, that's to be expected. But not one time, with 4 of them Nae-Nae was the last to commit, but with those other 4 I never got a phone call, never got a question, I never have ever worried about their commitments. And that is just unheard of this day and age. And I think a lot of it has to do with how hard we worked them at a young age, it didn't just happen. Certainly, our program sells itself, a national championship, in state talent, kids want to stay at home, and parents want to see them play. But at the same time we had a lot of work to do and we worked those kids at a young age."
On what kind of flexibilities Griner's height and athleticism will offer the Bears next season...
"I don't know, I've played with a 6-8 athlete before but not that kind of athlete. She's just going to be a young lady that will not only bring great recognition on floor but off the floor as well. Players are going to want to play with her; people are going to want to see her play. I've never coached a lady that was 6-8, I'm going to have to get on a chair probably to teach her a few things, but she is as good a kid as she is a player. She still has a lot of basketball to learn, if you'll watch Griner play, she still has post moves to learn. What she does now is instinct, basically saying, `I'm 6-8, I'm supposed to block a shot, and I'm supposed to be able to turn around on smaller players and score.' Imagine what she's going to do in our system when she gets better and better and better. And as with all great players, they have to have great players around them. She will be talked about a lot because nobody sees a 6-8 girl. Don't think that those that signed with her aren't special, those kids are big time players and to get that many in one class will probably make me go out and buy my coaches dinner to go along with their lunch too. But it'll be a fun, fun group to come watch to come in here. Let me say this, and I really mean it, they have not won one basketball game at this level. If you think they're going to walk on that floor as freshman and not get abused by upperclassmen from other programs you don't know a lot about how good the game has gotten. They're going to be good but they haven't won a game yet. I will protect them; I will not have expectations for them until they're ready for those expectations."
When asked about Griner's agility on the court...
"She's not a post player that you have to wait on for her to run the floor. If players push the ball up the floor they have the opportunity to be a part of a highlight reel because she can fly, she can run the floor like a deer, she's a sight to just watch. I'm not just talking about the dunking; dunking comes very easy for her. If you watch her communication with her teammates, you'll hear her say things like `I gotcha, I gotcha' if they get beat and how she's there ready to block that shot for her. She's willing to run the floor or get the rebound. There's a lot more to Brittney Griner than just dunking the basketball. She's an athlete, she's a basketball player... I've been doing this a long time, not as long as some coaches, but I've never seen anything like Brittney Griner."
On recruitment in the Big 12 this year...
"It's great for our league. Something else, not just for the Big 12 but I read an article about how many great players left the state of Texas a year ago and how none of the schools got them. Let's write about the ones that did stay in the state this year, some top 10 kids in Texas that are going to stay in state. Two have committed which is good, good for our league and our state. It's shown how much the game has grown regionally for us. The more that can come into the Big 12, the more publicity our league gets, the better we get, the more TV coverage we get. You gotta love it."
When asked how this class will bring versatility...
"Again I will protect them, first of all it's a very big class with three perimeter players that are at least 6 feet tall. I don't know if we've ever signed this many players that are that big. You put those players with the players we have out right now, wow, it's going to make for some serious competition on the floor. These young ladies, when they step on the floor next year to play every day, don't think that the girls that are here are going to back off. The kids that are here are going to have an advantage. They're going to have an advantage because they know the system; they've played at the collegiate level. It is a big transition from high school to play ball at this level. It'll give me lots of options, it'll give me a lot of depth, and it'll be a team that if it lives up to its billing will be very, very talented."
When asked what kind of impact signing Brittney Griner would have...
"Certainly she's already had an impact, I would think that an impact publicly with the perception of Baylor women's basketball, getting the top ranked players in the country, the talent in this class. But when you're a competitor and you go to the colligate level; you want to win a national championship. And you observe all those things, what kind of players do they have in place and how far can that team go? And you hope when they look at a Nae-Nae Hayden, when they look at a Shanay Washington, when they look at a Jordan Madden, and they look at a Mariah Chandler, and a Brittney Griner that they'll say wow, I want to go play with those types of players. Because the one thing that matters the most is that national championship ring. And not many players ever leave college with a national championship. The great players recruit people in the stands, they recruit players to play with them, and they never have to open their mouth. People observe and they watch and that's what this class does. People will look and watch and they'll see the kids and how hard they play and how good they are and never even have to open their mouth to help you recruit."
