March 28, 2010 
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Baylor Head Coach Kim Mulkey
What do you remember coaching against (Joanne) McCallie in the 2005 Championship Game?
I just remember her zone stuff. She played a lot of zone with Michigan State. Of course, with different personnel you do different things, and she's extended her zones. She's pressing with the athletes that she has. I don't remember much full court when she was at Michigan State. I know that she has a history of having been at Auburn with Joe Ciampi, and what a great zone teacher he is. That's about all. That's kind of what I remember.
When you came out of Louisiana Tech and you finished your career, why did you want to go into business instead of coaching?
My degree was in business administration, and I received a post-graduate scholarship after the 1984 Olympics from the NCAA. I was one of 10 athletes, and I was working on my master's in business administration at Louisiana Tech.
Sonja Hogg retired, left coaching, and the president of the university at the time, F. Jay Taylor, sent police officers to get me out of my class. I thought there was a death in the family or something, and he asked me to come and visit with him; that he was going to give Leon Barmore the job, and that he wanted me to be on that staff. And at that time, I said I don't want any part of that. I've been with that man four years. I'm tired of him.
The main thing was Coach Barmore should be allowed to hire who he wants, and if Coach Barmore is interested in me, then I would talk to them. And Coach Barmore then approached me. I'm sure he felt pressured to hire me too because there's the president telling you who he wants to hire
And so I gave it a shot, I didn't get to finish my master's degree, which I regret, but it was the greatest decision that someone helped me make because I was not going into coaching. I thought I would be flying in corporate jets all over the world in the business field, and here I am today.
What did you think of Melissa Jones's hustle plays?
The blocks that Brittney Griner have, that you see every day, and we see every day, are just absolutely amazing. But I thought the two blocks that Melissa Jones had yesterday were critical. She stripped the ball one time and then on the baseline one time with (Shekinna) Stricklen were critical moments. It was still a game that they could win. Those blocks weren't talked about enough. Melissa Jones, just the timing and the quick hands to be able to do what she did, was just so valuable at the time she did them.
What did the loss and return of Melissa Jones mean to this team?
We lost Melissa Jones two days before Big 12 opened on a Wednesday, and we have to go to Oklahoma State and play Andrea Riley. I don't know that we will ever see the likes of another Andrea Riley in our league, and we didn't have time to adjust. And so we adjusted on the fly. Each game I was basically experimenting with a different freshman. You just kind of mix and mingle. And then we tried her four weeks after the diagnosis. And she did in the Texas A&M game, played, and had a double-double. And then she couldn't go again in the Texas game so we just shut it down. I said if we can string along enough victories, I don't care where we finish in the Big 12. String along enough victories to get to postseason play, and we did.
And because of her injuries, (Kimetria) Hayden, (Jordan) Madden, (Terran) Condrey--all those kids that may not have gotten significant minutes had she not gotten hurt, they did. And I think you saw yesterday we have benefited from the minutes those kids got. They're more confident now. They run plays, but most importantly, also on the defensive end of the floor. We are second in the entire country in field goal percentage defense. And if you look at the history of this coaching staff, we're going to guard you. And if they want to stay on the floor, they're going to have to guard for long periods of time.
And I just think Melissa Jones's injury is going to have a silver lining to it. It's already had a silver lining to it. This bunch has never been to an Elite 8, and they feel good about what they did yesterday, but, as I told them this morning, if what you did yesterday still looks big to you today, then you haven't done much today. And that's the approach we're going to take.
How do you make sure you can keep Brittney (Griner) inside?
Duke better have a post player that can shoot the three. You can bring them out there, but I'm going to look at stats and say let them go out there. Duke got here for a reason. And why would you go away from what got you here? We have seen it all. But you can only do so much if you don't have the personnel to do it.
I anticipate they will have wrinkles, just like we will have wrinkles. There's not going to be much that changes for us. You're going to see two tremendous teams, two athletic teams get out. The difference is they have more experience than we do. They're older, they're more mature and they're more experienced than our kids are.
With the separation that has since developed between what we call the power conferences and the mid-majors, is it a blessing now, perhaps in hindsight, that you didn't get the Louisiana Tech job and are at Baylor now?
Louisiana is my home. I don't care where my career takes me; Louisiana will always be my home. You don't spend 38 years of your life in a state and not go back to your roots. Those are the greatest years of my life as a college athlete because it was in an era at Louisiana Tech where we were the Connecticut and the Tennessee, and those guys emulated us and looked up to us. And with everything in life, change happens.
The bigger conferences have more resources, and it does affect the mid-majors. But here's the thing that I will always say about whatever a mid-major wants to be diagrammed as: You can still win at that level. Ask Butler today. Everybody wants to talk about them being a mid-major. There are a lot of big conferences and schools in those conferences that would love to be where Butler is. You can still win at that level. What you may not have is the resources.
What are your impressions of Jasmine Thomas?
Tremendously athletic, quick, and can elevate. I saw her jump up and shoot some shots yesterday; just elevating over people. We don't get to see ACC teams very much in person, so what we've seen on film is really, sometimes, not fair because when you see them in person, you're even more impressed. And I just saw a young lady that's very poised, led her basketball team, and is very, very focused. And a lot of what they do goes through her, obviously.
Is the team watching the men's game together today? And how neat it would be if both teams made it to the Final Four?
Well I think it's neat that both teams are playing Duke. That's just neat. If we get it in the hotel, I'm not sure if we'll all spread out in our different rooms and watch it or if we will come together and watch it in one room. A lot of it depends on how practice goes today, but we will be watching it. Everybody will be watching that game, and I would imagine that if we don't have an organized watching party, they will be in rooms watching it. I know in my room ,my kids will be in there and we will all be pulling for the Bears. We're just happy for them.
You have to remember I was at Baylor when the tragedy happened with Carlton Dotson, (Patrick) Dennehy, and Coach Bliss was the coach. And to watch Scott Drew come in and just build that program. He's the most optimistic person I've seen. He's one of those, when you come into work and you're tired, you don't want him in your face, smiling and hollering good morning. That's Scott. He's just an optimistic person. And he's just a good guy.
Do you feel like you have seen a progression with your team as the season has gone on?
I've seen a progression, and it's a progression that happened because of Melissa Jones's injury. I've seen the frustrations, too. Now that we have her back and she's back in the flow of things, the progression was caused because those kids had to grow up quickly and play a lot of significant minutes. The progression is doing things on the defensive end of the floor. The progression is watching freshmen, when fatigue sets in and I can't get them out of the game, they're not going to expose us on the defensive end of the floor. There are so many things they have gotten better at.
Baylor Junior Guard Melissa Jones
How much of a key will it be to control the ball against Duke?
Duke is a very long, athletic, active team. Like Kelli (Griffin) said, it's going to take patience and smart decisions to get past them. We deal with the same kind of intensity during practice and in the Big 12, so it's not like we'll be completely thrown off-guard by it.
You have the luxury of a tall player behind you who is active and can erase defensive mistakes. Talk about that luxury.
It's my excuse when someone drives past me - I wanted Brittney (Griner) to get 14 blocks this game (against Georgetown). She's done so much for this team that's indescribable. To have her behind us brings us a ton of comfort.
How ready is this team for the challenge that you face tomorrow night, playing in the Regional Final against a team with a good mix of experience on the roster?
This is tournament-time, so we have to expect Duke's best game. We're just going to get after it in practice today, watch some film and make sure we bring the best that Baylor can.
Baylor Freshman Guard Shanay Washington
The defense has been good all the way through the tournament. Coach has said all season that you freshmen didn't have any idea how much you'd have to play defense on this level. Was it a wake-up call, the commitment to defense?
Definitely, because in high school if you're the best player on the team, you don't have to play defense, just offense. Coming here, with Melissa (Jones) and Lindsay (Palmer) driving past you in practice every day, you feel kind of bad. You have to focus on defense.
How much of a key will it be to control the ball against Duke?
We just have to be calm and collected and take care of the ball.
How ready is this team for the challenge that you face tomorrow night, playing in the Regional Final against a team with a good mix of experience on the roster?
Watching the selection show I was really excited just to get to the tournament when they called our name. Now, actually being here, I'm elated.
Baylor Junior Guard Kelli Griffin
How much of a key will it be to control the ball against Duke?
Turnovers are going to be a key tomorrow. This morning we met with Coach, and she expressed to us that taking care of the ball, attacking their press and being patient on offense is going to be key. Duke thrives on steals and making things happen in the open court. If we take care of the ball and just be patient, that will take away a lot of their points.
You'll be one of the players trying to slow down Jasmine Thomas. You've faced (Oklahoma State's) Andrea Riley and (Oklahoma's) Danielle Robinson; do you think that's good preparation for going against good, quick guards?
If you can guard Andrea Riley, you can guard anybody. Jasmine Thomas is definitely as quick as Andrea Riley. If we guard Duke like we guarded Tennessee yesterday, we'll be fine.
How ready is this team for the challenge that you face tomorrow night, playing in the Regional Final against a team with a good mix of experience on the roster?
To be where we are, we're excited and ready to take on any challenge. We're as excited to play Duke as we were to play Tennessee. We haven't played them before, so it's something new for us. We're ready to attack the challenge and hopefully advance to the Final Four.
Baylor Freshman Center Brittney Griner
Coach said the freshmen didn't have any idea how to play defense on this level. How much of a commitment is it every day in practice?
Morghan (Medlock) used to go past me all the time in practice. I really had to work on moving my feet. But we really help each other in practice.
How much of a key will it be to control the ball against Duke?
Turnovers will be a key; I'm glad I'm not a point guard (laughs). But I'm looking forward to the challenge.
Talk about what the return of Melissa Jones has meant to this team?
To have our captain back for the tournament helped all of us. It was good to get back to the starting line-up we had early in the season. She goes for the hustle plays. She can hit the three, so we're really glad to have her back.
What have you seen of (Duke's) Krystal Thomas and what do you think of her style of play and her shot-blocking ability?
I'm excited to go against someone with size again. We both play a physical game, and she can block shots as well as I can. I look forward to see who can get the most blocks.
How ready is this team for the challenge that you face tomorrow night, playing in the Regional Final against a team with a good mix of experience on the roster?
I'm excited to be at this point. We've had some big games this season, and if we go out like we have in every other game, we'll be able to come out on top.
Baylor Senior Forward Morghan Medlock
What's it like when you see your coach, like in yesterday's game, really get in to the officials? Does it fire you up or could you play for a coach that was docile?
I couldn't. I'm a firm believer that the energy, the excitement and how the program is run starts at the top. She definitely gets us going when she's arguing with the refs about a call or they aren't being fair to Brittney. It lets us know that as long as we're doing the right things, she'll always have our back.
How much of a key will it be to control the ball against Duke?
Playing in the Big 12 has prepared us for what we'll see tomorrow. Like Duke, Texas, Texas A&M and really the entire Big 12 is long and athletic and physical. Overnight we won't just have a problem with handling pressure. We're going to be the same Baylor team and attack them like we would attack everyone else that's tried to pressure us this season.
Have things played out as well as you could have hoped when you transferred here, with your idea of what your career might be and where you might go?
I wish I had been at Baylor since the beginning for off the court as well as on-court reasons. Playing for a Hall of Fame coach, southern people being really down to earth and nice, I love my teammates and professors...I just love everything about the program. I'm just glad I had the opportunity to play under Coach Mulkey my last two seasons.
You have the luxury of a tall player behind you who is active and can erase defensive mistakes. Talk about that luxury.
I have slow feet in the post for some reason, so when people drive past me, I'm the first one yelling (for Griner). She's always there, and she always blocks it. She's kind of like my body guard. She always takes care of me.
Talk about how Melissa always kept everyone's spirit up, never seemed down, even when she was injured?
That's just how she is, on and off the court. She always keeps our spirits up, always looks on the bright side. Kid's an optimist, she always look for the good in all things and all people. It's just something you can't teach, it's inside of her.
What was said yesterday before the game? Did everybody just believe you could pull it off?
We believed it when we watched the Selection Show. Yesterday, as always, Coach Mulkey got us fired up; I'm sure if she gave us a speech at three o'clock in the morning, we'd be ready to play anybody. She told us "Win or we go home. We owe them. They beat us once already." We were excited and glad to play them because they were familiar; we'd seen them earlier in the season. There was no stopping us yesterday. You couldn't tell anybody on our team or in our program that we weren't going to win. On this stage, you have to take that approach to the game; you can't lose the game before you've left the floor.
