Emotional Vic Schaefer talks Baylor loss & finale vs. Texas

Notes from Vic Schaefer Interview

* Proud of the team and the aggressiveness they showed last night against Baylor on both sides of the ball. He loved how they took the fight to them and couldn’t be more proud of the kids.

* He and Coach Blair were looking at the crowd before the game and were both a little disappointed in the turnout early. Thinks that half the people didn’t realize the game was an early one at 6 P.M. The crowd eventually showed up and were great. Thought the team did a great job of feeding off of them and it was a very electric atmosphere. The 12th man showed up and helped as well. Doesn’t like to lose and hates losing to Baylor but was pleased with the effort the team showed last night.

* It was 28-18 when Griner picked up her second foul and left the game for the remainder of the first half. Once she comes out of the game, they are a very average team. He felt like they could attack and play how they were supposed to all along once she was on the bench. Thinks the team should always have an attack mode and can’t be worried about her blocking a shot now and then. Blocks are a part of the game. You can’t take away that attack mode and settle for jump shots all night and expect to beat a team like Baylor. The team knew that when Griner came to help on defense that the player she left to come help would be open for an easy bucket.

* Doesn’t think you correct the free throw issue by talking about it. To get out of that slump, the team needs to get in the gym and just shoot instead of talking about the problem. The more the problem gets talked about, the more it turns into a voodoo curse it becomes. Other than putting it in the practice plan, you can’t continue to talk about the free throw problem.

* Adora Elonu came out strong and scored 12 points in the first half. Baylor made an adjustment on her and was able to take her away in the second half. The team also had some other kids step up and take their offensive game to a different level. Everyone loves Kelsey Assarian’s toughness and competitiveness and the team needed her for rebounding last night. She is not afraid of anyone, no matter who she is guarding.

* Karla Gilbert is another kid who does not play scared. She is a confident kid who plays with tremendous heart. She has been the team’s leading field goal percentage shooter all year up until the last few games. She is a great option for the team to have when Kelsey Bone has to come out of the game. She made the most of her minutes last night and competed hard. She gets picked on sometimes because she plays a little bit awkward and it’s unjustified, but that’s just the way it is.

* There is not another coach in the country that loves and respects the game like Gary Blair and that is why he is so deserving of being inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. One of the things that made him mad when the team lost in Waco was the way Baylor appeared to try and run up the score. He doesn’t like that and knows Coach Blair would never do a thing like that. Everybody knows that he and Coach Blair are very competitive and don’t see eye-to-eye on everything but Coach Blair has been good to the game for 30 plus years and no one deserves it more than he does. He is truly a gentleman of the game and would never do anything to disgrace the game.

* If you can’t get excited about playing Texas, you’re probably dead if you’re an Aggie. The team needs to be prepared and needs to do their job the next few days. Texas is a very desperate team who is playing for their NCAA Tournament lives, so the team will have to bring their very best game with them to Austin.