Blair, Aggies meet with media following NCAA selection show

Notes from Gary Blair press conference

* There probably has never been a three seed that has lost 10 games before. But with A&M’s strength of schedule, they were able to do so. When you’ve played 21 conference games and are as battle tested as this team is, you deserve that three seed. Wants to thank the committee for saying that they defended the national championship by playing the type of schedule that they did.

* Loves the Raleigh region and the teams that are in it because of the way A&M matches up with them.  He doesn’t know anything about Albany except that they’re from New York. He’s so tired of seeing everyone in the Big 12 two-to-three times and is excited to have someone new to play. The team will be totally ready for Albany when they play on Saturday.

* Can’t believe that the committee didn’t send Arkansas to Little Rock. He is excited to possibly have the chance to play Coach Tom Collen, who was an assistant under him while he was the Head Coach at Arkansas. Arkansas has a great point guard who can penetrate well and has a big four player who also does a great job. They are a great defensive club and he’s excited to see the teams possibly meet in the second round.

* Being a three-seed is important compared to being a four-seed because you don’t have to match up with a one-seed in the Sweet Sixteen.

* Right now, it’s Mississippi State’s call when it comes to Associate Head Coach Vic Schaefer. Every year, Coach Schaefer and Coach Bond receive multiple job offers and different opportunities and he knew it was going to come sooner or later. Speculation comes from all angles, but the official press release has to come from Mississippi State. He will coach at A&M all the way through the NCAA Tournament, regardless of his job situation next year. Coach Schaefer should have had head coaching opportunities long before now, but due to various circumstances he hasn’t. He’s hoping the day comes that he loses both Coach Schaefer and Coach Bond, but he doesn’t want to lose them both in the same year which is a possibility because the Coach Bond’s home school, Illinois, is also looking for a head coach. Not many other coaches would ever give an assistant coach the responsibilities that he has given Coach Schaefer, and that’s part of the reason why he has stayed with him for so long. He is good at what he does and wishes him the best future possible.

* He expects Tyra White to be back this weekend. She shot today in the half court, but did not run full court. Tori Scott didn’t practice today due to a painful injection she needed. He is hoping to have Tyra full blast by Thursday. The NCAA Committee was notified that she would play this weekend, because that could have affected the team’s seeding in the tournament. He started to put her in during the Baylor game, but she had to tell the trainer’s that she couldn’t play.

Notes from Sydney Carter press conference

* She’s pretty confident going into her last NCAA Tournament and she didn’t expect to land the three-seed. The only way you can expect to do well in the tournament is to come in with confidence and it’s important to realize that every team is going to give them their best. The team knows that they have not had the best year and that nothing is going to come easy in this tournament.

* Last year around this time, the team was playing so well because the team chemistry was different than it is this year. Coach Blair says that there are 10-of-13 people still on the team this year from the National Championship team last year, but there are different people playing on the court and that makes a difference when talking about chemistry and making comparisons to the team last year. Sometimes the defensive focus is different this year because last year, this team was playing for each other, while this year they tend to play for themselves at times.

* It’s huge to have Tyra White back for the tournament because everyone can see the difference that she makes. She didn’t realize just how important Tyra was when it comes to defensive rebounding and how important that is to winning games. The team needs her on the offensive end, but also on the defensive end as well because she can cause some problems for the other team.

* Being able to host the first two rounds of the tournament is big. Sometimes having the games at home adds pressure to the home team, but she doesn’t think that this team will be affected by it. They know that they will have the fan support from the usuals and even more people will come out to support them. Having the advantage of being familiar with the court is a great thing to have because none of the other teams coming to Reed can say that.

Notes from Kelsey Bone press conference

* This is her first NCAA Tournament ever, so she is very excited. The committee could have given them a 12-seed and she still would have been excited. She watched and practiced with last year’s team and is really excited about the chance to make another run. She thinks the team will build on the strides they made at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City and use that as a launching pad to do well in the NCAA Tournament. The team is focusing on one team at a time, and right now that team is Albany.

* Thinks the biggest thing that can be taken from the Big 12 Tournament is the chemistry that the team built while in Kansas City. The coaches challenged them as a team and as individuals after losing to Texas, and the team used that as fuel to do well in the Big 12 Tournament. They came together as a unit and realized that they needed to change. Every individual took a good look in the mirror and questioned themselves and that gave the team a lot of confidence. Another confidence booster was the way they played without Tyra White. Now that Tyra is back, they will put her piece in the puzzle and roll on.