Pokey Chatman Quotations

Watching that tape last night, it's amazing the mentality (of Washington) going after the basketball and not just the kids that are five, six, seven feet away from it. It boils down to your base defense, and being able to lock in on it. Being able to play people head up and contesting shots and getting the block-out scheme.

When things were a little bit sluggish for us it was always a senior who got a big rebound, hit a big shot, got a loose ball or a steal that kept us together when things weren't going real well. Those are things that are not often seen when you are winning basketball games, but I am on the inside looking out, so I see them all of the time.

Let's start with the positive. It's a win. It's a short list. We have to take care of the basketball. We had 22 turnovers against Florida and 23 against Arkansas. That's unacceptable. We are not giving ourselves the opportunity to score.

She's the child that Baton Rouge raised. To see her on this stage is a compliment to her.

She was an administrator. She probably taught a class. She drove the bus. She coached the team. I remember she told me when she became head coach at Stephen F. Austin she was making $6,500 a year and she thought she'd hit the lottery.

She's so active without the ball. She knows she's drawing the most attention, that she's going to be held, bumped, pushed and challenged. But it's not going to change her game. It's not going to make her stop cutting and screening and staying active.

She said, 'Great game, unbelievable to be going back,' ... That call was the most important to me at that moment.

She has served her three-game suspension and she is available to play at coach's discretion.

She had that gleam in her soft blue eyes and that smirk in the corner of her mouth. That said more to me than any words.

She had that Coach Gunter gleam in her eye and that smirk in the right corner of her mouth. That wink said more to me than anything. This is, in my opinion, the pinnacle. This represents that national championship that so eluded her as a coach.

She had eight shots. She's posting up and not getting a touch because we're not doing the things we've done in the past and I credit Connecticut with that. It was a battle of wills.

She finishes in traffic better than anyone. She can alter her shot, but still gives herself a high percentage shot.

She left the game, but so much of what she brought to the game is there. For me, that's what makes her so unique.

She knows she's drawing the most attention ... But it's not going to change her game.

She just has a special inner drive. She works to continually improve her game, and it's not for anyone else or because anyone else told her to. She wants to get better.

She looked so much in a comfort zone shooting that jumper. Ever since the knee injury, she's fought back to come back really hard.

I was pleased with our energy level throughout the game. Our trapping on the side and underneath put a lot of pressure on Alabama. We didn't let them get into anything. We forced turnovers and were able to get some points.

I better not tell them. They might think they're good.

From my office I could see the helicopters landing on the track and taking off all day. You knew every time it was someone who was really sick.

I don?t think (a national title) needs to validate her game. I think the fashion in which she?s accomplished things validate (her game), but why not let that be the golden prize for a kid that has done so much for the game, for herself and for the program?

We are extremely proud of it. When you put a team together that is going to stay together -- that's a long shot. It's a matter of working day in and day out at practice and against different opponents; responding to opponents and putting in the most work possible to put yourself in that position. It's nice to be rewarded for it at the end of the regular season.

Her legacy will not be her last game.

Going into the season, looking at our schedule and our conference and to prepare well against that and be rewarded is exciting.

I acted like it was the most normal day. And that took so much energy out of me. I got my cup of coffee, read my e-mails. I let all the news come to me.

I thought the biggest difference was the fact we were able to defend the basketball at the highest level.

I will never, ever try to stick a player back in there to get a record. There's a bigger picture out there.

I remember watching a 5-8 kid dunk with power, and she's a 10th grader.

Overall it comes down to our defensive effort. We had 47 deflections, and that's always something good because that means you're able to pressure the basketball and not let them feel comfortable in their sets.

Overall I'm extremely pleased with the outcome of this game. As far back as I can remember we have struggled in this building and it was nice to see us not only put together two halves of basketball, but in the manner in which we put it together.

I was extremely frustrated about our start. The players are well aware of what they are capable of doing. They have to make each possession a masterpiece. They didn't come close to doing that today.

I thought it looked like we had a couple of weeks off for a majority of the time. It's a matter of executing from a timeout to the floor. It's a matter of paying attention to detail, and as a unit that's obviously something coaches want their team to continue to get better and better at as the year goes on, especially with the slate we have ahead of us.

I thought in several areas we got better today from the standpoint of players that don't play a lot of minutes got a lot of minutes and different combinations with some starters getting to rest and there not being a drop off. All of that is good stuff.

I think this has really been great for us, for the school and for the fans.

We've talked a lot about this senior class and this program. The last time the tournament was in Little Rock, we experienced success there. This team understands there is a lot of hard work that goes into that.

The 20-0 sounds good, and I'm not complaining at all about it, but we wasted about seven and a half or eight minutes before got to the scouting report offense.

That was just an exchange between two people in a profession. And it was probably a little bit out of context.

That's the part that was so bittersweet for Sue, ... It's so in line with so many things that happened in her career. From being head coach of the 1980 Olympic team when we boycotted, to our first Final Four when she watched the game in her hotel room in New Orleans. The irony of all that is that she was the one person who was OK with the circumstances.

We were able to defend at the highest level I've seen from this team. This game was decided with defense and our ability to take away their transition game.

Usually when I give my opening statement, I can find something that's wrong. But, there wasn't a whole lot tonight.

We came out and quickly put 11 points on the board. We got into the paint and got Sylvia some touches.

We were so engrossed in it at the time. I don't think we had the same opportunity to step back and realize how we were going through this time and how devastating it still is.

Today was a strong indication of us getting better as a team. Several key players got some rest and some reserves got some playing time before getting into the SEC.

We are well pleased with securing a No. 1 seed in terms of the regular season championship. This team is a group of individuals who look at the task ahead. They understand that there is a lot of hard work that goes into that.

We didn't pull out a marker and get on the board at halftime. We just kind of appealed to their competitive nature and challenged them in terms of where they want to go and how they want their season to play out.

We don't want to be good. I want to make that next step to being great. We'll work on that and we'll be a better basketball team.

We love points in the paint. If the 3 shows early, by the right person, we're okay with it. But it's just a matter of mind-set and playing the percentages.

When you give up 10 3-pointers in this environment this late in the year, it's going to be a struggle.

This team has done some things better than last year's team. The difference is we don't have the same margin of error. We don't have depth.

You hear coaches talk about players being in the doghouse. It's not one of those things. It's a kid who made a mistake. She served her time and she's learned from it.

We felt, coming into the game, that this game was going to be won in the paint. Bottom line, it boiled down to 42 rebounds for LSU and 27 for Duke.

You got an early sense of what she was going to be like. And as the years go on, nothing ever changes. She?s still that superstar player with that engaging personality.

To win going away and not to be on top of our game knowing you can go home and correct those things, I'm OK with that.

I should be the least nervous person here. I only had to do one thing to stand here tonight and that was to choose Louisiana State University as a high school senior.

The bottom line is, the further you advance, the tougher the competition becomes, the more locked in and focused you have to be on every single possession. We had opportunities to help ourselves, but we didn't.

The bottom line is going to be 40 minutes of execution.

This is another eye-opener for us. I expect that our level of play will increase, and it will pick up as we get into San Antonio.

This conference doesn't allow you to enjoy it a whole lot because you know there's a talented Georgia basketball team that got to sit home and rest. It has to be huge for the players to come in here and play against a quality opponent like Tennessee.

This Arkansas team is the perfect team for us to come back and try to solidify some of the things that we not only did not do well at Florida in terms of defending the basketball, but there were some of the same things we didn't do well in Fayetteville. We were lucky as apposed to good in some of our possession the first time against Arkansas. This should be a good game to try to correct some of those things.

They have a team where if you are not on the balls of your feet and ready to play, it can make for a troublesome afternoon.

You don't feel like an outsider, because at the end of the day it's the basketball game and everything you work for so many years coming up to this point.

At certain times, you get a player of her caliber, and because of prior star players, you have this expectation. And she extinguished them immediately.

It was extremely important to us to play well because there were some things we didn't do particularly well at the end of the season. You know this conference will humble you, and it is imperative that you correct those things.

It was something that I challenged them with leaving the locker room.

It was such an honor to walk out behind her and watch her stand there and look at the arena filled to the rafters. That was enough for me. Win, lose or draw, that said everything about her when she had to coach, tape ankles, teach, the whole nine yards. That moment right there was something I'll always remember.

It's obviously been a difficult day for me. Not only have I lost a great friend and mentor, but the game of basketball has lost one of its true pioneers. She not only made a huge difference in my life, but in the life of everyone associated with women's basketball.

It's one thing to have the national runner-up on your schedule, but to have them coming off of the Christmas break didn't make for a truly enjoyable Christmas. They're balanced, intelligent in their attack and play at a high level for 40 minutes.

It may be the final game for these three seniors. But the one thing that feels good is watching banners drop in here, and we are going to try our hardest to keep that going.

Sylvia realized the last few times out she hadn't played to her capability. When she came out of the locker room at half, she made a conscious effort to establish herself and use some of her speed and quickness.

It's December. I don't think anybody expects to play a full 40 minutes at the highest level at this time. I'm just glad we're moving in the right direction.

It's amazing, the mentality to go after the rebound.

It's huge from the standpoint of, obviously, it hadn't been done. To be honest, we hadn't come close. And that's a credit to Tennessee and what they've done here.

I walked out onto the court and seen the arena filled to the top. That student section is tremendous. When you hear and feel the crowd, that's what galvanizes you to better play.

I wanted us to have a little more sense of urgency because we had an opportunity to play for a share of a championship. It's nice to see us understand that, process that and come out in the second half and establish some things that have been good for us all year.

It was great having your two best players back to lead everyone this summer.

I'm not complaining about it at all. But we wasted about 7 1/2 or 8 minutes before we got into the scouting report offensively.

I learned a lot about basketball. I learned more about life.

I'm overwhelmed with emotion. These kids have been through so much personally. Not just the aftermath of Katrina, but their families. I'm just happy that we could bring a little bit of joy to some people who faced a lot of devastation.

I opted to finish school, and she offered me a job. The rest is history, as I spent nearly 18 years, or half my life, with her.

Honestly, I didn't know I had any records left to break. The hope is to continue playing and get some fresh legs underneath some people. But it does seem like a pretty smooth move on my part.

(Game-planning) is never about one player. But you have to respect someone that's going to put up a double-double.

I can always tell the energy of the crowd when they come back in the locker room.

I am who I am in no small part because of the role she has played in my life both as a coach and as a person. I feel a great sense of responsibility to carry on her legacy at LSU.

You couldn't use cellphones down there but I needed to call the family that was staying in Coach Gunter's home, ... They didn't answer the phone - and there was Sue's voice on the answering machine. It brought a smile to my face after all the destruction of New Orleans.

The truth is, we really had no transition,'' Johnson said.