Gail Goestenkors Players Quotations

Years ago, players were willing to come in and sit on the bench for one or two years and work their way into the lineup. And now so many players come in and they want to start right away. They definitely want to make an impact right away. When you have 15 available scholarships it's not possible to have 15 players playing major minutes right away.

She's one of the most dynamic players in the country. She's that team's heart and soul.

Mo has always been the tough one on the team and she leads by example with her toughness, but this year she's become a much better communicator with her teammates because she knows we're young and she needs to be very positive with them as well. All of the players have remarked that she's become a great leader for us. She really wanted to become a great leader and now she has the freedom to lead a little bit more than she felt she had in the past.

Monique showed why she's the best player in the ACC and one of the best players in the nation. She's a big-time player.

I think it's much more difficult to keep players happy nowadays. We live in what I call a fast-food society, where we all want immediate gratification. We want what we want and we want it now.

I think we're very comfortable with (the rotation) now and I think our players are becoming much more efficient. (Currie) was just very efficient with her minutes and I think part of it is because she's able to stay fresh. And I think we wear people down that way as well.

Players want to win championships. They want to win conference championships, they want to win a tournament championship. .. Players want to be able to cut down nets -- it doesn't matter what the nets are, they want to cut down nets.

We knew it was going to be a battle. It was a great team effort. Five players in double figures, and everybody who came off the bench contributed something to win the game.

We like to play an up-tempo game. It's an exciting brand of basketball, and our players enjoy playing it.

You would hope there's a better balance. First and foremost for us are academics. Duke is not an easy school. It's not like we can miss so much class and have the players just bounce right back from it.

It's like playing in the NCAA Tournament. It forces your players to adapt to the time, the distance, the arena and the crowd. It's a great experience.

It's because high school kids are getting better and better. The quality and quantity is getting better. Players are going to different schools now, not just the top two or three teams. They're willing to go build a program instead of sitting on the bench at a well-known school.

That's the great thing about the women's game. The players are very approachable. They haven't been tainted by stardom. They just come to play.

It was a great team effort. That's what I told the team in the locker room -- five players in double figures, and everybody who came off the bench contributed in some way, shape or form. I think this was just a tremendous team effort on our part.

Initially, when we had our first sellout against Connecticut, our kids were not prepared to handle that. The Connecticut players were because they were used to playing in sellout environments.

I just feel utter disappointment right now for my players and specifically for my seniors. It's killing me right now. Not for myself, but for my players.

I just feel utter disappointment for my players and my seniors.

All of those things are important except staying No. 1. That's not anything we've ever talked about. But the players know what's on the line. And it is Carolina, so I really don't have to say a whole lot to get people motivated.