Gary Blair previews rivalry showdown with Texas at Reed Arena on Sunday

Key notes from Gary Blair interview

• Folks, whatever sport it is, this is a rivalry game. I'm really looking forward to it because we need to measure ourselves before we get to conference play. We're 8-0 right now, but this will be the best team we've played by far. Texas is very good. They're deep, and Vic Schaefer has some outstanding speed that will put some pressure on you.
   
• This is what I call "No Excuse Sunday." The Cowboys have already played. There is no A&M football this weekend. The game tips off at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, so there is plenty of time to come after church, and you'll still be home in time for Yellowstone by 7:00 p.m. CT. I'm trying to recruit Beth Dutton to join our team.
   
• When I was the head coach at Stephen F. Austin, Vic was the head coach at Sam Houston State. We met each other through a Converse rep that set us up to play golf. Vic came out with polyester pants on with glasses on a hot summer day. We played golf and created a great friendship. He was building a program at Sam Houston, and I was trying to sustain my program at SFA. When I moved to Arkansas and my assistant moved on, he was the first person I called. We're still friends today, but he's a little bit better than me on the golf course now. My excuse is that he's a little younger.
   
• Vic and I would love to play against each other again in the NCAA Tournament. We hope this isn't the last game. The game is not about Vic and Gary. It's about the rivalry between Texas A&M and Texas. I want people to come out and enjoy the game and to keep their eyes on the game, not on us. It should be a great game.
   
• First, our team has played good competition, but we haven't played top-ten competition like Texas. The Longhorns are a top-ten ball club. We have played the teams that are in that next level. Teams like South Dakota, SFA, Northwestern and DePaul will all be in the NCAA Tournament. Texas has played Stanford and Tennessee, and you grow up in those games.
   
• I used to live around the corner from Shelby Metcalf. We would walk our dogs together around 10 o'clock. He'd always ask me if I fished, and I'd always say no. He would tell fishing stories, and I learned to shut up and listen. He was a character and was not as business-like as coaches are now. It was all about talking, coaching and relating to people around this school.
   
• Each day, I'm constantly thinking about what I haven't done to give back to my team, my former players, the people I met along the way and my mentors.
   
• Kayla Wells has taken her game to another gear because she has taken inventory of her strengths and minuses. There are not many minuses. He's going to the basket more. She's one of the leading field-goal shooters in the league. Her defense is getting better. She would like to play at the next level. To do that, she has to understand how to score at any time. He's doing that with her communication. She's going to be playing somewhere next year.