Talkin' Hoops with Gary Blair -- Show #3

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Coach Gary Blair on the trip to Cancun not being just about the “fun” in the sun...
“Cancun was mainly a business trip. We saw the basketball courts, watched our opponents and got better as a basketball team.”

On needing to accomplish more than they have in the previous few seasons...
“Our juniors and seniors know what it takes to advance past the second round, which we’ve struggled with the past two years. We’re just not going to accept winning 20 games and advancing to the NCAA tournament. In order to be successful, we have to get better in practice, play a schedule like we have lined up and not get stale in January and February. I’ll be saving a lot of offensive and defensive schemes that won’t even be used until conference play.”

On Sydney Colson’s reemergence in Cancun...
“Sydney Colson’s speed is unbelievable. On one particular play, she gets the ball and she passes up everyone, goes in and gets an easy layup. She was great and helping set up a teammate. We’ve been waiting four years for her knee to be healthy and, even though she has a few bruises on her foot to keep her at about 75% health right now, she is still a great asset to our team. I’m not sure there is a better person in the league who can run the transition game like she can. ”

On what the lineup will look like if Colson is back to being the starting point guard...
“Sydney Carter is our best defensive player, so the rotation all depends on who we need to have in the game in order to stop the opponent’s best perimeter player. We’re mixing and matching right now between Maryann Baker, Tyra White and Sydney Carter. We have a lot of people playing right now and I want to eventually add Adaora out there, as well, allowing her to see more time at the three position.”

On hosting Cal Saturday at home and then heading to Duke for a Monday night game...
“Cal has had a top-10 recruiting class three years in a row, so we’re going to have our hands full. This is going to be a nationally televised game. How many times are we going to have the opportunity to have back-to-back nationally televised non-conference games? We’re going to try to take full advantage of the national stage.”

On Duke looking for revenge after getting blown out at Reed Arena last season...
“At the press conference that I went to in New York, Joanne [McCallie] told me that the 95 points we put on them last year is all they could talk about this summer. They have three young women that will be going to the WNBA next year and five freshmen that play consistently. They are ranked No. 5 and are undefeated through the first eight games ... five of which were on the road. So they’re battle-tested. Obviously, they’re a very strong team, but so are we, so it will be a great matchup.”