Post-Game Quotes - Wisconsin
1/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Head coach Suzy Merchant Postgame Quotes
About Kennedy Johnson
Yeah, we've been waiting to see it, you know it's been a long time coming. I hope it's not a one- time thing. Her older brother showed up for the first time this year to see her live. He plays football at Penn State, and that's kind of her guy- her motivator to be honest. So I was kind of kidding him before the game, there's a waiver for everything with the NCAA now, so let's get him a waiver so we can fly him all over the country to watch her play if that's what it's gonna take. I don't know, maybe I'll get a hold of compliance once we get done here. Everyone comes up with waivers for issues or something so, we'll find one in this case maybe. But honestly, it was just good to see her play and compete out there. We finally got production out there from our bench - 19 points off our bench. Obviously, as you mentioned, she had 11.
On expectations
You know, to win every game. I don't think our roles have been redefined. I mean, I'm still frustrated with some of our kids. You know, I don't get it. As a coach, I'm just extremely competitive, and I'm ready to go on game night, I'm probably built a little more like Arial (Powers) and Tori (Jankoska) to be honest, then other people, but I do think there has to be some consistency out of kids. When you're not being guarded at this level, you kind of have to take that personal, you know that you have to. We're getting better but, you know, we can't just have one or two people show up. What are my expectations? To win every game, for everyone to play to their full potential- be the best they can be, be mentally and physically tough, compete and never quit, that's what my expectations are.
On Aerial Powers
There are 7,560 people that showed up, and I can't image that anybody that's ever showed up and watched us play had ever been disappointed regardless of what has happened, to watch that kid's maximum effort. I don't know what's going to happen in the future in terms of record books and things like that...if there isn't a female up there in the rafters, that kid should be one eventually some day. The way she affects the game, she's only a sophomore, I mean, there's not much more she can do, she was almost a triple-double, and that's one thing. If you have flashes of it or, you know, if your solid, and that kid is as strong and as aggressive a competitor and affects the ball so many ways...it's fun to watch. We had a team meeting the other day, and I was just telling her that. We do Spartan heads like football does, like for individual things and none of it has to do with points; you know, charges, and-one's, rebounds, assists, not turning the ball over, all these things you can get and we don't have helmets, but we put them on the lockers. That kid had 26 Spartan heads in the Maryland game, against the sixth-ranked team in the country. You know not one thing do you get for making a basket. Just to look at this kid's will to win, and trying to do everything is impressive. I'd like to, honestly, not have to have her do so much, but even at the end of shot clock with two and three people hanging on her, her shot's better right now than somebody else taking it sometimes. She's just a special talent and a really, really great kid. I think she's going to leave here as one of the best that has played, at least from what I can see, so far, anyway.
