Mitchell talks about being a new dad, Amber Smith, and Pat Summitt..
[B]Opening statement…[/B]
“We have started another school year here at Kentucky and football is right around the corner and that’s where we are today. We’re excited to see what Joker (Phillips) and the guys can get done in football. As far as women’s basketball goes, we had our first day of class yesterday and our first opportunity to see the players work out in groups of four and that went well. We’re excited about the school year and getting everyone going academically and starting to build our team. It’s fun to have them back and it’s fun to get it going.”
[B]On what it’s like being a new dad…[/B]
“Well, having experienced it for awhile, now I have a 21-year-old and a two-week old. So, there has to be a book somewhere that I could write on that and those experiences. But this has been great, our daughter Saylor was born on the ninth of August so Jenna has worked really hard and we’ve tried to work hard these first couple of weeks and it’s been wonderful.”
[B]On what this week has been like after getting the news on Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt…[/B]
“It’s difficult whenever you receive news that is just so challenging for Coach Summitt. And anyone who has followed our program and has heard me speak before knows what she has contributed to my life as a personal friend and a professional mentor. So that was difficult to hear she was up against that challenge. She has told us all that she wants us to support her as friends and that she wants to continue on and face the challenge with a lot of courage and face it head on, so I just admire her as I always have. My prayers are with her at all times. I just think it took a lot of courage for her to come out and address it. I’m sure she will handle the situation and approach the situation with a tremendous amount of tenacity and toughness like she always has. She says there’s not going to be any pity parties for her and that sounds just like the Coach Summitt I know so I think she’s doing and will do great and be a shining example for a lot of people struggling with this condition.”
[B]On how Pat Summitt is as a person…[/B]
“Well, she’s just a person who cares about helping people out. I just know from my experiences as a graduate assistant, I would have been fine just going over in a corner somewhere and not saying a word, and just trying to soak in some of the experience. I was far down on the totem pole as far as that organization – she made me feel very important and valuable. I’ve always tried to emulate that. She just has a way of making people feel important and significant. A lot of times you see her on the sidelines and that doesn’t come across because she’s so fiery, but I think if you talk to anybody around that community you know how much she’s helped Tennessee and those people.”
[B]On freshmen Bra’Shey Ali…[/B]
“Bra’Shey Ali is a forward from New York City. Bra’Shey is a player who had been on our radar, recruiting is literally 12 months a year, 24/7. So, it was an unusual time of year for us but it was a player that we feel can help us. Very athletic, can really jump, really run and has a toughness about her. I was impressed with her yesterday. She obviously had not been on campus as the rest of the players had been all summer, and just made it through a difficult workout with just a lot of toughness and showed some of the things that we’re looking for and will look for her to be – a rebounder, a defender and a player who can come in as a freshman and possibly impact us through our style of play. She’s also a player who can develop in her game so I’m excited about her.”
[B]On going into his first season at Kentucky without star forward Victoria Dunlap and how nice it is to have senior guard Amber Smith back…[/B]
“That’s been an interesting dynamic. We all came in together, that class, Victoria (Dunlap), Carly (Morrow) and Amber (Smith). So, we sort of learned the ropes together, so it’s great now, but was terrible at the time when Amber went down. But it’s nice to have (Amber) around and that’s a bit of a comfort that we still have a little bit of the old guard there. But concerning Victoria, we’ve been very proud of her progress in the WNBA this summer. It is a real challenge for the players on this team to find out how we’re going to continue to maintain our excellence that the team has shown over the last two seasons. Victoria was such a huge, and was the centerpiece of the team, so that’s a great challenge. I think it’s fun to see how we can develop this team without Victoria because that’s what we have to do. As I watched our players yesterday I was very excited with what the possibilities are. We’re nowhere near where we need to be, clearly, but just the depth of talent we have and the athleticism and speed and quickness that we have. I think this can be a very exciting team, but everybody has to understand that there will be several people thinking that there’s going to be a drop because we’ve lost such a great layer. We’ve always set out to be a great program here, not just have a good team every now and then, but to have a great program. And year after year we have a group of players that can go out and represent Kentucky the way we want that to happen. We
are proud Vic did what she did while she was here, but she’s not here anymore and these players need to know we still plan on being a very good basketball team.”
[B]
On how senior guard Amber Smith is looking in practice…[/B]
“She looked terrific yesterday. She really looked good. I was so impressed with how she went through the workout. It was very up-tempo, very demanding, a lot of footwork, a lot of staying low in a stance and exploding throughout the workout, and she looked very explosive and quick and I could not have been more pleased with how she looked yesterday.”
