Louisville First Round Postgame Press Conference - 2024 NCAA Tournament

all right welcome you back to Baton Rouge we're now joined by head coach Jeff walls with Louisville we are expecting Olivia Cochran and Marissa Russell to join us as soon as they arrive we will let them sit and uh we will do our same for we'll let Coach have his opening comment here when the players come in we'll address questions to the players first we'll let the girls go back to the locker room and then we'll continue with Coach coach we appreciate your time and the microphone is yours yeah now first I'd like to uh congratulate uh MTSU and Rick and and his team I thought they played extremely well uh continue to fight continue to just compete um you know and it was just a a a really really bad second quarter and third quarter for us and it's been kind of the story of of our year unfortunately we'll have have two good quarters two two solid quarters and then we have two that we just we don't play well and it's not just on the offensive end it's the defensive end um so we're going to have to have to go back now and with the players that we have returning we're going to have to really evaluate you know like what can we do as coaches to help change that cuz I thought you know we did a lot of good things I thought we played at at the pace we wanted to play in the first quarter a little bit in the second quarter um and then unfortunately just just did not come up with plays when when we needed to there late in the game let's see coach if this two players to come in yeah Y come on up let's give Marissa and Olivia just a second here to come join us to sit down thank you all for joining us now these these cups up here what do you got fresh that's water okay want to make sure nobody's drinking we we did them fresh for you all yep mariss and Olivia thank you all for joining us uh coach has had a chance to speak so for those who have questions uh for either Marissa or Olivia let's start with them we appreciate their time we'll talk to questions for the players first a question for both Marissa and Olivia Jerry Le Woodley Jr the college sports report coach just mentioned in his open opening statement um two good quarters two quarters that were mediocre um just talk about the the team's mental yeah um it's it's very painful right now he's right um we got we got to finish games this happen to he's mentioned it before to us in the locker room we have to finish games um we did this at Notre Dame we did this in the ACC tournament and it it this hurts and um sorry and he's going to come in here and take the blame but it's on us as a team as players we it's just it's hard he's a he's a great guy he's a great coach we've been here for four years and we know the culture here we know the standard here and this is not it and I apologize to our fans to our our senior administrators our staff this is not Lal women's basketball our alumni this is not who we are and it's I feel like a failure and I apologize I got nothing to say Alexis CU Lal Curry General Marissa Olivia did you guys notice anything different or what was kind of just I know you had the break in between the tournaments but did you guys feel good coming in or what was that like I mean you got off to a hot start but just seemed like hell yeah we felt good I thought we was going to win a game um um like coach wall said we just had a bad second half and we've been doing that all year um and we've been trying to emphasize them that cars flying March but um we didn't fly today so um we just gonna keep working um during the Spring and the summer and um work on us and get our culture back um we just got to learn to be tough um we got to learn how to fight adversity um which we haven't been doing all season so um yeah Dominique Gates Wy and Louisville this is for both you but first just Marissa you talked about just the standard of this program just even though you know just for these players coming back just how much could that be used as fuel because like I said this first round exit isn't normal for this program and for all you know for the players that have the opportunity how much you know I guess it's easy motivation I just could you kind of explain that for you yeah um I I give our our team props we we we finished last year with with four players on our roster and the coaches did a great job of recruiting and and getting these girls and they bought it as much as they could they worked really hard through this season it's it's not easy I've been here for four years I played for this guy it's it's it's a up and down roller coaster but he loves us and and we want to do and he holds us to a high level and and we want to be a lead and that so we hold each other to um like you said we have we have a big roster coming back we have more returners coming back um so that's going to be really good in terms of carrying that culture over and and having this bad taste in our mouth throughout the whole spring and summer and um obviously come we have time off now and then we're coming right back early so let's just get to work and and and and use this as fuel going off yeah what do you guys say to these players who just got here this year you know obviously you have J and a coming back what do you say to them and to let get them to know that hey this is not what we do we got to get in the gym it start by it started in practice we got to go learn how to go hard in practice um because that's what going to carry over on the court how like how hard we go our motor we got to have a better motor we got to give Better Effort um but I feel like this team like we just conjoined so fast and we had to learn each other so fast so that's why we were just so so up and down in roller coaster but um the four years I've been here I done played on four different teams so um it's just about how how you adjust to it and how how how you buy in um and yeah um we just going to get in the gym this some and work um who want to stay stay who want to go go 100% Olivia and Marissa uh y' boys prod out from WNBA Swit uh y'all are up 16 points in the first quarter and then just an avalanche hit y'all in this in the second in and in the third quarter what exactly do y'all think went wrong we filed too much um we gave them um opportunity on the free throw line um and like I said we didn't play hard we didn't sometimes we didn't box out rebound like we needed a big we needed one rebound um to get one shot and we couldn't come up with it um we just got to learn how to finish games and um like I said play through adversity and um a big empasis was playing all 40 minutes of the game obviously we didn't do that today so um we didn't that's why that happened we didn't do that um lamental focus just kind of staying locked in the whole entire 40 minutes it's just not what we did today one last question for the players Brett Hey Olivia in terms of the fouls um MTSU seem to think it was quite a big deal that when you got your fourth and um had to sit for a bit and they feel like they made most of their progress there and I was just wondering if you could I know some games just go like this was it anything they did or was it just tough calls or how do you view how that all happened um I don't really know how answer that but um my coaches was yeah my coaches um emphasized all we oh we need you in the game don't foul and um some of the calls was tough but some of the the calls I got was dumb fouls on me um I take full responsibility for that um but like I said I when I got out on the court I battled I went hard um for my teammates for my coaches and um I'm sorry you're a fantastic B you both work yeah that's the one thing about Olivia I play with her for four years i' I've never doubted that she's going to go on the floor and give her best we were down I don't even know in that fourth quarter and and we were like she's like we got to go to the last till the last second goes and and she did that and I'm so proud of her we we've known each other for years we're going to do this again for another year cuz this this is not it this is not it and and like coach I keep saying coach walls is a great coach and um we don't pay attention to social media but I just want to say he's made some comments obviously the nil stuff about the turnovers and stuff but he's a great he's a great guy I I I just don't like some some people say some stuff about this guy and he can't say it by himself because you know he's lovely but um as as this player I've been here for four years I'm coming back for five years I hope I don't know what who sees this whatever but we're coming back because of him we're we're coming back and we're going to go further into tournament next year I promise you that I don't care who's listening I don't care who's watching we're coming back because he's a great I want to swear sorry he's a great eing coach and and that's why we're coming back I don't care what other people have to say I don't care what coaches are saying and other teams recruits if you want to win come here I don't I don't care this is a different season this is a different team and we're going to hold our team to a higher standard we're leaders here and and that's what's going to happen next year and that's a promise for sure uh Marissa and Olivia appreciate your time and not your motions and by the way you're as far from failure as possible not even close thank you for way represented congratulations on your season and uh thank you for your time appreciate you thank you baby I love you love you I love you baby you know that you know that proud of you okay any other questions now for Coach we appreciate the players with their time we can ask a few questions now for coach all right coach good to see you young man same here your players talked about what you all talk about every day and being and coming back I didn't know the turnover was that large until I you all started conference play I was like this is going to be a struggle but you are who you are and you get as far as you get as far as you can go with the kids that you have that want to play just talk about this particular Squad and the two young ladies that just walked away well I I I I love this group and I told them in the locker room it's been one of the most enjoyable Seasons that I've had um had no had no drama uh they're they're great kids and I call them kids because I treat them like they're my own kids I love them like they're my own and as I always say my two are are two of my four are behind me and my two don't like me all the time either because it's called parenting you have to discipline sometimes but they both know I love them and my players know I love them as well it it just sucks no nobody wants to to go out this this way I mean it was a a roller coaster of of a year and you know I'm not making excuses I just state facts that you know I was pushing them pretty darn hard there in the middle of of February and and that game at Syracuse took a took a lot out of a few of them you know when you're getting pushed and challenged and all of a sudden that happens it was like H you're kidding and you know and then and then today it's not an excuse it's part of life I mean Sid gutted it out for 30 minutes and Sid's sick you know Sid never asked to to to to come out of a game and she must to ask five five or six times you know and and that's part of it so it's it's not an excuse it's just I I felt really bad for her you know you go through an entire season I don't think she's been sick all year and you get to the game in the NCA tournament and I saw her this morning at breakfast and I was like you gonna be okay she's like I I'm fine I'm fine um and if you for those that that follow us a lot it it you could just see it energy wise from her uh but o and and riss I'm really proud of them they competed they they fought it just we we didn't make some plays when you had you had to make plays and you tip your hat to them and they made some some big shots when it mattered and we had some shots when it was you know we're up two up three where if you you know you make it you're back to five we had a a couple threes that went in and out uh you know and you go back you're going to go back and look at things what could have been I'm I'm looking you know the the TR the the transition Basket in the in the second quarter that got waved off walk travel is called when Nina makes it you know it it was going to put it at 20 and then it's like okay can you keep rolling and she very well may have walked and it's just a you know it's one of those it's like ah damn you had that opportunity and the thing that we talk to our players about is every possession this time of year you have to play with urgency every every possession matters every single one and unfortunately we didn't do a great job of playing every possession with that type of urgency uh but again give a ton of credit to MTSU and coach inso and his staff uh because they played a really good basketball game two-part question you've said that that a lot as far as this team being one of the most enjoyable ones you've had what made it enjoyable and how do you I guess just kind of really put everything into perspective CU obviously this is the first for you to losing in the first round as a coach yeah no it I mean I'll start with that it sucks I mean there's no other way way to put it I mean you know we have had a ton of success here in postseason play and this is not what we're used to uh I'll take the responsibility for that I mean I've got to get back to doing things the way you know I've done them in the past I've got to challenge him more I got I've got to get him in shape I've got to demand things demand more from them it every practice can't be comfortable it's got to be uncomfortable so then when you get in the games no matter how hard it goes you've experienced all of that in practice so I've got to get back to just taking some things some things over and really challenging them and pushing them uh so that's my fault but they're great kids because I mean nobody's complaining about somebody else shooting nobody's complain I mean they they just wanted to win and it's been enjoyable I mean it really has I mean it's it's been great it the year went by as fast as I've had in a long time you know normally there there have been a few years that we we've been really good and it's February and I'm like damn this over yet cuz it because it's it was just a grind you know but this group's been been fantastic I'm excited about our incoming class for next year excited about our returning uh players and I I I I I think our future is really bright I mean it I I think we're going to make great strides next year especially with O and RIS coming back and a aiff is really gotten better and better I mean it's a kid that I saw play the first week in August and then's on campus in September I recruited her for two weeks convinced her you know convinced her com she knew nobody so she she really didn't even have a pre-season at all and now we've got the opportunity to have a post SE season with her spring workouts summer and I think she's only going to get better Coach I appreciate your honesty if you have time for one more question with Brett I got plenty of time okay yeah all right last question BR sure um just I noticed your physical reaction as the last shot kind of Hit the backboard and hit the rim and went out I was wondering if you could just kind of say what you were thinking at that point it just seemed like we missed it I mean there you know he RIS got off a look and you know when I watched I was like it's got a little bit of a chance we'll see what happens and it it it didn't go in I mean it it's one of those and of course it sucks I mean I hate to lose hate hate to lose at anything but at the same time I've done it my entire career is I'm going to make sure I go down to that other end and give respect to the coaches their players wish them luck con congratulate them because it's what you're supposed to do you know so that's you know we we have won a lot here we have won a lot and I respect the coaches that that do that and I've always told myself I'm always going to do it we've lost some Heartbreakers and it's never going to change so do you are you upset you lost yes but you also know to simply walk down to that other end congratulate the players and the coaches Jeff thank you for your time congratulations on your season we appreciate it very much thank you all thank you very much thank you for joining us here postgame for Louisville and Middle Tennessee we'll be back with you immediately following the conclusion of our second game here in Baton Rouge between LSU and rice until then have a good Friday afternoon