Geno's Press Conference

While the Bears were practicing, I sat in on UConn head coach Geno Auriemma's press conference and thought I'd share the Cal references. His thoughts on Cal were pretty much what you would expect - he highlighted Devanei Hampton and Ashley Walker but he was sure to key in on how he was not looking past the other players on the field.

The most quotable part of the interview was when Geno was described how Cal plays and how it reminded him of Joanne Boyle's playing days, when he was coaching at Virginia.

"The team reminds me of her as a player, but more talented that her."

When asked how UConn would have to react to playing a game at 9 a.m. local time like the Bears will do tomorrow, Geno responded with "Game time is when the ball goes up. If you're concerned about game time, then you've already lost."

Geno's key thoughts on Dev and Ash were that they are not one-dimentional. He said they were "active, agressive and difficult to [guard] one-on-one in the lame." He also commented that AGL is the "type of guard you want when you've got two bigs."

Teaser Photo Update

Here's a glimpse at the photos from tonight's games.



All photos by Mollie McClure of McClure Photography.

Photo Update: Practice Day

We've put up a fantastic gallery of images on CalBears.com of the practice day and press conferences. Here are some highlights of the gallery, but you can see the full gallery by clicking the link below.

NCAA Tournament – Day Two: Practice Day Photo Gallery

A wide shot of the dais at the press conference. (Photo by Mollie McClure)

Assistant coach Jennifer Hoover and senior Ashley Walker. (Photo by Mollie McClure)

Casey Morris looks to pass to a teammate during practice. (Photo by Angela Niles)

Team huddle. (Photo by Angela Niles)

Press Conference Quotes

On Friday morning, head coach Joanne Boyle and three players participated in a press conference at the Galen Center. Below are quotes from that press conference.

California head coach Joanne Boyle

On defending the 3-point threat of Fresno State

"Just playing in the Pac-10, we have a lot of great three point shooting teams. Playing USC last week it kind of presented that problem to us. But we worked on it this week and I think you just got to play it as a chess match a little bit; be able to get out there and defend the three."

On Cal's game-plan for Fresno State

"We are going to move the ball around a lot and get good touches, work to get

one-on-one touches. We are just going to do a combination of different things."

On California's lack of depth down the stretch

"It's tournament time. Everybody is playing 5, 6, 7 kids, you look at tournament time and everyone is playing that many kids. Nobody is worrying about tired legs. Nobody is feeling sorry for you. Everyone is throwing their best game at you and you just have to be prepared and be ready to play."

California forward/center Ashley Walker

On first-round match-up with Fresno State

"We are excited to be here. We are ready to play. It's great that it is a gym we have played in during the season, last week and the week before that. We have had our ups and downs, but you have to let that go and move on to the next part of the season. The next most important game is Saturday."

On last year's game against Fresno State

"It was a close game, so I am sure it will be a close game again here. It is going to be a good game and we are just excited about being on the floor."

California forward/center Devanei Hampton

On first-round match-up with Fresno State

"We are all just amped up and ready to play. It's tournament time, we are about business."

California guard Alexis Gray-Lawson

On first round match-up with Fresno State

"It was definitely a great travel for us, our family and friends get to come and support us. We are just very excited to be here and be in this situation that we are in."

To see the quote release on CalBears.com, please click here.