Duke & UConn Post Game Press Conference

[DaddyChoc]

As I post this, they haven't started yet.

video starts at the 12:15 mark

Also Coach P was right about not agreeing with her players wanting UConn to lose. Damn those players hate UConn. It must be like that through-out the Association

 

[j66kicker]

She also yesterday said her Azura comments when she left were not how it was reported. I believe her.

I don't. Nan posted the following article which included the audio recording of the interview. She was not misquoted.

Joanne P. McCallie wasn't misquoted about Connecticut, but context is important

That said, it was a totally different person at this press conference. I was much more impressed with her, and I thought she handled the question about the prior interview well. I hope the new JPM lasts. I could root for Duke a little more easily if she exudes this sort of graciousness. I liked her comments on playing three grad students too.

I don't either. Her last question in tonight's presser was from Howard Megdal, reminding her that, since her denial a day or two ago that she said those things, the Duke Chronical has posted audio confirming that she did (the article Nan posted). She replied that it was "all out of context" and that she wasn't going there because "this isn't the right time." Possibly (??) it was out of context in terms of the common interpretation that she intended her comments to be derogatory to UConn. Regardless, she DID say these things and yesterday she clearly claimed that she didn't. Liar liar pants on fire.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I just want to point out that the Duke coach in this press conference is a very different coach from four years ago.

JPM is a favorite punching bag on this site, but after the 'investigation' and the transfers, and her stated intention of refocusing and changing, this press conference showed a gentler more gracious person. I do not know if this is an outlier from other public appearances this year, but I am impressed.

Killjoy! She hasn't changed, she's just taken it all indoors at Cameron.

But, ever once in a while, the real Coach P peeks out and hisses: Jeff Jacobs: Duke plays defense but coach just gets defensive

 

[eebmg]

Coach P was complimentary of the UConn players and didn't throw any of her players under the bus.

I am willing to believe that JPM has learned alot of lessons. In any case, I am surprised the BY is not giving a little more air time to her praise of Gabby.



"I don't know her personally, but she seems just gabulous. She seems low maintenance, wonderful to coach, always goes hard. I think I'm going to echo Jay Bilas. Jay Bilas loves her, talks about her all the time, about just a wonderful player in women's basketball. I'm going to go with him and be on that club, the Gabby Williams Fan Club, because I think not only is she so consistent, but she just doesn't bat an eye to anything.

"She competes at an Olympic level of focus, and obviously I'm sure she's learned a great deal from Geno (Auriemma) and his staff. But I'll tell you what, she's a very special player. They just don't come around very much, and she's the closest thing to Maya Moore to me without the outside shooting as much, but still with that body type and the way she's consistent. She's very clever and very good, and she was a big problem for us."

Williams smiled when she heard what McCallie had said.

"Maya Moore without the outside shot. Just throw that in there, make sure you know," Williams said with a laugh. "I mean, it's a huge honor to even be in the same sentence as her. I think it's ... I don't know, I would never call myself Maya Moore. But that is a huge compliment."

 

[Sargassoc]

Having listened to the interview that the Duke Chronicle posted, indeed JPM spoke those very words. I agree with her, however, that in context they are much less disparaging to UConn that I previously assumed. She was speaking about all of college sports, specifically-- of course-- women's basketball as it related to her-- and she was not wrong about any of it.

It does appear that she is a kinder and gentler JPM. I can only speculate why, but that's not my business. I'll take it this point.

Just my .02.

 

[drweo]

As I post this, they haven't started yet.

Loved the salute to Gabby, as well as the compliments to Z. Glad to see Coach JPM moving into positive territory.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I just want to point out that the Duke coach in this press conference is a very different coach from four years ago.

JPM is a favorite punching bag on this site, but after the 'investigation' and the transfers, and her stated intention of refocusing and changing, this press conference showed a gentler more gracious person. I do not know if this is an outlier from other public appearances this year, but I am impressed.

I have often echoed your observation over the past two years since she was correctly called out about her behavior and think she has learned or is learning her lessons but would be curious about what those closer to the Duke program have to say.
Hopefully Tri and Cam can or will give their perspective as they are always very informative.

The Chronicle writer (and sports editor) is Hank Tucker. Mr. Tucker conducted an extensive interview with Coach P in the summer of 2016.

Coach P made those statements, but both Mr. Tucker and Coach Geno Auriemma both have stated they believe the comments were made to highlight the issue of transfers -- and how certain schools who never took transfer or who only took a few have now taken more -- not to disparage or attack UConn.

It is one thing to say that the comments were taken out of context. That certainly is plausible.

But what Coach P said was:

"I did not make those remarks. That's what the media wrote," McCallie responded, adding that she was "completely" misquoted when pressed on the subject.

That is very different. She most certainly made the comments -- and The Chronicle has the audio recording where she made the comments (link to the audio recording is available in the article).

But as Jeff Jacobs reported, Coach P was asked about it one more time, to which she said:

Yet when told Saturday that The Chronicle posted the audio and the quotes were consistent with what was printed, and given a chance to clarify her statements, McCallie blew it again:

“No, again, it’s all out of context, and I don’t think this is the time for that,” she said. After praising Stevens, she said, “It would have to take too long to understand what the points were there and I’m not going to go into it … I can’t go back to that stuff. I don’t appreciate it, so I won’t.”

Actually, it was the perfect time to clarify her error. Instead she threw a student journalist under the bus in a p-poor fashion. And journalists don’t appreciate it. She owes The Chronicle an apology.