LSU Audio from Tipoff '03 - SEC Basketball Media Day

  Men's Coach John Brady
  Torris Bright
  Ronald Dupree
  Women's Coach Sue Gunter
  Temeka Johnson
  Aiysha Smith

LSU Quotes from Tipoff '03 - SEC Basketball Media Day

MEN'S COACH AND PLAYERS

Head Coach John Brady

On team...
"I really like this team. We have chemistry. This is the best I felt at LSU since the short time I've been here. We are two-deep at each position and we have a fair mixture of newcomers and veterans."

On Support...
"Coaching at this level you never really know who your friends are or why they are your friends. In this case, I do have some friends here in Birmingham and they don't care whether I'm the coach at Samford or the coach at LSU or anywhere for that matter. That's always good to have here."

Last years team...
"Our team really finished well last year at the end of the year. We lost Torris Bright who was our leading scorer last year. We won seven of the last 11. We went on the road and beat Iowa in the NIT Tournament. We played well in the SEC Tournament. If we made a basket or two against Mississippi State, we would have been in the championship game against Alabama. I proud of our team. We return four starters and some and some new players that can help us."

Playing with all recruits...
"Somebody asked me if I was going to know what to do with 12 players and I said yes, just hide and watch. It will be good to substitute with quality instead of necessity. The quality was not there to compete at this level."

"We are loaded, but no we aren't loaded as Mississippi State or Alabama. In relation to where I was, but not to Florida, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi State. We are in the process of putting bullets in the gun. The others schools in the league should be light years ahead of us compared to all we have gone through, but they aren't. We are in the process of trying to catch them."

On league...
"I came here last year and said Alabama had the best collection of players and they are that way again this year with Mississippi State having the second best, then Ole Miss and then you could have a toss up with us Arkansas and Auburn. The same thing in the east. You have Georgia with the best five players and Florida. Then you have Kentucky and the rest is a toss up."

Guard Torris Bright

On team....
"I think we (LSU) are going to be well on the way to being one the best teams in the nation. We have a lot of talent to help us excel. Our goals are basically to win it all. We want to go undefeated in the SEC and make a good showing in the tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament and ride it out."

Forward Ronald Dupree

On team and his role...
"We went from my freshman year and going to the Sweet 16 to six scholarship players. The heart, spirit, and leadership is there. This is my team. I have to lead by example and that starts in practice. I work hard and I want others on the team to do the same."

WOMEN'S COACH AND PLAYERS

Head Coach Sue Gunter

On team...
"We have a full compliment of players this year. Right now, the entire team looks good. We have depth, size and experience. We need to hold all that together and stay healthy and we could be a good team. We are a long way from being a good polished team, but we are intensity level in practice has been very good. We have some good players that will help make a difference."

On the SEC...
"From top to bottom the league is going to be very good this year. I don't see a team that is not going to be good. Every team is going to be better this season. The SEC will be tough at the top, it will be a war. You don't realize how talented the coaching and players are in this league until after you have been here a while. Every night you have to come to play. There is no drop-off in this league and that is what separates us from the different conferences in the country." Expectations for this season...
"We have five seniors on the team this year that have been to the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16 and are going to have to step up and help to get us to that next level. Injuries have killed us the past two seasons, so it's nice to have everyone healthy. As far as expectations go, we are just going to play our game. Our practices have been very intense and very competitive, so that is encouraging. Our first key to this season is our game against Arizona. It will be a tough game, especially cause it's in Arizona.

On preseason ranking...
" It is nice to get the national recognition we have got in the preseason and it is good for the school. We do have some factors we haven't had before, but I can't say if we will finish fourth, fifth or sixth. We are just going to have to play hard and see."

Guard Temeka Johnson

On team...
"Our depth and talent are going to make a big difference this season. We have different rotations and different shooters that will be coming into games. I think we are going to surprise some teams this year. We only have two new people on the team this year, so everyone else on the team has played in the league. We have come together as team and we are ready to play."

Center Aiysha Smith

On team...
"We did a lot of conditioning and working on the little things this summer and that has brought us together and got us ready to play. I am very happy about the depth we have this year on the team. That was a tough situation last season. It was hard playing so many minutes last season, but it made us better. For us to have this much depth and talent this season will be a big key for this team.

LSU Photos from Tipoff '03 - SEC Basketball Media Day