WBB: Jeff Walz Presser (Pre-1st Round NCAA Tournament - Middle Tennessee)

Opening Comments in about 15 minutes Louisville making its 13th straight NCAA tournament we'll have a chance to let coach make an opening comment if you're joining us via Zoom please raise your hand on the toggle resum we'll come to you for a question until then coach welcome to Baton Rouge congratulations you like to start with a comment and then we'll take the floor to questions no just uh just want to start off by saying thank you our uh our trip in has been good appreciate the NCA and all all the hospitality that we've received so far and looking for opport to play a really good Middle Tennessee State team tomorrow uh got the utmost respect for them we played them last year at their place and they they kicked our tail uh so we're quite aware of how talented they are uh they're coaching staff does a great job Rick Insel has has been around for a long time uh you know Rick goes all the way back to to Shelbyville uh been doing aaou in high school and now he's been at middle and just done a fantastic job so we know uh we're going to have a heck of a ball game uh tomorrow we'll open up the floor to questions please raise your hand we have a microphone because we are streaming so we'll bring the microphone to you for any questions for Coach coach when you're going up against a big like Anastasia bua that's got some size advantage on the inside how do you go about you know trying to defend her when you're maybe guard her with shorter players well uh you know we we we we've done that throughout our our our league the entire year uh we're going to have to do everything we can to keep her off the the low block uh have to make her earn everything she gets but she's a very talented player she does a really nice job of facing up uh she puts the ball on the floor she'll Step at it's she's not someone that you can just not guard at the three-point line it she's made 15 of them on on the year so it's not like she's going out there and that's her first shot she's looking for it but you still have have to respect it uh she runs the floor well she re she rebounds outside of her area well she's you know wheeler obviously you know as they say is the head the head of the snake but she does a great job of cleaning everything up you can't lose track of her in the post so we know we've watched enough film our post players are aware of her from from last year as well other questions for Pay for Play Coach hey Jeff uh welcome back to Louisiana um thank you I remember the uh the final four in New Orleans when you were here um Brett Martell with Associated Press kind of a bigger picture question that we're working on how has the would you say the nil era affected your en enjoyment of the job or the difficulty of it or has it added a whole new layer of concerns and aggravation or are you talking about our pay for play just teasing just teasing hey all right everybody laughs some okay good cuz oh hell that's a bad word yeah and we're asking the question reality go go ahead we're asking in the context of you know some of the things that like Nick sain recently said about why you retired and so forth well I I mean I yeah you know I saw what what you know coach Sab had said also um no I I mean it's it's here it's what it is so you can either be upset about it or embrace it and you know the the challenging part of it is the balances of what are you able to get what each School what's the collective able to raise you know I'd love a salary cap somehow you know so then you're playing more on a uh even field it's you go to Major League Baseball and at least they've got an ex they they have a tax you know your luxury tax so if you're over a certain amount and you're n then maybe somehow your tax but if you're only able to raise a certain amount and you're way under what everyone else is able to raise well it is is it going to turn into the the ones that have against the ones that don't have I it doesn't bother me at all I think it's a great concept and I've said it all along I I think it's wonderful I I don't think it's reality in some ways uh I could be wrong but I don't think any every NFL player has an endorsement deal you know a lot of them do but I'm I'm not sure everyone does but on your team we're trying to do everything our we can our Collective is working extremely hard I'm not our Collective is to make sure we phrase that correctly okay but they're working extremely hard to make sure our players they they are all able to earn something not get earn okay and it's it's a lot of work there's no question about it but you have to be creative you have to try to figure out ways uh has it added a new dimension to things of course it is um is it something I enjoy boy I mean it's it's it's a new challenge so I do enjoy that but you know at the end of the day when I'd say 50 or 60% if not higher when you're recruiting one of the first five questions is one is what is your nil c c capabilities you know it's it's like okay here's here here's what I think we can do here's what the the the the collective can do so I I think it's going to be interesting here in the next few years how it all takes shape like I I I don't you can't re it back in I don't think it's something where they're going to say hey we're not going to do this anymore but it is going to be interesting to see for me to see where it goes and uh at this point point time like I said you just have to embrace it and try to make the best of it obviously you have players here like Balance ow and R that have been through the elite a in the final fours how do you balance some of the players like you know Jada that plays and you know Kiki that plays a big role in what you are trying to do to you know enjoy the experience of the tournament but also you know you have a job to do well we always try try and make sure it doesn't matter I mean it's it's our third our our 13th straight NCA opportunity our tournament and we want to make sure each year that the kids enjoy it like you want to make sure it's a special event you know and you want to make sure that you you don't just come down you know we came down last night normally if it's a normal Road game you come down you eat at the hotel you spend the night you wake up the next morning go to shoot around play the game and go home well we wanted to make sure we came down and we we took them out to eat one wanted to make sure they had an O opportunity to eat some local food you know and see some things so it's important to me to make sure they enjoy the E experience so we put in time for that but then we also know it's business trip and we know what's it stake so you have to manage to be able to do both Chessa bu with NBC 33 here in Baton Haley VanLeer Rouge you coached Haley vanl for three seasons what do you see from Haley in the postseason and also what have you seen maybe growth over the past year if you have kept up I agre I mean you know she played extremely well for us you know I I I thought we did a great job of putting her in positions to succeed uh you know she was a first team all League player for us uh honorable mention All-American I mean you know she had a great three years and she graduated you know and that at the end of the day that's what US coaches are here to do is to try to make sure you give a great basketball experience and then you make sure your players graduate from college so we did that and it's it's not like I've sat down and watch film I mean we're sitting here we we have our own team I'm I'm worrying about and we have a great opportunity here here tomorrow uh and if we're fortunate enough to move forward then we'll see who we play on on Sunday Scott rabet from the Baton Ridge Advocate I have to ask you where you went went to eat we always want to know where you go to eat you know back Amy where did we go eat last night okay Barbie BB uh God thank you oh you went to BBQ yeah it was very nice yes yeah we're we're obsessed with food here we have to act okay the players love the beer God great beer great beer we stuck with the beer shots we stopped them at just teas it again I got you I got you not the first time not the first time I've seen you at a press conference all right um you you knew you get some Haley questions will you will you make a point to to speak to her will you let that happen organically will you try to stay away that's called tampering that's tampering the NCA as they am I incorrect if I go speak with a player from another team they would consider that tampering him and with the fines that I've incurred so far this season I don't think I need it anymore uh so I will stay away from any anything that will cost my kids any more enjoyment of a vacation yeah because we're going to the state park this year instead of down to the islands or something because of the 20,000 I paid already we're camping going back to Middle Tennessee you mentioned s the head of the snake for them offensively what's the most threatening part of her game is it getting to the free throw line it's everything I mean she is special to watch uh just so impressed with the pace she plays at uh her ability to get to the basket her ability to get to the the free throw line uh she never stops uh moving and she plays with an attitude I mean I love the way she plays you know you can't as soon as you relax she's changing pace and and going by you so we we've watched enough and it played her and faced her you know La last year to to to know what she's what what she's capable of doing we have time for one more if there's one more for Coach didn't know about the fines previous that's a bold move talking about the beer and everything those fin already well that the fines were a little comment about some the three other people on the floor that I might not have agreed with I got you you know the scorer the scorekeeper I mean those three at the table were bad appreciate coach we appreciate your time we have a five minute break we'll have some players in here a reminder for those that are here uh in person Louisville's practice starts at 11:30 first 15 minutes will'll be open to the media after the players for Louisville our next press conference will be at 12:25 uh with LSU we'll be back in about 5 or 6 minutes