| |
|
Diary Entry #8: 3/16/00
(Thoughts on tourney and seeding) We are looking forward to competing and we have to takeadvantage of the opportunity to play well at this time of the year.Seeds don't dictate anything about a given team per say. It is not smartto get too caught up in the whole ranking and numbers game- the focusneeds to be elsewhere. It is about being aggressive, competitive andexecuting. We are excited to be going to Georgia.
We have had our scouting report for the first team (Michigan) we aregoing to face. That is our focus and our coaches have done a great job inpreparing us for what is to come. We are going to really focus on what weneed to prepare for in the next couple days.
(Extra pressure after last year's first round loos?) There is not pressure but there is definitely fire burningfrom the left over feelings of last year- we don't want to revisit thatstate of mind- all of that is very motivating.
Last week's results were mixed. Always coming back to defense and rebounding which is key toour success- we need to take care of that in order to win. It was verydissapointing to lose to Arizona - that really brought up some fire. Wecame back and had a good team win against ASU which set a good tone forgoing into the tournament.
It is not easy to balance studies and competition (Stanford is in the midst of finals), but it is what we do. Being a student-athleteyou must balance your time and energies wisly. At times it gets a littlechaotic, but then you realize how fortunate you are to be doing what youare doing and you just plow through. There is this amazing feeling youget when the last final is done- something about that just gives you asecond wind and then all you focus on is basketball. So, it is alldoable, but it is not always easy and you learn how to keep perspectivewhile being smart about your time management.