Shock postgame quotes
May 21, 2005 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Detroit Shock News Release
DETROIT SHOCK HEAD COACH BILL LAIMBEER: (On if there were any surprises in the game today) “I was telling everyone that we are a pretty good basketball team and I was telling everyone to listen to Kara Braxton. And we all know that Deanna Nolan comes and plays that hard and she is capable of getting a triple double every night, she is that good. Surprises, not really, Kara Braxton playing that hard in her first game surprised me. Nolan, fourth triple double in the history of the league what a great phenomenal performance she put on. Everyone saw her natural athletic ability on display.”
(On Ayana Walker) “We knew bird could do that; she does it in practice everyday. All she had to do was translate that into the game. I give her credit and I also give Rick Mahorn credit who is going to take her under his wing and try to get out of her what we know she can do in a game.”
(On playing Braxton) “What we want this year, I told her at the start of the season that she is going to play in spurts. Her conditioning is no where near where it would be if she was a starter you saw her get tired rapidly but that is okay. If she plays that hard, I will play her in four or five minute spurts and put her right back in when she is ready to go. There’s no doubt that we are a deep team and you saw that tonight.”
DETROIT SHOCK GUARD DEANNA NOLAN: (On being surprised by getting the triple-double) “I said who? Me? I was out there getting rebounds I had 10. I don’t think I have ever done that, especially with the rebounds.
(On over play) “I tried to get my teammates involved and they did the same for me. Kara played great tonight, she is a real force out there.”
(On her role with Swin Cash out) “Yeah I have to take responsibility with her out. It is up to me to take control of the team and to make sure that we take good shots on offense and keep hustling on defense.”
(On the win) “I think it was really good for us to get a win especially on opening night. It was the first game of the year with the one and two teams in the conference. We just tried to get a lead and never looked back.
DETROIT SHOCK FORWARD KARA BRAXTON: (On whether she is out of shape) “He (Laimbeer) knows when I’m tired. I lift my hands up. I’m just trying to do what I can with what I have. I really never doubted myself. I knew it was going to take some time for me to get back in shape, but the basketball is always there. It never leaves. So, just when I get in the rhythm and stuff it just gets a lot easier. Getting in shape I’m a little less anxious, calmer, once I do that, I’ll be fine.”
(On if her son kept her up last night) “I went to sleep early. My sister kept him (her son) all night. She stayed with me last night. So I slept good last night, but in the morning I had to take him.”
(On how the WNBA is different from college) “It’s about the same I think. It’s a little bit more physical though. I was so excited when I got out there—then Margo, she’s so big! I wasn’t expecting it, so she definitely gave me a wake-up call. I think she blocked my ball twice. I just tried to go out there and show her I wasn’t intimidated, even though I was a little scared (laughing). You have to act like your not.”
CONNECTICUT SUN HEAD COACH MIKE THIBAULT: “Early we missed lot of easy shots and we had plenty of chances and we just didn’t do a good job of handling them. I don’t know if it was first game jitters or what but Detroit is a good team but I wish we had played a bit better today. With Braxton, some of our players see a rookie and we tell them how good they are. We thought she was the most talented player in the draft and you just have to respect this kid. I’m not sure if we took her for granted or what but that wasn’t really good. But 35%--that just doesn’t win.”
CONNECTICUT SUN FORWARD NYKESHA SALES: “For most of our shots Detroit always had a hand up on them. But sometimes they just didn’t fall. Their defense was pretty good, we got some good looks and we shot 30% so collectively that’s not going to be enough. I think we need to play every team like Detroit. A team that will get up and down the court and rebound. Kara Braxton is a powerhouse. She got on the board and she was confident in her shots.”
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