Lisa Bluder talks Louisville

Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder didn’t have to watch a whole lot of film to come away impressed with Louisville. Bluder sang their praises based on their team this year and the impressive run of success they have had in recent NCAA Tournaments.

LISA BLUDER: Well, obviously, glad to still be working. I mean, this is — it’s really exciting for our team. We know we have a really tough challenge. Jeff is a great coach. Louisville has got a storied program. Another great defensive team. I don’t think you can talk about Louisville without talking about Hailey Van Lith. All ACC player. She and Caitlin play together in the USA basketball, so they know each other pretty well, which is kind of fun. I think Robinson, excellent defensive player. Chrislyn Carr’s kind of a local player. She’s from Rock Island Illinois, so really only about an hour and 15 minutes from our campus. She is shooting the three ball really well. So great team and we’re looking forward to the challenge.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll take some questions.

Q. You talked the other day about how it would be great if Des Moines, or Iowa, hosted a regional down the road. The crowd last night was amazing, I think, for being 1,500 miles from Iowa. How has it been for you guys as far as this regional and everything on outside besides the basketball and then also what it was like having that amazing crowd last night and probably again tomorrow night?

LISA BLUDER: Yeah, the Hawk fans are special. There’s a personal attachment between this team and the fans, I believe. Because when you get to know ’em, you really love this team. They’re great role models they’re great human beings, and you want to support them, you want to support people like that. And people coming all the way out here, that’s really special. It means a lot because it’s hard. It’s not easy to get here.

When we played in Minneapolis in the Big Ten tournament, we had 9,000 fans there. Well, that’s a five-hour drive. But this is a lot tougher to get here. So it’s a commitment. So it means a lot for us, it’s special, and, yes, we didn’t think we were going to have that many fans here. So when it got loud — it got loud last night a couple times for us, and it helps us. We appreciate it a lot.

Q. As you started to scout Louisville and dive into film, is there any team that you’ve played so far this season or in recent history that will be helpful as you guys can prepare for them, anything that kind of is similar to other teams that you face, either in the Big Ten or even non-conference play?

LISA BLUDER: Yeah, I mean, when I think about them in the Big Ten, I think of Maryland, possibly. Just really good defensive team, good rebounding team, press a lot. So I think of that, maybe. But I think Louisville has their own identity. They’re, again, a really good defensive team, and Hailey really make that’s show run. She’s a pretty impressive leader on the floor.

Q. With such a tight turnaround, how late were you up last night? What’s kind of your schedule like trying to prep for a team that you’ve not faced before?

LISA BLUDER: Yeah, we had our scout done before the game. We had a scout done on both teams, so it did make it a lot easier. I had not watched film ahead of time on either team yet, so last night my staff took me through the team and — or through the scout, through the film. We were only up to about midnight last night.

I think sometimes you can — you know, rob Peter to pay Paul, so to speak, with the sleep thing. So today we’ll spend a lot more time watching film and we’ll spend a lot more time with the team watching film today. We didn’t watch any film with the team last night. We just sent ’em the scout and sent them some film that they could watch if they woke up earlier.

Q. Building off that question, you came back out to watch the Louisville-Ole Miss game from the baseline, I think it was. When you’re watching that game, how are you consuming it? Are you both trying to relax coming off the game you had? Are you trying to pick up details about offensive and defensive sets, like how are you watching it?

LISA BLUDER: More for just an eye test for more of like their personnel, their style, how physical they are, that type of thing, how fast they are, because sometimes you can’t tell those things on film as much as seeing them live.

But I wasn’t trying to pick up sets or anything like that because my staff was doing that. They were in the scouting seats. Sometimes after a game, it’s hard for me to focus. I’m not a very scouter immediately after a game because I’m kind of thinking about that last game. I missed the whole first half, anyway. But just kind of an eye test more than anything.

Q. Wondering if you could give us a little history lesson on your tradition of point guards and how do you coach ’em? Beyond talent, like how hard are you on ’em? How do you — how important to your offensive system is it to have that kind of point guard play?

LISA BLUDER: Yeah, I mean, I think point guards — in high school, your best players are usually point guards. I mean, right? So, sometimes we’ve had three point guards on the floor at the same time that were in high school. I think it makes it harder for you to be pressed. I think it makes it — you have that leadership ability out there when you have more than one typical point guard.

This year, we’re not like that as much as we have been in the past. In the past, we’ve had several point guards on the floor at the same time. I think we’ve had some good ones. I mean, you go back Kachine Alexander, who played for us who was drafted by the Lynx. I mean, Cara Consuegra, Christy Smith. Sam Logic was a first-round draft pick in the WNBA. Of course, Kathleen Doyle, who was the Big Ten Player of the Year, and now having Caitlin, who I think is the most spectacular player in America right now.

I mean, we’ve had great ones. I’ve been very blessed with that. Jenni Fitzgerald used to be our point guard coach. She kind of retired from the recruiting aspect and does a lot of our scouting for us now and helps me out a lot. Now Abby Stamp does our — is our point guard-specific coach. But, I mean, it’s a crucial position, obviously, because they’re your captain on the floor, they’re your quarterback coach on the floor.

You have to have a special relationship. That’s what I think is — when you’re recruiting point guards, it’s just a different relationship than you have with other players because you spend so much time with them. You spend — you have to have — kind of like Caitlin and I can look at each other and almost know what we’re thinking. We trust each other a lot. So I think you have to build that relationship in the recruiting process. You have to have that connection with your point guards.

Q. This the fifth straight year Louisville’s reached this point of the tournament. From afar, how have you seen Jeff kind of build this program to where it is now? And is there a tangible benefit that they have going into tomorrow having that experience of getting to this point of the tournament so many times in a row?

LISA BLUDER: Yeah, I mean, I think that experience is a great teacher, and so definitely I think that experience that they have had is on their side. Each game you play, a little bit more pressure mounts, right? I think when you have been there a lot, you know how to handle that a little better. So I think that’s to their advantage.

I don’t think Jeff is — I mean, he’s almost been successful since the moment he got there. I mean, he has done a great job with his program right from the get-go. He’s recruited well. He’s obviously a very gifted coach. He’s coached USA Basketball. I mean he’s — and besides that, he’s a good guy.

This summer, I don’t know if you’re aware of what happened with one of our recruits. She was in Louisville and was hit by a car and was in the hospital there for over a month. And I reached out to Jeff, and Jeff provided a car for the family to use at no expense and it was immediate. It was like not even a thought. It was something he wanted to do for that family. So I just think he’s a really good guy. That speaks volumes about a person when they’re helping you when you’re in need like that.

Q. Can you describe Louisville’s defense and what kinds of things you’re going to need to do to get some open shots?

LISA BLUDER: Well, it’s just — they really have great denial defense, great ball pressure. But beyond that, what is, I think, one of the best things is the variety of presses that they have. It’s not just one press, but it’s a variety of different presses that they can throw at you. So you have to change up your attack based on what they’re doing a little bit on that press situation. So I think that’s what makes it hard.

Q. You guys are led by an experienced group of players who have done this before, been to NCAA tournaments, won Big Ten championships. How has the experience of this team allowed you guys to push through adversity and maybe the emotional maturity that comes with that leadership?

LISA BLUDER: I do think that we are a pretty experienced team now. We’ve played together for a long time. Again, it goes back to that experience is a good teacher. It also let’s you build culture. When you spend this much time together, it helps you build relationships. That’s one thing, I think, is not great about the portal, right? People are hopping around. It doesn’t give you time to build relationships with each other, with your school, with your coaches.

We have that. Sometimes that culture and that I’ve got your back can help a lot in situations that are pressure-filled.

Q. Jumping off that question, you guys have a lot of experience, but the only player on your team that was on your Elite 8 team maybe three or four years ago was Monika. How do the other players sort of step up to the bright lights in the Elite 8 in this situation where you’re trying to get back to the Final Four for the first time in a really long time?

LISA BLUDER: You know, I think we have to approach it like every other game. I think if you start approaching it like we have to win this game to reach our goals or to get into the Final Four, it just adds more pressure to the mix. We’ve used the mantra, just be us a lot, be us, be who we are, and don’t worry about other stuff. I just think we have to minimize other stuff. Whether that’s stuff like this, like you guys, you know, it really is just kind of keeping it normal and not having the pressure. That’s what I think is — pressure can really create some abnormal behavior and we don’t want that.

Q. You talked about your time on the baseline after the game and you talked about the eye test. What did the eye test consist of? You talked about are they physical, are they fast. What did your eyes show you?

LISA BLUDER: Yeah, I mean, I’ve always known about Hailey just from watching her over the years and with USA Basketball. I have always known about Chrislyn, obviously, because she’s so close. I was really impressed with Robinson and her speed. I did not know that she was that fast. I would not have thought that from watching her on film or just seeing her statistics for example. I think Cochran is very physical inside. Again, we’re going to have to play that post that’s very physical and that rebounds really, really well. So it was good. It’s good to get that eye test, I think.

Q. This is a little bit unrelated, but now that you’ve been here in Seattle for a few days, just with the both regionals being here, how have you, like, felt it from logistical standpoint? Has it been pretty smooth with eight teams here at one point and have you gotten enough practice time, and has it felt like it’s gone pretty smoothly from that standpoint as they experiment with this setup?

LISA BLUDER: I think it has. I really haven’t noticed much difference, other than the practice time. Only being an hour on the court was pretty short. So you kind of have to find another place to practice in addition. Which you have to drive then and get out of your bus. So it takes a little bit more time. The only thing I wish is that you could have an hour and a half. That would make a big difference on the court. An hour and a half versus an hour would really let you probably practice in one place instead of having two places to practice. That’s been my only issue. Otherwise, I think it’s been great. I think the people of Seattle have been super. I mean, the team has enjoyed the city, seen that. So it’s been good. I just wish we could have a little more practice time which I know they probably can’t happen.

Q. Up in Minneapolis you spoke to the Big Ten needing to get somebody to the Final Four. I know that’s something, but can you revisit that now that you’re one step away and just the importance of getting a Big Ten team to the Final Four?

LISA BLUDER: Yeah, I mean what’s, right now what’s Maryland’s score? I’m looking? What’s the score right now. It’s a one point game at halftime. So we have a couple of Big Ten teams playing today. So I wouldn’t hear myself saying this, but go Tarps and go Buckeyes. It’s hard for me to say that, but (laughing.) But, yes, we want ’em there.

Q. Along the lines of the eye test and the regionals being in the same place, have you guys or will you guys have some of your assistants scout the games today knowing you might see one of those teams in the Final Four, versus in the past you could maybe watch them on TV, but it’s not the same?

LISA BLUDER: You know something, we’re really looking at the other bracket. So we’ll be doing, really watching TV to see the other side and not this side so much. We’ve looked at, tried to, you try to figure out who is going to advance and so Virginia Tech being here, right? No. Yes. Yes. I’m sorry. That would be one that we would probably want to did an eye test on, but that’s it.