March 21, 2008 we really understand just how good this Marist An interview with: team is. Q. Rachele Fitz has given MAAC teams DEPAUL literally fits all season long. What have you seen on her on tape and what are your COACH DOUG BRUNO thoughts on what you've seen? COACH BRUNO: She is an excellent MISSY MITIDIERO basketball layer, well-deserving of her MAAC player of the year status. She is a classic example ALLIE QUIGLEY of don't be deceived by the looks because she's got those long arms. She's just got an uncanny CAPRICE SMITH ability to get the ball to the basket and into the basket and just an excellent player. THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome our We coached a player that was a three-time representatives from DePaul University. Our All-American a couple years ago named Kyra student athletes are Allie Quigley, Missy Mitidiero, Smith. Kyra didn't exactly look great in an airport, and Caprice Smith. And the head coach for Marist, but she just did it on the floor. And that's exactly welcome to Baton Rouge and to the NCAA what Rachele Fitz does. She is an unbelievably tournament, Doug Bruno. productive, inside basketball player. She is not the Coach, would you like to open up and we'll only inside one they got either. Dahlman and go from there? Smrdel are also excellent inside players. COACH BRUNO: Somebody asked me the other day where's Marist? In Chicago, Q. Allie, when you were a freshman, somebody told me that. And I said, "115th and DePaul was in its last season in Conference Pulaski." And I said -- That's where Marist High USA. How much of an upgrade in the School is. competition level have you seen being in the I knew it was in New York, but I wasn't Big East? sure where Poughkeepsie was. But I am very sure ALLIE QUIGLEY: It was definitely, like you that Marist is a great basketball team. The players said, an upgrade in competition. Every single that return -- very rarely when you prepare for a game is you got to bring your game no matter NCAA tournament can you prepare by starting with what. From the bottom to the top, you never know last year's tournament games. And, yet, the what's going to happen in the Big East. If experience in which this Marist team didn't just anything, it made us better and I think it made all beat Ohio State but they really kick's Ohio State's the teams in the Big East better just to have the butt pretty good last year and they kicked Middle better competition. So ... Tennessee's butt pretty good last year and all those players are back with that experience. Q. Coach, your team coming in here -- This is just an excellent Marist basketball the great game y'all had against UConn at team. We are excited to be in the NCAA. We are home towards the end of the year where you fired up to have the opportunity to play. But, boy, came up just a little bit short playing a team 1 DePaul - 03.21.08 visit our archives at asapsports.com like UConn, number one in the country, the sure people like you who have been it in a long No. 1 overall seed, what have you taken from time would like to see in grow in terms of that game that maybe has helped you build, popularity, you have to get away from it being even though you are in the Big East conference Tennessee or UConn all the time? Or maybe with them but a close call against them in that those people get more attention than they type of game towards the end of the year? should? What are your thoughts on that? How does your team build on that coming into COACH BRUNO: I believe we are the tournament? reaching parity; and at the same time, this season, COACH BRUNO: I believe that game did you know, it really didn't -- UConn just did have a give our team confidence. I think our very tough great year and that's after losing two players. end-of-season conference schedule was -- we But I think the game is reaching -- is looked at it coming down the stretch. We had six becoming a much more equal game. It is -- there games to play regular season, and those six are more players and all the players can't go to just games included at No. 11 West Virginia, at a couple schools. The game itself is improving Georgetown -- and Georgetown would be in the from top to bottom. So I just really do think that NIT if they had made our tournament. That's how they're -- the parity is coming into the game, and I good Georgetown is playing right now. think it will continue to just get better as the game At Rutgers -- Notre Dame was No. 14 at continues to grow. As the young women start home. At Rutgers in the game in which Coach playing, it grows exponentially every single year. Stringer was playing for Number 800; UConn at I can't deny the fact that there is a couple home; and at Seton Hall. And we approached the dominant teams here this year, but at the same team and said we can look at this as a death time I think everybody -- look at this opponent of march or an opportunity march. There aren't going ours, this Marist team. I mean, it is just an to be six games in the NCAA tournament that are unbelievably great job they're doing at Marist. going to be a lot tougher than that. They're just an example of a team that's put So I think the West Virginia win at West themselves in the top 16 just one year ago. These Virginia kicked it off, and I think all six of those three players here went to the Sweet 16 two years games have given us confidence. One of the big ago; and, you know, I think that speaks to the criteria about the NCAA which you see people parity right there. write -- and I think the committee says they look at -- is how you finish at the end of the year. Q. Caprice, Coach kidded a little bit If you look at our record at the end of the about not knowing where Marist is. When you year, we didn't finish with a glowing record from a do play in a major conference like that and your numbers point of view. But just to the point of your opponent here in the tournament is one school question, I think we did play our best ball down the that you don't know much about, how long stretch of the season and the beast that is the Big does it take you to familiarize -- put it the other East didn't let that exactly be a great record. But I way, do you forget about all that once you get think the confidence gained by the UConn game in into the preparation and so forth for the team that stretch should have us prepared. and respect what they're doing out on the court Then we went to the Big East tournament and what they can do? and had to play a very good Marquette team and CAPRICE SMITH: The first thing that beat them to get into the tournament and another popped into my head when I heard we were UConn again a week later. So you talk about playing Marist was watching the game they play those eight games, and I just really think they last year in the NCAA tournament. They were a should have us prepared. Every game has a life of Cinderella team. I think they took their momentum its own, however. Just because we did that, from last season and stepped it up this year and played that, Marist is -- the Marist game is going to went on a great 22-game winning streak. have its own life here tomorrow night. So we can't take for granted anybody's conference. We just know that they're a great Q. Coach, there seems to be certainly basketball team and they're ranked and we're not. more parity in the men's game, the men's We just got to go into the game with a chip on our tournament, than the women's tournament. Do shoulder because we're the lower seed. you think for the women's game to grow, as I'm 2 DePaul - 03.21.08 visit our archives at asapsports.com COACH BRUNO: If they can dominate Jessica Davenport the way -- Marist dominated Jessica Davenport a year ago. That's a State Farm All-American -- still getting used to Kodak not being here -- a State Farm All-American top ten player in the country and Marist dominated her. It wasn't a lucky game plan. They dominated her. Q. Coach, do you allow your team to visualize or talk about making it to the Final Four or is this something you try to stay away from? Having that dream of making that run that everybody wants to make? COACH BRUNO: You can't achieve what you don't see. But once you get here, it's a one-in-a-row, six-time tournament. You can't get there without the focus of one in a row.