Baylor’s Kim Mulkey and FSU’s Sue Semrau: Two experienced coaches facing each other for the first time in competition
- #1 Baylor vs. #8 Florida State
- March 26, 2013, 9:30 p.m. ET
- Waco, Texas, Ferrell Center (9,844)
- TV: ESPN2, Web: ESPN3.com
Throughout their successful tenures as head coaches Baylor’s Kim Mulkey and Florida State’s Sue Semrau have never faced each other on the court. While both seem very familiar with each other’s body of work, they do not know what is like to go head-to-head in competition. That will change tonight when FSU faces Baylor in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Below are some comments the coaches made about each other and their respective programs during their press conferences yesterday.
Kim Mulkey
- Career: 371-80 (13th season)
- BU Record: 371-80 (13th season)
On increasing size and athleticism of FSU:
“I think when I look at Florida State, I don’t look at a big 6’5, 6’4 post player. I look at athletes more than I do just this huge, big body in there. I think they have a big enough body in there but I look at athletes that crash the boards. I look at two shooters on the wings that come off on ball screens. I look at two point guards that play together more than most teams. You usually substitute but they have many situations where both those guards are in the game together.”
Sue Semrau
- Career: 295-200 (16th season)
- FSU Record: 295-200 (16th season)
On what it’s going to take to beat Baylor:
“It’s about how hard we play. The kids are really coming together at this point because of a lot of hard work in the off-season and during the season. It’s fun to see them go out and play hard.”
On facing Odyssey Sims:
“We play a kid at Duke that was Odyssey’s teammate, Alexis Jones. They remind me so much of each other. It’s uncanny how similar the two of them are. I think Odyssey’s a little bit more powerful, and obviously more experienced and more savvy. She’s very, very special.”
On how to defend against Baylor:
“They have great pressure. It starts with Odyssey and their wings. We used to have a kid back there that was 6’6” and it covers a lot of sins. You’ve got kids that drive by and then it’s, “Hey, welcome to the paint.” So we have some things we like to do and we’ll make a few adjustments. The best thing about our team is that we’re versatile. We don’t have to play with a traditional style. I don’t think that would be extremely effective against Baylor.”
