Pac-12 Tournament: Catching up with Washington coach Kevin McGuff
Hoopfeed caught up with Kevin McGuff, head coach of the University of Washington, after their 69-62 win over Oregon in the Pac-12 Tournament opening round. Washington was down by 11 at the half.
Q: Where is your team relative to your expectations entering the season?
Well we lost three posts last year and a McDonald’s All-American post during the season due to injury. We had to change our style of play as we are not that big and the kids have responded well.
Q: Talk about the Pac-12 this year.
Very competitive. Two teams in Cal and Stanford who are terrific and can make deep NCAA runs. UCLA and Colorado have been good.
Q: Does your 20th win get you into the NCAA Tournament?
I don’t think so. I think we need to win tonight against Colorado.
Q: How has conference realignment impacted the Pac-12?
We are in a great position. We have a dynamic leader in Larry Scott.
Q: You were an assistant at Notre Dame for a number of years. Does their success against UConn surprise you?
Not surprised. Muffet may be the best coach in women’s college basketball over the past five years. Her teams have great spacing and are tough on defense.
Q: Is Baylor beatable?
Yes, but they are clearly the best team. They did lose to Stanford but Sims did not play a lot.
Q: What does your team look like next year?
We have made great progress. We only graduate one starter. We have an outstanding recruiting class coming in, including a McDonald’s All-American.
Q: How about nationally next year?
More parity.
Q: Talk about the Pac-12 Tournament being in Seattle?
It is great here. It was in LA for a number of years and did not draw that well. This is a great women’s basketball city. The Seattle Storm have helped promote the tournament, especially the CEO Karen Bryant.
