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Only one goal for the 1999-2000 season
Posted: Friday November 12, 1999 08:46 AM
Andy Landers, a three-time National Coach of the Year, is in his 21st season at Georgia. Landers' teams have averaged 24.3 wins a year, third-best among all active Division I coaches with as much tenure. The Lady Bulldogs are one of only four teams to reach the NCAA Final Four five times. Georgia returns four starters from last year's Final Four team that went 27-7, and is ranked No. 1 in SI for Women's college basketball preview. Chat with the Georgia coach Monday, Nov. 15 and check out Landers' diary every other week on CNNSI.com.
November 11, 1999
From day one -- October 16, 1999 -- our preparations for the upcoming season have gone very well. We did, however, experience a 2-3 day lull or lapse for whatever reason coming out of last weekend. Our staff quickly sent a wake-up call early this week and our players gave us the response we were looking for. Consistency, effort and intensity have not only returned to normal, they have continued to improve as the week progressed. We took Wednesday off, which is usually the case during the preseason at least. If possible, we prefer to give the players a school day as their off day so that they can take care of any academic business they need to attend to. When we start practice today (Thursday), I expect them to be excited in anticipation of the season opener on Monday. This is the home stretch to the beginning of the season. They know that. We open this year earlier than usual due to our participation in the preseason WNIT -- a challenge I would only undertake with a veteran team comprised primarily of juniors and seniors. By playing so early we do sacrifice a week's worth of practice, but with an experienced team I feel like we will be able to handle the situation. Signs like their response to the challenge we issued earlier this week are a good indicator that this team is maturing. I think this team will benefit from playing against stiff competition early. I'm confident our team realizes that there will be certain aspects of our play in the early season that will need attention, and I'm think they will be prepared to address any concerns. We open Monday with Alabama-Birmingham, another experienced team that returns all five starters and an outstanding player in the middle, Deanna Jackson, who was Conference USA's Newcomer of the Year last year and is certainly impressive. Not only is there excitement in the air about the season opener, there is a great deal of anticipation among our staff, players and fans surrounding the potential of this year's team. All the polls I have seen have us ranked in the top 6 and three, including Sports Illustrated, have us ranked No. 1. All fall, I've heard the same question: "Is there any pressure associated with the preseason polls ranking us so high?" The answer to that question is quite simple: No. To be quite honest, we've grown accustomed to high expectations at Georgia. Averaging almost 25 wins a year for the past 20 years will do that for you -- create confidence and hope not only among our team and fans but also other associated with women's basketball. I rather suspect that we might feel some pressure if we weren't included somewhere inside the top 10 virtually every year. What I'm prouder of than those preseason polls is the fact that we have been successful at finishing the year just as highly ranked at an equally impressive rate. To me, that's why folks know we'll be there year-in and year-out. Therefore, it's easier for me to say I'm more comfortable ranked No. 1 or in the top 5 than I would be ranked No. 25. As the season approaches, our staff is challenged to pull the offensive and defensive components we have concentrated on into the team concept. This has been the emphasis throughout this week. It will continue to be our primary focus right up until the opening tip-off. Naturally, it is more difficult to accomplish that than to teach singular or individual components. Getting individuals to play hard, play together and play in an selfless manner is a challenge. In basketball, too much emphasis is placed on shooting. While shooting the basketball is obviously the most important skill, there are so many other areas and byproducts that need to be addressed. I think our players continue to understand the importance of playing well together and executing all the little things well. Through the execution and development of these fundamentals, we hope to build a basketball team capable of winning a national championship. This is our one and only objective for 1999-2000, and on Monday we will officially begin our work against a very good UAB squad.
-- Coach Landers
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