TCU Head Coach Mark Campbell met with the media after their win over NC State.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the press conference.
Opening statement...
Well, just an incredible win. Awesome college basketball environment. Had heard about it here, and it was really fun to get to see it live. And fortunately, we were able to beat a really good ball club today. It's so early on in the season, and everybody's still trying to, figure out their team and figure out their players.
For us, we got four new starters and ten new players, so this was a huge win on our journey together. And it takes moments like these and games like these for your team to grow. And so this was a huge win for our program. I know we haven't won a road game non-conference against a ranked team in a really, really long time. And especially with these two being new and learning the system and to lead us the way they did, they were special today. Both of them had very special performances. So, proud to get this win, and I'm excited to get back to Fort Worth.
On the adjustments made in the second half...
Oh, these guys are so smart. We got an old veteran team, and we went in half, just talked about it. Really, just said if we got 20 minutes left, and they played great defense all four quarters. The difference was in the second half, we finished the plays and boxed out. But, you guys, there's so much energy, adrenaline that first half, you kind of want to survive it.
This game is going to make us better the next time we're in an environment like this.And they came out in that third quarter. They were elite on the defensive end, and then we limited them to one shot and then took care of the ball and kind of got rolling in that third quarter, and I think that was the ballgame.
Olivia you mentioned, it's hard to play here. And you got over the hump today. What was working for you guys to get you guys the win?
Olivia Miles: Yeah, I think it was us filling in the gaps of what the next person was doing. For example, I told Marta, thanks for making shots today, and she was like, thanks for getting my rebounds today. I think we kind of just picked up for each other where we were kind of missing, and that's what great teams do. We cover all bases.
And I just want to give a special shout-out to Donovyn. She does just incredible work for our team, guards the best player every night, just the most humble, sweet, quiet kid. And she's really just our engine, and she really gets us going on the defensive end.
And, she stopped Zoe Brooks. That was her main assignment, two for 13, just had an incredible game, so shout-out to Donovyn.
Marta, one of the best games and not the best game of your college career, what about TCU has brought out the best in you so far?
Marta Suarez: I think it's a combination of a few things. I think the intentionality of the coaches with the pieces that they bring into and bringing so many playmakers, so many shooters that just open up the court. So every night's going to be somebody's night, and tonight just happened to be where I got going.
Like Olivia said, I was taking care of the shots. She was taking care of the rebounds. I think we're all on the same path. We just want to win. We got to figure out how to be the best version of ourselves. So, I don't know. Thank you for the compliment.
Marta, you hit two big shots, one right before the half of the three, and then right towards the very end of the third quarter, hit that shot. When a game like this, when there's so much energy and there's so much adrenaline, getting those momentum shots, what does that mean for you to get going and for the team as a whole?
Marta Suarez: I think it's just fun. I love them. That's what I play for. I love these moments. I love these games. I love on the road with the crowd against you. That will turn me up. So I love that, and I think, like I said, tonight was just kind of like the ball was favoring me a little bit for whatever reason that was on the other side, and so we just enjoy and celebrate it together.
And then, Mark, you beat a top-ten team here, and you have ten new players. How do you go on the road and do what you just did?
Mark Campbell: You need talent. These two sitting next to me have played in so many big basketball games. They're old vets. I completely trust them. Ultimately, it's our job to put in a system and give them a structure, and then they're the ones that go make the plays and go execute, and these two are incredible competitors. These two are both fearless. The crowd, the stage, these two, they don't blink. They feed off it.
They love it, and we got a whole roster of kids like that, and it's a hard place to win. Like, I had no idea until this press conference this was your first win here, and so to do this, it shows how hard it is and how special this team's going to be. We're truly just scratching the surface with this group and what we're capable of.
Olivia, you were here last February. How much better do you feel this time coming out on the right end of it?
Olivia Miles: It feels great. The last time I was here, we lost in double overtime, just a very tight game, very frustrating ending to it, so definitely a better taste in my mouth now, and especially with just the people I get to do it with, to go through adversity. We knew we were going to hit some sort of adversity. They went on their run, and just being able to respond just tells you everything about a team, and I know it's early on, but, how we're trending is so promising, and I'm just so happy for this team.
You guys played in the ACC last year. Did a little bit of the familiarity change?
Olivia Miles: Yeah, I would say in terms of the environment, I knew what I was going to walk into. I tried to prepare my teammates for that, but also their system. I've been playing them for four and a half years, so I know Wes Moore's system. I know what he likes to run. I know how he likes to exploit defenses, so, yeah, it helped when guarding them, for sure.
Marta Suarez: Personally, I didn't get a chance to play here, and I played against them, and, we had a good game, but I think what prepared us very well was our coach. He did a tremendous job, so we knew what to expect. We knew what we wanted to do, so then we just came out here and do it.
Olivia, it's early in the season, but how are you feeling about, I know you praised the program, and a lot of people were surprised to see you stay in college and transfer. How are you feeling, though, and what do you think about how this program has helped you grow?
Olivia Miles: I feel fantastic. This is absolutely 100 percent, ten toes down where I should be. Made the, like, perfect isn't even the right word, decision for me, and, I need to grow. This game, didn't play my best, but I have so much film, and I have so much support around me to get me better and get more reps in, and that's just the energy at TCU. It's how can we help you be better, and that's literally exactly what I needed before I went pro.
I think when I was making that decision, I wasn't exactly in that position.I wasn't as confident in my game, and now I have a support system around me that can help me grow in all areas, and, I'm 4 for 18, but he still gives me the ball at the end of the game and trusts me to lead our team, and that's just something incredible. It almost makes me emotional to think about it, so this is my guy. This is my girl, and this team, I seriously can't. Like, I've only known him for five months, but it feels like four years. Like, seriously, this team is the best, so.
Marta, the way you scored in so many different ways, and then on the defensive side, I mean, your body has got to take a little whoop in there. How do you feel and, like, what does it take to score in so many different ways?
Marta Suarez: I was telling him I was ready for another quarter. I had it in me. I was having so much fun out there. We also have a great strength and conditioning coach that got us ready for these moments, Mr. Adam, but then I think that's what we were talking about earlier.
We have so many weapons all over the place that at some point it's going to be somebody's night, so today I just went out there. I knew what my part of the defensive end was, and I was ready to do it, and I wanted to make sure that they know that I'm going to be ready to do it when the moment comes, so I was just very excited.I was very excited for a physical game. I was excited for a challenge like this. We've had three games where it was more of, like, getting, getting ourselves together, not such big competition like that, but these are the moments that we play for, so.
Mark, they kind of touched on it, but Donovyn Hunter's work on Zoe today was unbelievable. Six points, I think all six came in the first quarter, and then she also hit some big buckets for you guys being the most moved. I mean, just talk about what she did.
Mark Campbell: Donno's blossoming. She's gone from a sophomore that was learning a new system a year ago to just be a steady rock for us. Donno's one of those kids, she's the same every day. You, like, literally know what you're going to get from her, and just consistent, and it's really neat to see her confidence grow. I think these two have really helped with that.
Not just her, like, these two have really helped Clara Silva with her confidence, and so it's just neat.That's the natural progression as you go through college. Each year, you make a jump, and I'm going to give a shout-out. I think our guards, Liv, Dono, Maddie, I mean, our key, you got to control Jones and Brooks.
They are two really good basketball players and two dynamic guards, and they went 2 for 22, and so our defense, I think, was on point. She talked about the scout, but Liv did a tremendous job. Dono did a tremendous job. To hold a team like that to 33% from the field is really, really hard to do. So this was a good win, and Dono does what Dono does, and she does it quietly.
On NC State struggling with slow starts...
Mark Campbell: Well, yeah, they played Tennessee, USC, TCU. Like, their schedule to start the season's incredible, so I think they have a really good ball club. I know they have a great basketball coach and staff, but there's not many teams. I don't know if there are any other teams that have played three top-25 games to open your season. So they're going to have a tremendous year, but, no, I haven't noticed anything other than their schedule's insane, so I would attribute it to that.
For the individual players, what have you individually, what's the best thing you've learned from your coach so far this year?
Marta Suarez: Just low-down everywhere, every day. Turbo.Turbo. That's a great question.
Olivia Miles: I feel like I've learned how to control the game better.I think, early on in this game even, I wasn't as locked in as I should be, and he was like, look at me, and I got you. I think just managing the game better, and that's just leadership, and that's taking matters into your own hands, and he does just an incredible job of managing the game, and he's teaching me how to do that as well as a point guard.
Marta Suarez: I don't think, I'm just so grateful to be here and to be playing for him, and I think that it's shared with every single teammate, so it makes it a lot easier for everybody to buy into the path that we're on. He's just, again, incredibly intentional person, incredibly careful, and he pours into everybody.
He cares about everybody genuinely, and he just, he lets us believe in ourselves and our delusional selves, too. He just wants to, like, he just wants us to be happy, so I'm just very grateful for him, and, yes, he has taught me to slow down, not a joke.
We've consistently heard the same types of messages from your players, transfer portal era. It can be very easy for players to be tools for what you want to accomplish, but your ability to be really important to who they are and see why they keep showing up in Fort Worth. How do you maintain that authenticity when it is that they win now?
Mark Campbell: Yeah, college athletics is tricky right now in this era, and what we do, there really is nothing fancy to it. You try to just provide an environment. I mean, these kids are incredible basketball players, and it's our job to just foster an environment where they are confident in themselves off the court, that there's a healthy locker room and a space for them to truly enjoy each other and enjoy the journey, and then basketball-wise, you're just trying to put them in a position where they get to showcase their gifts and showcase their basketball skills, and we have a bunch of incredible players, and so, again, you're managing.
I don't want to control it. I just want to allow all these kids to blossom, and I think that's something our staff has done an incredible job of, and getting it right on the front end, I do. We're very intentional in trying to pick the right pieces as people and as basketball players, and then you put them in a really healthy environment, and that's where the magic happens, so. So far, it's worked.
On Marta Suarez’s impact on TCU’s season...
Mark Campbell: In the season. I didn't know about the big personality. That's been an added bonus. I saw one of the best playmaking forwards in college basketball. From studying the field, her guard skills, her passing ability, her versatility, nothing against anywhere she played before. She just hadn't yet been given the freedom to be used this way, and if you saw how hard she worked, you guys, and she truly beats on her craft, and that's her journey, and so when we watch it in film, we want to play four guards.
We want to spread you out. We want to shoot the three. She's literally our dream stretch four, because ultimately, she's a guard, a playmaking guard. Need her to take care of the ball a little bit more, but for us and what we do, there was nobody else that we thought could do this. Now, it was a leap of faith, because you thought you see it, and you hope it works out, and it has.
And same, Olivia's ability to manipulate the game, her vision, her ability to play in pick and rolls, make everyone around her better in our system, in our spacing, and then all you got to do is get out of the way and let these two go hoot, and so each one of them have been a blessing.
They've been better than what we thought, and it's why I think this group's ceiling is really, really high, you guys.
