LSU's Kim Mulkey Previews Final Four Matchup Against Virginia Tech

Kim Mulkey and her LSU Tigers are locked in for their Final Four appearance in Dallas. After finding out their opponent on Monday night, it's full steam ahead towards game planning.

Mulkey addressed the media on Tuesday where she previewed the matchup, the support from Baton Rouge and how her experience helps in a time like this.

Here are a few takeaways:

Q. Your thoughts on Virginia Tech? I'm sure you caught some of the game last night. Your thoughts on what they bring to the table and how you stop that?

KIM MULKEY: Well, I'm familiar with Virginia Tech. I played against a lot of those players when they were younger. If you'll remember when we were in the bubble in San Antonio, so I know all about four of them for sure. They're just older now and just so much more improved.

Certainly you start with Amoore and Kitley. That's the two main players for them, but they're not the only players.

Kitley is a problem with her height and her ability to shoot the face-up jumper. She's not just a back-to-the-basket post player. Amoore, boy, she's got range and she's got just a deadly step-back move out there on the perimeter, and those two, I just remember playing them in the bubble and then watching them today and just how much better they are.

But I think the world of Coach Brooks. I think he's just a classy guy, a great coach, and they're a No. 1 seed for a reason.

Q. Coach, the SEC has a great showing in the Final Four this year. What do you think it is about the conference that has prepared you and how competitive has it been and what does it say about the conference as a women's basketball conference?

KIM MULKEY: Thank you for asking that question. I feel like the SEC in a lot of ways was disrespected all year. I feel like there were two teams that should have been ranked in the top 25. They played a great non-conference schedule, and heaven knows we don't want to talk about those non-conference schedules, do we? But they never could get ranked, but yet they were doing what the committee wanted them to do and play all those tough teams.

But I knew when we played them, and I'll tell you who they were: Tennessee and Ole Miss for sure. When we played them, the first thing that stood out to me was they guard you. They guard you. I just think in this league, there's so many teams, and -- was it 16 games that we play? You're seeing a different style of play twice a week, and you're seeing the defending national champion. Some schools in the league had to play South Carolina twice.

When you play that many games against teams that I feel really emphasize defense, it's going to make you better, and I'm selfish, I get it, because I'm going to be partial to the SEC. But when you have four teams in your Sweet 16, it speaks volumes, particularly when you only had seven from the league get in the Tournament. I thought the three teams that lost out, they could have won their games.

It was nip and tuck in those games that the three lost out in.

Now, moving to the Final Four, I think it's a great thing for the SEC to promote that 50 percent of your teams in the Final Four come from the SEC.

Q. How does it feel to you to have had the support from the get-go and for them to embrace you like that?

KIM MULKEY: Well, if you're talking about support from the administration, I wouldn't have come if I didn't feel the support. The support starts with conversations about your contract. Support comes with conversations about what you're going to pay assistant coaches and head coach and bonuses and what you're going to allow us to do. Those conversations take place with a coach before you ever take a job.

The easy part for me was I'm now selling tickets to the entire state. Louisiana Tech people, southeastern people, southern people, and it's because I grew up here. Everybody seems to think that they know me, and they probably do or want to be a part of what I did growing up from Dixie Youth Baseball to four state championships. That was the easy part. I didn't have to reintroduce myself.

Consequently, we have people that would never come to LSU women's basketball games or women's basketball games, period.

That doesn't mean I didn't go work. That doesn't mean I didn't pick up the phone. That doesn't mean I didn't ask for help. But it's a lot easier when you feel like you know each other.

Q. The impact that Sa'Myah Smith has had on your team as a freshman?

KIM MULKEY: Sa'Myah Smith was on the All-Freshmen Team in the SEC. She comes off the bench as the first sub for either Angel Reese or LaDazhia Williams. We don't beat Miami the other day without her production. LaDazhia got in foul trouble, and not only did she go in there, she produced while she was in there.

She was so deserving of being on the All-Freshmen Team, she comes from a high school that they know how to win at DeSoto High School. She had all her teammates that went to colleges. So Sa'Myah knows how to win.

What she hasn't -- right now is the strength and the power, but she's never going to be a big wide body, she is just got unbelievable leaping skills, blocking skills. She's a quiet, unassuming person, but quietly is very competitive.

Q. Because of your previous experience taking Baylor to the Final Four, you've got obviously a group of kids who have never been in this position before in terms of the emotions and building them back up after the high of Miami and getting ready for Virginia Tech, the timing between now. You've done that before.

KIM MULKEY: Just got off the floor. Last thing I shared with them in the middle of the floor was, you're getting ready to play a No. 1 seed. We've not done that. You're getting ready to play a young lady who is the finalist for not one but two awards. We don't have anybody on our team that's a finalist for any award.

Are we satisfied? Are we patting ourselves on the back and saying, hey, this is as far as we can go? Or are you still hungry? And the responses that I received are, Coach, we're ready to move on and get to the next game.

When you have kids that are hungry and not satisfied to just be there, you're going to go compete. Whether we win or lose, I know we will compete.