Vic Schaefer: "I'm smart enough to know I can't do it by myself. I've surrounded myself with winners and with people who are highly motivated."

POSTED: October 29, 2020 -- 5:24 p.m. CT

Thursday morning, Vic Schaefer, Texas Longhorns women's basketball head coach had a media session (via Zoom). Coach Schaefer is about 4 weeks away from the beginning of the 2020-21 NCAA women's basketball season (November 25 vs SMU).

The season opener versus SMU will be Coach Schaefer's first game as head coach of the Texas Longhorns. Schaefer spent the 8 previous seasons as head coach at Mississippi State where he compiled a record of 221 wins and 62 losses which included 2 NCAA Runner-up finishes and 1 Elite Eight finish.

Coach Schaefer's teams at Mississippi State were none for pressure defense and aggressive basketball on offense and defense. His coaching style won't change at Texas. He knows expectations are high at the Forty Acres which means trips to the Final Four and returning Longhorns women's basketball to the top of the mountain and winning a national championship (or two or more).

He and his staff accept the expectations and are preparing to meet any obstacles (including COVID-19) head on.

During Thursday's media session, I asked Coach Schaefer two questions. His answers were candid and direct. The transcript of the Q and A follows.

The HRR: How much of a difference, if any, is there between Big 12 women's basketball and SEC women's basketball?

Coach Schaefer: "Hey, all I did was jump out of the frying pan and into the grease. (laughs)

"Like I said the other day, we're going to go against Hall of Fame coaches. You going to go against future WNBA players every night in this league. So much respect for the coaches and the players in this league.

"Every night it's a rivalry game in my mind.

"It's just the way it is.

"As you may or may not know, when you got Texas across your chest, everybody seems to play a little bit harder that plays against you. But, that's how we want it. We know what we were getting into when we signed up; and, that's what we tell our players.

"You have to be, every night, you have to be ready to go because, again, in this league, if you don't play good, you're not just going to get beat, you're going to get embarrassed. That's the reality. One through 10.

"You just have to know that going in. You better make sure your players are ready; and, I guarantee you my staff knows that."

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The HRR: How important was it to maintain continuity in your staff coming over to Texas?

Coach Schaefer: "We're so fortunate. I'm so fortunate. I mean that's my family. They don't work for me. They work with me. I work with them. We're truly a family. When you're taking over a program, and you're trying to instill your values and the things that are important on a daily basis -- when they're (the players) are hearing it from all four coaches every day. The same thing. You can't put a value on it.

"To have Dionnah (Dionnah Jackson-Durrett, Associate Head Coach), Johnnie (Johnnie Harris, Associate Head Coach), Elena (Elena Lovato, Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator) here with me; and, then to have four former players on my staff.

"When it gets hard, the players can walk over there to Dom (Dominique Dillingham, Video Coordinator), Ketara (Ketara Chapel, Coordinator of Player Development), Blair (Blair Schaefer, Director of Basketball Operations), or Jaz (Jazzmun Holmes, Graduate Manager) and they'll look at the players and tell them 'We did it. Don't come over here and ask us about it.'

"The players can say 'What in the world are we doing?' The former players can reply 'Because it wins. It won for us. It's what allowed to go 28 and 8; 34 and 5; 37 and 2; 33 and 3; 27 and 6. That's our last five or 6 years.'

"Those kids have instant credibility. So, when you have that on your staff, I think Johnnie gave it to me the other day, we have 4 National Championship rings and 17 Final Four rings up and down our hallway and in our office. That's winners.

"I'm smart enough to know I can't do it by myself. I've surrounded myself with winners and with people who are highly motivated. And, that's who we are. Whether it's a pandemic or not, we only know one way to do things; and, we're going to do it that way every day. We're going to be consistent with it every day.

"We don't apologize for being demanding. I think that's what kids know when they come play for us because they know and their families know that's important to them as well."

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