“Oh, the question that just keeps reinventing itself. As Connecticut went on their streak and that conversation seemed to be at every coffee shop and every talk radio in the world, my staunch stance was ‘No.’ Because Joe Smith who has no relation to women’s basketball and no desire to every watch women’s basketball is going to pay attention to this because it’s a streak that’s unheard of. So you get all of these, our sport gets a window, an opening into a world of people who otherwise would not even hear a conversation about it. There’s just enough ‘Oh, let me see what’s going on here’ And then what we do with that moment when they say, ‘Let me see what’s going on here’ is up to us.

“But they gave us an opening as a sport. And I still think excellence is magnetic. I don’t buy the argument that it’s bad for the game. Watch them play. They play in a better, more efficient than a number of the best men’s teams in the country. Excellence is hard not to watch. We’re all drawn to it. Whether it’s a great singer on American Idol, or a great movie, great actors. You’re drawn to great stuff. Excellence is a magnet, so I don’t think it’s bad for women’s basketball.”

On how women’s basketball can capture a national audience:

“For women’s basketball, I think it’s a mistake to try to be like the men. I think there have been times in the evolution of our game where we have tilted toward that. We have tried to be men’s basketball. We will never be men’s basketball. I don’t care how many players are able to dunk, it’s not going to be the same. And I think it’s a mistake for us to try be in their image. The game as it was created for men, however long ago (James) Naismith put the peach basket up, it’s about spacing and movement and passing and this very artistic, intelligent game, skilled game, played below the rim. And women can do that in a beautiful way. Connecticut is a perfect example of that.