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BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

February 26, 2011

COACH ROSE: Well, I thought it was a great college basketball game. Great atmosphere. Two good teams. And I think you saw a really good game. Both teams battled hard and we were fortunate to make a few plays and win the game.
But really proud of our team. I'm proud of these two seniors here. They led us through some tough times with some injuries and illness over the week, but we came in here with a lot of confidence and we were able to get a big win for our team.
So with that, we'll take any questions.

Q. Have you guys shot from three-point range as well any time this season as you shot here today?
JIMMER FREDETTE: When we shot -- I don't even know what we shot. What did we shoot?

Q. 58 percent. 14 of 24.
JIMMER FREDETTE: Yeah, we have shot pretty good like that a couple of times this year. We have guys that can make shots, especially when they are open. A lot of times, they are double-teaming me and I was getting them the ball and they were wide open, so they are going to make shots if they are wide open. So that was the key.

Q. For anyone on the dais, what most impressed you about the way Abouo and number 34 played?
JACKSON EMERY: The most impressive thing to me was they scored a lot of points and they hit a lot of open shots which was really impressive. But the way they just battled on the defensive side, the rebounding. I mean, San Diego State is so athletic, they are so big, but Noah and Charles, they took it to heart to really fight back, and I thought they did a terrific job rebounding, as well.

Q. What was going through your mind when you got your fourth foul late in the game?
JIMMER FREDETTE: Just not to foul again. That's all I was thinking about. You know, I had a little chippy, kind of just reached in and got me for the fourth and I told coach that I don't want to foul anymore. I just want to stay in.
I know how to be start and try to stay away from fouling, especially on offensive end charges, things like that, doing the best I could. And fortunately, it worked out.

Q. The crowd was obviously on you from the minute you walked into the bidding. Can you just talk about how you hands the that had and what you thought of it?
JIMMER FREDETTE: I just tried to block it out. I didn't really look up there at all until the end of the game when we won. That was about it. That was the only time I looked up there. I just blocked it out and knew that they were going to be a great atmosphere and great fans. They love San Diego State basketball.
But the big key was that we sustained their run so they didn't get into the game all too much. We were able to keep a lead and score consistently, and I think that was a good thing for us.

Q. You showed a lot of emotion at the end of the game, can you describe the emotions you were feeling as you guys realized --
JIMMER FREDETTE: Definitely. We were just really, really excited to win this game. It's a huge game. Obviously two Top-10 teams at their place, they have not lost at home. Everyone was picking San Diego State to win so we were coming in kind of as the underdogs. We realized that and knew we were going to have to battle to get that win and I thought our team did a great job of just making shots and getting rebounds, getting loose balls, doing things that we needed to do, and that's why it was an emotional win.

Q. Can you explain like when you are being doubled, especially with two Bigs like that, how do you make the transition from scorer to distributor at that point?
JIMMER FREDETTE: You just read what the defense gives you. Obviously they started to just put two guys out on me and doubled me as soon as I came over half-court and that leaves a guy open. So willing passer, give up the ball, and they were sticking shots. They were paying for doubling me tonight. So it was great by my teammates to be able to make those shots.

Q. Since you guys have not been exposed so much per se this year in terms of being on television a lot and people seeing you, what do you think you showed today in terms of having a team other than Jimmer? I think people identify your team mostly with Jimmer because of his exploits. Can you talk about the statement you made today as a whole, as a team, please?
JIMMER FREDETTE: Well, I think it was great. Obviously I've been telling everybody, all of the media, all year long that it's not just me. It's our team. I keep tell them if they are going to double-team me I'm going to try to get it to my teammates and they are going to make shots and that's why we have been winning games this whole year. If they don't double-team me then it's my time to go be aggressive and score the basketball until they have to. That's what makes our team good. I'm glad that more people were able to see that; that our team is very good.
JOHN WALL: I think that the biggest compliment for this group of players this year is that they have just found ways to win games. And tonight, Jimmer had nine assists, and we needed other guys to step up. The question about when Jimmer decides if he's going to be a scorer or if he's going to distribute the ball, that's what makes him really good, because he can make that decision and he does it in a way to help our team win games.
We talked about it all year long; that this is a very good team, with a couple special players. Jimmer is a good offensive player that I think I've coached and Jackson is as good of a competitive player and defensive player; the job he did again tonight on their perimeter guys, a big reason we won.

Q. Jimmer, in the second half, did you make more of a concerted effort to take the ball to the hole than did you in the first half?
JIMMER FREDETTE: I just was making some shots in the first half. They were leaving me a little bit more space in the first half. So I was just kind of shooting them, made a couple of shots.
The second half we were setting the high ball screen and I kind of refused it a couple of times. They were kind of cheating towards the screen and not letting me use it and I was able to cross over and get to the basket a couple of times, a couple of n-ones (ph), reading the defense, seeing what they are doing and playing off of it.

Q. You said the other day that you probably have seen 28 different defensive looks in 28 games. Was the look when they were using Kawhi and Billy and Malcolm, that you mentioned before, was that new and something that you had not seen before?
JIMMER FREDETTE: People have doubled me as soon as I've come over half-court like that but the length and athleticism that they put on me is different, you know what I mean. So those guys are very quick, they are long. They are athletic. They can move their feet. They try to get their hands on passes and tip the ball.
So it was different in the fact that they are just a lot bigger and a lot more athletic than just having two smaller guys on you.

Q. Coach, can you talk about moving to the zone defense, really seemed to stifle San Diego State in the second half.
COACH ROSE: Well, we got in a little bit of foul trouble so I thought maybe we could shorten the game a little bit because the way they attacked that zone, they really like to go side to side to get in the middle and then they go back to one side. Really we were just kind of trying to get to the 16-minute time-out ask then to the 12 and try to get through some foul trouble that we had. Kyle Collins worth was not able to play as much as we wanted him to because he had the flu during the week. So James Anderson got poked in the eye and Stephen Rogers kind of hurt his ankle so we were kind of down a few guys. We thought that the zone could buy us some time.

Q. I think Abouo off the second half missing four layups and then hits four 3s in the second half. Talk about the bump that he gave you.
COACH ROSE: Those four shots that he missed, I mean, he was as aggressive as he's been all year long through that stretch, and when you get Charles to that spot where he's competing like that, he is terrific for this team. And he knew, all of the guys knew, that this was a game where every possession was a game-winner. That's what was really, you know, important for us to play every possession as if it was the last possession of the game. It's hard to do. Especially over the course of a long season.
But this was a big game for us. We seem throughout the season to have been -- everybody coming in to play us was the underdog and that we were supposed to protect what we had and where we were. And this was one of the few opportunities this year where we got to play from the other side, and where we were the underdog and I really thought our guys responded.

Q. The first half, what mood did you sense out of the guys at halftime, as far as was it more frustration or anger?
COACH ROSE: I think our guys were really positive. We were tired at halftime, because it was a really physical, aggressive -- they got a couple run-outs. I think we were up seven or eight and they got a couple of run-outs and got a lot of adrenaline and energy in the building.
But being up three and having the lead the whole half, okay, that was important. I think we got up 6-2 and they might have caught us a couple of times but for the most part we had the lead and that's a good way to play on the road in a really hostile -- because it never really gets to the apex of their -- where they want to get this thing to.
And so as far as the energy in the building against you; I thought that was a real big part. We were able to consistently score the ball, and it happened with Charles in the second half, and it happened with Noah in the first half. Jackson hit some really big shots for us throughout the whole game.
And then with Jimmer, when he sees opportunities for him to attack -- and he has to be aggressive the whole game and I think that's what makes him special. He's relentless on how he attacks. But there are times when he's kind of trying to read it and read it and when he sees an opportunity, he's pretty good at converting; those two-and-ones were really big at crucial times for us.

Q. You mentioned illness and somebody else had the flu; did a lot of kids get sick this week for your team?
COACH ROSE: Yeah, Thursday, after the Colorado State game Thursday, we were down to very few guys in practice. We did some shots and free throws and went over some game plan things. Our doctors did a terrific job of getting guys back. I don't know if it was food poisoning or some kind of a flu bug, but hopefully we can get that behind us and move on to the big challenge of next week.

Q. I know you downplay a lot of things, but from an historical perspective, is this the biggest regular season win in BYU basketball history?
COACH ROSE: I kind of judge wins by times, so the best win last year's team and the best the year before, all of the teams that were before I got here, I can't really judge. But by the way the guys responded in the locker room after the game, yeah, this was a big win. A big win for those players and I'm really proud of them, because this is one of those opportunities that you get and you want to be able to -- I think everyone appreciated the fact that this game meant something.
Early in the year when we saw the schedule in July that there was going to be a nationally-televised game, you hope that you can make the game relevant by both teams playing well during the season, and that this is going to be a big game, and it sure was and our guys appreciated being here. And then they were really excited about winning the game.

Q. Can you talk about how good of a ball handler Jimmer is?
COACH ROSE: Well, I'm telling you that he is as creative as any player I've played with as a player in college or played against or coached. I mean, he knows how to find ways to get shots. And he's learned that -- a lot of guys, you know, they practice ball handling so that they can get to certain areas on the floor and dish the ball.
But Jimmer is always on attack to score, and we finally figured that out. It took a while, the first year, tried to play him at the two without the ball a little bit and you realize that he's just one of those players, when he has the ball in his hand, that he can make plays and he can create plays for himself and I think what he's really done this year, become a lot more patient and really found ways to create shots for his teammates.
You saw him tonight. He had one pass when he was like a 30-foot pass to Charles in the corner for a big shot; those are plays that I think he's really become good at this year, finding that guy that's left. He's the last rotation, because he got a double and then everyone else is bumping up and then he finds that guy. Tonight, Noah and Charles were both really good at converting those shots.

Q. Another macro question in. Terms of seeding, how do you think this helps you and do you think you deserve a No. 1?
COACH ROSE: You know, people ask me that a lot, and probably all of the local media here, they understand what my answer is going to be, because I just really worry about the next game. This is a really good basketball team. I hope people across the country today got to see that this is a very good team with a couple of really special players on it.
But you know, by our RPI and by this conference's RPI and our record in the league, we should get some pretty good consideration. We have got lots of games to play though. Seriously I don't really think about it. The only time I actually think about seeding is when guys ask me, when guys like you ask me the question.
But realistically, I'll enjoy this for a few hours and then we'll get ready for New Mexico. New Mexico has been good against us the last couple of years.

Q. You mentioned your team is a very good team with special players; what is your assessment of San Diego State and their team and their players?
COACH ROSE: This is as good of a team as we have played I think since I have been at BYU. We played a North Carolina team a few years ago in Vegas and they ended up winning the National Championship that year, by Ty Lawson only played a few minutes in that game. He sprained his ankle.
But this group right here, what they do and how they do it -- we are really fortunate because the strengthth of our team kind of plays into things that they have a few problems with, and then the matchup becomes good. When you get a couple of guys making some big shots -- but this is a very good team. And I mean, I believe that we have been fortunate in both games to make a few plays late. But I'm really impressed with everything they have. They have got great guards, Rahon, Tapley were terrific tonight and the front line is as good as any in the country.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

February 26, 2011

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