|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 24, 2014J.J. O'BrienAqeel QuinnWinston ShepardQ. So how sweet is it to be heading to the Sweet Sixteen? AQEEL QUINN: Really sweet. No, I keep it short, but it's a good feeling. I mean, you dream about this as a kid. It's finally here, so I just hope that we just keep it going. Q. For all three of you, did you guys watch the game last night? And the second part, where are both teams compared to where they were in November? JJ O'BRIEN:  I think we all watched the game last night. I think both teams, us and them, have gotten a lot better since the last time we've played. Both of our defenses have gotten a lot better. I know our defense has. I know they lost one of their best players, but they still have managed to do great without them. Both of us have gotten a lot better, so it's going to be a good game. WINSTON SHEPARD: They looked really good last night. I think they have a great team, and I think we'll be prepared to play. Q. Did you guys get a chance to see them in their first game against Weber State at all? WINSTON SHEPARD: Not much. AQEEL QUINN: No, I didn't. Q. Do you guys figure it makes a difference that you have an extra day than they have and they're trying to run home for a couple days and they've got to come back and you guys have been here? WINSTON SHEPARD: Not much. Great teams will always be prepared. At this time of the season everybody's going to be ready. Q. J.J., does Anaheim feel like a home court for you guys? JJ O'BRIEN: Yeah, Anaheim has been good to us this year. We won that tournament there. We beat UCLA there last year. We know our fans are going to be there in full force, so, yeah, we're hoping it's like a home game in there. Q. Do you feel like you're the underdog looking at this one or it's even or how do you look at it? AQEEL QUINN: I wouldn't say underdog, but I mean a lot of people pick Arizona to win. So we don't look at it as that though. We've just got to come ready to play and see who wins. What do you guys know about the team? WINSTON SHEPARD: When I was at the beginning of the season I think our team was still getting figured out. I think people are settling into their roles now at this point in the season, and I think we're a much better team. We'll wait to see how that goes on Thursday. Q. Do you guys feel like you have somewhat of a similar style defensively you're both really strong and sort of create off that situation? Seeing the game again last night maybe, compare the two teams? JJ O'BRIEN: Yeah, you could say that. We both went off our defense a lot of the time. They pride themselves on being good defensively and so do we. Player for player though, I think we're a lot different. But collectively as a group, yeah, you could say that we're very similar and we're both very precise on the defensive end. Q. Have you guys had a chance to take a deep breath and look? There are 16 teams left, and you have guys that have won a national title. Have you taken a step back to say, wow, we have a legit chance to keep this thing going? AQEEL QUINN: Yeah, Coach Fisher in the locker room after the game, he said soak this in, fellas, not everybody gets this chance. So he told us pretty much savor the moment. When this week comes around and it's time for preparation, it's time to move on and get ready for the Sweet Sixteen. Q. How do you guys feel with Arizona and the rivalry you've had with them this year? Tough game last year. You guys both seem to be two of the top programs in the West. Do you feel that way? WINSTON SHEPARD: I would say we've been the two best teams on the west coast this season. Me, personally, I've lost to them the last two times and just hoping to get a victory this time. Q. Winston, you play with Nick Johnson? WINSTON SHEPARD: Yeah, and Brandon Ashley. Q. What do you remember about‑‑ obviously, he comes from a pedigree, his father very famous for his jumping ability. What did you make of it the first time you saw him jump? Was there any particular dunk or anything in practice early on that you can remember? WINSTON SHEPARD: Well, during our two years together, I threw a lot of alley‑oops to him. I would say he's probably the only guy I know that's in the same jumping pedigree as Polee. But he's a great player, and I spent two years with him at Findlay Prep, and I look forward to playing against him again. Q. (Indiscernible) was there a lob that you thought there is no way he could get this and he got it? WINSTON SHEPARD: Every time I throw an alley‑oop I try to throw it as high as I can to guys I know that can jump so they can look athletic. So I would say he didn't miss many. Q. Did you throw any too low for him right off the bat and he said, hey, throw them a bit higher? WINSTON SHEPARD: No, never that. Q. Speaking of Dwayne, he didn't take his sweats off the first time you guys played. What difference can he make now in a game like this given the way he's played so far this year? WINSTON SHEPARD: He's been a great help. And the past couple weeks he's really stepped his game up, and I look forward to him having a good game again. Q. Fisher said that he has some sort of secret weapon on offense. I don't know if you're practicing it, but is it true? JJ O'BRIEN: Yeah, I haven't heard about that one, so we'll have to see in practice today about that. AQEEL QUINN: We'll have to ask him about it. Q. What stands out to you guys facing this Arizona team again? What do you really relish and are looking forward to? AQEEL QUINN: I think just the rematch period, you know? After coming from a loss like that where we got in real close and we just didn't pull it out at the end. So just the rematch period and a chance to play again and redeem ourselves, that's what we're looking forward to. Q. J.J., can you take us through, you guys cut it to four and then ran that play to Gordon. Do you remember what happened on that? You guys had all the momentum and it looked like you might even win and it changed everything, didn't it? JJ O'BRIEN: Yeah, I don't know who was in. It ended up where Dakarai was on Gordon. It might have been switch everything. I don't think so. I think we were just staying with our men. He just made a great play. He's a great athlete. He has good size, and they threw it up to him. I think it was the same play they ran a couple years ago where Johnson got a dunk on Rahon. But they made a great play. Dakarai did what he could to try to stop it, and it ended up being a foul. But, yeah, that's all I remember really from the play. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|