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MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT


March 5, 2015


Ron Baker

Gregg Marshall

Fred VanVleet


ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

THE MODERATOR:  Regular season champion Wichita State Shockers should be with us.  Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet represent the student body.  Coach Gregg Marshall is with us as well.
COACH MARSHALL:  We're just excited to be here, postseason play and looking forward to the challenge this weekend.

Q.  Fred, when I was speaking with Zach Brown a couple days ago, he told me, after that win with UNI, he feels like you could go up against anyone in the country because you guys were able to execute offensively against a good defensive team.  Do you agree with that?
FRED VANVLEET:  Yeah, I think that's a good statement, coming from him.  But for a guy that's been around, we already feel that way.  Speaking to some of the media after the game, I just think we've got a good feel for the new guys to be in a game like that and to play well and to get those experiences.
For them, to know that they can do it is a confidence booster, but you talk about guys like me and Ron and Shaquille that's been around, we've kind of walked that street already, and we're just trying to pull those guys around.
Zach Brown made a lot of big‑time plays in that game.  Hopefully, we can keep building on that.

Q.  Coach Marshall, really quickly, I don't want to make this about a rematch with UNI, but have you watched film from that game at all since then, since Saturday?
COACH MARSHALL:  Have I watched film from UNI?

Q.  Of that game against them.  Have you watched film from that game at all since then?
COACH MARSHALL:  Yeah, that's what we do.

Q.  I know, but how much.  How much are you looking into it in case you do have that rematch?
COACH MARSHALL:  I'm not worried about that rematch right now, but I probably watched that game three times.

Q.  Fred, Ron, what do you guys use this tournament for?  What do you want to have working, functioning?  What do you want to be able to say about your club on Sunday when you walk out of this building?
FRED VANVLEET:  Well, hopefully, we're champions.  That's what you come here for.  That's what you play for.  Obviously, you want to be playing good basketball, but I mean, we're not in the business of looking ahead of anything, to be honest with you.  We've got to figure out who we play tomorrow.  We'll watch the game tonight and just take it one day at a time.
You come in and get three, and you can't get three without getting the first one.
RON BAKER:  I think Coach put it into perspective best yesterday.  He asked us how to eat an elephant?  Eat an elephant one bite at a time.  Tomorrow's Friday.  That's when we play.  Focusing on that day.  If we get to Saturday, we get there.  If we get to Sunday, we get there.  Just take it a day at a time.
That's important for us because we've got a lot of young guys.  Like Fred said, last Saturday was important for us, and we executed on both ends of the court, and that's what we're looking to do here this weekend.

Q.  Coach, just picking up on your voice a little bit.  Are you feeling all right?  A little bug going around.  I was just wondering how you're feeling.
COACH MARSHALL:  I'm a little under the weather.

Q.  Just in general, though, are you guys feeling‑‑ is it just a matter of excitement right now?  A matter of confidence?  How would you describe it, for Fred and Ron?
FRED VANVLEET:  We're excited to be here.  It's championship time, tournament time.  I think all of us are focused on the task at hand, and we're ready to get to business.  I would just say we're determined and ready to get out there and play.
RON BAKER:  To me, it's just excitement.  It's crazy to think it's this time of year again, a championship march.  So try and play our best at this time and go from there.

Q.  To each one of you guys, what do you most look forward to when you come here for Arch Madness?  When you come and play here in Scottrade?
RON BAKER:  For me, it's just the excitement and the atmosphere.  It's always fun walking out to the court and you've got four different team colors in each corner of the arena, everyone supporting their team.  And then, obviously, the competition in the Valley.  Everyone plays their best ball this time of year, and each game is very important.
FRED VANVLEET:  I would just say, piggy‑back off Ron.  The atmosphere is a tournament atmosphere.  It's not like playing at home or on the road.  It's supposed to be a neutral site, but just the atmosphere of the game, when you win an event, keep advancing.  Obviously, the stakes rise.  Fan bases get more into it.
It's one and done.  So I always like having a little pressure there and just looking forward to the opportunity.

Q.  Fred and Ron, you guys both had a really good‑‑ the fans had a really good turnout last year for the tournament here, and also last Saturday.  What do you want and what do you expect from the fans here this week?
FRED VANVLEET:  What do I want from the fans?  I think we've got one of the best fan bases in the country.  We don't really ask them for much.  They do a tremendous job, and we just try to pay them back by playing as hard as we possibly can.  They showed again on Saturday, last Saturday, what Shocker Nation is all about.  We're just going to go out there and play as hard as we can for them and for each other.  I'm expecting a good turnout as usual.
RON BAKER:  I think Wichita is the farthest team from the site, if I'm not mistaken, and we bring probably one of the larger fan bases here in St. Louis.  It goes to show for us players that our fan base is very supportive and active throughout our community with supporting us.

Q.  Coach, how much do you let these guys have fun or treat this as strictly a business trip?
COACH MARSHALL:  Probably more business.  I'm not sure.  I mean, they probably have fun in their dorm rooms or in their hotel rooms, but I don't bother them too much in there.  We're not going to do much sightseeing.
The fun is winning.

Q.  I know this is the Valley tournament, Fred, but just walking in here, the aura of the building, have you thought about the NCAA Tournament last time you were here, maybe the shot when you go out on the court?  Just being here, the aura of this building, a little bit of history for you guys.  How do you plan to attack it or even give it any consideration?
FRED VANVLEET:  To answer your first question, no, I tend to think of the championship we did win here, cutting down the nets and being up on that podium.  So I'd rather think of that memory than the other one.
It's just down to focus, man.  We've had a long year, a great successful year.  Believe it or not, it feels like we've almost proven ourselves all over again, which is always fun for me.  I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.

Q.  Gregg, do you see the league as being on an upward arc?  It's always been your concern that this is consistently a multiple bid league.  It's certainly going to be that this year.  From a broader sense, do you see this league continuing to advance towards that sort of goal?  Can you give me a little pulse check as to where you see it right now?
COACH MARSHALL:  I think it's the best it's been in a couple of years.  I think UNI had a tremendous year.  If they don't win the tournament, UNI, they will be the first non‑Wichita State team to get an at‑large in the past eight years since I've been in the league.
From that perspective, I hope they don't win the tournament.  That way, either we win it or someone else wins it, and we get three teams in.  So that's good, that's positive.
I came in this league in '07, and I was a year removed from having four bids, and it's never been more than two.  It's been a couple of years, like I said, when we got the at large.  It would be nice to be a two‑, three‑bid league every year minimum, and I see some good players and some teams on the horizon.  So I guess it's getting better.

Q.  For Fred, you mentioned having something to prove.  Where does that stem from, do you think, this year?
FRED VANVLEET:  I mean, we just had a league banquet that we just attended, and that's all I'll say.

Q.  Ron, can you follow up on that?  Is there a chip on the shoulder that has come in the aftermath of All‑Conference voting, things of that nature?  Can you give us a sense?
RON BAKER:  To be honest, we think some votes got slipped up and put in the wrong hat.  It's just something we're going to look past.

Q.  Coach, I'm just curious, I guess, going into this as the 1 seed, you don't know who you're going to play, obviously, yet.  Just, I guess, talk about the challenges of that as a team, how that affects you guys or if it really doesn't affect you guys at all for game planning and whatnot.
COACH MARSHALL:  No, I don't think it affects us.  We'll watch the game tonight, and we're prepared to play either of those teams.  That's one of the benefits from being the Number 1 seed, you get to play the winner of the 8‑9 game, and they're playing tonight and will have to go back again tomorrow at noon, which is a quick turnaround.  Certainly wouldn't want to trade places with them.  So we're okay with that.
FRED VANVLEET:  I think Coach said it perfectly.  People with the hardest jobs are the assistant coaches that have to scout the game on a short turnaround.  Other than that, they'll have us ready to play tomorrow, whoever that may be.  We'll be ready.
RON BAKER:  Like Fred said, our coaches are going to have to do a lot of work for each game we play here.  For us, the players, it's just our job to listen to them and get on the court and play hard and just have fun out there.

Q.  Gregg, how do you‑‑ it's a March rite of passage.  You guys are here.  You're a 1 seed.  Media in other towns‑‑ Dallas, Kansas City‑‑ are talking about you and your job prospects and your future.  How do you block that out with these guys and yourself and people floating you as a magic candidate for other jobs when you guys have team goals you want to get to and get table?
COACH MARSHALL:  I appreciate you speaking into the mike so I can here.  I'm 52 now.  It's hard to hear when you don't speak in the mike.
Had you not told me that, I wouldn't have known.  I don't have to block it out.  It's irrelevant.  We're coaching and playing as hard as we can.
If these guys in any way think that I'm slacking off and not doing my job, they'll let me know.  No, we're locked in.

Q.  Don't you guys allow yourselves to daydream just a little bit?  I know you've got to prepare for the next game, but wouldn't it be nice to maybe get Kentucky down the road?  Do to them what they do to you?
COACH MARSHALL:  Daydream?

Q.  Yes.
COACH MARSHALL:  I thought you said day drink.

Q.  No, we don't want you day drinking.
COACH MARSHALL:  We're a pretty honest team about ourselves.  We know we're pretty good, but we know there's times when we might slip up here and there.  So for us, we try to focus on what we've got in hand as far as our next game.
I don't look at Joey brackets here and there.  I don't do any of that.  I just focus on what's now and in the present.
FRED VANVLEET:  I don't like to daydream.  You end up missing a lot of your day.  I'll just say that.

Q.  Just real quickly, are you guys going to be watching the game tonight?  Will you be in the crowd or just so we can let people know where to look for you?
RON BAKER:  Yeah, we usually try to catch at least a half of the playing game.  At least in the past we have.
COACH MARSHALL:  I'm thinking about going up in the Arch and taking the team out for a little sightseeing tonight.
THE MODERATOR:  Thank you very much.

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