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ATLANTIC-10 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 11, 2015Tom PecoraChristian SengfelderBryan SmithBROOKLYN, NEW YORK FORDHAM – 71 COACH TOM PECORA: Well, very similar to the game we played down there a few weeks ago. We were challenged. We knew Eric wasn't going to be 100 percent. That's 18 points a game for us so one of the guys had to step up. I think it's quite fitting that Bryan being a senior and being a few miles from home in Brooklyn, Midwood High School and all of those things. And being our lone senior for him to make the play‑‑ I told him I loved him so much after he had that crazy turnover, still ran a play for him after that on press offense to get the ball. And Christian, because this is very close to Munich, as well (laughter). German restaurants to go to around here. You know, once again, we're a young team with seven freshmen; but Bryan Smith, the job Bryan has done throughout the year, whether he's played well or he hasn't, he has always been a steadying force. He's been tremendous in practice and he's been great in the locker room and the job he has done has really allowed Christian and Eric to mature a lot quicker than some of our freshmen have in the past because they have had great leaders with Bryan Smith, and Ryan Canty who is out for the year but will be back next year as a fifth‑year senior. Just one of those games where we couldn't get that separation. We talked about playing better defense but in the second half they were drilling some shots. We always‑‑ one of our game goals is always to win the battle of the boards; and we did by two, and Thompson, he's a beast, man. So he's really, really difficult to prep for, and we threw three or four different defensive schemes at him with different people going and doubling him, doubling him on the catch, doubling him after he dribbled, doubling him big on big, guard on big. So we just kept him off balance and I think that was a key for us today. Q. Bryan, you've been through some ups and downs. How satisfying is it to get a tournament win for the second year in a row? BRYAN SMITH:  It's satisfying, we played the same team two years in a row and to get them both times is a great feeling. We work hard to get wins. We had some wins that we shouldn't have had and we lost close games but this is very satisfying. Q. You and Chris have had chemistry all year round, did you see a performance in a big game coming from a guy like this who wasn't highly touted but you noticed from the beginning this kid was going to be special? BRYAN SMITH: Definitely. Chris, he works hard every day.  That's his demeanor. He's always a hard worker. He's a good guy. I knew one of those games was going to happen sooner or later. CHRISTIAN SENGFELDER: I appreciate it. Q. You were driving the basket early in the game and you made 10 out of 13 field goals. Tell us about your shooting game. CHRISTIAN SENGFELDER: Could you say the last part again, please. Q. Just about your game, shooting the ball tonight. CHRISTIAN SENGFELDER: That ball, I just want to make some baskets, help the team win.  If I shoot ten out of 13 and we win, I'm happy. I don't know, if I shoot 5 out of 11, that's fine, too. I'm just trying to help the team win. Q. Was your first Atlantic 10 Tournament everything you thought it would be, and maybe even more? CHRISTIAN SENGFELDER: I mean, it's great to win an A‑10 game and then to win a tournament in the Barclays Center and NBA stadium, it's a great feeling, I'm happy to be here. I'm blessed to be here. I like it. Q. Did you feel any additional pressure knowing Eric would not be 100 percent tonight? CHRISTIAN SENGFELDER: I'm trying to go into games without having pressure at all. Just try to take the pressure off me. We played the last two games without Eric and we lost both games so it was a little bit of pressure on me, and the team, as well, to compensate with Eric out. But as I said, I tried to get through the game without pressure, without any thoughts in my mind. Just play the game. Q. You have a great game, scored 27 points but how do you turn this around and prepare for VCU tomorrow? CHRISTIAN SENGFELDER: Watch film, talk to coaches. I'm work with Coach Morton. I work with him, as Bryan said, after practice and we talk about how the opponent is, how I can play him. I talk to Coach Pecora, Coach Parrotta, everybody, find weak spots maybe, I don't know. We'll figure it out. Q. As the elder statesman, what do you tell the freshmen about tournament play? What's different than your regular A‑10 game? BRYAN SMITH: I tell them that it's much more intense, from tip‑off to when the clock hits 0:00. That's much the difference right there, I tell them. Q. As a Brooklyn native, being a local guy here, doing it again and getting a nice win in your hometown, what is that feeling like? BRYAN SMITH: It's a great feeling. I have a lot of friends and family here cheering me on and cheering the team on. I'm get I get to win in front of them, especially ten minutes away from where I live. Q. Two years in a row now with an A‑10 tournament win, what does that say to some of the critics that feel the rebuild was a little slow? COACH TOM PECORA: Look, it is what it is. I think when you look at Eric being Rookie of the Year and Christian being on the all‑rookie team, you have bookends at the three and four spot. We have Canty and Rhoomes coming back next year to play the five; Mandell, who has basically been playing the point guard spot for about a month. He'll have a whole spring, summer, under his belt and fall next year as he prepares. So you'll have a senior point guard and then Bryan, the only one leaving. So I think the future is bright. But that's the way I've always looked at things, no matter how this season goes with teams. Very rarely have I come out of a season and said, you know, this team is in trouble for next year. What I compliment them on, and you heard me say this before: We had our 88th practice yesterday and they had three bad practices all year.       So for a group with this many young people, to just go out and compete like that every day and not lay an egg, it speaks volumes. They just never quit. They believe in themselves. They really do. And a lot of it comes from these two guys, from Mandell Ryan Rhoomes, energetic. But I just can't shake Mason. It's like, you know, I've been with them for so many years with my years in the CAA and everything we went through in 2006 and then to continue to play them, it just seems like every year in the A‑10 tournament, we'll get them; we've gotten them, rather. So now, we'll just start preparing for VCU is and we'll be up watching film and be ready for that when we get back here. Q. You said recently that Eric and Christian have a great relationship. How fitting is that that Christian stepped up and picked up his injured teammate? COACH TOM PECORA: It's awesome. Once again, you hear it about a lot of kids. He keeps getting better and better. We have hard, physical practice. I come back out 20 minutes later and he's out shooting with one of the coaches. He's just got tremendous attention to detail, work ethic. I recruited him like a football coach. We watched him on film, and then after watching like three or four films of him, I sent Tom Parrotta over to Germany. And he called; he sent back a picture of him standing next to him to show me how big he was. And Tommy is almost 6‑6. "He's big and he's good." I said, "Well, bring him, bring him to the Bronx." We were able to get him in on a visit and it's all worked out. But I'm excited to coach him. He's a lot of fun to coach. Q. What's your strategy preparing for back‑to‑back games with VCU, and you know they full‑court press all the time. COACH TOM PECORA: It's interesting, we haven't‑‑ and I'm probably jinxing myself, we had some games where we had a lot of turnovers against them but the key when we have played tight, good close games you is just can't have live turnovers, can't turn the ball over on the backcourt, can't turn the ball over when it's live and they can go the other way. I'm sure they are all fired up. They have been through a little bit of a rough patch and I know Shock will have them well prepared. It's mid March. We know what we have to do and we know how we have to execute against that kind of pressure, and then we've got to punish them for it. You have to make some plays on the offensive end after you get by the first wave of pressure. Q. How different is your team, you lost to them early in the year; how much more have they matured? COACH TOM PECORA: Much better. When I saw the league schedule come out, I was like, come on, Drew. We open right out of the gate; I know we have a young team, in January, it's tough. We played VCU and Dayton, the first two home games, and then we got a GW team in there and our road games were tough. But we're more mature. We're playing with a different point guard now with Mandell. I think Christian's skill set at the four can be very helpful when you're attacking teams who press. So hopefully all those things come into play. Q. A few weeks ago you said you were worried Chris was becoming too much of a three‑point shooter but today he was efficient. Talk about how it worked in his favor today. COACH TOM PECORA: I think what he did a great job of in the first half, he slipped a few screens and he got them off balance with that, got a couple layups instead of setting his screens. So by doing that it really softened them up around the basket. Were concerned about that, and in turn, he was able to pop and get a couple good looks. It's a good thing he doesn't really force many shots. I don't remember him, honestly, I don't remember him getting a three‑pointer blocked this year because he's got a great feel; if somebody is going to contest it, he's not going to take it. I think his shot selection is exceptional, as well. Q. Can I ask you about Mandell's steal? Kind of kept you on a run and that gave you the edge there. COACH TOM PECORA: Yeah, I was shocked he didn't make the all defensive team because obviously he's not Webber but he was second to him in steals in the conference. He's a real good defender. He has total freedom to do that. In the course of what we do, I let him read the quarterback, so to speak, and see if he can jump a pass and go the other way. So that was a big‑time play. At Richmond, about three weeks ago, in a tie game with a minute to go, he tried to jump one and he missed it by that much and we lose the game by three. I told him after that, you know, you've got free rein. His instincts are great and that was a big play for us because we were struggling at the offensive end. You miss some free throws and we are the best free throw shooting team in the conference, we are up in the 80 percentiles there. That hurt us a little bit there. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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