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BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2015Ed CooleyKris DunnLaDontae HentonNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Providence - 74 COACH COOLEY: We knew we were coming in to basically play in a road game. We just had the white uniforms on because of our seed. Played against a team that really played well against us for two games. We felt the first two times we played them we didn't play with an incredible sense of purpose or attention to detail. I thought today was one of our better games we played. I think St. John's is playing as well as anybody in our league, maybe in the country. So for us to come in and play as well as we did, I'm really proud of our guys, our scouting, I'm proud of their tenacity. This was one of our better defensive games we've had all year, and it's really a credit to the players, following the scout report and being relentless on offense. These two guys‑‑ I thought two really silent assassins today, the entire night, with Tyler Harris and Ben. I thought those two guys were terrific, and you know, when you got two guys like this, with LaDontae and Kris, they're able to get you over the hump, if it does get close. Great team win. We're excited to play tomorrow. We know we're playing a juggernaut. I'm pretty sure no one in this room is giving us a chance. We've been in this position before. We're going to do everything we can to continue to advance. Q. Coach, your team had three players with double‑doubles. Talk about how well rounded they are. COACH COOLEY:  You know, the guys, in particular LaDontae and Tyler, they've been here before, same exact game, same exact time, same exact bench. The conversation was, hey, we've been here before. This team has beaten us twice. We're playing for some pride. We're playing to get to Friday night. There's no better place in the world to play Friday night than in this building. Q. Coach, could you talk about the two players with you. You said they get you over that hump. COACH COOLEY: I love these guys. These guys, I've seen them grow so much. You guys get to see them grow as basketball players. I get to see them grow as men. I get to see them grow as students. These guys, again, when they play well, we're a tough out. If they struggle, we're going to struggle. I think everybody understands that. LaDontae kind of does his thing. He's a junkyard dog, and he can do it a lot of different ways. Kris is a maestro and a really hard‑to‑guard type of point guard. Q. Could you just talk about your start, going down 7‑0 and then ripping off 18 in a row. COACH COOLEY: You never want to come out like that, but the game's long. You're not going to‑‑ you can't overreact because people come out and kind of hit you a little bit. Our team settled in. I thought, once we settled in, we controlled the entire game. I thought our defense controlled the game, not so much our offense. Q. Kris, during that 18‑0 run, they missed 15 straight shots. What did you guys do to take them out defensively and to keep them out of transition? KRIS DUNN: We took the shots on offense that helped us with defensive transition. We made a lot of good buckets. Everybody was swinging the ball. Everybody contributed in the game. So I think that's what helped us on defense. Q. Your thoughts about playing Villanova tomorrow night? COACH COOLEY: They're a very good basketball team. One of the best, if not the best, in the country. I don't think Villanova has gotten the respect they deserve on a national scale. I'll put our league against any league in America when we're looking at the Big East from top to bottom. We know what we're up against. We've seen them play. We've played against them a couple of times. We've got to make a couple of adjustments, if we can. We can't let them loose in transition and threes. They're very, very talented, but they've got to guard somebody on the other end as well. Q. By this point of the season, for anybody up there, at this point of the season, whether it's Villanova in particular or some of the top teams you may face this postseason, how ready does this team feel to play at that kind of level? LaDONTAE HENTON: We feel like we can play with anybody. We know it's not going to be easy. It's going to be a tough matchup. Villanova matches up well with us. So we've just got to be prepared mentally for them. Q. Kris, you were hurt last year, as Providence made this run here last year. Now you're obviously playing. How frustrating was it to watch this last year and how excited are you to get this going now? KRIS DUNN: It wasn't more frustrating. I think it was a learning experience for me. What we did last year was amazing. Bryce Cotton and Kadeem, they led us last year and LaDontae. Carson and Tyler, we still have the veterans now and are leading us now. It was a good experience. I'm just excited to be here. Q. LaDontae, talk to us about rebounding. Those of us who have seen you guys play know you have developed that MO as being one of the best rebounding teams in the county, particularly on the offensive glass. You had 18 offensive rebounds, 49 total. Talk about that. LaDONTAE HENTON: The coaching staff does a great job of making sure we're mentally ready for the battles down low and making sure everybody knows what they've got to do. A lot of people's roles on this team is rebounding at a high level, and we were able to do that tonight. Q. Was the plan to just try to make them play at half‑court? They struggled there. Was that part of what you wanted to do today. COACH COOLEY: I think any time you play against a transition team, you want to try to get them to play against a set defense. It's really hard to score against set defenses. I don't know how many points we scored in transition today, but if the floor's really spread open and you get the athletes that are in our league, you can get to the basket and score. If you kind of make them play against a set defense‑‑ you can't let St. John's lose. You let them lose, especially in this building, you're in trouble. Q. Either of the players: Down the stretch, you guys really sort of had your hands on the ball on almost every possession, every score. Is that time that you really like it or you want it? Can you just talk a little bit about that. LaDONTAE HENTON: The leaders on the team was just telling everybody to lock in. Right now is when we battle, the last four minutes, or four minutes at a time. We just wanted to = lock in and make sure we get every loose ball and every rebound. Q. For Ed and LaDontae: Your attention to detail, like you refer to, I assume that means the three‑point shot. I think they only had one the first set. Villanova set, I think, a record in the first game. COACH COOLEY: That's been‑‑ this truthfully has been one of the worst teams that I've coached, so that's on me, of our three‑point field goal defense. We've had three or four games where teams have gotten 10, 11, 13 threes. If teams are making threes on you, you've got no chance. I'd rather take a tough two‑‑ even a two at the basket versus threes. Threes motivate people. They get you excited. They're like dunks. And tomorrow we've got to play a team that is probably averaging 12 or 13 threes a game coming down the stretch right now. So they're playing at a really high level. We've got our work cut out tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get some rest tonight. Again, a very, very dangerous team. We have to be super, super detailed tomorrow in order for us to advance to try to get to Saturday night. Q. Coach, the run you guys made for the tournament championship here last year, has that made this a more confident run this time of year? COACH COOLEY: Are we more confident? I think LaDontae, Tyler, and Carson have done a good job of talking to the other players. Kris was on the bench and probably the best cheerleader on the bench last year. At least our guys have had a feeling of being in the building. Many guys didn't play, but some guys were on the bench and at least got the feel of what it is. We're excited about tomorrow. I'm proud of our leadership. But we still hope‑‑ I'm hoping I'm having this interview as happy as I am right now tomorrow night around 9:00. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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