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ATLANTIC-10 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 14, 2015Tyler KalinoskiBob McKillopBrian SullivanBROOKLYN, NEW YORK VCU – 93 COACH McKILLOP: I think it was Lou Holtz that said, nothing is as good as it seems and nothing is as bad as it seems; the exuberance of the locker room 24 hours ago versus the sadness in the locker loom today, quite a contrast. Despite it all, congratulations to VCU, and I couldn't be more proud of the magnificent Atlantic 10 that Davidson College and these guys, these leaders, have had for us. Q. Brian, what was the main difference today than it was nine days ago at Davidson? BRIAN SULLIVAN: I think at home, we did a better job dictating tempo of the game. We didn't surrender control for really any stretch of that game. And I think here, we let that happen. We let their defensive pressure dictate our offensive flow. And I think that's really the biggest difference. Q. Tyler, talk about the pace of the game, how it maybe wore you guys out or the confidence and stuff. TYLER KALINOSKI: You know, when they went on their run in the first half, the main thing why they went on that run is we didn't get stops. They made baskets, their full court press, it kind of pressures us and we took some bad shots offensively, which led to them getting good shots. I mean, we knew it was going to be an up‑and‑down game. We knew it was going to be a street fight. We knew they were going to make a run. We knew we were going to make a run. Q. How difficult is it when they are scoring and defense‑‑ TYLER KALINOSKI: Yeah, they did a great job pressuring the ball, speeding teams up. Like Brian said, I thought when we played them at home, we did a great job of handling that pressure, slowing down, taking good shots. And especially in the first half when they went on that run, they kind of sped us up. We were taking some bad shots which led to them running out and getting some open looks and then they knocked them down. Q. When you cut it to five in the second half, what were you thinking? 16‑0 run to keep it going, how tough is it? BRIAN SULLIVAN: With these guys, it's not that tough, with Tyler and Ali being our seniors and just seeing the way that they fight every day. I mean, I'm 21 playing college basketball. It's not that tough. Just bring energy the whole time. At that point, had a lot of confidence, because we've had a couple pretty impressive comeback wins and I thought here we go, we're going to get another one. But credit to them. They held us off. Q. Now that this is over, you've got another big tournament looming for you. Talk about why you think you deserve a berth in the NCAA Tournament. TYLER KALINOSKI: I think we have shown that we can play in a great league like the Atlantic 10. We can compete. We played in North Carolina, Virginia, we competed against them. Just the way we play, how we fight every game, no matter what the score is; we always believe we have a chance to win, and just how we ended up in the Atlantic 10 and how we finished there, I think we definitely should. BRIAN SULLIVAN: I think he said it all. I don't really know how it all works, but I think over the course of the season, we definitely showed we're one of the Top 64, or however many at‑large bid teams, in the country. Q. What were you thinking when you were making this comeback in the second half again and got it down to five, and why were you not able to come all the way back? COACH McKILLOP: We mixed up defenses. We made shots. We got stops. And Treveon Graham hit a three from the right guard spot, the right alley spot, and I think it was Jonathan Williams made a drive through the crack of the zone and made a runner from the foul line. I think those two shots kind of got them feeling a little bit more confident and it loosened our zone up. Again, we have to take the ball out of the net, grab it in off the backboard. That disrupts your flow and your rhythm and that's what happened when they are running the first half. We didn't get stops. The reason we didn't get stops I think was because our quick decisions with shooting the ball was not the way it was a week ago, two weeks ago. We let them dictate in the game of decisions. And it is a game of decisions, not mistakes, and we made some quick decisions in that eight‑minute period, and as a result, they got out running; and there was nothing we could do to defend them in transition, and many of their shots occurred in transition. Q. Talk about the grueling nature of this game. There was 25 fouls called against each team, 31 fouls in the second half and it was really hard to get any pace going. COACH McKILLOP: That clearly is one of the handicaps against us is we need rhythm and flow. And I think it's a game of flow, whether it's Davidson playing or the Virginia Commonwealth playing. It disrupted us and we got no feel for it, no rhythm. Q. Down 55 to 33, you take Gibbs out at that point and replace him with a combo of Oscar and Andrew. Was there anything that your research numbers showed you that these two would give you a better opportunity? COACH McKILLOP: I'm more into guts than analytics (chuckles). And my gut was that Jack was trying to hit home runs and we needed singles at that point. We were trying to eat an elephant in one bite and we need to do it bite by bite. Q. Coming from a conference where you had a strangle hold on teams in tournament play, what's it like coming to the A‑10 and competing at such a high level, and how does that help you develop your players even further? COACH McKILLOP: Well, the first thing is, you're on a stage that's incredible. This is a Broadway stage. The direction of leadership, the administration of this conference is extraordinary. Bernadette McGlade is a superstar. It all filters down from her. And you feel like you are in a majestic theatre on Broadway. I mean, that's the way we feel. I think that elevates your energy. It inspires you, tests you. It gives your players an experience that they will remember forever. This will be a cherished experience for our entire roster, our managers, our coaches. It's a joyful experience to be part of this. Q. After that, I feel like this is kind of mundane. Your thoughts on Alie‑Cox's game and what Treveon Graham gives VCU every game? COACH McKILLOP: Of course I know Treveon because I coached him on USA Basketball university games. He started for us. He was our best player, and there were some first‑round picks in that game. I have the utmost respect and Treveon and I have a great relationship, and he played like I knew he would play. He's a great player, and he made all the big plays when they had to be made. Mo Alie‑Cox, I mean, what he did from the standpoint of offensive rebounding and making foul shots today, that broke our back. Q. Now that you can think about it, do you think you all belong in the NCAA Tournament? What's your mind‑set? COACH McKILLOP: Well, my mind‑set right now is we are the winners of the Atlantic 10 Conference. We have a body of work that's pretty impressive. It's not the tenth‑ranked conference, it's not the ninth‑ranked conference, I think it's the seventh‑ranked conference in the country: You win that for the duration of the season; you play pretty darned good basketball as you close ought the season to win 10 of your last 11. Yes, we did lose to Carolina and Virginia, but I think our Virginia game got people's attention. I think clearly with 24 wins, a conference championship and getting to the semis in the conference tournament, I think that's a pretty good statement about where we belong. Q. You're in a position you've never been in, just in terms of with Davidson, it was auto bid. In the past few weeks, as you were building out the resumé, did you ever kind of discuss the importance of just racking up the wins, given the opportunities you missed in the non‑conference‑‑ COACH McKILLOP: You're exactly right, and as David and Scott know, I discipline myself not to think about that, but I would be lying if I said, I don't see it on the periphery. I really try to compartmentalize and see totally what's in front of us. A year ago at this point, we lost in the semifinals to Western Carolina. We had a magnificent season and went to the NIT. There's no heartbreak of a feeling than that. This Atlantic 10 has given us like a new birth. That's I think one of the reasons why we're in the Atlantic 10. Q. Piggybacking off of all of that, preseason what were your expectations going to a higher‑level league? COACH McKILLOP: Well, I always have this expectation: We will have the beautiful team that plays the beautiful game and has a beautiful season. We have fallen far short from that. But Browning said it best: "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for." We are always reaching for heaven. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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