|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 14, 2015Josh AdamsDerek Cooke, Jr.Larry Nance, Jr.Larry ShyattLAS VEGAS, NEVADA Wyoming – 45 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Wyoming. Coach, your thoughts on today's game. COACH SHYATT: Well, these guys know I like the 43 part, although I guess some of the pundits nationally feel like the game's got to change. I love the way these guys play. I have always trusted them. I'm so happy for our ball club, for our university, and most of all for these five seniors who came and took a chance on our staff, they took a chance on the University of Wyoming at a time that was not easy. They really came through, so I'm happy for them and equally proud of all of them and all of the team. THE MODERATOR: We'll now take questions for our student‑athletes. Q. Josh, it's crunch time. Offense was a struggle. You made that three about a minute to play. Was that set? Was it open for you? JOSH ADAMS: Clock was winding down, as it was the entire game. San Diego State is an insanely good defensive team. We struggled getting looks, myself especially. They were front guarding me. I spaced to the corner. Hankerson made a great pass and it went in. I'm blessed the ball just went in. Q. Larry, you got off to a pretty good offensive start, then struggled. San Diego State, looked like they were doubling down on you. What was the biggest difference from the fast start to the rest of the game? LARRY NANCE, JR.: I mean, anytime you have a hot start shooting from the perimeter you got to be ready for that to fade a little bit. San Diego State did a great job of pressuring all of us in the second half, kind of making it a little bit difficult to get those open looks. The resiliency of this team to stick to our game plan is really what pulled this one out. Q. Derek, you've struggled over the course of your career from the free‑throw line. A little bit of an understatement. How have you gotten better at the line over the years and how special was it to clinch this with that? DEREK COOKE, JR.: I think I just stopped thinking about it. I got guys on my team, my coaches, everybody who has faith in me. My best friend Junior is always just like, Don't think about it, just shoot it. I know before every free throw, Riley Grabau comes up to me, he's like, You do this every day in practice. Why not make this one now? Sometimes he talks trash to me. But today he was more positive and I just made all of them. It started with the first one. He was like, Why not go one for one? Why not go two for two? He kept going.  I didn't think too far ahead and just thought about that shot. Q. You've been thinking about what this would feel about forever. Does it feel like what you thought it would feel like? LARRY NANCE, JR.: And more. JOSH ADAMS: And more. That's the best way to put it. Q. Josh, how would you assess your team's play over the tournament? JOSH ADAMS: Relentless. Been relentless all year. We've been in dogfights all year. This is the style we play. I know a lot of the critiques about us, we're grinding it out, we're going to lose energy. We had bounce in our step and were able to grind it out all the way to the end of the game, and now we're going dancing. Q. Larry, you guys have had points in each of the last few seasons where it's looked like you've had a chance to make the NCAA tournament, and always something has happened. Does it make it more special having been through that adversity? LARRY NANCE, JR.: Absolutely. We've been so close before. Just seeing it slip right from our fingertips. To know that this is ours, and there's nothing anybody can do to take that away from us, like I said, it's everything we imagined and more (referring to the trophy). Q. What does it feel to bring the trophy back to Wyoming, a place that hasn't experienced having that trophy? LARRY NANCE, JR.: We came here, and I say it all the time, coach promised to be a piece of something bigger. If I remember right, that court just about 20 minutes ago was something bigger. That's what we're taking back to Wyoming. All those fans, this trophy, the tournament MVP, and an NCAA tournament berth. Q. Larry, you mentioned the fans. This was pretty much a home game for Wyoming. Talk about the representation from Laramie. LARRY NANCE, JR.: It was crazy. You said it, it was a home game. Every time we scored, you could see three‑fourths of the gym stand up and clap. Every time they started chanting the W‑Y‑O or our band started playing "Cowboy Joe." Man, no other way to put it, but it was a home game. And thank you to everybody who came out. DEREK COOKE, JR.: Thank you. Oh, my God. JOSH ADAMS: Thank you. Q. What is it like to get this for Coach Shyatt? DEREK COOKE, JR.: One of the greatest coaches I ever played for in my life, I'm going to say that. JOSH ADAMS: This man, a good way to put it, has brought this program from rags to riches. Like you could tell, it was a home game today. The fans recognize this. Not only the players and coaching staff, but the fans recognize this. The world has no choice but to recognize this as we get a tournament berth. This man has done more for me personally and each guy on this team, this team and program, than anybody I've ever met. Your hat is off to him. We love him as a coach. We wouldn't have it any other way. LARRY NANCE, JR.: Couldn't say it any better myself. Q. You embrace, a big hug. What was that moment like after all you've been through to be able to have that relief? LARRY NANCE, JR.: Like a previous question stated, it's been so many extreme highs and so many extreme lows. We beat San Diego State, fifth ranked, on our home court. I went down with an injury. It was just up and down. And to finally reach the peak, what we had set out to do, to share that moment with him, my best friend on the team, I can't even put it into words. It was a very real moment. JOSH ADAMS: Couldn't have said it better myself. You know, countless hours on and off the court just talking about this day for the last three years, four years of my life, since I was a senior in high school, just talking about this day. Everyone said we couldn't do it. Nance goes down, we can't do it. Nance plays great, we can't do it. And we're here, so... I think that says it itself. THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student‑athletes at this time. Thank you, gentlemen. We'll continue with questions for Coach Shyatt. Q. I asked Coach Fisher this same question. Second half, they came out and held you scoreless for about eight minutes. They scored 10. You were able to reverse it. How did your team not get frustrated? COACH SHYATT: You just heard them. They speak very well for themselves. I think sometimes through adversity you do become stronger and you're hardened. This team is hardened.  They have a good combination of five seniors, five freshmen. These guys have been through a lot. Like many teams in this country, they had high hopes and dreams. They fell a little short each year because of nothing they did wrong, but circumstances. In each game, the focal point has been put pressure on our defense, they're not on a run. The first five minutes it was 2‑0. They made 2, we made nothing. I think they understand who they are. Sometimes it's even more important. And I really trust them. They understand who they're not, and they don't try to pretend they're somebody else. Q. In looking back, that period when Larry was sick, you had a game up in Reno where the first half was 14 points and the second half you really got it in gear. Did you start to feel something then at that point? COACH SHYATT: Well, I'm hoping that was the beginning. I can't lie to you. I can't tell you I felt it at that point. What happened was that Josh and Riley and Junior, I think they understood, Look, these guys aren't going to be healthy for a while. Fortunately, like some other players around the country, they didn't want to wait until they were 100%. For that I love them. They said, Coach, whatever we got, as soon as the doctors let us play, we'll give it our best. They weren't even a shadow, perhaps still, not quite what they were before the mono. That's who they are. That's why I've fallen in love with them for four years. Q. The way Josh played these last three games, especially the late shot, talk about his performance over the three days. COACH SHYATT: Yeah, you know, Josh has abilities that not a lot of people have at 6'1". Because of that, you have to allow him a little bit longer leash than some others. But I got to tell you, he's got oodles of energy. I tried to describe it the other day, this team, Josh, as much as anybody, it's never shot on try. Try is important. Doing your best. You can't always control doing your best. There's another team and a little hoop. But to try to do your best, I don't know if you can say anything's more important. Josh really, I think, epitomizes that. Q. You've spoken a lot about doing things the right way, winning isn't everything, but building a program. What does it feel like to do things the right way and get this win as a reward? COACH SHYATT: The win is a great reward for our student body and these kids. I can tell you that I was crushed and really hurt when people would mention to me when people said what was being said about this team. It really bothers me because I love these guys. But like you said, I'm old school. I like people who do what they're supposed to do most of the time. And that's what we do. All five seniors will graduate this May. Not a lot of programs that will say that. They love being with each other and with our student body for four or five years. That's the way college ball was supposed to be. You almost feel bad as a coach. You're almost ashamed that the NCAA has allowed 650 transfers to scatter around the country each year. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much, coach. COACH SHYATT: Thank you. 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
|