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PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 14, 2015Brandon AshleyT.J. McConnellSean MillerLAS VEGAS, NEVADA Arizona – 80 THE MODERATOR: We'll start with opening remarks from Coach Miller, and then questions. COACH MILLER: Well, we want to congratulate Oregon for really a fantastic season. I mean, they had the Player of the Year, the Coach of the Year for a good reason, and that was hard‑earned. Thinking about where Oregon was in November and where they are today, I'm sure everyone associated, especially their team and coaching staff, are thrilled. We played great tonight, and that was reflective in the score. But they're going to be a dangerous team to play against. Joe Young can score as well as any guard in this country, and I think you saw that tonight against a hard‑fought defense. It wasn't like we gave him much. He earned everything. These two guys in this tournament were really our heart and soul, not that the others didn't do much, but Brandon winning the MVP is right for so many reasons on so many levels and proud of him, happy for him. It's not easy to overcome what he did last year with the season being taken away, and then for him to rise like he did in this tournament and really the last few weeks leading into the tournament, it's a great sign for our team. Hopefully we can keep that going and he can keep that going next week. T.J., the leadership and his desire to win is second to nobody in this country, and everybody feeds off of him. So the fact they're up here makes me feel good as the coach because I think they represent a lot of the qualities of our team. We're excited and proud to be the champions not only in the regular season but the tournament, and our fans had a lot to do with it. We have one of the great home courts in the country, and they made Vegas our home court here for three days. So they have a part in this as well. Q. You seem to be humble about it, but seriously how big a deal is this? We've been asking you year after year about ending this 13‑year dry spell. Now you've done it. Did you think about it much, and how significant is it? COACH MILLER: Yeah (laughing). I think about it. I think we think about it. You try not to make too much of it. But the fact that our program‑‑ obviously I haven't been here since 2002, so a few of them have certainly fallen on our coaching staff and recent teams. But I think the old adage in sports is this: Fans and the media, no question that is the story line, but when you're in the battle and you're competing for it‑‑ and that's really what we've done. This is our fourth appearance in the final. It isn't as if we've come to Vegas and not played well. We've played well and have lost some heartbreakers in hard‑fought games. Tonight it went our way, but you keep doing things the right way. You have a talented group and you just kind of keep working, eventually you break through. So the 2002, everyone has to come up with something different now because that one has been answered, and I think these guys feel the same way. Q. Coach, you had a plus 27 rebounding margin in this tournament, and particularly today it wasn't like you guys were just outpowering them, you were getting to a lot of 50‑50 balls. Can you talk about the rebounding this weekend, and particularly the effort tonight? COACH MILLER: Well, these guys will tell you that we're well aware of our rebounding total. We know that's part of what makes us a good team. We're emphasizing it and we have a lot of talent in that area. The first half yesterday against UCLA, we did not do a very good job rebounding. The second half we broke the game open because we did an outstanding job. Really ditto for Cal. At the half against Cal, I think we had one second shot, I believe, but in the second half we got going. Our defensive rebounding has been a constant, and that has to continue to be a constant now that we're in the NCAA tournament. Q. Brandon, you've won 11 straight, 17 of 18, you are getting hot at the right time. Can you comment on the team's great play over this heading into March Madness? BRANDON ASHLEY: I think for every great team there comes a point where you really have to come together as a team and continue to grow, and I think we've done a great job of doing that. I mean, it's just the right time. It seems like everybody is really clicking, and we're all starting to develop extremely great chemistry. Q. Do you think you guys deserve a 1 seed? COACH MILLER: We can't control that. I know we're in the conversation. We talked about that in the locker room. There is a committee and some people that have been tracking this as far back as November. Whether we get 1 or not‑‑ we were a 1 seed last year. I know we're going to get a very good seed, and we're excited about playing. I think the more important part for us is how well are we going to continue to play? Can we build off of this tournament? That's our focus. Q. Coach, I was wondering if you had any opportunity to share any words with Lute Olson coming off the court. And how special is it that he gets to be here to share this experience with you guys and your whole program? COACH MILLER: It's always special. Coach Olson's involved in really everything that we do, and he comes to every game. His support is felt not just from me but from these guys. Everybody recognizes what he and his coaching staff did many, many years ago. Part of why we had the turnout here today and why we have the home court that we have is because of his efforts. So him being able to share in those efforts is spectacular and something that I think makes us feel good. Also even last night with Jason Terry and Nick Johnson on their day off coming in for that game, if you're these two guys, how does that make you feel to know that what you're doing matters to so many of those former players. We always have that in our minds and, obviously, Coach Olson is a big, big part of that. Q. T.J., what about going into the NCAA Tournament on an 11‑game winning streak? T.J. McCONNELL: You've just got to‑‑ you can't overlook an opponent. We're going to enjoy this, but we can't be lackadaisical in practice leading up to our first tournament game. Like we've been saying after the loss to Arizona State, we just have to play hard and let the chips fall, and that's what we've been doing and we have to keep doing that in the tournament. Q. Coach, Gabe had eight points tonight and he's been heating up a little bit down the stretch. How important does his role become in the NCAA Tournament, that kind of sharp shooter? COACH MILLER: Gabe has a huge role. He's a much improved player from his sophomore year. He does a lot more things than just score and shoot threes. Tonight he wasn't able to really get going because he was in foul trouble, or else he would have played more. But these guys do a great job of finding him. He's that player that really can change the game and make big shots. He's playing with a ton of confidence. But I think that's part of what we have right now. We have a team that's confident, and members of the team that, in some cases, these two guys are playing with the most confidence maybe that they've ever had. That's good to see. You can't always control that. Right now we have to continue that. Like I told these guys, you go from this championship, and you get a Thursday game. When I was at Xavier, we had a noon game on Thursday, we were down 13 at the half, and I walked in at halftime and said, Fellas, we're going to be out of the tournament before it even begins. You have to be ready. Everybody in the tournament is capable of beating you. This is going to be a quick turnaround if we are on Thursday. I think what T.J. said is right. Part of what has gotten us to this point is a continued work ethic and belief that what we do works, and we have to carry that with us no matter where we go here on Thursday or Friday. Q. Sean, could you talk about your ball screen coverage tonight against Joseph Young, particularly in the first half T.J. and Kaleb were really doing a great job on that? COACH MILLER: No question, it's a team effort. Lot of times these guys get too much credit for individually guarding a player. T.J. will be the first one to tell you if Brandon isn't where he's supposed to be, it doesn't work very well. And we did an excellent job. I think if you talk to Joe Young, he probably would say that that we did defend him in that area. That is a key area when you guard him, because, man, can he make shots. Q. T.J. or Brandon, Coach noted that the team is playing with a lot more confidence. Talk a little bit about how the fan atmosphere over here really helps the team out when you guys are struggling. T.J. McCONNELL: When other opponents bring 30 percent of their fans and the rest of the stands are filled with Arizona fans, it can be intimidating for another opponent. When we go on runs, the crowd is just so energetic and we get fired up, and that's when we go on our run. I've said this day‑in and day‑out, our fans are the best in the country. It's not even close, and they kind of showed why this weekend. Q. Brandon, seven guys on your team had three or more rebounds today. You guys really controlled the glass. How important is that team effort especially going into the tournament when you know everyone's going to be counted on? BRANDON ASHLEY: Like Coach said earlier, rebounding is one of those things that we really have to focus on. When we rebound well, we seem to really play well. It kind of takes over everything else for the rest of the game. It makes it easier for us to maintain that control in the game. So really on the offensive and defensive rebounds it's really important to just control that. Q. Sean said yesterday this is as good as he's ever seen you play. Do you agree with that? Why do you think it's kind of come together for you over these last few weeks? BRANDON ASHLEY: In all honesty, I think it's just me being patient. My teammates also being patient, my coaching staff and everybody just kind of sticking with me. Coming off an injury, it really does take a lot of time to get all the way back to where you want to be. So I feel like at this point I am confident. I do feel a hundred percent healthy, and my teammates and my coaching staff have a huge part in that. Q. Now that you're over the hump and finally getting that conference tournament championship? COACH MILLER: Thank you. Q. What makes the difference between last year's team and this year's team? COACH MILLER: Listen, we talk a lot about last year's team. We had a great team. You think about it, we were a bounce away from being in the Final Four. Our record was 33‑5. We did not win this tournament, but I'm also here to tell you the team we lost to is a heck of a team and a talented team that played in one of the great games that I've been a part of. I think these guys would agree. The talent that was on the court last year against UCLA in the championship, and that game could have gone either way. We were 6 for 16 from the line. That hurt us. But right now offensively we're playing better going into the NCAA Tournament than we did last year. We were a man short last year with Brandon going down. If can you imagine Brandon playing like this on last year's team what we could have done. Nobody knows that more than him. But that's last year. We're healthy this year, and some of the things that we know we're very good at, we have to be ourselves and take them into this tournament this week. Q. Utah's an excellent defensive team individually with Delon Wright and as a team. They could do nothing to stop Joseph Young. What was the difference for you tonight to be able to contain him relatively? COACH MILLER: How many did he end up with? Q. 19? COACH MILLER: It wasn't like we pitched a shutout. I mean, there were some times there that I think we all knew he was rolling. But I think what we try to do with our defense is make it hard. Did he hit some tough shots? Yes. And great players do. We just don't want to give him uncontested shots and put him at the foul line. I thought T.J. in particular really embraced the challenge and made him earn it and work really hard. He had a hard‑fought 19 points, so that's how I would categorize it. But team defense is what we do, not individually, and a lot of different factors play into us being successful on defense. By the way, Elgin Cook was a focus for us because his emergence over the last month, month and a half has been a huge asset. And we did a really good job on him and some of their other three‑point shooters as well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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