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NCAA MEN'S FIRST ROUND: DAYTONMarch 17, 2015Lucky JonesRodney PryorMarcquise ReedAndrew TooleDAYTON, OHIO THE MODERATOR: We're joined by student-athletes Rodney Pryor, Marcquise Reed and Lucky Jones. Questions? Q. I wondered, Lucky, not many teams have guys who score and rebound like you have in your career and also this season who come off the bench. Was that a difficult transition for you to be a sixth man? LUCKY JONES: Not at all. It doesn't matter whether I start or come off the bench, I'm still going to provide that energy, that leadership throughout the game. My job is to make sure everybody is doing their job and I'm doing mine to the best of my ability. Q. Lucky, you've been around a while. Has Coach or anybody here, Coach Jones, talked to you about the history of the, Robert Morris went to back-to-back NCAAs in 2009 and 2010? LUCKY JONES: Yeah, obviously they had the historic game against Villanova. A lot of people doubted them coming into the game. But at the end of the day, just coming out to the NCAA Tournament anybody can be beat at any given time, so you just have to come out here, be prepared and go out there and try to win a game. Q. Have you had any sense over the past week of how the people back home, outside of the university, just sort of in the city, have taken to your team and rallied around you guys, have you been able to get a feel for that? Do you notice it at all? RODNEY PRYOR: When we had our Selection Sunday show, I think that's when it started to sink in that people were rallying behind us that we was the only team out of the area to make it to the NCAA Tournament. So after the Selection Sunday, I think it started to sink in a little bit. MARCQUISE REED: Just to touch on what Rodney said, at Selection Sunday at The Grill you saw we got a lot of people like supporting us, not just our school, but just in the whole city of Pittsburgh and the whole township. LUCKY JONES: It was great while it lasted. Obviously we won the NEC Championship, and we're here today. We have to move past that and have fun and enjoy the time out here and hopefully we can get a win tomorrow. Q. North Florida is here for the first time in the NCAA and you guys haven't been here since 2010. Is there any concern at all, it would only be human if you were a little bit jittery, what a big stage that you stepped into? LUCKY JONES: A little bit. But this is our first time as well as a team. And we just gotta come out here and continue to play the way we've been playing for the last six games, sharing the ball, just going out there, looking out for each other and making sure we have each other's backs. MARCQUISE REED: Yeah, coming into it, we got a little bit more experience like our coach has been to the NCAA Tournament. And for us, as a group, this is our first time, but coming behind a coach that has a lot of experience just motivates us and knows what it feels like, and he's going to prepares us the best so we can come out and get a victory. RODNEY PRYOR: I believe we're going to be well prepared for the game. As players, this is our first time. But like he said, with our coach being here multiple times, he's going to prepare us to go out on the floor and get a win. Q. What has he been able to do, Andy, to keep you guys loose and also focused, not make it too much of a pressure situation? How was the trip up? What was it like on the ride up? RODNEY PRYOR: After the championship, we took a few days off to celebrate and let it sink in. But then we got back in the gym, shooting drills, nothing too serious. Then we had a serious practice after that. Like on the drive up we treated it like a normal trip. We come in here to win a game. It's not about partying and stuff like that. We just got to remember that we're here to play basketball. MARCQUISE REED: What Rodney said, we celebrated while it lasted and he had a meeting with us and said it's time for us to get back to work and try to get a win in the tournament. Let's just not go, we're going to try to compete and get a win and just come out with the same mindset we had for the last six games. LUCKY JONES: Just to touch off what these two guys said. We've got to make sure that we don't do what a lot of other teams probably might do, coming from mid-major programs and conferences. This is not like a party event. We're here to make sure we try to make history and get a win or two in the NCAA Tournament. Q. Lucky, playing with these two new guys on the team, you guys have emerged as kind of a three-pronged scoring threat. How long did it take or what did you guys do to kind of build that chemistry? LUCKY JONES: Took us a couple of games to sort each other out, make sure we know time to score, when to score and how we're scoring and how the people are guarding us. But obviously I probably think we emerged the best the last six games of the conference because we had conversations about how we need each other and how much hard work it takes. And sometimes they're going to be blocking out Rodney or blocking out Marcquise or even me. So we've got to make sure we take turns and just get what the defense is given us. Q. North Florida, what have you seen on film and what's your biggest concern? RODNEY PRYOR: So far on film we broke down each player, what they like to do playing against zone. They shoot the three, shoot it a lot. They've got a few guys that got a fast clip. So we've got to be high alert in our zone and aggressive in our zone, making sure all shots are contested. And just preparing for anything that stands out there alone. They play with big lineups, making sure we're boxing out, not giving up a lot of second chances. Q. Actually had a longer bus ride to the NEC championship than to get here. Was it hard to get tickets for people who want tickets for this game especially since Dayton ended up on the same day? MARCQUISE REED: It wasn't a problem to get tickets. We basically told them the names we needed and he got enough for us. Q. Rodney, talking about North Florida and what you're focusing on them, do you feel like they're going to be focusing on you Marcquise and Lucky, and how do you combat that knowing you're going to be the focus? RODNEY PRYOR: Definitely. We've just got to stay true to ourselves which is one of our keys as a team, making sure we're not going out there and getting wild, making sure we stay composed, stay poised and do what we do and making sure we stay aggressive and making sure we're not shying away from the moment, but also playing within the team concept. Q. Being it's your freshman season, you've had a lot of success being one of the leaders on the team, NEC Freshman of the Year, things like that. Does it get to you, that pressure, that you're a focus of this team and people are looking at you, or do you not kind of look at that attention? MARCQUISE REED: I try not to focus on it. My coach always tells me that they're going to try to play harder, face guard you more. But I try like to shy away from it, still go out there and play my game. Q. Marcquise, what have you done when they do put special defenses, how do you handle that? Have you changed your game any or made adjustments? MARCQUISE REED: Yeah, I gotta make a few adjustments. They'll probably try to take a couple of charges when I try to get to the lane. So I have to start facilitating more and get my other teammates open like Rodney and Lucky because them guys can knock down shots. Q. Lucky, it seems like North Florida and you guys are pretty similar. You're both pretty young teams, both good 3-point shooting teams, how do you approach an opponent like that that's very similar to you? LUCKY JONES: I know that we are a great offensive team, that we've got a lot of scorers and a lot of people that finish. But one thing that got us here this far is our defense. And the last six games we've been playing great defense, very active, very energetic. So we've just got to make sure we keep that up, make sure we're not extending and just force them to hit tough shots and if they can do that then we're going to have a ballgame. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Coach, an opening statement. COACH TOOLE: Don't need an opening statement. We're excited to be here. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach. Q. When you came to Robert Morris, what was your perception of Western Pennsylvania as a basketball community. What do you think you've contributed to it since and what do you hope to contribute to it as coach of Robert Morris? COACH TOOLE: Before I came to Robert Morris I actually didn't know much about Pittsburgh. I had been there one time actually for the NCAA Tournament as a player. That was my only experience with Pittsburgh, didn't know much about Western PA basketball. Been out there eight years now and have seen a lot of growth in the game -- at the grassroots level, at the high school level. I think a lot more guys that are playing year-round basketball, guys that are starting AAU programs and grassroots teams and things of that nature. So I think I've seen in my eight years the product improving. More players coming out of the area. Guys wanting to be better players. I'm not sure what I've contributed to that, if anything at all. But it's nice to see the growth of the game in and around the city. I think obviously the run that Pitt's been on since Ben Howland and Jamie Dixon have been there have really helped grow the popularity of the game and Pittsburgh and so I think it's trending upward in terms of the game and the excitement around basketball and Western PA. Q. Neither team has got anybody who has ever played in the NCAA Tournament. You've got experience both playing and coaching. I'm wondering, is that any kind of advantage or is everybody kind of on a -- do we make too much of this experience coming into a tournament simply because a lot of the guys haven't played in these before? COACH TOOLE: I mean, I think there can be some positives from it, obviously. We've talked to our team a little bit about some past experiences, some opportunities that people have had to be associated with the tournament, whether it's myself or people on our staff and things. Just trying to get them excited about being a part of it and trying to relay to them about how you can have some success in this tournament or how you can be at your best because all of our guys want to play at their best, but sometimes you can get so excited and so jacked up that you don't play your best. So trying to make sure that they understand the significance of where they are and what they've accomplished but at the same time allow them to perform at their best when they want to be playing their best. Q. At the beginning of the season, did you expect Lucky and Marcquise and Rodney to really combine as well as they have and emerge as the three-pronged scoring threat? COACH TOOLE: We hoped that they would. Once Marcquise stepped on campus, and we saw him in workouts and saw how quickly he was adjusting and adapting and scoring, whether it was in small group workouts or in the fall once we got into some larger group stuff, we knew that he'd have the ability to come in and score. Rodney wasn't cleared until August 1st. So we didn't really get to see him in the summer. Then obviously when school started he was kind of coming back and working his way in. And Lucky obviously was someone who was established. We thought the three of them would be guys that we would rely on for scoring. I think earlier in the year all three of them were trying to figure out where they fit within that pecking order. And we kept trying to tell them there's enough of the pie for everybody and you can slice it any way you want but when everyone's getting a third you're going to be all right. So I think it took a little while for everyone to adjust to that. And I think it took a little while for guys to figure out how to play with each other. Marcquise is a guy who as a freshman he knows one thing that's really putting the ball in the basket. So there were times when maybe he would go to the rim and take a tougher shot, whereas as a coaching staff we understood that's part of what comes with a freshman scoring and shooting the way he's shooting but sometimes as a teammate you think to yourself, oh, did he just miss me? So I think we had some of those things going a little bit. I think early in the year Lucky was pressing a little bit in terms of the number of contested shots he was taking and he was kind of living and dying completely by the 3 and we were trying to convince him to diversify a little. So it took us a little while to figure out how they were all going to play out. But I think in the last month as we've played our best basketball, I think you've seen games where all three of them have played well offensively. All three have made plays for each other and all three have been the recipients of plays made by each other. It's been nice to see and it's been a good luxury for us to have to know, hey, if we get two of them going, great. If we get all three going we're even better. Q. Andy, you've been here before. Some of your coaches have been here. What are some of the things you will tell your players over the next few days to keep them calm and focused on the game? COACH TOOLE: We're kind of a loose group. We don't really get too excited about stuff. I'm not necessarily worried about them losing focus on the game or the moment being too big. I think we'll just talk to them about the things that we've done to get here and when we've played our best, what kind of team have we been? When you've played your best, what kind of player have you been? And then trying to go out and do that to the best of your ability on Wednesday night. And I think our guys all understand now what their roles are. They understand when they're helping our team, what they're doing best. And we'll encourage them to do that. I think as soon as the ball goes up, you hope they can kind of settle in and realize it's just a basketball game again, like they did in the NEC Championship. Obviously there was a lot of hype and great environment around that game. And as soon as the ball went up everyone kind of settled in after the first few minutes and we were able to play well. So I hope we have a similar situation on Wednesday. Q. I don't think anybody would imply you're looking past your first opponent in the NCAA Tournament, but you have such a quick -- whoever wins this game has such a quick turnaround to come back Friday against Duke. Is there somebody on your staff who at least looks into that, simply so you're not coming in completely cold on late Wednesday night or Thursday morning? COACH TOOLE: Well, it's hard to come in completely cold on Duke. They kind of have their own channel. They rule the world. So I think when we go through personnel our guys might know who some of those guys are. I think they'll be familiar. They only play on TV four times a week. But it's a situation where we do have an assistant who is kind of looking in at stuff and getting things ready in hopes that we have the opportunity to present a scouting report for that game. But we do understand how talented and efficient North Florida is and how capable they are. So that's where our focus is. And we haven't talked about anything further than Wednesday night with our team. But obviously as a staff you have to be proactive and hope that you have the opportunity like I said to present that scouting report. Q. I think all three of your players that spoke to us mentioned how quickly they refocused after winning the NCAA Tournament. What will you tell them about trying to enjoy this opportunity and going back to when you experienced it, where they are now, were you able to, when you look back, did you enjoy it enough? COACH TOOLE: Probably not as much as you wanted to. And that's what we've talked to our guys about. Even going into the NEC Championship game. We said to them, enjoy and embrace this opportunity. I think we were in the NEC Championship game a year ago and I don't think we enjoyed it. And not even from the win and loss side, but just taking a moment to look around and say this is pretty neat, even getting to our league championship game is something that a lot of people don't get an opportunity to do. And then going out and trying to play like you're enjoying it, like you're having fun, like it's a great experience for you. I think everyone's better when they're enjoying themselves. So we have discussed a lot about enjoying practice, enjoying film now. This is all gravy. We're not going to be out there running conditioning and doing defensive slides like you do in October and November when you're trying to get your team ready for the season. This is all gravy. And there's not as many teams that get to put their jerseys on not as many teams that get to show up and have practice and go over the scouting report at this point in time. So you've got to appreciate it and enjoy it. And I think when you do that you'll make the most of your opportunity and I hope our guys are understanding that. I think Sunday, when we found out who our opponent would be, that really got our guys back in the mode of competition and preparation and another game opportunity in front of us. And they did a good job yesterday, practice and scouting report. They did a good job this morning in the practice we've already had. And we're pretty knowledgeable about the opponent already. And so that's a good sign to me that as much fun as they're having, and walking around and taking pictures and posting stuff on Instagram, they're also understanding that they have a great chance here to go and play and compete at a high level in a great environment. Q. Both you and the players had mentioned that over the past six games is when everything has really started to gel, people understood their roles. What do you kind of attribute that change and mindset to? Was it off-the-court bonding, was it the coaching staff hammering something into them? What was it? COACH TOOLE: Our message has been the same all year long. I think it's just really been a shift in mindset from our guys. And they're the ones that get the credit because they're the ones that are going on the floor and doing what they're supposed to. And I don't know, in the last six games, excuse me, in the last three weeks, it seems like every decision that guys are making are what's about what's best for the team. And maybe not about what's best for them. And I don't know, as we've gone through the year, we've all seen flashes of our team, hey, this team could be really good, hey this team is talented, hey they have pieces, but we never really had that team. And the communication during games, the communication in practice, the communication in huddles over the last three weeks has all been about what's the most important thing that we have to face next? Not about the mistake that was just made or the guy that missed that shot or what Coach just said to me. It's all been about, okay, let's go out get the next stop. Here, we've got to execute. Hey, we've got to understand this guy is going to look to be aggressive in this situation. And guys have responded to all that stuff. And I don't know -- I can't put my finger on it. I'm glad it's happened, obviously. And I don't know if it's just the coaches wearing you out about the best way to do this or them getting together and saying, hey, maybe them realizing what time of year it was and if we really want to be serious about making something of our season, the time's got to be now. Q. You talked the team hasn't been to the NCAA since 2010 but you do have back-to-back NIT victories. One of the teams is doing pretty well for themselves. Does that help you at all or is that a totally different animal than this? COACH TOOLE: I think we'll draw on all our experiences. I think that might help us if we're lucky enough to win on Wednesday. I think what we experienced last week in the Northeast Conference Tournament and what we experienced in the Northeast Conference Tournament over the last couple of years, you know, losing in the championship last year, getting upset in the semifinals the year before, I think those games will be more what Wednesday is like than some of those NIT games. And so I think that those experiences that everybody on our team has experienced here, you know, the championship game at Saint Francis Brooklyn, the semifinals against Bryant. Those kind of one-and-done, those kind of matchups with guys that look and seem like you, those are the things that I think we'll draw on the most to say we've been in these situations. The Bryant semifinal game they took the lead in the second half. We responded with a great run. Obviously we were down at the half at Brooklyn and came out and played one of our best halves if not our best half of the season. I think we'll look to those experiences more and try and draw on those things as we prepare for North Florida. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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