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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: SEATTLEMarch 19, 2015Josh AdamsRiley GrabauLarry Nance, Jr.Larry ShyattSEATTLE, WASHINGTON THE MODERATOR: We\'ll go ahead and get started with Wyoming student-athletes. Q. Wanted to ask Josh, what do you see in Northern Iowa as far as their perimeter and what they\'re able to do maybe shooting-wise, or kind of give me your scouting report on Northern Iowa\'s perimeter players. JOSH ADAMS: They\'re a very well-rounded team both inside and out, but as far as their perimeter shooters go, they\'re DI athletes and they shoot a very high percentage. They have Jesperson, Buss on the outside, their point guard, all of them can shoot the ball. So we\'re going to have to do a good job covering that if we hope to get a win. Q. Not being familiar with your schedule, have you played a team with as I guess tall of perimeter players or as rangy, kind of matchup-wise? JOSH ADAMS: Yeah, we played a team in San Diego State with Winston Shepard out on the perimeter, and even Quinn and Kell are pretty well -- pretty good size for a guard, but we\'re just going to still play our game and worry about what we need to do and take what they give us. Q. We talked a lot this season how you always approach every game the same, but with being such a big stage, has it been a little different this week or has it been, as we said, business as usual? LARRY NANCE JR.: Coach is kind of an old-fashioned type of guy so he doesn\'t want to make this game any bigger than any of the rest. It\'s really been the same kind of preparation. Go over first couple days, it\'s all about us. And then now when we get -- starting to get closer to the game, we start game planning, preparing for what we\'re going to do against them. Q. Riley, we talked earlier this week about you were on that cloud nine for a little while there, at what point were you able to turn the page and say, okay, we have got another basketball game here? RILEY GRABAU: Probably when we first got to practice and compete against each other. You kind of come back down to earth and you kind of compete with each other and get the competitive side out of everybody. That\'s what we did for a couple days now. Now we have just been focusing on Northern Iowa. Q. Larry, a lot of the attention going on since the selection round has been focusing on your matchup with Tuttle. Just talk about what that\'s going to be kind of like, what you see so far, now we\'re close to the game, and just what kind of player he is either in comparison or contrast to how you think you play. LARRY NANCE JR.: There\'s been a lot of similarities drawn between us two, but I really try not to pay attention to it. He\'s a terrific player on a terrific team, and I\'m going to do my best individually to slow him down, but I know there\'s going to be four guys behind me ready to help. This isn\'t Larry Nance versus Tuttle; it\'s Wyoming versus Northern Iowa. So that\'s all I\'m concerned about. Q. Josh, you guys said it was like having a home game in Vegas with Cowboy Nation, how they showed up. And the Cowboy allotment sold out in 44 minutes on Monday morning. What would it mean for you guys to have another home atmosphere here in Seattle? JOSH ADAMS: It would mean as much as it did at the conference tournament. Big thing for us, not only bringing these five seniors here, but bringing Wyoming to the tournament with us, it\'s been a long time coming. And these guys, myself included, this entire team and staff and program has worked their tails off to get us back here and here we are. So it would mean a lot, not only to have them at our backs, but to bring them an opportunity like this as well; that enjoyment of the NCAA tournament. Q. Larry, what does Tuttle look like on film? What strikes you about him his game, what does he do well? LARRY NANCE JR.: He\'s a very crafty player. A lot of up and unders, hooking in the post, and got a good right-hand hook shot. So that\'s really what I\'m going to be focused on, taking away his right hand and trying not to foul too much. Because he\'s -- with those crafty guys comes knowing how to get fouls, and I got to stay out of foul trouble. Q. Josh, obviously this is all your first time here on this stage, but it\'s a business trip also. How do you balance enjoying this moment and how unique this is, but also remaining focused on this opponent? JOSH ADAMS: I think it comes with recognizing when it\'s time to focus and recognizing when it\'s time to be happy. Coach always says happy is for March. So there\'s no reason we shouldn\'t enjoy every second of being here. But when we step on the practice floor or into the locker room for pregame or whatever it may be for film, I think this group is very mature and has a lot of experience and we know when the right time to focus is and the right time to enjoy it is. Q. Riley or Larry, I know it\'s a new experience for you guys in this tournament, but Coach Shyatt has been here, a lot of the assistants have NCAA tournaments experience. Is there anything they have shown you or told you to calm your nerves or give you some hints of what this is like, whether it\'s this press conference, games, this or that? Have they been able to share any knowledge with you in that regard? RILEY GRABAU: I think that he\'s been telling us to focus and also enjoying the moment, like Josh said, the time to enjoy it and the time to focus. So kind of just been harping that on us. Just getting us prepared. It\'s going to be fun. We just got to go out there and have some fun and play the game. Q. In preparation for the Mountain West Tournament, Larry Shyatt had you guys cut down the nets to practice winning the Mountain West Tournament. Has he done any unorthodox things to prepare you guys for this upcoming tournament? LARRY NANCE JR.: Like we talked about before, that was kind of a special situation, just because that\'s what we knew we had to do to get here. Coach Shyatt\'s a very old-fashioned rule book type of guy. So he\'s just approaching this game like he would the regular season game against a conference team. It\'s been nothing but business since we found out our matchup with them, and we expect nothing but that. Q. Riley, I wanted to ask you, as a shooter, what\'s it like going in a different arena, different environment or whatever? We all talk about it as a shooter. Does that really matter? Is that overplayed, or does what you\'re seeing out there -- does it affect your shot? RILEY GRABAU: No, I don\'t think so. I think that what my dad has taught me is a shooter is all about thinking. If you think you\'re going to miss or thinking about your feet or your arm, whatever it is you\'re thinking about, your balance, you\'re going to miss it. You just got to go out there, and it\'s all about repetition. If you got a lot of reps up, then you\'re going to be a great shooter. Q. Larry, take us back to junior high and you were having trouble gaining weight. You weren\'t growing like you thought you were until you got diagnosed with the illness. Could you picture today at that time? Take us back to that. LARRY NANCE JR.: At that point I never really thought I would be sitting here with these guys, but after going through all that and what we have been through together these past three, four years in college, I wouldn\'t trade, I wouldn\'t take any of that back. This is an awesome feeling, and I\'m happy to be here. Q. Larry, you guys have played a lot of minutes, you guys played a ton of minutes in the Mountain West Tournament, 35 plus for your starters. Are you feeling refreshed and good going against UNI? LARRY NANCE JR.: Of course, this is our first time playing in the tournament. We\'re going to have fresh legs. We\'re going to be ready. Q. Riley, how has Larry evolved and developed in your time with him? RILEY GRABAU: He\'s just grown as an individual on and off the court. You can see it off the court. He cares about his studies and all that, but on the court he\'s just been putting in the work. Since day one he\'s got the opportunity, as a freshman, I think, to play sixth man for that whole senior class that we had, seven or eight seniors, so he\'s just been developing. And really we\'re going to bank on his experience and in fact all of our experience to help us get a win. Q. For any of you guys, seemed like with the last three games of the tournament being overtime, two points, two points, basically a combined nine points in those three tournament games, others, including myself, threw out the phrase "survive and advance," but it doesn\'t seem like this was like probably the way you wanted to take this one. It\'s not even not surviving, but it\'s almost like trying to conquer something here. What is that feeling like that it\'s been by the nail, biting your nails to try and get every single one of these games? Has it kind of caught you by surprise? Josh? JOSH ADAMS: For anybody that\'s watched Wyoming play, ever, it\'s almost like every single game is like that. You look at our regular season, you know, it\'s, okay, 10 points, 12 points, 8 points, 4 points, triple overtime, overtime, 3 points, 6 points. So that\'s just our style of play. So it\'s not really a survive and advance kind of situation for us. As far as we\'re concerned, we got the job done and that\'s why we are here. And we\'re just looking to go into this game hopefully get another job done against an outstanding team in Northern Iowa with a lot of talent, so why wouldn\'t it be a nail-biter. THE MODERATOR: All right, we\'ll excuse the student-athletes. We\'ll start out with an opening statement from Coach. COACH SHYATT: Let me first take this chance to thank a wonderful group of guys, maybe as wonderful a group on and off the court as I\'ve ever been around in 40 years. They have sort of taken us and put us on their shoulders. A group of assistant coaches who really will become terrific head coaches, and I hope someday soon, although we don\'t want to lose them, but a great group. Last but not least, Tom Burman and our school\'s administration for allowing the Shyatts to come back to place that we felt really good about and hopefully continue down the right road. THE MODERATOR: Take questions for Coach. Q. What do you see in that matchup between Larry Nance and Tuttle? What are the keys for Nance? COACH SHYATT: Well, I don\'t know about commenting on a matchup between them because it\'s not a wrestling match, but I will tell you that they are similar in that they\'re both really gifted, unselfish big men. Kudos to Tuttle and his staff and team as well as Larry. That\'s a great gift to be that unselfish. They don\'t look to take over games. The games come to them rather easily. Q. What does he do well? COACH SHYATT: He\'s versatile. He puts it on the deck, he\'s a great passer, and he makes shots. Most important of all and most worrisome for opposing teams, he draws a lot of fouls. Q. What do you see in Northern Iowa\'s perimeter players? A lot of talk about Larry and Seth, but the guards and what Northern Iowa does on the perimeter? COACH SHYATT: Well, Ben and his staff have put together a great team. I got to tell you that everybody had told me day one, wow, they really have great shooters, they really can score the ball, they\'re really hard to guard. I got to tell you, I\'m not sure I\'ve seen defensive statistics like that since our back to backs. I mean, they are a great, well-rounded team. And the perimeter is no different than the interior. They don\'t have a lot of weaknesses. When you\'re ninth in the country and 30-3, it\'s pretty hard to find warts. Q. You say happy is for March. You said that a bunch. How do you balance with this team wanting them to enjoy this moment but also focus on the game ahead? COACH SHYATT: Well, I\'ve tried to just lay out in front of them what they have done up to this point and that those chapters are behind us. There\'s no sense in reflecting, how do you feel, hey, how did this feel. It\'s over. The time to reflect is after you complete whatever it is you can. I remind them also that every team in this tournament, as wonderful as a tournament it is, every team\'s going to lose but one. So let\'s just keep standing as long as we can. Q. None of these players have had this kind of an experience with the NCAA Tournament, but you have as an assistant. Is there anything from those experiences that you\'ve had in the past that you either can give these guys to expect this week or that you already have in embracing and preparing for this weekend? COACH SHYATT: Well, I think everybody\'s tournament, especially as well done as the Mountain West Tournament is, is a really good, unique experience, because you are finding out what one and done is all about and that type of pressure in terms of the games. And then with the background that our whole staff has had, with National Championships, Final Fours and of course the Dance, I think just making sure they know what to focus on and to stay away from you guys to make sure what not to focus on. Q. UNI has opened as a 7-point favorite for the game, which is similar to where the SDSU line was for the Mountain West Tournament Championship game. Are you taking a similar approach with the team, or is it completely different with this stage? COACH SHYATT: Our approach in this tournament is that we have a game just like in the Mountain West Tournament. It would be nonsense to talk about a two-day tournament because there is no such animal, if we don\'t perform well tomorrow morning. So, that\'s really what I need to tell them. I\'m pretty much a realist and I want to make sure they understand -- and they do understand -- they probably play to the highest intellect of any team I\'ve been around in 40 years. Q. You said a lot you trust this team, about how its connectiveness, how it prepares, and obviously at the biggest stage for them this season, have you seen that over the last couple days, getting over the foray of winning the Mountain West Tournament and getting here? Have you seen that same type of connectiveness and focus? COACH SHYATT: Absolutely have. I got to tell you that this may be as healthy as this ball club\'s been in a while. They hurdled some obstacles in February with our best player and our sixth man suffering from mono. They seem to be better. I don\'t know if their a hundred percent, but they certainly seem to be better. I think we\'ll have a good bounce in our step tomorrow morning. Q. UNI plays maybe a similar style to you guys in a lot of ways, defensive philosophy, maybe doesn\'t really race up and down the court. Is that an advantage, or do you think it\'s more of an advantage to Wyoming when you play somebody with a contrasting style? COACH SHYATT: Well, that\'s a great question. I\'m not sure I\'ve ever looked at it that way. It\'s usually just about, okay, what do they do best, what can we possible take away from them on the defensive end, and then what do they do best defensively and what are we going to need to win the game. Try to be simple with our guys. And, like I said before, I\'ve got a great level of respect, but the reason I trust our guys is they will show Northern Iowa a high level of respect as well. Q. What do you recall about the recruitment of Larry Nance and what competition you had and what do you think ultimately got him to Wyoming? COACH SHYATT: Well, Larry was a late bloomer. I met Sr. when I was the head coach at Clemson, I brought back a lot of our lottery picks one weekend. We had a great Hall of Fame weekend with Sharone Wright, Dale Davis, Elden Campbell, Tree Rollins, to name a few. So I had met him, and my college roommate, Tim Babb, actually called me and said, hey, Nance\'s kid is going to be pretty good. He\'s not being overly recruited, Mid-American Conference. So I quickly called Sr., any chance -- the day after I got the job, any chance we can fly in for a home visit? He said yes. Janie was not really happy about Wyoming for obvious reasons, but you know what? We had three hours together, the six dogs, the Nance family. I\'ve said this before, it\'s a breath of fresh air after being at the BCS level for 25 years. They represent everything there is good about family values and college basketball. And we\'re fortunate that Larry, on his own, independent of them, chose to get away to go to university. Q. You just referred to Larry as a late bloomer. How much, compared to maybe a typical college player, has he developed in four years because he was so late to grow into himself? COACH SHYATT: Our whole team is more a developmental team. I think our assistants have done a great job. To be a great recruiter sometimes it\'s not so much who you think you can get and how you sneak behind the bushes, it\'s who you know perhaps that you cannot get and you don\'t waste time. So we have an entire team of guys that I think personally our assistant coaches have done a great job of developing. They have gone from a small embarrassment academically to eight straight semesters over a 2.8 as a team, and you know what? It does count. They probably are emblematic of a team that\'s gotten better, wanted to go to a university like the old days, for four or five years, and be a piece of something special rather than six or seven months. THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you, Coach. COACH SHYATT: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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