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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: PORTLANDMarch 20, 2015Brandon AshleyT.J. McConnellSean MillerPORTLAND, OREGON THE MODERATOR: We're joined by student-athletes from the University of Arizona. The floor is now open for questions. Q. T.J., what jumps out at you when you see D'Angelo Russell, what you've seen of him on tape or yesterday live? T.J. McCONNELL: The first thing that comes to mind obviously is he's a top-five pick for sure. He scores in bunches. You let him get hot, I don't think there's a very good chance that you can beat Ohio State. He makes their team go. We're going to have to do a good job on him tomorrow for us to have a chance to win. Q. Brandon, talk about what you know about Ohio State. Obviously not much time to scout. BRANDON ASHLEY: We know they're a very aggressive team, both offensively and defensively. Obviously they force, I want to say, 16 turnovers a game in their conference. Obviously that's pretty high. So we're definitely looking to take care of the ball and make sure we attack their defense the right way. Q. Brandon, two years ago in that game, they were having a lot of success playing with a smaller lineup. They're kind of small again. What gave you the most difficulty in that game? BRANDON ASHLEY: I would say just the fact that LaQuinton Ross was a unique player. He was 6'8" but at the same time he spread the floor very well. We definitely expect to see something similar to that. At the same time I think we're more equipped and ready to handle something like that this year with our smaller lineup as well. Even with me at the four and Kaleb at the five, I think we're better equipped to handle that. Q. Coach Matta and Miller have a history together from when you played two years ago. Do you see any similarities in styles, philosophies between the two teams? T.J. McCONNELL: Well, unfortunately the last time we played Ohio State, I was sitting out and I wasn't at the game. I wasn't able to catch it live. We hear Coach Miller talk how good of friends they are all the time. I'm sure they run the same stuff for how long they coached together at Xavier. Coach Matta is a great coach, along with Coach Miller. They coach similar. They're great friends. I'm sure they're looking forward to playing against each other tomorrow. Q. Yesterday on the broadcast, Reggie Miller used the LeBron name being used on Stanley Johnson. Do you see that and are you in awe of what you're seeing out of this freshman? T.J. McCONNELL: I've never played with a guy as talented as Stanley. I played with Aaron last year, who was probably the closest talent-wise to Stanley. Stanley does it all. The LeBron James comparison, I think Stanley has a long way to go to ever be compared to LeBron James. I know if he works hard, he could have a very long career in the NBA. BRANDON ASHLEY: I'd pretty much say the same at T.J. Physically and athletically, it's definitely easy to compare the two. But talent-wise, in terms of work ethic and competitiveness, I'd say Stanley is right up there with him, as well. THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you very much. Good luck tomorrow. Head coach of Arizona, Sean Miller. He will make an opening statement and then we'll open it up for questions. COACH MILLER: Like every team that's still alive in this tournament, we're excited about being here. We know we have a great challenge tomorrow against Ohio State, who always seems to have a great team, always seems to be in this tournament advancing. A few years ago we had a very good game against them in the Sweet 16 in L.A. Came down to the final possession. A lot of good players, a great game. We're expecting a terrific game tomorrow. Hopefully I think some of the things we went through yesterday in our second-round game that we'll learn from and be even better. I think we'll have to play better tomorrow to have a chance to beat Ohio State. THE MODERATOR: The floor is open for questions. Q. Can you talk about the influence that Thad has had on you and the influence that Charlie Coles had on both of you, too. COACH MILLER: Yeah, all of us as coaches are products of the staffs we've been part of, the places we've worked. Thad and I really got to know each other in the early '90s, which is a long time ago now. You're right, we were assistant coaches to Herb Sendek, Charlie Coles was the other assistant coach. I don't know if it was just the timing or personalities of all three of us, but I think we all had a profound effect on each other, something that goes beyond coaching. A friendship of great meaning. Obviously Charlie has passed. But Thad and I obviously are very close. Q. Obviously you've talked about your relationship with Thad. What started it, other than being on the same staff? Was there a recruiting trip, a meeting that spawned a friendship? COACH MILLER: No. You know, I think we're both from basketball families. Thad had an older brother who is a very good player. His dad was a coach. Same with me. My younger brother, sister played. My dad was a coach. But we came together at Miami University. I think I was an assistant coach already. I was in charge of our summer basketball camp. He happened to be one of the workers at the basketball camp at that point. Really since then, the rest is history. Q. Two years ago, what gave you such a challenge trying to play against their smaller lineup? Brandon said up here a few minutes ago that he feels you guys are better equipped to deal with it now than you were two years ago. Just how are you better equipped? COACH MILLER: Well, I mean, they're entirely two different teams. Although there's some similarities in the way Ohio State may play this year, there's also some striking differences. And for us, we played against virtually every style at this point. I think Brandon's referring to those front court players that can shoot the three or drive the ball. I think Ohio State has a combination of both. We talked a lot about that throughout the year. Even in last year's final game against Wisconsin, they really put you in that position. We've just tried to better prepare our entire team regardless of the style, but in particular those three-point shooters who are front court players can really change the game. We ran into that a little bit yesterday against Texas Southern. But just making sure that we get the repetitions. I think it's kind of a universal way of doing things so that you don't get to this tournament, and you have to reinvent yourself the day before you play a team, but you're more accustomed through your practices and how you've done things throughout the long course of the season that prepares you the most for a quick turnaround. We've, I think, tried to do that. Q. It was interesting hearing Rondae yesterday talk about how much he's come to embrace being the defensive guy. I would imagine this era of AAU ball, that's not a natural thing when guys come into college. Did you see a transformation with him or was he that guy from the beginning? COACH MILLER: Defense, like a lot of things in a college basketball program, is carried from almost one generation to the next. For me, this is my sixth team at Arizona. I thought the first player that really embraced our defense would have been Kyle Fogg. Kyle in his last year playing for us was on the all defensive team, really embraced it, learned it, took great pride in being the defensive stopper. He passed the torch to Nick Johnson, who I believe passed the torch to Rondae. And T.J. is a part of that, as well. But they show a younger player the way, and you hope that that young, talented player who has the tools of someone like Rondae embraces it. Rondae sure has. Q. Last summer I think you showed the ESPN 30-on-30 thing with Detroit. What were you hoping to get from that? How has that helped you through the last few months? COACH MILLER: You're talking about the 30-for-30 ESPN special, The Bad Boys. I thought there was a lot of great team-building things in that documentary, things that we talked a lot about as far as back as last spring. This summer when our new guys showed up, we hit it quite a bit this fall. Once in a while we show different clips or talk about it throughout the year. There's a lot of messages that you can get out of it. I think most importantly is, with team success, it's amazing how individual accolades follow, how players within a team, when they sacrifice, it almost comes back around where again they benefit. Dennis Rodman would be a great example, someone who focused on being a great teammate, defender, rebounder. The next thing you know he's the sixth man of the year, Hall of Fame player. Somebody had to take on that role, and he did it. The leaders, Isiah Thomas, being one of their leaders, he wasn't afraid to confront the new players to show them the way. So there are a lot of lessons. I think the last part is that defense is something you can control better than offense. I thought for our team being totally committed to being a great defensive team will take us the furthest we could go. That would have been the one thing yesterday we share a little disappointment, not a lot, but there were times we were picking and choosing on how hard we played defensively. When you look at the final score, how hard Texas Southern scored on us, they scored on us easier than a lot of teams recently have. Hopefully we got that out of our system moving forward here. Q. In a sense, was it mission accomplished then to this point where a lot of things have been learned? COACH MILLER: I think so. We have very good team chemistry. I think statistically if you put us on paper, you're looking at a very good defensive team, anchored by our outstanding rebounding. But our quest is to stay in the tournament and advance. For us to do that, you know, it becomes more difficult to defend each opponent as you move forward. The only opponent that matters for us is Ohio State right now. They're an excellent offensive team, very well-coached, very organized. They have, in my estimation, one of the great players playing in college basketball in D'Angelo Russell. When the ball is in his hand, it's amazing how many good things happen for Ohio State. We're going to be faced with an immense challenge tomorrow like every team that's played them. Q. Do you and Thad still talk on the phone? Do you have conversations during the season, ever see each other? COACH MILLER: We communicate. Both of us, once we get into the season, you just always seem to be talking to your own team, moving through your own schedule. I would say we probably communicate more through texts. There's always a handful of times we speak during the year. Once the season is over, I think we talk maybe a little bit more often. I'm glad I didn't talk to him a whole lot this year because I didn't spill all the things you don't want that other coach to know, and vice versa probably on his end. Q. When was the last time you talked with him, do you know? COACH MILLER: Maybe at the beginning of the NCAA tournament, sent him a text. Q. Do you like these games with Thad? Would you play them during the regular season? COACH MILLER: You know, it's hard to play someone that you care a lot about. You know, this is the third time that we played. I think every time that it happens, it's less of a burden, it feels more natural. This feels more natural now than maybe the second time or certainly the first time. But inevitably if you're in this tournament, you're going to find yourself matched up against friends or former places that you've been. It just seems to be part of the storyline that makes the tournament. Last year everybody would bring up my brother as Dayton would march towards the Final Four and we were simultaneously. I guess that's one of the many things that makes this tournament so captivating. Thad and I are good friends. But I think this game is so much about Arizona versus Ohio State, two very good teams playing for a Sweet 16 opportunity. I think that's to me our focus right now. Q. Would you play them in Columbus? COACH MILLER: I don't know. It's too cold in Columbus. We like to stay in warm weather. We have palm trees. Why would I want to do that? We just watch them on TV and cheer for them (laughter). Q. You said you've faced just about everything with this team. Thad broke out the zone yesterday for the first time in two or three months. How much have you guys gone against zone this season? COACH MILLER: Quite a bit. A lot of teams in our conference, especially UCLA towards the end of the year, and we played them twice, predominantly a zone team. They press back to zone like Ohio State does. Oregon presses back to a matchup zone. We faced a lot of different teams who played zone. But no question, I know that defense against VCU seemed to be effective. I'm certain they'll at least show it or play it for a portion of the game against us. We have to be patient. Like everything with Ohio State in terms of their defense, they're very deceptive in how they turn their opponent over. It always seems like it's a key steal or a key turnover that ignites them or turns the game. Yesterday I thought one of the biggest plays in the VCU-Ohio State game was just a simple inbounds pass that went out of bounds, tied score late in the game. Those are possessions you can't get back. For us, I don't know how well we'll do in that area, but we're well aware of playing the game with few turnovers is really to your advantage because they're terrific at turning you over. Their guards, quick hands. Shannon Scott has been doing it for his entire career. Russell, Sam Thompson, those guys are very quick, very athletic. They've been doing it other than D'Angelo for more than one season. We have to take care of the ball to beat them. Q. Can you really double Russell, because he makes so many good plays out of those? COACH MILLER: One of the things that's so impressive about him is how he passes. It's hard to believe that he has so many games with five or more assists. When you put two on him, he's big, he's tall. He uses that size to see the court. He makes the simple play, makes his teammates better. He's the ultimate great player in that he not only does it statistically himself, but in so many cases he makes his other teammates better than they are because he gives the ball up. He's unselfish. He's really a special player. Q. Can you imagine a better recruiting turf than Ohio? COACH MILLER: No. Unless you live there, you don't understand it in that there's pockets of small towns from the south all the way up that love sports, love it. Whether it's a Friday night high school football game or whether it's the state basketball playoffs, it's a real part of the communities in that state. There's so many great high school coaches, generations of high school coaches in these towns. Obviously the travel team is the same. I think one of my last years as the head coach at Xavier, we played UCLA in the regional final in Phoenix in the Elite 8. I believe we started four players, maybe six of our top eight players were from the state of Ohio. Simultaneous to that, you know, Ohio State had a great team, Cincinnati had a great team. Dayton was good. It's a sports-crazy place. Obviously you see that on the football side maybe even more. THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you very much. Good luck tomorrow. COACH MILLER: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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