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NCAA MEN'S REGIONALS SEMIFINALS & FINALS: LOS ANGELESMarch 26, 2015Sam DekkerJosh GasserFrank KaminskyBo RyanLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA WISCONSIN - 79 COACH RYAN: Well, we're extremely happy to get another 40 minutes. That was not our best half in the first half, and yet it's still on paper was a one-possession game. In the locker room with my guys, it's always 0-0, but knowing that we could shoot it better and when I was interviewed at halftime, I said if we shoot over 50% or better, that's the way we can get this game. So you saw we shot 57 and made our free throws. So that was the difference. We're certainly proud to represent the Big Ten and advance. Q. Frank, you started a little bit slow there. Can you kind of assess what happened earlier on and then at the end of the game for you? FRANK KAMINSKY: We just had to figure out how they were playing defense. I think a lot of it had to do with us getting stops and trying to take away their transition. Once we were able to do that, it was a good game for us. But coming out of halftime, no one wants to go home. You know, we're playing this season, this is my last go-around, so I was just going to give it my all in the second half? Q. Sam, I want to get your feelings on your overall performance today and exactly what you added to this group in this one? SAM DEKKER: I thought I played a pretty good game. It wasn't a complete 40 minutes, but early in the first half I thought we needed a spark, and I saw some opportunities in the open court to give us a spark. And Frank set some good rub screens and we just tried to attack them right away. They got switched up a couple times on those screens and they gave me a lane to the bucket. If I use my athleticism the way I should, I tend to be able to get there. So I just tried to stay on attack mode. My shot wasn't falling like I'd like it to be, so I just tried to take it to the lane more and get some easy buckets and just cause a difference in there. Q. Josh, what was the conversation like, especially on the court with your teammates before that 9-0 run? What were you guys saying to each other and how did you maintain your composure? JOSH GASSER: Yeah, nothing different than it usually is. Just trying to value every possession. I think that's where our experience comes in, especially with last year's run. One or two possessions can really determine your season, so we wanted to, first and foremost, get stops on the defensive end. We couldn't string them together like we usually do, so that's what we wanted to do first. Offensively we were confident that everything was going to get going there, and we were able to make some big plays in the end to pull out the win. Q. Frank, what is it about this team that you were able to play so well in those last seven minutes? It seemed that you guys executed every time down the floor. They looked to be in control, and those last seven minutes, it was a different game. FRANK KAMINSKY: We have a veteran bunch. Everyone understands time and score and what we need to do. When you have leaders like Josh and Trae coming back and stepping up and really being a vocal leader and now on the court too, it's just great to have so many voices understanding what needs to happen and what we need to do out on the court, which was getting stops and then coming down and getting good, easy looks at the bucket and we were able to do so. And it really showed in that run? Q. Frank, it seems like you found your rhythm in the second half. How did you remain patient in the first half and then kind of come out explosive in the second half? FRANK KAMINSKY: I just don't get frustrated. Sam had a great first half and really kept us in that game. Without Sam out there getting buckets, he had that tip-in at the end of the first half and that really helped us out. So I just knew coming out in the second half I had to be aggressive and try to open up things for my teammates and I was able to do so? Q. Josh, when Frank got poked in the eye there and went down and then you guys go into the timeout, come out of that, Bronson hits that three and you really get going on that run, was that just seeing Frank on the floor was that any kind of thing that got you guys kind of going there and revved you up a little bit? JOSH GASSER: It was great to see you on the floor, Frank (smiling). I like playing with Frank. He's a pretty good player. But the thing with us is we're not defined by one player. Sorry, Frank. We've got good guys that can come in and contribute. I knew Frank was going to come back in. He just needed to rest up for a minute there. But that just shows the balance and depth of our team as different guys can step up in different moments. I don't think Bronson would tell you he had his best game ever, but he was still able to make some big plays in the end. You know, the three he hit and a couple free throws at the end, I mean, that's what this team is all about. Q. Could you describe your defensive mindset against Paige, and maybe share a little bit of the highlights of the conversation that was taking place? JOSH GASSER: Well, the mindset was, Don't relax at all every possession. Because if you let them get open for a split second, he's going to knock it down, and he showed that in the end there those last two threes he hit. He's a really good player, and those are the type of players I love to go against because you have to bring it. You have to play well in order to win. We were just talking. He's a good dude. We were having fun out there, and that's what it's all about. Nothing out of the ordinary, just normal talking. Q. Sam, Josh was talking about different guys stepping up. Can you have address the importance of what Showalter and Jackson did today, and how much of a boost getting Trae back did for you guys? SAM DEKKER: It was huge. Seeing Trae come out and he had a well-deserved standing O and people were waiting for him to come back. And Trae did what he does, he hit the three right away. He's always one for the dramatic, so it was great to get him back out there. Just get his leadership. He didn't play as many minutes as he's used to because it's his first game back, obviously, but he was still being a leader in the huddles telling us where to go and what to do and keeping us calm. Showing us in two games in a row now showing what he can do. That floater inside and finger roll was really nice. That's something he's worked on a lot. Then he was being himself, getting a back cut and getting a steal. Those are things we need from him for him to contribute, and he's got the skill to do it. Q. Sam or Josh, did you guys feel like they looked like they were outplayed, but did you feel those last six minutes, that was your time? Was there anything said like this is what it's all about? This is what we came back for, with obviously Sam and Frank? JOSH GASSER: Yeah, I came back too (smiling). No, we talk enough. We don't need to talk to each other too much because you've just got to go out there and do it sometimes. We've been in positions before where we've been down. Recently against Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship game. It was looking a little bleak there for a minute. So just having the confidence that we can turn it on and really put a good run together when we need it, that's what it's all about. We don't need to yell at each other or get each other psyched up or anything like that. We understand situations and I think it showed. Q. We're many minutes removed from the game and you guys sort of seem like it was all calm, cool and collected. But when it was a 1-point game late, were you actually that calm, cool and collected or is there some sense of like we pulled it out? FRANK KAMINSKY: There was a sense of urgency, definitely, while we were out there. We knew we needed to go out there and get stops and make a run. But there is really nothing you can say in that situation to each other other than go out there and do it, like Josh said. We don't need to get in each other's faces. We just know how to stay calm. Like I said, we're a veteran group and we understand situations and we've been through a lot as a group. So we know what it takes to win games like that at the end of the game. We were just going out there and having fun and trying to do whatever we could to win. SAM DEKKER: Yeah, like Frank said, you've just got to stay with it and keep doing your game plan. It starts from the top. Coach Ryan and our coaching staff, they never change their mantra. They're always just being themselves. No matter what the score, whether we're up, down, they're going to be themselves and coach the way they always coach, and that rubs off on you as a player. All right. You've just got to do what you do. Execute, and if we do that well and we get stops, we're going to be fine. With a veteran group, like Frank said, guys are sophomores. Last year they played in a Final Four. That grows you up quick. So Nigel and Bronson are veterans themselves. So when you have five guys at all times out there with experience in big games, you're not going to be touched with it. You're just going to be yourself and be confident and go out there and execute like you know. Q. First of all, when you were watching Bronson shoot those two free throws, how were you feeling? And when you were shooting yours down the stretch there, did you have to calm yourself down at all? FRANK KAMINSKY: Well, to end all practices before our games, the practice the day before Bronson always has to make a free throw at the end. That is the point guard's role. He's the leader of the team out on the court, so I had all faith in the world that Bronson was going to step up and knock down those shots. We've practiced free throws so many times for a long time in practice, so all the guys on our team have the confidence to go out there, step up and knock them down. Everyone knows that once we get to free throw time at the end of the game, we've got to make our free throws or they're going to come down and score. We've been through that a lot this season with situations like that. So it's just nice to be able to go out there and do it? Q. Coach, how good are you guys right now? You're back into the eight. How do you feel this team really shapes up compared to what else is out there for you? COACH RYAN: Well, I don't dwell on comparisons. I think people just waste so much time. I don't have time to spend on comparisons. All I do is I'll leave from here and find out who wins this second game and start looking at film on them and look at the clips. Our coaches are already on it. It's amazing, we felt we spent so much time with the scout team running North Carolina's transition on offense. Well, there is one problem. The scout team didn't have Paige, Meeks, James, Tokoto, okay. So you get what I'm saying. But once we got used to the speed and once they figured out, Wait a minute, they got six to eight points in transition, look at the stat sheet. How much did we give up the next 30-some minutes? That's what I like about our guys. They're not as athletic maybe. Maybe they're not. But they're smart in that if they see things developing and they concentrate and get back to, Okay, whoa, that guy's a lot faster than I thought, it's like anything else. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. So I like to have guys like that. And the adjustment that they made and the fact that we only turned the ball over twice with their pressure and with their athletes pressuring us, that was short of phenomenal, I thought. Q. Going into the half you guys are only down three points. Were there any serious adjustments that you had to make offensively to deal with their athleticism on that end? COACH RYAN: Yeah, when they asked me at halftime, we said we've got to make those shots that we have, and we did. We shot a much better percentage. I think it was two points at halftime. It was kind of similar to a game in the Big Ten tournament. I think it was either Michigan State or Purdue where Frank hit a three at the buzzer at the end of the half to give us some momentum. We know how fickle the game can be. These guys have been through a lot. They've seen the good runs. They've seen the bad runs. But this group never gets discouraged to the point where they get down on themselves or their teammates, and that's what's fun. And I've had a lot of teams like that. It's not like we haven't coached those kind of guys. But this group right here handles adversity as well as any team I've ever coached. Q. Why do you think that is? COACH RYAN: Well, I think experience. I think some really heady -- you know, you have to take a look at the players and how they ended up at Wisconsin. You've got Josh Gasser who was sitting there and wanted to be at Wisconsin and we hadn't offered him a scholarship until something happened with another player that de-committed. So Gasser comes to Wisconsin because he really wanted to be there. So you know you've got a guy that's bought in already. Trae Jackson wasn't getting a lot of love from Big Ten schools, that type thing. We liked his moxie, we liked his court awareness. Sometimes people see the flaws and other people see the positives. We thought Trae Jackson could be an excellent addition to us. Then Frank Kaminsky that story has been said way too many times, and Howard Moore has gotten a little out of his control on his recruiting ability with Frank (smiling). That's a joke, by the way. He didn't have to twist my arm very hard to offer Frank a scholarship, but Frank was kind of overlooked. So I'm not going to go through every player. But if you take our guys, they're here, they bought in, they are so committed, the difference between involved and committed. You sit down to the breakfast with bacon and eggs. You look at the eggs, you know the chicken was involved. You look at the bacon, and you know the pig was committed. I heard that at Platteville in 1984, and I've used it in every banquet speech I've ever given, because I told the guy that told me that I was going to use it. So I've got a lot of committed guys in that locker room. They're all committed. They're here at Wisconsin for the right reasons. Q. I wanted to ask you what it's like to go against North Carolina's pressure, especially on the perimeter? You said you guys didn't turn the ball over much, but they forced you into some tough possessions it seemed and kept the offense from looking as pretty as it does a lot of the time. Were there in-game adjustments that you made? Was it just gutting out offensive rebounds and back cuts when they were open or what put you over the top? COACH RYAN: Everything you just mentioned went into it. Because of their pressure, they got the back doors. Showalter got a couple. You know, you take what you can get. The hungrier you are, the better you'll perform, so we try to create those kind of situations in practice. We can't duplicate as I said before, the athletes that they had out there. But we've got guys that work really hard that are on that scout team, and our assistant coaches, Coach Gard had the scout here. I mean, he had everything right on. Once we figured out their quickness and everything else, like I said, then, oh, yeah. The scouting report was exactly what Coach Gard had given them. So I think our right. We took some shots that maybe weren't when people watch us play. A couple forced shots in there, not in position. We were floating a little bit. And good defensive players like North Carolina turned it on there. If anybody here has seen North Carolina play all the time, we've got them on film, well, I can't remember them playing that hard in the passing lanes for 40 minutes. I'm going to have to look at some film. Q. They thought it was one of the most defensive games of the season right before you guys came up. COACH RYAN: Oh, because, man, they got after it. We know what kind of defense the next two teams play whoever comes out of that one. So, yeah, you know why? Because it's down to, what? How many teams? It's hard. It's hard to score. Q. Dekker had his career high 23 and 10 rebounds, had some big blocked shots late. Is this one of the best all-around games you feel he's played? COACH RYAN: Oh, I saw a few things we'll have to correct. That 360 fadeaway, jump back, scissor toss-up was like, Did he just get possessed by a demon? No, he just needed a rest. See, guys have signals to me like when they want to be taken out. Don't block out one time. Oh, I'm going to tell coach I'm tired. I'm not going to block out this time. So the guy doesn't block out, so he comes out. It's not like I take a guy out because they commit a turn over all the time. There was twice this year that I didn't. Q. You mentioned that Josh from day one has been a player who has been committed. Tonight he looked like a senior who didn't want to go home. What can you say about his performance today? COACH RYAN: Paige had six points? No, he gets two threes and a two, so that's eight of his 12. So he had four points up until those last three baskets that he hit and free throws. You know how deep those threes were? Man, when I was little, I was in the gym once and saw Herbie Magee play, and he used to shoot from about 30 feet on the other side of half court. I don't know if you've ever heard of Herbie Magee, but he's won like a thousand games at Philadelphia College. He's the guy with the deepest range I've ever seen. Well, I think Marcus hit them from -- two of them, one was over Frank who was outstretched and the other one was over Josh. So Josh Gasser is a guy who, whatever the assignment is, he'll take it on. And he's never wavered. Never wavered at all. Q. I got to ask you one thing about the big cheerleader that was sitting behind your bench. Did you notice Aaron Rodgers going nuts for you guys? And if you did, is he one of the most famous front runners of all time, being a former Cal guy? And I mean that in a good way. COACH RYAN: Aaron Rodgers? The guy that -- not Erin Andrews? It was Aaron Rodgers behind our bench. THE MODERATOR: Quarterback for the Packers. COACH RYAN: Really? I didn't notice he was there. Was he there? Coach Alvarez probably talked a little strategy with him, I'm sure. No, he's not a big front runner. No, he's been great all along. He's been very supportive, and he does all these charities in the state and a lot of us get involved in the charities. The staff. He gives a lot back. He is a good guy to have around too. Actually, he's got better jokes than most. But it was nice he was there. I didn't get a chance to see him. I had to ham it up in the locker room with him last year making faces. Hopefully he sticks around. Is he going to be around? All right. He doesn't have anything else. He might go down to Cal and donate money to his alma mater. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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