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NIT POSTSEASON TOURNAMENTApril 2, 2015Jim LarranagaSheldon McClellanDavon ReedNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Stanford – 66 COACH LARRAÑAGA: Well, the shooting percentages was not a pretty game, but I thought both teams played extremely hard, very aggressively at both ends, and we put ourselves in a position to win the game. And unfortunately, we came up just one basket short. And I know our guys are very, very disappointed, but I told them, I love them. I'm very, very proud of them. They did a fantastic job. This last three weeks has been a blast. Want to thank the NIT for inviting us and hosting such a fantastic event. Coming to New York in Madison Square Garden, I'm sure, is a memory that for our guys will last a lifetime. My congratulations to Stanford, Johnny Dawkins and his staff. Q. Sheldon, can you take us through the last play? SHELDON McCLELLAN: The original play was for me to look for the lob, to lob one open and Ivan was supposed to pop a three and it wasn't open so he cut to the basket, and I just made myself available to the ball.  But I was looking for a shot break and jumping for him or shot break got us another foul, but at the time I was just trying to get a shot off. It was just a tough shot to try to make. Q. Without Tonyehow did that affect defense ‑‑ COACH LARRAÑAGA:  Well, initially we played them man‑to‑man. And he was very, very good and very effective in the first half, so we started the second half in a box‑and‑one. We switched then to a zone. But what we were doing, even though it had mild success, it wasn't the aggressive mind‑set we needed. So we went back to the man‑to‑man. We played Ja'Quan on him, we played DeAndre Burnett on him, we played Davon on him, and we played Sheldon on him. But he's an outstanding offensive player, very hard to guard. He draws fouls very well and he can make threes and free throws. I don't think he missed a free throw; if he did, it wasn't at the end, because he was really, really sharp down the stretch, and that's what he's done. That's why he's the leading scorer in Stanford history. Q. (Inaudible). COACH LARRAÑAGA: Well, I thought as a team, we were really not in sync the whole first half. And I thought Ivan Cruz Uceda, especially, seemed to be too much in thought. Sometimes when you're thinking too much, you can't play; and he was thinking whether he should shoot or not, whether he should pass or not. And as the game wire on, he got a bit more comfortable and as he got more comfortable, his confidence rose and he made some very nice defensive plays, rebounding, blocked a shot, made a couple of baskets including a really big three. Q. What does it say about your team to come back from a deficit‑‑ COACH LARRAÑAGA: Well, we've been I think unfortunately playing from behind a lot this year. We seem to be feeling more of a sense of urgency after the first half, and our guys know if they dig deep, they can fight their way out of a deficit. And we did today, and put ourselves in position to win the game. But again, Randle was outstanding down the stretch, and he made all the key plays for them. Q. What did you learn about playing over and over again, overcoming challenges as a team? DAVON REED: It's all about who gets hot, who makes the plays down the stretch. The game can change in a second, in a millisecond. So whoever comes out and plays the hardest for the longest is pretty much going to win. I think we played our hearts out the whole tournament. Unfortunately we didn't come up with the win tonight. Q. Everything considered, if you could sum up the season in a statement what would it be? COACH LARRAÑAGA: Rewarding. We started this season, we had nine players who had never won a Miami uniform before. They were trying to become one cohesive unit. And we had a lot of adversity with injuries: Davon was hurt early in the year; Deandre Burnett got hurt; Ivan Cruz Uceda was not eligible. And eventually, we had everybody and I thought we played very well for a stretch. And then late in the season, we lost Angel RodrÃÂguez, and then in this tournament, we really lost Tonye Jekiri and Manu Lecomte, and Ja'Quan Newton played with a ligament in his thumb. So I thought our guys showed a lot of resiliency and fight in them, and I'm very, very proud of their efforts. Q. The core of this unit is coming back next year, and only one player will be moving on. Just how hungry does this make you for next season being so close and knowing you can make an even greater run this season? DAVON REED: At the beginning of the season, we set a goal to make it far in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately we didn't make that this year. At first I don't think honestly our team was even willing to play in the NIT, but we saw as the games went on that we could really win this thing and everybody bought in. We just grinded out game by game. So I think we know what it feels like to play postseason now, and we'll take a huge step in the right direction for next year. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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