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BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 10, 2016John Thompson IIIBradley HayesD'Vauntes Smith-RiveraNew York, New York Georgetown - 67, Villanova - 81 Q. John, you were up by a point with 10 1/2 to go in the second half, then Nova scores 14 of the next 15. What happened during that run? JOHN THOMPSON III: It was a couple of things. We got some looks and the ball just didn't go in. We got some point-blank in-the-paint looks. I feel like there were, let's say, four out of five possessions where we got an easy look, it didn't go in, and then they got three. And so you know looking back at it, I don't know. I obviously haven't watched the film yet. Offensively I don't know if we could have gotten -- should have tried to get anything other than what we got. We were getting right there. Just happens. It didn't go in. And then they capitalized off it. Between Ryan and Kris Jenkins, every time we missed a bunny, they made us pay. And that's a hell of a team Jay has. I think they're going to represent this conference, as are a lot of teams that are going to play in this building today, very well over the next couple of weeks. Q. Coach, can you talk about some of the things you did differently against Nova since you just played them five days ago? JOHN THOMPSON III: I don't think we tried to reinvent the wheel. We didn't do anything too much differently. I think we just did a few things better, to be quite honest. The first time we played them at home, the score was 55-50. We guarded them, they guarded us. The difference in that game was foul shots. The game up in Philly was a little different. I think we had -- we didn't come out with a victory in three tries, but I think our guys did a good job. We wanted to be aggressive at both ends of the court. Just stay aggressive. And with the exception of that stretch that Gene talked about, I thought we were pretty successful doing it. But when you play a team that's as well-coached as they are, that's as talented as they are, that's as cohesive as they are, you can't have that stretch. Q. Coach, just in terms of a game like today, do you think of it in terms of an opportunity to change the trajectory of a season or is that not the way you can approach these games here in March? JOHN THOMPSON III: With us, I mean, this year has not gone the way we would have hoped or what we expected. And so you get to this time of year -- absolutely, every game, if you're successful, can change the trajectory. Because if you win, your whole season is different. Look at what Holy Cross did. And now all of a sudden they go from what was not impossibly a good year to all of a sudden might end up being a great year. So each game this time of the year is important. Q. Coach, is today the end of your season or will you seek to play in another postseason tournament? JOHN THOMPSON III: I'm not sure how that world works yet. I say that to say we're not used to being here. And so we're going to get through the day and figure it out. I'm not sure, to be honest. Q. Coach, you guys had 16 offensive rebounds, shot 17 more shots than Villanova, but you only made two more shots. Do you feel like there are points left on the board for you guys that could have turned the tide of the game? JOHN THOMPSON III: I'm not sure what that means. But I think it just goes back to Gene's question, is that we just had that one stretch where -- I don't know what the time frame, but he says it was 14-1 run, that stretch right there. Like I said, I could be wrong. I could change my opinion when I look at the film, but I felt like even during that stretch, it wasn't like we had some games, like, ooh, they were taking too many threes. We were getting right there; just didn't drop. So if that means we left points on the board, then yes. Q. Villanova was up 20-1 points off turnovers. Were they doing something different to capitalize off your turnovers? D'VAUNTES RIVERA-SMITH: They're good in transition. Defensively we had to get back. It's hard for any team to cover the three-point line in transition along with guys running to the rim. So they did a good job in transition. JOHN THOMPSON III: Let me just say, I got these two guys here. They've given of themselves, along with Ryan, along with our senior managers to this program. One of the hard things -- it's every year except for whoever the team is that is going to cut down the nets in a couple of weeks -- to get to this point. You realize that it's finite. It comes to an end. You know, you have a guy sitting to my left that's had a crazy career. Maybe his coach was crazy for the first three years. He's someone that came to work every day, every single day, and all he cared about, cares about is Georgetown University and Georgetown basketball. In this day and age -- all the stories you hear, a lot of them are true. Everyone is just, I want more minutes. I want more points. That's the antithesis of what Bradley is about as a person. It never was about that. It always was about what can I do to help make this school, this program, this group of guys, you, Coach, better. I just want to thank him for that. The guy over here, you know, you start talking about Georgetown greats and a few names pop into mind. And he's quietly put himself up there with a lot of those guys. Someone that is a competitor. Competitor. Wants to win this year and last year to a certain extent. He's built to score. He's wired to score. He's a natural scorer. But had to sacrifice some of himself, a lot of himself to help bring the young kids up to snuff, to help bring everyone along. And that's big. And that's big. Then you have Ryan. I just wanted to thank these guys publicly. In the locker rooms, we will have many more banquets or whatever to do it. You feel bad as a coach as much as you want the big-picture look, okay, how the season went, is the season over, is it not over? You just wish it could end differently for these guys. Because of all they've given to me and to Georgetown. So I just wanted to say that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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