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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: PROVIDENCEMarch 16, 2016Sean MillerGabe YorkKaleb TarczewskiRyan AndersonProvidence, Rhode Island Q. Talk about your days at Boston College. Do you feel like you're in a better place? RYAN ANDERSON: Yeah, I still have some of my best friends on the team. I know a lot of people on Twitter made a big joke about Dennis in the last few weeks. I talked to him a little bit. He'll be at the game on Thursday. It's just cool to be back in the East Coast, back in the area that I spent the last couple years. It's just crazy that it's kind of coming all circle like that. But yeah, I feel bad for him that his season ended that way. He's a great player, just the season didn't go as well as they wanted. Q. Ryan, following up on that, is the reason you left BC is for this opportunity? Is that why your initial desire to leave BC, with the struggles they were going through, and how excited are you to be playing in the tournament? RYAN ANDERSON: Yeah, I think all of us are competitive players. That's why we play the game. It's to win. But not only to win but win in the biggest games. And I think coming here, one of the biggest things I've been looking forward to this whole time was getting a chance to play in the tournament, kind of relying on Kaleb and Gabe, guys that have been here and done it already, to kind of lead the way, and just kind of soak everything in. I'm having a ton of fun. I think this is a dream come true to come back on the East Coast and play in front of some of my family and friends here, and kind of have my college career end or keep going where it all started is kind of cool. I'm just soaking it all in, and hopefully we can have a good weekend. Q. Kaleb, similar to what Ryan just said, you being a New Hampshire guy, what sort of family and friends, what type of crowd are you looking at for tomorrow night? KALEB TARCZEWSKI: It's always nice to be able to play sort of near where I'm from. Going to Arizona, obviously I haven't had too many games on the East Coast. I remember playing in the NIT tip-off in New York, and a lot of my friends and family got to be able to see me play. You know, a lot of them don't really get that opportunity too much, and so to be so close to home, obviously be playing in the tournament, NCAA Tournament game, it's going to be really fun. And I'm looking forward to seeing family and friends and hopefully it'll be a good game. Q. Kaleb, what's it been like, the journey, four years at Arizona and you get to cap it off with another trip to the NCAA Tournament? What's the experience been like throughout the four different years in the NCAA Tournament? How does each experience differ? KALEB TARCZEWSKI: You know, it's been a really pleasurable experience for me going through all four years, being at the same place, being with really four incredibly different teams, seeing the guys that have become a part of the program and left and kind of seeing everyone's development and really seeing my own development, as well. It's been a really pleasurable experience, and obviously we've won a lot since I've been here. We're going to try to continue doing that in this tournament and see where it takes us. Q. What's it like being home, being near home, getting to see some family back here? What's it been like? I talked to your dad on Monday for a story, and he got to go out there. What was it like to have your family out there for senior night, the PAC-12 tournament, and then for your last run here? KALEB TARCZEWSKI: I'm pretty lucky my mom gets to see every one of my home games. She lives out in Tucson during the season, so that's really nice. My dad with his occupation and the way he works during the wintertime, he doesn't really get to see too many of my games, and especially with the time change, it's pretty tough. It's going to be really nice, like I said, to hopefully have a lot of family and friends at the game, kind of cap off my career at Arizona being able to play at home, and like I said, having people at the game. It'll be fun and it'll be a great experience. Q. Kaleb, I know you played at St. Mark's with Alex Murphy. I wonder if you've spoken with him recently about coming back out here to Rhode Island and playing some meaningful games here. KALEB TARCZEWSKI: You know, Alex is obviously a Rhode Island guy, and his whole family has really helped me so much in my basketball journey. I really owe a lot to them, especially their father, Jay. He was really kind of the guy that got me into basketball. And it was at his big man camp kind of right around the corner from here at Quinnipiac College is where I really kind of started. So it's nice to be -- like I said, being at home, being able to play against some of my closest family and friends, it's going to be fun. Q. Did you guys watch the game last night, and what were your impressions of Wichita State? GABE YORK: Yeah, you know, we watched the game. We had a meeting after the game, and the whole point of being able to watch the game was just to see obviously who we were going to play, but also the strengths and weaknesses of what both teams did. And I think watching Wichita State, they have those two guards who have played in just as many big games as myself and Kaleb have. They've been there for four years and they've had a lot of great success in the tournament. We've definitely watched them close as they played Vanderbilt, and we saw they ran the floor very well, made big-time shots, and they rebound the ball really well. Right after the game we had a quick meeting and just talked about obviously who we were going to be playing and what we had to do to be successful. KALEB TARCZEWSKI: I actually had the pleasure of being able to play with Fred and Ron this summer at the USA Pan-American games. Fred was actually my roommate during the tryouts, and I know that those two individuals are the ultimate competitors. They love to win. Obviously they've proven that with their time at Wichita. Seeing the game last night, we know they're a great team, really, really good on defense. Fred and Ron really run their team, so it's going to be a huge game tomorrow. They're a great team, and we really respect what they do. RYAN ANDERSON: Yeah, just kind of echoing what they said, I think we know coming into the tournament that we were going to play a good team, and Wichita State is definitely a good team, one of the best defensive teams that we'll play all year, and they're led by their two big-time guards. It's going to be a tough challenge for us, I think. When guards are that good, you can't guard them just with one player. We have to play good team defense tomorrow, and they're a good rebounding team, as well, like they said. We've got to keep them off the glass, and I think those are the two keys. Q. You mentioned earlier about getting off these guys with their experience the first time-out here. What's Kaleb been able to offer you in experience. And then Kaleb, what's it been like to transition to a leader as you've progressed here in your career at Arizona? RYAN ANDERSON: I think for me kind of leading the team this year with these two guys, we really balance each other really well. I think the things I'm not strong at as a leader, Kaleb and Gabe are strong at, and maybe the things they're not as good at as leaders, I can help them out with. It's been great playing alongside those guys this year. But I think definitely this time of year, these are two of the winningest players, not only in Arizona history, but active players right now, so why not pick their brains, see how things are going to be, look to them in the big moments tomorrow night, and kind of piggy back on their success, so to speak, and just kind of ride their wave and kind of let them lead the way that they already have been doing for us all year. I think we have a great leadership core. I think they've done it all year, so I think we have a great couple of guys leading our team going into tomorrow night. SEAN MILLER: Well, first of all, we're thrilled to be here in Providence, Rhode Island, and being a part of this year's NCAA Tournament. I think that it's fairly obvious how difficult it is to make the tournament these days, when you look at the outstanding programs, teams, coaches that aren't in this year's field. We're excited to play. We have a very challenging match-up, which you expect in the NCAA Tournament. For us it's not what seed we're at or where the game is located, it's that we have to be the best Arizona team that we can possibly be to have a chance to advance. Wichita State, I think what they've done with their program -- Greg Marshall is remarkable. And those two guards, I admire them, Baker and VanVleet, just the way they play the game, their leadership, the fact that they defend the way they do and play offense. So much is focused on the new players in college basketball, and in this game's case, you have an incredible backcourt that's already played in a Final Four against us. And you have our number of seniors, especially Kaleb and Gabe, that have been in two Elite 8s and a Sweet 16, and they're now in their senior year. It's a game of experience for sure, and hopefully our seniors are ready to play and lead, because like I said, I think we expect an incredibly tough game. Q. You alluded to your seniors, their seniors. There are a lot of seniors around the country. This tournament has got a bunch of them. How much more special, if at all, does it make this NCAA Tournament? SEAN MILLER: Well, I'll speak on behalf of our program and team. You know, the tournament used to be about what you just said, those players that are never, ever going to come back down this path again because they have no more eligibility, and you would see them play their heart and soul, because this is it. This is going to be their last moment as a college player, and they don't want it to end. I think to a large part, every team feels that way, whether you're filled with underclassmen or upperclassmen. But in our case, Kaleb and Gabe, I have been tied to those guys for a lot longer than four years because we recruited them, and then you throw Ryan Anderson and Mark Tollefsen, two seniors that haven't been in the NCAA Tournament that came from other programs, so this is kind of their first and last. No doubt they're the compass of what we do, and how they lead, the emotion that they bring to the table, and certainly how they perform in tomorrow night's game will dictate a lot of how long we're going to be in this tournament. Q. When you have so much experience on both sides of the ball, obviously you don't want to make mistakes in these kinds of games, but does that leave less margin for error because you know they're probably not going to make a lot of mistakes? SEAN MILLER: Well, yes, and playing against Wichita State, I think it starts with taking care of the ball. They play man-to-man, and although they press, generally when you play man-to-man, you're not a team that's known for turning the opponent over. But they do that as well as any team in the country, and they feed off of your turnovers, and they feed off of weakness, players that aren't ready, nonchalant passes, lack of concentration. They're the ultimate team that takes advantage of those things. Those two guards, it's them, but it's their entire team, to their team's credit. For us playing here on a neutral court in this setting, you're right, we have to be able to play the game and really look back at the end and say, look how well we did taking care of the ball. Because when you don't, they're going to take advantage of those turnovers and just their overall team defense is too good I think for a lot of teams in this tournament to beat them. I think whoever is fortunate enough to play Wichita State and advance, you're going to have to take care of the ball, and that's a big, big emphasis for us. Q. There's a real contrast between the style of play in the Missouri Valley and the style of play in the PAC-12. Does offense get more important or more free-flowing as you move west across the country? Is there some geographic change that happens? SEAN MILLER: You mean that in the PAC-12 we score more? Q. Yeah, just the numbers are pretty stark between the two. SEAN MILLER: Yeah. That's a great way of putting it. I need to think about that. I would say this about the PAC-12 this year: I've been at Arizona for seven seasons, and it is head and shoulders the best conference that we've been in, the PAC-12. It's the deepest from top to bottom. Part of the scoring this year in the PAC-12 is a function of the incredible individual talent that was on every team from top to bottom. A couple of teams -- I'll use Washington as an example -- they're not in the field, and in large part because they're very, very young. But from a talent perspective, if you were getting ready to play them, you would have an uneasy feeling. You know, you're right. I also think it's more free-flowing in the PAC-12. To me the game there in our conference is kind of the way the game is moving everywhere, and that is to make it more of a game of skill, to call the first foul, and that's not to say that we don't have a physical conference. Utah, that Wichita State played against, Utah prides themselves on being a tough-minded, physical team. That's one example. But I think it's the firepower that was in our conference. And even on our end, I don't know how good of a team we are, but offensively we scored easier this year than we ever have. I think we scored, what, about 82 or 83 points a game, and that's a lot. But it's not anything different other than -- I think the teams in our conference, the way the game is officiated, and again, I think it's just more overall free-flowing is how I would describe it. Q. Kaleb being from New Hampshire and Ryan having BC connections, I understand Ed Cooley offered you his house for a few days here. If it's possible to be comfortable 2,600 miles away from home, are your Wildcats here? SEAN MILLER: Yeah, I mean, the first good sign for us is that the weather was warm. If it was cold, I'd worry about our guys a little bit. They're so incredibly spoiled with the blue sky that they see almost every day of their life at Arizona. But Kaleb, I'll talk about him. Ironically, I would have told you he's the all-time winningest player in Arizona history, but somehow I believe there was a discrepancy. This is a true story, that he's now tied. He was tied, he then broke the record, and now I think he's tied again because somehow some way we missed a win that Matt Muehlebach got. Matt Muehlebach may have something to do with that, we'll find out when this is over. But think about that, the tradition and history of Arizona. The incredible four-year players, Sean Elliott, Damon Stoudamire, we can name them forever, Miles Simon, players that went deep into this tournament. For Kaleb to have more wins or tie for the most wins ever in school history says a lot about the four-year run that he's been on, and Gabe York, as well. And in Kaleb's case he missed almost our entire non-conference season. So for him to be here close to home because he went so far away from home, I think there's some irony in it. It's a great story. I hope that he's able to play really well. We all hope we can advance. That would be something that would be a great ending or near the end of his book here at Arizona. Q. Can you just talk about how Kaleb's progression through the four years he's been here now, he's now turning himself into a leader? What's it been like to coach him and progress himself through his career? SEAN MILLER: Well, Kaleb is going to graduate this spring from our Eller School of Business. It's one of the most prestigious undergraduate programs in our university, very difficult to get into, and then even more difficult to finish. And for him to do that as a student-athlete, number one, I think it shows you who he is as a student and who he is as a person. Everybody should be so proud of just how he's represented his hometown off the court and in the classroom. And on the court, he's the ultimate winner. His points per game aren't 18 or 20, but in terms of a defensive presence, the ability to defend as a college front court player, I'd have a hard time believing there's any better. And he doesn't do it with great shot blocking, he just does it by being in the right place every single time down and playing with a physical mentality. This summer he was part of the Pan-American Team on Team USA, and he was on that team in large part because of what I just described. And when you're around him every day like I've been for four years, it's just like you just know it will be different when he leaves because of his competitive spirit and all of the qualities that he brings to the table as a basketball player. I would be shocked when his time ends here with us that he doesn't have a long NBA career because he'll be so valuable in all the things that the NBA loves, and that's responsibility, being a great team defender, and he's rebounded this year better than he ever has. That's the one thing this year he's done exceptionally well, all-conference, all-defensive team, almost 10 rebounds a game, which I think when you think about that, it backs up some of the claims that I'm giving you. Q. What stands out about Fred VanVleet? SEAN MILLER: Wow. He reminds me a lot of TJ McConnell, and Fred should take that as the ultimate compliment. In our program, he's the standard when it comes to winning, playing the game, and helping his teammates. Fred, I think his poise, how under control he is on offense, how he makes the right play almost every time, and yet he's over 40 percent as a three-point shooter. Watching him on defense, I love the way he defends, and I've already talked about him and Baker. When you have two senior guards who embody those types of qualities as defenders, it makes life tough for their opponent. We're in for one heck of a battle. I don't really care the seed, what we are, what they are. You come to this tournament expecting to play against some terrific teams, and we know Wichita State is that. And Fred I think is the heart and soul of their team because of how he has the ability to make the game easier for his teammates. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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