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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: DENVERMarch 16, 2016Larry KrystkowiakJakob PoeltlJordan LoveridgeBrandon TaylorDenver, Colorado THE MODERATOR: We're ready to begin with the student-athletes for Utah. We'll take questions for the student-athletes. Q. Now that you're here, all three of you were here last year, what's it like this time around having had that experience already? JORDAN LOVERIDGE: I mean, it feels great, you know, to be back at the tournament, especially back with these guys, you know, the guys that haven't been here. It's just a great experience for all of us. JAKOB POELTL: Yeah, we obviously all very excited to come back here. Having little experience from last year will hopefully help us out a little bit. We're not going count on that. We're going to go 100%. BRANDON TAYLOR: It's an honor to be on this team, in this stadium, to be in the first round, to be in this tournament. You know, let's make the best of it. Q. Earlier this week you talked about Fresno State being similar in Oregon in the sense of how they played. Now that you've had a little more prep, seeing film, what is your approach? Are they similar? How are you addressing that? BRANDON TAYLOR: Well, Fresno State, they have a lot of athletes. They have a lot of good players, as well. They have a perimeter four-man like we have perimeter four men that can shoot it. They get out in the passing lanes. If you get sloppy, they capitalize on those mistakes, get out, get a lot of steals during the game. They try to run you. They try to speed you up, a lot like Oregon pace. So we've had sometime to dial it in and really focus, get back to the fundamentals. You have to be fundamentally sound to beat this team. Q. What is it going to take to not let Marvelle Harris have a big game and not beat you guys? JAKOB POELTL: We have to guard him as a team. We got to help each other out. We got to stop him from driving to the basket, but at the same time try to take away his three-point shot because he's definitely a good shooter, too. We got to be enough on other guys and help out again, not let him get going early. Yeah, just be dialed in together as a team and help each other out. Q. Brandon, what did you all do to put the PAC-12 title game loss behind you and refocus? BRANDON TAYLOR: Get to practice as soon as possible, to be quite honest with you. It was one of those that just put a nasty taste in your mouth. Making it to the championship, having a game like that is not a game I even envisaged it going, I don't think none of us envisaged it going. The thing was, go to sleep, wake up the next morning, get home. As soon as Selection Sunday came, we were excited to see who we were playing against, we were excited to see we had another opponent that we had to get rid of and not the last game. From there, I think everyone's focus was back to normal. It was a renewed focus. It was more like this is our last season, this is the NCAA season, so let's not worry about what we done in the past. The only thing we can focus on is Fresno State and this NCAA tournament. Q. Jakob, against Fresno, you don't have guys that are your size guarding you. How do you think teams that don't have the size to match up with you usually guard you? JAKOB POELTL: I want to say usually they come double me. But I don't really want to worry about that too much, how they're going to guard me. I'm just going to take whatever they throw at me. I'm going to still try to be aggressive. If they come and double me, I'll find open teammates. And if they don't, I'll be aggressive and look for my own shot a little more. I'll see what comes at me, what kind of game plan they have, and I'll adapt to it. Q. Maybe the three best big men in the country are in this region. Do you feel like you're part of a big sort of showcase in this region? How do you match up among them, even if you're not playing them immediately? Does it feel like you're stepping into something big? JAKOB POELTL: To be honest, I haven't even noticed that. I guess there are a number of talented big men on this side of the bracket. But right now we're worried about Fresno State. If it ever comes to a matchup against one of those, I'll be happy to take the challenge. But right now it's on the first game. Q. Jakob, Brandon said as a senior, Jordan is a senior also, they're looking at it as this is their last go-around. You're a sophomore with NBA possibilities. How are you approaching it? JAKOB POELTL: Whew. I don't want to go into this tournament thinking that it's going to be my last tournament. I know it might be my last tournament. So I'm just going to go in it and try and enjoy every second, try and make the biggest run possible, play as many games as possible. If it should be my last season here, then I want to make sure that I've enjoyed everything. If not, I hope I'll be back here next year. Q. Jordan, this is your last one. Thoughts about playing your final NCAA tournament, considering all you've been through with this program. JORDAN LOVERIDGE: Just really excited, you know. It wasn't even thought of, you know, a couple years ago that Utah would even be on this stage, a number three seed. That's just exciting for the whole state, our whole program. It's just kind of bittersweet being the last one, last go-around. But we're going to just try to make it the best. Q. Last year you guys were new to this process, the NCAA tournament. All three of you are veterans with this team. How do you think last year's experience will translate into this year and that success? BRANDON TAYLOR: Well, I think just having experience, you know, of getting to the Sweet 16 last year, I think we got a taste of what it's like to survive and advance, no matter what it might be. It might be ugly. It's not going to be a perfect game. You know, if you take the 40 minutes and you try to attack each and every four-minute segment like it's your last, I think you'll be in this position where you'll be. That's the biggest take away from last year to this year, we like to break it down into four-minute segments and try to execute our game plan as much as possible, try to go hard defensively, as hard as possible. JAKOB POELTL: I think last year's experience can definitely help us out as a team, like knowing how playing basketball in the tournament feels, knowing how the whole process works. But it's not something we can, like, rely on. We still got to go into every single game with 100% effort and focus, and we got to be dialed into the game plan because it really doesn't matter what happened last year. If we have a bad shooting day, it only takes one day at one game to kick us out of the tournament and end our season. The experience from last year can definitely help us out. But, like I said, it's not something we can rely on. JORDAN LOVERIDGE: Yeah, going off of what Jakob said, it was a good experience, a good run for us. I feel like it's a whole different team. I think the biggest thing we'll take from that is you got to come out every play, every minute, that could be your last possession, that could be the most important possession of the game. We got to make sure there's no little things, make sure we leave it all out there on the court. THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student-athletes at this time. Thank you, men. We're joined by Utah head coach. Coach, if we could start with a statement, how you feel about being here in Denver and your matchup. COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Well, obviously it's an amazing time of year. It's a privilege to be a part of March Madness. Our guys are excited. I've always said if I only had a TV for a month, that TV rental would start tomorrow when the games kicked off, then I'd want my ability to watch it until the Masters is over. To actually be a participant in it is pretty special, so here we go. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the coach. Q. After you reviewed the game film of Oregon, what did you learn and how do you get this team back on track? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Well, after you're pummeled for 30 minutes of the game, that's kind of the feeling you take with you home. Watch the game again, it's a tied ballgame 10 minutes into it and things are going pretty well. We missed a couple open shots. We had a couple ill-advised turnovers, kind of opened up the floodgates. Oregon is a high-powered team. They've been doing that to teams at the end of a first half. Happened with Arizona the night before in the semifinal game. You know, a lot of basketball mistakes. We had 11 turnovers in that first half that led to 18 points for Oregon. They're just too good, you know, to shoot yourself in the foot like that and give them easy opportunities. Then on the glass was the same thing. That's what we've always talked about. Especially like you get into an elite-level team like that, or you get into the NCAA tournament like we are now, there's a lot of good players, a lot of great teams and coaches, and you have to take away easy ones. You're not going to pitch shutouts. It's okay if another team scores. You just have to make sure that you're following the game plan and you're not making it easy in the form of throwing them the ball. That's an easy one that you can't defend. Then obviously in and around the basketball with the offensive rebounds are the ones you can't defend. We were pretty good in the other parts. But, you know, it was a little bit of a humbling experience, as I talked about after the game. We've had a good week of practice. Much like everything else, you got to get back in the saddle and get after it. Q. You've come back to the NCAA tournament after not being in there in a while. Has your message changed this year as you approach this tournament with your players? Is there a different approach in your mind in the sense of this year and building on that? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: You know, there really isn't. And I don't think that answer's ever going to change for me. The way we prepare, the focus, you know, whether we're starting at the beginning of the season in a tournament in Puerto Rico, it's all a one-game priority. Learning as much as you can about the opponent, and getting after it. We have a different team. We're playing a different team. We're obviously in a different city. I think that's what makes this time of the season so special, is regardless of who's back, any of the environment, it's all about having your players step up and trying to do something special. That's what we've practiced for. We're in this situation now. That's what we're going to continue to stress, is a lot of the fundamentals. I've mentioned it before. I'm a big fan of the Tony Dungy mentality from reading a number of his books, is that you do the ordinary things extraordinarily well. Even though we're in an extraordinary part of the season and a fun time, I think it does get back to a lot of the fundamentals. There's no reason for us to try to spice it up and talk about anything different. I think we all understand the importance of the time. Q. With that in mind, do you sense any improved level of confidence from your players from this year to last year now? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: No. I think confidence is a tricky thing. It's always a fine line. One thing I noticed that's real similar to last year is there's a sense of urgency. Based on, like, the last two practices we've had, I've got a little bit of an edge about me. But my players reminded me the last two days that we're about to, you know, do something that's pretty special. The confidence I don't think comes into play. You're only as good as your next play or your next game. So anything that's been going on up to that point, I think's a little bit dangerous, whether you're playing good or bad. You don't want to be breaking out the scrapbook if you're on a nice winning streak, trusting that that is just going to continue, because the level is so enhanced this time of year. I think the same thing goes if a team is not playing particularly well at the end of the season, you still get into this tournament, it's kind of a fresh slate and a time to start over. More of in-the-moment kind of thing. Different group, different team. So that's what we're focusing on. Q. You have such a unique advantage with Jakob. In a game that's gone away from the center so much in recent years, did you sort of have to reach back to an older style, whatever you knew growing up, of how to take advantage of him? Now that you're in the tournament, in games that so often break open from the backcourt, how do you keep the focus on what he can do so well? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: No, you're right. You know, it's a lost art. There's fewer and fewer throwback centers. With that, we're losing some of the skill. We're throwing the ball into the post. Just the simple skill of feeding the post. A lot of kids grow up and they've never had to throw it to anybody in the post. What do you mean throw it to the big guy? That's a skill. Beyond all the great work that Jakob has done, and approach, I read somewhere today, I forget who it was, one of the coaches in the tournament, said, It's not about the coaching, it's about the sweat that the players put into it. He continues to address all of his weaknesses. He's been a leader for us. But we need everybody. As we know with our team, and you're right, I think the backcourt, there's a correlation with backcourt playing well. We've got some leadership there, some seniors that have been around. That's what it's going to come down to. But we still are going to start with trying to get him the ball, whether or not there's double-teams and different things to focus on. I did go back through a little different file, even as he was a freshman. I told him this in the summer when we were trying to convince him to stick around. I don't think we knew what we had. We recruited a really athletic kid from Austria. We were encouraged, we couldn't wait to coach him and watch him develop. Once we had him in the program, we were like, Wow, this kid is going to be special. I think what we did a year ago revolved a lot around Delon Wright. This year is breaking into some new file cabinets, talking about some people of getting the ball to the bigs. Then it's been a constant effort of throwing it in there, focusing on doing that. You're right, he's a unique guy. He can't get the ball if the backcourt doesn't take care of their end of the bargain. Q. I was wondering, is it a bigger thrill to come into this tournament as a 14 seed coaching Montana or to come in as a high seed coaching at Utah? Which is easier to deal with, a lot of expectations or not many? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: That's a great question. I know it sounds maybe like coach speak, monotonous answers. But I haven't paid any attention, you know, too what seed we are. Just had the meeting with the head coaches with the ADs and SIDs. That's something, when you get into that room, you have the chairman, NCAA people involved, you go through some of that information, those meetings get your blood pumping. You get a pen, some special things. But not much changes. It's always about trying to win the next game, you know, and advancing. The numbers completely go out the window. I haven't paid any attention to seeds. I had a friend ask me if I filled out my bracket, who the other three teams were that I picked to be in the Final Four. It was kind of an eye-opening experience to see who was even here when you're looking at the different coaches that are in this region. It's no disrespect to anything else going on around us, there's a lot of respect for those people. We've been so focused on trying to win the game against Fresno State, the numbers and all that stuff I think go out the window, the seeds. Q. How much is it a benefit this year with Jakob going into any game knowing you don't have to worry about him going to the free-throw line because he's improved so much? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: It's been huge. 70%, maybe a little bit over that, compared to in the 40s. I know I feel good about it, but I think Jakob feels good about it. That's the one thing subconsciously he as a big man, if you watch last year, again, we broke down a lot of film and tried to help him so we could see it. A lot of his post moves a year ago were fast, off-balance. I think he's always been such an agile big guy, regardless who has been behind him, he's always tried to out-quick them. I think subconsciously could be because he wasn't a very good free-throw shooter. The two things we knew for sure would happen a year ago, if he made a quick post move, he was never going to get an offensive rebound and he was never going to get fouled. I think him getting stronger, slowing down, being more of a threat in the post, has given him a sense of relief that, If I do get fouled, if he gets fouled a lot, he's capable of going up there. We shot a ton of free throws today in practice. These games will come down to some little things. As silly as it sounds, the free throw is going to be a big part of it. It's comforting to know he can make three out of four. Q. Mountain West Player of the Year, Marvelle Harris, what do you see on film? How do you feel you can slow him down in his play? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Well, I'm not sure you can slow him down. What I see in a basketball player is somebody that's playing with a lot of confidence. It's a little bit rare, for most players, not just college players, to be able to be a threat from the three-point line, a threat from the midrange game, then also the ability to get to the rim. Oftentimes, even if you're in the NBA, it's usually up two of those elements. To have all three of those facets to his game has been great. I've watched a lot of film. I'm super impressed, talked to a lot of people, scouting reports. He's the real deal. He's the real deal. And I think it's really important to know that the reason they're here is because they've had some great performances from a bunch of other guys as well. It takes a team. But he's certainly the head of the snake. He's a great passer. A little bit reminds me of Delon in that he can rebound, he can provide assists, he's a steals guy. It's not just about scoring points. He's found a way to stuff the stat sheet a little bit. So he's pretty productive in a lot of areas. You've seen him play quite a bit. What's your suggestion for slowing him down (smiling)? Q. Fingers crossed? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: C'mon. We'll talk. Q. Okay. THE MODERATOR: Thank you for your time, coach. COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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