|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: PROVIDENCEMarch 19, 2016James JonesMakai MasonBrandon SherrodJustin SearsProvidence, Rhode Island Duke - 71 Yale - 64 JAMES JONES: It's kind of a tale of two halves. I thought our guys got off to a rough start at the beginning of the game, and Duke was on fire. I believe they made 8 out of 11 threes in the first half or something ridiculous like that, and we fouled them on one of the ones they actually missed. Actually that one didn't count. In any event, we didn't keep our composure 100 percent. I thought we took some ill-advised shots, but we got it back in the second half, and our guys fought. I couldn't be more proud of what they did, forcing a comeback, and giving themselves an opportunity, and giving us an opportunity to win the basketball game, because it was right there. And I told these guys in the locker room, there are 351 teams that play Division I basketball. We made it down to the final 32, and we're three possessions away from the being in the final 16. I couldn't be more proud of them, especially our seniors who are going to be graduating and have done so much for us over four years. And I can't say enough about their effort and energy and how they matured over that time. Q. Justin, how were you able to rattle such a composed team like Duke in the second half? JUSTIN SEARS: That's a good question. I really don't know. We had four seniors on this team, and Duke, they hit us with a barrage of -- a heavy haymaker they hit us with. And we got in the locker room and we said, we have 20 more minutes to make a statement. So the four seniors, they led us out there and we just gave it all our heart and effort. I didn't know if it was going to be my last game, so I just played like it was my last game. That's all we could do, and we had a valiant comeback. Q. Justin, the first shot that Ingram made, it was long, you knocked it down, you kind of threw your hands up a little bit. Is it kind of frustrating guarding him when you guard him so closely on one shot, and he still figures out a way to make it because he's long? And then how did that change over the course of the game? JUSTIN SEARS: Yeah, it was a little frustrating. Allen as well as Ingram hit some tough shots, and all you could do was throw your hands up and say, okay, next play. Coach told us at halftime eventually they'll start missing, go cold, and that's what happened the second half. We played a little harder, got in their faces a little more, and eventually the shots stopped falling. They're both great players. They're going to be NBA players for a reason, and hats off to them. Q. It seemed like Brandon's sort of emotion on the floor was contagious. I'm not sure where it started, but it looked like he was sort of the more -- you could see his actions on the floor a little bit more. How much did he spark you guys emotionally? MAKAI MASON: Yeah, I think a lot. When we got on a run, it was kind of Brandon taking his man to the hole and buying him and finishing strong, and he would get fouled and usually finish. So yeah, we all fed off of those plays and just the energy that those brought. BRANDON SHERROD: I just tried to do what I could for my team. It was a fun time. We had the home fans. It felt like a home game, and I was feeding off the energy from the crowd as well. We wanted to give them what they bought their tickets for, wanted to give them their money's worth with the effort that we put in in the second half. Q. Brandon, what do you think this says about you and your teammates that you're able to come really close to pulling off what I think would have been the biggest comeback in NCAA Tournament history? BRANDON SHERROD: Yeah, it's just a testament to the hard work and perseverance that we have. This team has gone through a lot of adversity this year, and just working together on a daily basis, and coming ready for practice every day has been a pleasure and a blessing, and it's just a testament to how close we are, as well. We knew that we had to rally around each other to be successful, and I think that we put our best effort forward in the second half and tried to do that. But the sky's the limit for this team moving forward. I think the foundation has been set for more success in the future. I think we've done a great job representing our league, as well. Again, just a testament to the hard work, perseverance, and togetherness of our team. We've really stuck together. Q. Justin, seven offensive rebounds for you today and Yale as a team had 20. How much an area of focus was that even more so playing Duke coming into this one? JUSTIN SEARS: Yeah, that's what we hang our hat on, offensive rebounding. We have that advantage. I think we did pound the glass very hard and very well, and that's what led our comeback. I think we strayed away from going inside. They were doubling us, and we really didn't take advantage of our interior offense and our post presence in this game. Q. Obviously it's hard to reflect right now, but when you think about your senior season in your Yale careers, how do you sum up this run and this team? BRANDON SHERROD: It's unbelievable, historic. JUSTIN SEARS: Don't say magical. BRANDON SHERROD: Magical. It's been a dream. Yeah, it's a dream come true. Every person dreams of playing in the NCAA Tournament and winning a game. And to be the first team in the school's history to win one is unbelievable, and to go out like this as a senior is really second to none. You can't beat that experience. A lot of hard work has been put in, and these guys have really grown and matured over the years. I wasn't in the class of 2016 before this year, but I'm very happy to be a part of that class with these amazing guys. So very, very blessed. Q. Brandon, there was a moment, I want to say, in the middle of the run, you were inbounding the ball and Duke is out on the floor. You were waving to the crowd and you took a deep breath and kind of smiled at yourself. In that moment were you taking it all in? BRANDON SHERROD: Yeah. I think during that moment I was just saying, this is March. This is why I love March. This is why I play basketball. This is what you live for as a student-athlete and as a college basketball player at the Division I level. At any level really. But just to have that energy and to have people rallying behind you and to be on such a fun run, we were really enjoying ourselves out there on the court and just feeding off each other. So that was really great, but I had to take it all in and count my blessings. It was awesome. Q. Coach Jones, in the first half, Justin didn't score. Makai didn't get a basket until 2:18 left in the half. Was there anything Duke was doing, or was it just your guys sort of got out of what had gotten them there to that point? JAMES JONES: No. Makai has been all over the news for the last two days. Everybody and their grandmother has heard about him now, so certainly he wasn't a surprise to Duke. To Mike Krzyzewski's credit, he does an unbelievable job at understanding his opponents. He remarked after we played them the first time how good those -- Justin and Makai were. I'm certain that he made sure that his guys knew that, and they did a great job of denying him the ball, making everything tough for him. And he's a little banged up a little bit here, so they did make it very tough on him. Justin, I don't recall exactly why he got out of sorts. I thought he had some opportunities that he was hesitant to finish in the first half, and I think it was 0 for 4 or something to that effect. Now, you get down by 20 in the second half, sometimes it's a little easier to go and score without the pressures of -- or the weight of what is actually occurring for you. He was able to do a much better job in the second half. Q. James, what does it mean to you this weekend to have Joe here, and did you pick his brain at all throughout the weekend? JAMES JONES: My brother Joe? Q. Yes. JAMES JONES: Oh, you know, it's great to have your family be part of this. I mean, he's just one of many family members. The one thing about Joe, he certainly understands what I'm going through being a coach. There aren't too many people other than maybe my wife that really fully understand what it is that we do on a daily basis. So it's great to have him here. We didn't speak much. There's not much time to do a lot of things like that. I've kind of felt like Coach Krzyzewski for a couple days here in terms of how many different obligations you have outside of actually coaching your basketball team. It was a thrill to have him here as well as the rest of my family. Q. Your team this season, its really only lopsided defeat came against Albany. Did you have any doubt your team could come back after that first-half deficit? JAMES JONES: No, I didn't have any doubts about our team being able to come back. I told them at halftime that what happens in a game like this, when you go up by 23 points in the first half or whatever the halftime score was, the team has a tendency to relax a little bit, just by nature. And you can tell your guys all you want at halftime, but there may be some relaxed. But I knew they weren't 23 points better than us, so I knew we were going to have a chance to come back and be better. We talked about getting it to the point, with five minutes to go, having a chance to win the game, and we got it there. And I thought we had some opportunities that we literally let slip through our fingers. But yeah, I felt comfortable with this team. Because all year long they have done what we've set out to do on most occasions. Just rebounding the ball and sharing it. I thought we had some great opportunity looking for each other in the second half, and it was fun to be part of, that run trying to get back in the game. Q. As you said, a great season, a historic one for Yale. In that respect, how important was it for your guys to show what they did in the second half and make this a competitive game down the stretch? JAMES JONES: Well, the last thing you want to do is go out in your last game losing by 40. No one likes the way that tastes. So it certainly was important. Now our guys will digest this and know and think and go, gosh, if we would have played a better first half, maybe we would have had a better opportunity. But they know in their hearts that they deserved to be on the floor and that they proved it, and I think that will make it a little easier to digest. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|