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NCAA MEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: LOUISVILLEMarch 23, 2016Daniel OchefuKris JenkinsJosh HartLouisville, Kentucky DANIEL OCHEFU: We're all extremely blessed to be at this point. But now that we've got here, we can't live in that moment of Sunday night. We have to start focusing on Miami. Q. How close do you think this team is to being a Final Four team? DANIEL OCHEFU: I think we're extremely close. Just like how we've been working on all year not talking about the end of the season, we talk about the things that get us here. That's defending, rebounding, playing Villanova basketball and keeping everything 94 by 50 feet. Q. You guys have been dominating in the first two games. Do you think it will be just as easy to come Thursday against Miami? DANIEL OCHEFU: Definitely not. We didn't expect to dominate those games the way we did, but we happened to hit shots and play great defense. Miami is an extremely well-coached team, have great experience, a lot of great guards, big men. We're definitely not expecting it to be easy at all. Q. (Indiscernible)? DANIEL OCHEFU: I wouldn't say that, honestly. I think the Iowa game, there was a lot of lapses in that game that we all got on each other for. I think the biggest thing for this team all year has just been getting better every day, and we want to take that mindset leading into the game tomorrow. Q. Are you telling me a team that has been up, up a combined 64 points can be better than the way you played? DANIEL OCHEFU: Definitely, the first half against Iowa, everybody is thinking we're up by 20-something. Everything is going great. In the huddles, we're extremely intense. Guys have been getting on me for mistakes. I'm getting on guys for mistakes. We had defensive lapses that we just have to hold ourselves accountable to. Q. Do you think that perfectionist attitude is what you need at this point to make a deep run? DANIEL OCHEFU: Definitely. Just not thinking we're invincible. Just because we hit shots the first two games doesn't mean we're going to hit shots this game. We have to rely on our defensive rebounding to win games for us. Q. Those two guards from Miami are just ridiculous. They've been dominating this tournament. I think accounting for 62 percent of their points. How tough are they going to be for you? DANIEL OCHEFU: It's going to be extremely tough for us. I think they're similar in a way that the Uthoff and Jok were, the two main guys for Iowa, the two main guys. But we also have to watch out for the supporting cast because we know they're not slouches and they're very capable players. It's going to be a real battle tomorrow. Q. As much as you're focused on getting to the next level, beating Miami, is there a part of you that's also trying to enjoy the moment, knowing it's taking so long to get here and at any moment it could be the end? DANIEL OCHEFU: Yeah, I mean, we enjoyed it on Sunday night. Monday, maybe early in the morning, before we went to breakfast. And then breakfast on Monday, we were watching the Miami/Wichita State game. I think we enjoyed it for almost 24 hours. But we just have to push that to the side. We have a new task at hand. You can't live in the past because whatever we did in those first two games probably won't help us this game, because those first two games, we hit as many shots as we could have hit all year. We might have a bad shooting night next game, tomorrow, and if we do we have to focus on our defensive rebounding. Q. (Indiscernible)? JOSH HART: I think we are. This is the hard part. We can't get complacent. We have to keep pushing. We have to keep moving forward with Villanova basketball. Q. With the way you're playing, do you have that belief in that confidence even more so now that you can go all the way here in this tournament? JOSH HART: Definitely. We definitely believe we can make a deep run in this tournament. But like I say, the biggest thing is we can't get complacent. If we come in every day in practice and every game with a clear mind saying, you know, I'm going to go in, play Villanova basketball. I don't care about my individual stats, I care about Kris Jenkins, I care about Phil Booth, I care about the guys next to me, then if we do that, then we can make a good run. If we run into a team where we play Villanova basketball and they steal it from us at the end, we've got to give them props, but we'll be able to look each other in the eye in the locker room and know we gave it up for each other. That's the biggest thing. Q. With the way you're playing and Sunday having played, are you glad to jump right back into it Thursday night? JOSH HART: Yeah, yeah. Had to miss an extra day of school, so I'm happy. But yeah. Just being able to -- we had a great game Sunday, and kind of just keep that momentum up. Had a good day at practice yesterday, had a good day at practice today. Keep that momentum going. Keep the tough love from Coach, the biggest one, but keep that going. Keep the momentum we have, play Villanova basketball, the free mind that we have, not worrying about making it to the Elite Eight or how do I look individually. Just have a free mind and just go in there and play basketball. Q. (Question referring to Nate Britt.) KRIS JENKINS: We grew up together, played, lived in the same household together, played basketball together. So if we were to play against each other at this stage in our career, it would be something really special for us. Q. You lived with his family? KRIS JENKINS: Yeah. Q. Tell us about the experience. How did that come to be? KRIS JENKINS: I mean, it meant everything. It started when we were in seventh grade. It continued all the way up until this current day. So it's something that I've been thankful for and I never take for granted and it's near and dear to my heart. Q. What led you to live with his family? KRIS JENKINS: My parents just thought it was the best situation for me. They agreed upon it, and we never looked back since. Q. They've become like second family, I assume? KRIS JENKINS: Oh, yeah, no question. They're my legal guardians so whenever I go home, I go to their house. And every holiday, things like that. Q. So you're two games away from the Final Four. What's the mentality going into this game against Miami and what do you all need to do to play well tomorrow night? KRIS JENKINS: They're a tough team, they're well coached. We just have to go out there and just play Villanova basketball for 40 minutes, defend, rebound, play hard, play tough. That gives us the best chance to win. Q. What do you see from them that really impresses you? What do you think that you've got to key on specifically? KRIS JENKINS: Just how hard they play, how tough they are. They're well coached, they execute well. They're a veteran you team. We have to concentrate on all the little things because that's what's got us to this point and that's what's going to continue to help us move forward. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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