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NCAA MEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: ANAHEIM

March 23, 2016

Anaheim, California

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by student-athletes Dillon Brooks and Elgin Cook. Questions for the student-athletes?

Q. I'd like to ask Dillon and Elgin, what kinds of challenges, either in terms of individual match-ups or tactics does Duke present? And what makes Brandon Ingram unique among the different players you've had to face?
ELGIN COOK: Duke's a great team, well-coached, and they shoot the three really well. They like to get up and down in transition.

And Brandon Ingram, he can put the ball on the floor, he's long, he's athletic, and we'll have our hands full.

DILLON BROOKS: Brandon Ingram brings a lot to the table. Like Elgin said, he's long. We never played a player like that. He shoots the three well and he's like 6'8", so he brings a lot to the table.

And Duke they're well-coached and they've got guys that are always looking to attack.

Q. How much pressure do you feel, if any, as the last team from the Pac-12 still standing in the Sweet Sixteen?
ELGIN COOK: It's no pressure on us. We're just coming in and trying to play Oregon basketball and just trying to add another game to the win column.

DILLON BROOKS: We came first in the Pac-12, so it was bound for us to be this far, leading the Pac-12. We're just going to go out there, execute the game plan and try to keep on winning.

Q. Can you guys talk a little bit about your last game against St. Joe's and how that probably or possibly made you stronger facing the adversity you did moving forward in this tournament?
ELGIN COOK: St. Joe's is a great team. They've got a lot of good players, and we knew they were going to make a run. They're a good offensive team. They took us out of our character. They made us do some things we haven't done all year.

I think we've been facing adversity all year, fighting back. We got down a couple times this year and it's just about coming together and executing our game plan.

DILLON BROOKS: Yeah, St. Joe's really took the punch to us in the second half. Then we were down seven and Coach told us to be poised in everything we do. We've been fighting adversity all year. This isn't anything different. We just came out there and did what we did and such, just attacking the basket and playing together. Togetherness equals toughness.

Q. Did you prove something to yourself in that sense when your backs were up against the wall in a pressure situation that you were able to be successful?
DILLON BROOKS: Yeah, I think so. We weren't really down ever like that in the regular season, so it was a really good test for us, especially with Duke coming in. They make big runs. They can shoot the three. So even if we're down, never count us out.

Q. Elgin, you guys have accomplished a lot of incredible things this year, but playing Duke in the NCAA Tournament is about the biggest spotlight you can be under in college basketball. Is that special to you guys? Also, what kind of product are people going to see around the country? What kind of style of play do you want to represent out of Oregon that people will see for the first time?
ELGIN COOK: Yeah, this is a really big game. Every game's a big game. Duke's a great team. Coach K is a legend. Duke has a lot of history behind them. We're just going to come, try to get up and down the court, hold some defense and just be active. We just want to be active and get a lot of deflections.

DILLON BROOKS: We're just going to show Oregon basketball. Like Elgin said, getting up and down, being really active, contributing on the rebounding and on the defensive end and just follow Coach's game plan, his recipe that he's been preaching all year: Rebounding the basketball on both ends, limit our turnovers and share the basketball.

Q. Throughout the regular season you guys were one of the best teams in the country on points off turnovers. I think you had 21 in your two games, less than your season average. What do you have to do to pressure Duke to not only create turnovers but also get offense off of forcing those turnovers?
ELGIN COOK: We just need to be under control, execute our game plan. We know they're going to get up and down. They score a bunch of points. They're going to be aggressive and attacking. We just need to -- I don't know. What do you think?

DILLON BROOKS: We're just going to have to make them do what they don't usually do, force them into their weaknesses. Make them get out of character and try to play hero basketball, and that will contribute in our win column, for sure.

Q. Can you talk about your role on the team and how you helped this team with their success, and it's two questions in one, because obviously you're Canadian as well and a lot of the nation will be keeping an eye on this game specifically for that. How does that feel for you as well?
DILLON BROOKS: It feels great having all the support from Eugene, Oregon and in Canada as well. Just makes my game excel even higher. But we're just going to come out here and really try to take it to Duke. I know a lot of the guys are really motivated. I've been watching Duke all our lives, and once we see the lettering "D-U-K-E", we're going to come out there with red on our face and just really take it to them.

Q. How much of the basketball team's success in the last couple years is related to the football team's success, the fact that Oregon has kind of made themselves a bold part of the college football scene?
DILLON BROOKS: Coach Altman's always at the practices for the football team with Helfrich and stuff. They just learn off each other. We're great supporters of them, and they're great supporters of us. They've been having a winning coach there for a long time with all the coaches there and all the great players that came out of there. We're just trying to replicate the same thing.

Q. Elgin, you guys came into this game and into the Tournament after a 31-point win over Utah in the Pac-12 Championship. How much confidence did that give you guys entering this?
ELGIN COOK: It gives us a lot of confidence. That game we played as a team. We shared the ball and played team defense. We were all talking out there and just being able to put some wins together going into the Tournament, it always gives you a bunch of confidence.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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