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ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 9, 2017Travis FordDavell RobyJalen JohnsonPittsburgh, Pennsylvania GEORGE WASHINGTON 53, Saint Louis 46 TRAVIS FORD: It was really almost a carbon copy of our first game against George Washington at their place where we led most of the game. They just made some big plays down the stretch. You know, four or five threes for the second half for them, we turned the ball over way too much in the second half and give them credit for that. Really proud of my guys and really proud of their effort. I think ran out of gas a little bit out there, which is understandable because of how hard these young men played all year long. But give George Washington the credit tonight, but really, really proud of our basketball team. Q. For either one of you, George Washington came out, was really cold shooting. Did you feel like you maybe could have made a little bit more of a push early on, get a little bit more of a cushion, or was it just the way the game was flowing? DAVELL ROBY: We knew eventually they would make some shots. We just stuck to our defensive principles. Came out early, they was missing some shots. But they are a really good team, and like I said, hats off to them and they are basically going to make some shots. They have some really good players on their team. We kept on trying to make our push and kept on running our assists and we were executing our offense early. We got the shots we wanted. Just couldn't get the shots late to fall like we needed them to. Q. Jalen, it's tough because the season just ended, but can you look back and say, first-year coach, what kind of positives you have and what you are looking forward to next season? JALEN JOHNSON: I feel it was a very successful season. I know Coach coming in, the players at Saint Louis had to accept him. As a freshman coming in, I was at home and him -- meet him. He recruited me here, so I didn't worry about that. But hats off to our seniors, Reggie and Mike for accepting him, Davell, big-time player, he accepted him. It's really the team that helped me do what I do and Coach is just a plus. Q. Could you talk a little about the season again, what you did, and coming in and having a lead tonight, and just looking back over the course of the season, looking forward a little bit? TRAVIS FORD: Yeah, you know, I've been around -- you know, basketball has been pretty much my whole life since I was about two years old. Playing it, been around it my whole life, coaching it. Man, I've been a part of a lot of teams in my life. I've told our guys, I've enjoyed this year as much as I've enjoyed any year for the fact that I knew what I was inheriting. I knew the position they had been in the last couple years. And these young men have really accepted everything I've thrown at them, with bright eyes, eager to learn, very -- as coachable a group as I've ever been around, very coachable. And we all fully understand our weaknesses. They fully understand kind of their identity and who they are and we talked a lot about before the season. We talked a lot about before the season where we were picked. We have our article that said we wouldn't win a game. And we kind of understood that. We understood where they were coming from but it doesn't mean we have to accept that. And we've had our ups and downs but the one thing these guys always continue, just try to get better. Every day I'd walk in the locker room for practice or whatever it is, and they were just looking at me: Let's do this, no matter what happened the day before. And they continued to get better and better, and I believe this, I think the last month and a half, we were as good as anybody in this league and that says a lot for this basketball team. I wouldn't mind playing anybody. And that's all just because they continued to get better and better and better. From that standpoint, really proud of our guys, really proud of our seniors. Reggie and Mike really led us. Very good leadership. Really have a lot of respect and admiration for those two guys for what they stand for as young men. And so, yeah, I think this year was a success for our basketball team in a lot of ways. You know, if you didn't know what we, if you didn't know a lot about our team, just looked at our record, you may not know that, but I'm sure you know kind of where we started at this year. And you know, I think we could -- by the end of the season right now, we could play with anybody. And before the season started, I really haven't talked about it much, but I had some concerns about this year, and my concerns, my biggest concern wasn't about talent, wasn't about numbers, because we don't play a lot. It was, would they be able to sustain what I was going to put them through. Would we have anything left three to four weeks left in the season; would we have anything left, physically and mentally. Because I knew we were not going to win a ton of games, so would they still be ready to play hard, every day, when you know you're not necessarily playing for an NCAA Tournament or something, but would they have enough character just to come every single day and get better, and worry about the things we can control; would they have enough left. Would they have enough left physically, because we get after it. We get after it. We could play with anybody today. We got stronger. We got stronger as a team. And for that, I'm very impressed with these young men. I'm very impressed. So my concerns did not come true. And that says a lot. It says a lot about these young men in that locker room, a lot. I told them, they walk out that door, their shoulders better be back and their chin better be up, because they deserve it. Q. When GW came out in their one-three-one in the second half, what kind of problems did that pose for you and how were you trying to combat that defense that they were trying to put on you guys? TRAVIS FORD: Well, it caused some problems. We knew they were going to go to it. I just was wondering when. And we got some decent shots. It will be interesting to go back and look at it, and didn't make them. But they did a good job. It slowed us down, no doubt. Turned us over, probably more than anything. Turned us over. So yeah, we had some opportunities where the ball kind of went in and came out. But give them credit again. It was almost just like the first game. I mean, identical to the first game. But yeah, the one-three-one was a difference, no question. It helped them. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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