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AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 11, 2017

Hartford, Connecticut

SMU - 70, UCF - 59

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Sterling Brown, Shake Milton, and Ben Moore and head coach, Tim Jankovich. Our format, will be the same as it's been through the tournament. We'll take an opening statement from Coach. We'll take questions for the student-athletes.

Coach, welcome. If you'll give your thoughts on the game and advancing to the Championship, please.

TIM JANKOVICH: That was a long walk. I've got to catch my breath. So impressed with Central Florida. All year long, the job Johnny's done, their tremendous defensive team, and the way they adjust, you know, when the big fellow's in or when the big fellow's out. I think they're a great defensive team. Here late in the season, yesterday, today, they were as good offensively as I've seen them all year. So, they made us play our best. They made us play awfully hard for 40 minutes, and I was really impressed.

But I'm most of all so proud of our guys bouncing back from the ending. You know, we played very well yesterday for 34 minutes or so, and then really had a rough ending. So to bounce back from that and really looked like the team that we've seen all year. I'm really proud and happy for them.

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student-athletes at this time.

Q. Sterling, what happened after 'Gu drew that tech. How did that change that game and what did that do for you?
STERLING BROWN: We just had to pick it up and come out aggressive. We've got a game plan that we've got to execute. Everybody, they was locked in. We came out and did what we had to do.

Q. Shake, can you talk about that whole sequence? I mean, neither of the teams had led by more than six points, then there's the steal underneath against Tacko Fall, the three-pointer on the other end, technical foul, and all of a sudden, it's a ten-point ball game. Was that the turning point for you guys. Did you feel like you had it at that point.
SHAKE MILTON: I don't know if we felt like we had it. I just felt like whenever things get a little rough or it get down to crunch time, our team does a good job of coming together, especially being led by these two seniors. They make it pretty easy to tighten everything up. I think it really showed on the defensive end, the way we were rebounding helping each other, and also on the offensive end, moving the ball an getting good shots.

Q. Yesterday, Semi, was really good for you guys all game. Yesterday it was really you guys doing all of the work. What was different today for you two?
SHAKE MILTON: I mean, with this team, everybody stays ready. So, it doesn't matter whose night it is. Everybody is unselfish as well. If you're hot, we're going to get you the ball. I think from Semi to Jamin and then Jarrey, everybody does a good job of sharing the ball and makes sure the right person gets the ball and gets the good shot.

Q. Ben, I think both teams, I think each team had like ten points in the paint. You guys had ten three-pointers each. So, what was happening inside that led to such a dearth of scoring in the middle?
BEN MOORE: I think both teams were locked in defensively because come around to tournament time, that's the most important thing. So both teams were playing hard on the defensive end and we were tried to keep it out in play. That was a big key.

Q. You guys had been playing mostly zone all season. What challenges especially were they bringing especially in the first ten minutes that were causing you guys trouble?
BEN MOORE: I mean, I think one of the biggest keys to their zone defense is Tacko sitting in the middle. So you've got to get adjusted to that because playing against a 7'6" guy is always tough. I think we did get adjusted. The coaching staff did a great job getting great plays. It was good.

Q. You guys have more wins than any other team in program history and Sterling, or, Shake, can you address what that means to you guys to have this many wins, you know, and obviously going for another championship tomorrow?
STERLING BROWN: It's definitely a great accomplishment. We just go out every day and try to play hard. We're definitely not done. We have one more tomorrow and then the NCAA. It's a good accomplishment, but we know we're not done. We got a bigger goal that we're trying to accomplish to add to those wins.

THE MODERATOR: Any other questions?

We'll excuse the student-athletes to the locker room then, thank you, gentlemen. At this time we'll take questions for Coach Jankovich.

TIM JANKOVICH: They leave me by myself. Is that what they do? They just leave me hanging? Figures.

Q. Coach, this team, I don't think had a single preseason vote in the A.P. poll, and here you are with 29 wins. Can you talk about what it means for you guys to get to this stage and be fighting for a Conference Championship?
TIM JANKOVICH: Well, I would say first, bad voting, bad voting, bad early on voting which is -- I always say -- and I'm messing with you.

Is there anything less important than a preseason vote, right? But what I do want to say is, you know, the name of this game that we're in is winning. The name of the game is winning, and these guys are incredible winners. I'm just -- I love being with them. I love what they stand for. I love the fact that they have been a part of the most wins in the school history. And it's not an accident, because that's really what they play for and I know you -- supposedly we're all playing for that. You know what? We live in a day and age where that's not necessarily the case. I hope we win, but I hope I do really, really well, too. Maybe as long as I do really well, things pretty good.

There's a lot of sacrifice and giving and unselfishness that goes into being a great team. It's not that easy. It's not swimming and diving, it's not tennis. It's a group of guys that were all very, very, very good players in their own right. When they come together, and everybody's keeping stats, and who's the leading scorer, and all of those kind of things, and to get an entire group to actually give themselves to say -- you know what's the most important and second-most important thing is winning. And that's what these guys have been all about, and that's why I've said for about the 17,000th time this year, how much I love coaching them, because their thoughts are pure. They are a little bit throwback. They are a joy to coach.

Q. You know, yesterday you talked about today would be a good time for guys to step up outside of Semi. How pleased were you, and how important is it going forward to have production out of guys like Sterling and Shake like they had today?
TIM JANKOVICH: It's very important, but it is who we've been as you well know. It's who we are. We are not a one-man team. We have a lot of great one-man players on a given night. I can tell you that. You know what? If some of these guys played maybe on a different type of team or maybe a team with not quite as much fire power, you know, they would have more of those nights.

And that's kind of what I'm saying. They sacrificed for the one common goal and they know, they're mature enough to know some nights it's me, and some nights it's you, and some nights it's him. And we've seen countless times when different people, it's their night, and I think it was hat Ben said, whoever's night it is, we try to feed the hot hand and we do it willingly. And it's just -- it's a beautiful thing.

I thought we played so unselfishly. I thought we were just -- not a bone in our body that was not, you know, cut in with all the right thoughts. I loved our ball movement. I loved a lot of things we did. And having said that, we still couldn't get away from them for the longest. They played great and they were so prepared. Their defense is always great, but offensively, they've just gotten better and better. A lot of guys are stepping into a whole different role for me. A lot of the guys that normally score, they score, but good balance from them, and it was a really, really good win. I think Central Florida might be as undervalued or underappreciated or unknown of a tough out as anybody in the country. I've been saying that for the longest time. I really have. I've been watching them. I've been watching their defensive numbers and watching them grow. And that's why I'm so happy about today.

Q. Coach, Ben Moore didn't score a point today but in the last day, he was instrumental defending Matt William, shut them down in the second half last time you played them. You put him into today switching him around on guys. How big of a contributor is he on the defensive end?
TIM JANKOVICH: He's great. He's one of our best defenders. You could argue -- if I said he's our best defender, I'd have a whole bunch of guys mad at me on our team, because we have a lot of good defenders. But he's in the discussion, for sure, every single night. So whether he scores or whether he doesn't, he always plays well for us. He shot the ball really well over the course of conference season. He's hit a number of countless big shots. He guarded -- you're right, he guarded Matt Williams tremendously when we played him there. But the problem is, couldn't beg Sterling off of him today so -- didn't want to go against a senior that's begging for that challenge. And he did a great job and wasn't fouling. And he just -- but I would have had 100 percent -- obviously, from experience, 100 percent having Ben guard him the whole game.

Q. Coach, four of your starters played 35 or more minutes and Sterling Brown played all 40. How big of a concern is rest or lack thereof going into the third straight day of the game?
TIM JANKOVICH: You know, kind of big. Kind of big. But we made the decision. I was even asked before we came here, how do you approach the tournament, and I also said, I thought this -- a conference tournament for our team, because of our numbers, in a lot of ways, was even a bigger challenge than the conference season.

I know that a lot of things can happen with injury and illness, but at least you have a couple days in between to rest and prepare. Here we're working on such short numbers, and if we were fortunate enough, which we are, to play three games in three nights, I felt like this could be as hard as anything we'll do all year, particularly, you know, we're going to have a great opponent in the Championship game. It's a huge challenge.

Obviously, in the NCAA Tournament, you'll play some outstanding team, but at least they give you a day to rest if you're fortunate enough to advance. So this -- I said it before and I agree now, that this is going to be a very, very, very big challenge for us tomorrow. Having said that, no excuse.

Q. Sterling in particular, really locked in today, defense, offense. What did you see out of him especially in the second half when he really kind of took over a little bit?
TIM JANKOVICH: He was just great, you know? He was just great. He played great. He played like a tough-minded, highly motivated senior that he is. You know? He wants both ends. He wants the toughest guy, he wants to rebound it. He wants to shoot it. He made some terrific assists, I thought. He drove the ball hard. He found people, timely passes. He was just outstanding, I thought.

THE MODERATOR: Anything more? One final question? Coach, congratulations on advancing. We'll see you tomorrow.

TIM JANKOVICH: Thank you very much.

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