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ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 11, 2017Chris MooneyNick SherodDe'Monte BuckinghamPittsburgh, Pennsylvania VCU 87, Richmond 77 CHRIS MOONEY: Really proud of my guys and how hard and well we played. Couldn't be more proud. Q. You're freshmen. You had excellent games today. Did you enjoy the big stage? And Nick, you were in the low post at times and you were posting people up. You made the three to give you guys a three-point lead there at the end. Just go through, if you could go through your feelings on the entire game. NICK SHEROD: Obviously it's a big stage. Biggest stage we ever played on. It would have been a lot better if we would have came out on top. Being in the post, it's just what Coach wants me to do. Whatever helps the team win, that's what I'm doing to do. We did that a little bit this year and I was pretty comfortable down there. DE'MONTE BUCKINGHAM: Yeah, same, what he said. I just feel like we played a great game today. I feel like we battled so much. We gave it our all and left it on the floor. Surprised we didn't come out with the win. I'm so proud of like my teammates and how we battled today and just did what we had to do and what Coach was tell us to do. But it's all good. We just going to keep working hard and keep pushing each other to the sky. Q. You both have interesting connections to VCU with family members. What does this rivalry mean to you guys? NICK SHEROD: We both grew up in connections. We have family in Richmond. This rivalry means a lot to us. We know about the emotion and we know about the passion and the intensity of the rivalry. So honestly it's an honor to be able to put on a Richmond jersey and play in a rivalry game like this. Obviously it's tough being in this position, but not many freshmen get this opportunity to play for your hometown team in a rivalry like this. I'm pleased that Coach gave me the opportunity to play here. DE'MONTE BUCKINGHAM: Yeah, same. I'm blessed that Coach Mooney gave us the opportunity to come here and play right away and just have that trust in us. We have so much love for our coach. He just believes in us every moment of the game. Just tells us, just go get it and play with your heart and play with your all and we just try to give him that heart and show him that we have that love for him and just play each and every day and try to go hard for him each and every time. Q. I just wondered if you guys could talk about playing a year under T.J. Cline. He's almost like a coach out there on the court. Just how big, having him there with you a year, will be torward your future development. DE'MONTE BUCKINGHAM: I would say playing with T.J., it's incredible. He knows what to do on the floor. He knows what to say all the time. I feel like down the road he would be an outstanding coach because he's always talking, just telling us, go right here, go right there. I feel like he's always dialed in. I feel like T.J.'s career is going to be incredible when it's all said and done. NICK SHEROD: For him, it's more the stuff people don't see, off-the-court stuff. Him inviting us over to his apartment, checking up on us, that kind of stuff; that you can't quantify how much that means to us. So I mean, I feel -- I couldn't feel worse that we weren't able to get this done for him and ShawnDre' and the other seniors. He'll never know how big of an impact he's had on us. Q. It's not unusual after a game like this when the season ends that seniors are brought out to address the media. You guys both are freshmen. Do you feel like you guys are the leaders of the program as you go forward now and where do you see the program going? DE'MONTE BUCKINGHAM: I wouldn't say me and him are the leaders of the program. I feel like it's the whole team down the line from the coaches all the way to the strength coaches and managers and all that. I feel like we all got to be on the same page and I feel like we've all been on the same page and I feel like down the road, we'll be fine. Just keep doing what we're doing and keep having that heart and intensity in each and every practice to just be strong and play hard all the time. NICK SHEROD: Yeah, we just try to step in and help our team win. I think that one of the big things that was stressed to us when we came in was they didn't want to have a season like they had last year. So just come in, working hard every day and doing the things it takes to help win, I think that -- I wouldn't say we are leaders, but just we try to set an example and try to do what we can do push this program forward. Q. With about six minutes left in the game, T.J. Cline got into a little foul trouble, and ended up getting his fourth foul. Do you think that was the turning point of the game? CHRIS MOONEY: Not really. He had foul trouble the whole game. He got a second one really early in the first half. So I think getting his fourth there, I don't think that was a turning point. I thought we played really well without him. That's something that's been hard for us this year. But I thought Kwesi really gave us a lift tonight and then when we went really small, I thought we were able to be effective. I don't necessarily think that was the turning point. I think, you know, T.J. didn't have his best game. But we need him on the floor, so not having him is always negative, but I thought we responded to that pretty well. Q. Could you talk about what your seniors have meant to you, and what these two guys mean to you now? CHRIS MOONEY: Yeah, well, the seniors have been incredible. I think you probably can tell by watching them play how much they have put into it, how much they care, how hard they play. They have been great to me personally, great to our program, and I deeply care about them and wish we could have -- wish we could have been playing tomorrow. And then I think the freshmen we have, and I'll include Grant in that; this is a great class for a number of reasons. I mean, the fact that De'Monte and Nick are from Richmond, I think it's like our seventh and eighth local player that we recruited. Those three guys are going to form a great class for years to come. Q. You seem to churn out good scorers and guards since you've been at Richmond. Where do you think these guys are in terms of how far along are they compared to some previous greats you've had as freshman? CHRIS MOONEY: Well, I would say that they are a little bit different in terms -- they were more physically ready to come to college or to play in college basketball as freshmen. They are both strong and they are both extremely competitive. So we've really had some really good freshmen and some good guards. I think these guys, because they are bigger and stronger, they might be a little more versatile and I would tell you this: Those guys really, really work hard. There's not a day goes by that they are not getting in the gym extra and putting more and more effort into it. I think they have special careers ahead of them. Q. You're reading my mind here, Coach. Their versatility, Nick was on the perimeter today, or Nick was in the low post. De'Monte, I think you've talked about perhaps he could even be a point guard before this thing ends. What is it about them that enables them to do so many different things? And they are not huge guys. CHRIS MOONEY: Well, first I think they have a tremendous feel for the game, and you know, just great instincts for basketball. So that enables them to play different parts on the floor. And then I think they have the skill set to match. They both can do everything we need: Dribble, pass and shoot, they are competitive and they defend. I think their versatility comes from those two things. Hopefully as they grow, we can really take advantage of their versatility even more, because I think that's pretty special for them and I think that's something that can benefit them personally and ourselves as a program. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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