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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: MILWAUKEEMarch 15, 2017Kermit DavisJaCory WilliamsGiddy PottsReggie UpshawMilwaukee, Wisconsin THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Middle Tennessee student-athletes, Reggie Upshaw, Giddy Potts, and JaCorey Williams. Questions, please. Q. Reggie, how special is this tournament for you knowing that it's going to be your last with these two guys who have been the core of the team with you? REGGIE UPSHAW: It's very special. I think this whole season has been special for me just because I am the only four-year senior on the team. So I've kind of embraced this is my last, you know, kind of going out more than probably JaCorey has. But, you know, just the fashion in which we went about this season with being 30-4 and making it back to our second straight NCAA appearance, it's all been very special. Q. For all of you guys, and I know, JaCorey, this is your first time playing, how different does it feel going into this game than it felt a year ago going into the Michigan State game, in terms of a lot of people are picking you for this game, there's a different kind of expectation? JACOREY WILLIAMS: I mean, obviously I didn't feel the excitement these two guys from Michigan State last year. It's a good feeling knowing people has confidence in us and our abilities. We've been showing we're a mature team all year long and we're glad we got some supporters out there. GIDDY POTTS: It really felt the same to me, but I just want these two guys to go out with a bang, and I just want them to come out and play their hardest like we did last year and win some games in the tournament. REGGIE UPSHAW: Like those two said, it's kind of felt the same. You know, of course this year we're not going to be able to sneak up on anybody like we did last year. But, you know, I felt like we have a good team who is very mature and have a couple good days of practice leading up to tomorrow's game. You know, as far as just our preparation and stuff like that, I feel like it's all been the same. Q. Reggie, you mentioned not sneaking up on anybody. Do you feel like there is more pressure on you guys since more people know about you and people are picking you guys? REGGIE UPSHAW: I wouldn't say there's pressure because we're still a 12 seed. It's still -- it would be considered an upset if we won to most people, but for us it's not a upset. We feel like we have a good team and we know what kind of team we are. We know who we are, and we know that we have a very physical team. So if we just go out and do the things that we can do, then there won't be any kind of sneaking up or anything like that. Q. Giddy, what's kind of the mood around the locker room like and how does it compare to last year? Are you guys nervous? Excited? GIDDY POTTS: I think we're kind of excited, but I really haven't talked to all the players, just been talking to them two. They feel -- they excited, but we just coming out here to play our game like we're supposed to. Q. Reggie and JaCorey, talk about playing the Gophers front court. Obviously Reggie Lynch is one of the nation's leading shot blockers and Jordan Murphy was an All BIG TEN player. JACOREY WILLIAMS: I feel like we've been playing this lineup all year. We faced guys that were bigger than us, considered more physical before the game. I think that me and Reggie, we play well off each other, cause some mismatch problem. As far as guarding those two, we just have to stay solid, try to hold our ground, do our work early in the post. REGGIE UPSHAW: Like what JaCorey said, all year we've kind of gone up against bigger post players. When we played Vandy, they had Luke Kornet. And the whole time leading into that game, we heard about how he kind of alters shots and he's basically going to dominate us in the post. And it was a different story when we got out there. And the same thing about UAB. They have a post player who is known for blocking shots so we're used to playing against post players who kind of have a name for themselves and are, you know, talked about in a light where they change the game defensively. You know, going into this game, it's all the same. We just have to do what we do. And since we are so versatile we'll be able to create those mismatches. Q. Is there something about Big Ten teams that you think you matchup against their style of play, maybe the more physical style that they play that allows you to matchup there? JACOREY WILLIAMS: We can play a lot of ways. We play a lot of teams, different styles of play. For example, Marshall gets up and down the court. We can play fast in transition. Minnesota they're trying to look for their bigs off screens and rolls. We'll change the game with the way we defend as well. We'll be fine playing slow or fast. Q. Reggie, you mentioned the other day trying to take this program to a higher level from these runs. What does that mean to you? I know you're focused on this team, you're a senior, but what do you think can be done from last year and this year in terms of advancing Middle Tennessee moving forward? REGGIE UPSHAW: I think, you know, the way that this program kind of goes towards the future is almost like when I was a freshman coming in, the year before they had made it to the playoff game against St. Mary's. That group of seniors when I got here, they kind of told me it's my turn to kind of take this program to a different level. Now that I'm leaving, you know, the group that's going to come back with Giddy and Ed and the rest of the players and the new group that's coming in, you know, it's kind of on them to take this program from here and, you know, wherever it wants to go. Q. Reggie and Giddy, with you guys having been with Coach Davis for a number of years throughout the first maybe half of his time at Middle Tennessee, you scored around .500 every season. The last five or six years, you guys have taken it to another level. What about his program has either changed or allowed you guys to have more success in the last few years than he experienced when he was first starting to build the program? GIDDY POTTS: I think a lot of the guys are starting to buy into the process. I think that's the key to his success and our playing ability. And I think we just go out there and follow the scout and play our game like we supposed to, and I think that's helped Coach Davis. REGGIE UPSHAW: I just think like what Giddy said, a lot of the guys do bye in. The guys who try to go against Coach Davis and try to kind of fight him and not really buy into what he's doing, those are the guys who find it hard to play for him. But for myself and I know for Giddy, you know, it's been relatively easy playing for Coach Davis because, I mean, he let's you play your game, but, at the same time, he gets the most out of you with how you play on defense. Q. Reggie, you guys are again posting 100 percent graduation success rate this season. What does Coach Davis and Middle Tennessee kind of do to help you guys get prepared in the classroom as well as on the court? REGGIE UPSHAW: They just -- help hold you accountable everyday, especially since we've been missing so many days of class, traveling from the conference tournament to coming here and hopefully going to Memphis next week. He just -- he holds you accountable. Everyday that we're on campus he expects you to be in class, and he has this point system where if you're late the a class or if you miss a day of class, then, you know, you get a point. Once you get two points, he wakes you up at 5:00 in the morning. You have to go run. I know a lot of guys don't like to wake up that early, so for the most part that's really the reason that everybody is in class (laughter). Q. Giddy, can you tell us a little bit about Tyrik Dixon's growth from the beginning on forward? He's grown from a true freshman to starting guard in the NCAA Tournament. From a guard's standpoint, how has he been an upgrade on defense? GIDDY POTTS: I think he's just been doing what he's supposed to do, not being fancy with the ball. Just taking care of it. Making the right plays. And off the floor he just -- he stays in the gym, he work on his shot all the time, and he's just a hard-working guy. And that's -- it shows up on the court. Q. With as popular as basketball is in the State of Tennessee and particularly Memphis, what would it mean for you guys to get there, knowing there's already a program there that that city is really supporting terms of U of M? What would it mean for you to get to play in that city? THE MODERATOR: Anybody wants to take it? JACOREY WILLIAMS: I think it means a lot, because we're not too far from Murfreesboro. With being in Memphis, I think our fans will show great support, which they have been doing all year. We thank them for that. We'll be thankful just to be back in Tennessee. It's close to Chattanooga, close to Alabama for me and Giddy, and it will be a great feeling to be back in Memphis. THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? Q. All you guys, if there was a team you played this year that you would compare most to Minnesota, what team would it be? REGGIE UPSHAW: I'd say VCU. In VCU they have bigs that are kind of basically the same as Minnesota in Mo Alie-Cox and Tillman. I'd say that's the main, main team that I'd see the most resemblance with. GIDDY POTTS: About the same, VCU. JACOREY WILLIAMS: I agree with the physicality of the bigs and team's ran by a great point guard, Mason. VCU has a great point guard, too. THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll release the Middle Tennessee student-athletes. Good luck against Minnesota. This is Middle Tennessee Head Coach, Kermit Davis. Questions, please. Q. Kermit, you talked about trying to be a national program a lot lately. What does that mean to you, and where do you think you guys are on that scale right now? COACH DAVIS: You know, it means a lot me. When you've been at a place for 15 years, Joe, and you've seen -- when I got there 15 years ago, it was kind of a feeling of apathy a little bit. And at that time we were really trying to chase Western Kentucky. I was trying to get our program to kind of resemble that. So now later you can only be a national program if you can beat national teams, and we're 7-5 against the SEC over last five years. We've won on the road at UCLA. Obviously the big Michigan State win. In order to be a national program, you've got to have a fan base. We took a big step in Birmingham last week with our championships game. We probably took right around 3,000 people to Birmingham. And I think when a fan base starts to follow your team, then you can kind of start resembling a national program. So, I'm proud of the progress. We still got a lot of work to do, though. Q. You've obviously coached against Richard Pitino before. How well do you know him and what do you think of the job he's done at Minnesota? COACH DAVIS: I've known Richard, I know his family. One time I was Louisville, played in the tournament. Coach Pitino, probably about ten, 12 years ago, he invited my wife and I to the Kentucky Derby, Coach Pitino and his wife. I felt like I was hanging out with Mick Jagger for about four days at Churchill. He's a really good coach. At FIU he played more like his dad's teams, pressing, undersize. Now he's playing to the style that fits his players. Looks like a Big Ten team, physical, guards are very aggressive, excellent man-to-man team. Yeah, I've been very impressed with Richard at his age and what he's done. Q. Were there things that you learned during your time at Idaho you're able to apply now once you've gotten this team back to consistent NCAA Tournament appearances, even though there was that big gap? COACH DAVIS: When I was 28 years old and head coach at Idaho, went to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, won like 50 games. I guess this is pretty easy. This is what you do every year. You find out it's precious. It's precious to get back to the NCAA Tournament. It is nice, this three out of the last five years our program has been there. I don't know if it's lessons. Seems like a long time ago, you know, they were great moments to go to your first NCAA Tournament. But I do think we can draw from lessons, especially from last year being here. Q. Coach, maybe building off that, lot of fans will be seeing your team for the first time since the Michigan State win. If you can recount how did you build off that win, what that meant for your program? COACH DAVIS: We lost three starters off that team, three good players. We had our two leading scorers back, Giddy and Reggie. They're a year older and better. Their leadership skills are unbelievable. You had JaCorey Williams, who had the best redshirt year of anybody I've ever had in 34 years of college basketball. When you can bring in a newcomer who is the MVP of your league, any league, you know your team is going to be a lot better. You'll see two of the most versatile forwards in college basketball. Play with two point 4's at 4 and 5. They can score at different levels and they're exciting guys to watch. You'll see a team that hopefully plays with great edge and passion, you know, and good defensively, and it's a good style of play. I guess last four games we played we're averaging around 86 a game. Our team is as good in transition in the open floor. Q. Because of that Michigan State win and because of what you guys did this season, lot of people are picking you to win this game against Minnesota. Do you feel like there's any extra pressure to pull off another upset? COACH DAVIS: Not at all. I'm sure Richard loves that. If I was Richard, I would love to hear everybody say that. We're going to get Minnesota's very, very best shot. You know, I think it's great for Middle Tennessee that our national branding is getting better in college basketball. And for a whole university and for people around the country to now notice us and start thinking of us as a national program and picking us to win, I think that's great for basketball and it shows how far we've come in the last 10, 12 years. Q. Coach, as we're pushing one day until your first game, how is the mood in the locker room this time different or comparable to last year's? COACH DAVIS: This team is a loose team. I mean -- it's a fun team, but when you blow the whistle, they fire out and they practice with a lot of energy and passion. I think it's similar to last year. We were a confident group, too. We had a great week of practice just like we have this week. You know, last year I didn't know if our best was good enough to beat Michigan State. I thought we would play well. But, you know, I think our team has a great confidence. We know we're playing a really, really good team. I expect our team to play really well tomorrow. Q. In terms of building branding, did you notice a large percentage of high school students having some level of familiarity with the program on the recruiting circuit over the past year? COACH DAVIS: It's not even close. It's amazing how one game in the tournament run, even with all the winning that's gone on before that, but it really is. From the five guys we signed in November, especially the 2018 class, everybody seen you play. Everybody has seen us play and like where we are. And then when you back it up like we do this year, probably in the early signing period, we were able to beat better schools in recruiting than we ever have. Yeah, no question it helped. Q. Your player mentioned VCU as a comp. Would you agree and anyone else that you saw that gives you a good look at what you're going to see tomorrow? COACH DAVIS: You know, two SEC teams but Vandy, as you know, built different than Minnesota. Ole Miss is a physical team. But I think -- I listened to those guys when they said it back, and they're right. Those two bigs are just like that. They're anchored down around 15 feet from the goal. They're physical, they can block shots. Then I think JaCorey said it best, Mason, he's one of the best point guards in the country and he reminds me of a lot of Lewis with VCU. I think that's a good comparison. Rebounding the ball probably, Old Dominion. A team that's very physical at the 4 and 5. THE MODERATOR: Anything else for Coach? Thank you. Good luck against Minnesota. COACH DAVIS: Thanks guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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