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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: INDIANAPOLISMarch 18, 2017Conner FrankampLandry ShametRashard KellyIndianapolis, Indiana THE MODERATOR: Wichita State's players are here. Q. How much does that 2014 game against Kentucky, how much is it talked about, referred to as a big moment in this program's history and your guys' experiences at Wichita State? CONNER FRANKAMP: It is not talked about too much, honestly. Obviously, it was a very historic game against two very good teams. Both teams are different now. It's just a new game for us now, pretty much. LANDRY SHAMET: The only talk we've really done on it -- we watched a little film. There are just a few similarities here and there, but like Conner said, it's two very different teams now. RASHARD KELLY: Personally, none of us was involved in that 35-0 year besides our two seniors. We personally wasn't there, but we knew how much the state of Wichita, the fan base loved it. Q. Do any of you guys get caught up at all looking ahead in the bracket at some of the teams that are in Wichita State's path? RASHARD KELLY: No. We treat every team the same amount of respect, one team at a time. Just like the game, it's just one play at a time, one possession at a time. So we don't try to get too ahead of ourselves and just worry about the task in front of us. LANDRY SHAMET: You can't afford to look ahead. Your full attention has to be on the team you're currently pitted against. That's what we try to do. Q. For all three of you, how accurate would it be to consider you guys an execution team? CONNER FRANKAMP: It's decently accurate. We really try to focus in on making sure we do our sets right and doing what coach says. We have guys who can get a bucket at any time we want. We try to follow coach's game plan and the plays the best we can throughout the game. LANDRY SHAMET: He hit it on the head, execute it as much as we can. We're not really blessed with having a bunch of seven footers and being more athletic and more skilled than everybody else, so you have to execute almost sometimes. RASHARD KELLY: I think that's probably the easiest part of the game, when you execute and do what you're told to and just make plays and a match-ups easier for you to get the best outcome. Q. Landry, Coach Marshall said one of the better decisions he made this season is going with you. It didn't obviously happen early. At what point did you think you were ready to take control? LANDRY SHAMET: I've always had confidence in myself to play either the one or the two. Obviously, at that point when I did make the switch, I was starting to get really comfortable at the two. It was a fairly smooth transition. Conner was playing it, and we're pretty interchangeable. So we both can do a lot of the same things. It was smooth. I felt ready after maybe one game where it was kind of somewhat more of a learning experience and then getting confidence in my teammates and them getting confidence in me. Q. I asked Coach this last night. Kentucky is known for sending guys to the NBA. Wichita State now has two or three guys in the league. How much does that help, do you think, in recruiting now when Coach goes out and tells kids like you guys or whoever that, hey, we have multiple NBA guys. When you chose Wichita State, did you think, oh, this is a program that's got guys in the league and can help me get there? RASHARD KELLY: I'd probably say makes you appreciate the grind more. Over four years, you see how you change your game, and you just craft your skills. I'd probably say the overall reward, building yourself up as a complete player in four years is probably more appreciated than just jumping straight to the league. Some of them players are just smarter players than freshmen. So I think either way you get there is a blessing. So it's just how hard you want to work. LANDRY SHAMET: Any time you've got -- that was a big reason I came here. I wanted to play with Ron and Fred, knowing they're two NBA guards. When you can say that about your program, it's definitely going to be more attractive to people. Q. Rashard and Landry, how much have you looked at how good Kentucky is in transition, in fast break, and how important it will be to try to make them go against the half court defense? LANDRY SHAMET: They're one of the best in the country, if not the best. Combination of speed and size in the open court, and pretty talented around the rim. That's a point of emphasis for us, trying to stop transition. You've got three or four seconds, really, to get back, cut the ball off and get the ball stopped and get in our set defense, which is where we think we're pretty good. RASHARD KELLY: They're elite. You've got the top recruits coming to Kentucky. You've got the Nike Elite gear. They get all the Nike gear. They're elite in everything. We are trying to be elite one day too, Nike. (Laughter.) Q. You guys are on a long winning streak. What factors have contributed to that? CONNER FRANKAMP: I think just getting better every single day, not taking anything for granted. Even after a win, we know we have to get back to work the next day and improve on the mistakes you made the last game. Like I said, coming to get better every single day and working on our weaknesses. LANDRY SHAMET: What he said. We got a great coach, and he's also a coach that's rarely satisfied. You can't always make him happy. So every day of film, even if we win by 20 or 30, he's ripping us or whatever about this play or that play. So that goes a long way. You're playing teams, and you've got to remain consistent with your preparation. And I think that's one thing that we like to hang our hat on. Q. If I remember correctly, before the 2014 game, your coach said none of your players had even gotten a look or form letter from Kentucky. Did any of you hear from them at all? If not, what did they overlook in your skill set? CONNER FRANKAMP: I committed to KU my sophomore year, so it was really early for me. I knew that's where I wanted to go when I was younger, and I had that opportunity when they offered. So I committed early. I didn't get to experience the recruitment process that much, really. LANDRY SHAMET: They never talked to me. RASHARD KELLY: Me either. Q. What did they miss? RASHARD KELLY: Probably because I'm not 6'11", don't have a 7'2" wingspan, but it's all good. Q. Landry, watching Fred last year, what kind of things did you pick up from him about the point guard? LANDRY SHAMET: He's just so patient, so under control. Nobody sped him up. Nobody got him out of his rhythm or changed him from what he wanted to do. He was just always in complete control, and that's one thing I'm still trying to get a handle on, just staying at my pace, going at my speed and controlling the game. Q. Rashard, you talked about not being 6'11", not having a 7'2" wingspan, not having the Elite Nike gear. So how do you compensate for that in a game like tomorrow and you guys come out on top? RASHARD KELLY: You just got to do the little things. Sometimes teams like that don't focus on boxing out, checking down, defensive pressure, just little things that make us great. And I think that's what makes us appreciate playing and working so hard more because we do little things that end up being a big reason why we win. Q. Rashard, you talked about coach ripping you guys even if you win by 20 or 30. Maybe it was Landry. How much are the little things the topic that he's ripping you about? RASHARD KELLY: We have a win, but we get beat on like the rebounding total for the game, the film the next day will be terrible. I mean, we'll win by 20, but you'll be everything in the book, you know. So he just pushes us every day. He just wants the best from us. I kind of respect that from him. He made all of us -- all 16 of us, he just helped us mold into men throughout the year, and we definitely appreciate that from him. Q. Landry, to follow up on recruiting, what schools did you consider besides Wichita State when you chose them? LANDRY SHAMET: If I wasn't here, I would probably be at Colorado. That's the simplest answer. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, fellas. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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