|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA MEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFINALS AND FINALS: MEMPHISMarch 24, 2017Chris HoltmannAndrew ChrabasczKethan SavageAvery WoodsonTyler LewisMemphis, Tennessee North Carolina - 92, Butler - 80. CHRIS HOLTMANN: A lot of credit goes to North Carolina. I thought they played exceptionally well, and obviously we have tremendous respect for Coach Williams and their team and wish them well. I thought they were terrific tonight. I'll get into this more later, but obviously this is a sudden end to one of the most special teams that I've ever been a part of, for sure, and it's special because of these guys and the guys in the locker room. It's always a sudden end, but it's particularly sudden when you have a group that is this special, and I mean that wholeheartedly. Q. Andrew, was Carolina better in person than you thought? Watching tape all week, were they better in person, and what got them so hot in the game from the perimeter? ANDREW CHRABASCZ: I mean, we knew they were an unbelievable team. We scouted them as one of the best teams in the country, like, we knew they earned that respect. At the same time, we let them get into a rhythm, especially in the beginning, and when you let a team like that feel good about themselves, it's tough to get them out of that with how many talented guys they have on their team, and also they answered every run that we had. They had some type of big shot that they knocked down. Yeah, give credit where it's due; they played unbelievably tonight. Q. For those of us that haven't followed your team all year, expand a little bit about what made these guys so special and what makes this end so bittersweet for you guys? CHRIS HOLTMANN: You know, I think it's been well-documented in our circles that we were picked sixth out of ten teams in our league. It was widely considered a rebuilding year, and I even thought it very well may be that. I think people thought we were going to scratch and claw for a chance to even play in March, and for this group to achieve what they did really from day one -- we had some moments that we'd like to forget, but a lot of moments that we hope we never forget. It was really a year full of incredible moments, from beating the No. 1 team in the country twice and winning a pre-conference tournament, the number of really special moments we had as a group. I can't say enough about the leadership that we had that allowed us to do that when certainly people didn't expect that to be the case. We would have liked to have played better than what we did here tonight, but again, Carolina deserves a lot of credit. Q. I know it's a hard loss, but what can you take from this season and take into next season? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah, I think we'll be reminded of the things that helped us achieve what we achieved, a 4 seed, a Sweet 16 berth. I think there's some really good moments that we need to reflect on as what allowed us to do that. We had a very unselfish group, a group that was agenda-less, and a talented group. And when you have those pieces, I think that allows you to do some things. We're fortunate to be a part of a program that's used to tremendous success, and a terrific basketball culture, and hopefully we can continue it. Q. What did you tell the seniors when they walked off the court, and what was going through your mind? CHRIS HOLTMANN: I just didn't want it to end. I didn't -- you never anticipate an ending, but I didn't want it to end like it did. I told them -- what I told them is I wished that I could have helped them get to the next round, and I loved them and was sorry I wasn't able to make that happen. Q. Were you happy with the looks that you got in the first half? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Yeah. Really happy with the looks for the most part. Not happy with our just stuff defensively. We just didn't have enough stuff the entire night. But you know, we knew we were going to have to make some perimeter shots to give ourselves a chance. We knew that going into the game, that we were going to have to make some -- they were going to give us some clean looks, and we were going to have to make them, and we just didn't. Q. Talk about the play of Andrew and how special he's been for this team this season? CHRIS HOLTMANN: Andrew Chrabascz has been unbelievable the whole year, unbelievable. He's a warrior in every sense of the word. He's a terrific teammate; he's grown in his leadership. I challenged him and he's responded. Coach Johnson has challenged him. He's had an incredible year in his leadership and his play on the floor. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|