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BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTMarch 2, 2018Steve PikiellGeo BakerCorey SandersMadison Square Garden - New York, New York Purdue - 82, Rutgers - 75 THE MODERATOR: We'll ask Coach to make an opening statement. COACH PIKIELL: I hate this day to put the uniform up. I love basketball. But I want to thank everyone for coming out today. Rutgers was great. I love our players, our seniors. I told them that. They brought a lot of respect to this uniform. And we played a heck of a team. As you know, I mean, that team is experienced and talented. I was proud of our guys, how they fought for three days. And just disappointed we couldn't get a few more days here at Madison Square Garden. Q. Geo, Corey, what do you think the world learned about Rutgers basketball today and the past three days? COREY SANDERS: Just a program that don't give up, that you can't count out, even though we were put last. That's not how we're going to finish. That's not how we want to be remembered. Just a program that's on the rise. Just don't sleep on us. We've got a great head coach here and we've got great players that's ready to learn and compete. GEO BAKER: Just that we're a really tough team and we never gave up. Q. Physically, how worn down were you tonight, this being the third game in a row? GEO BAKER: I don't really think that we felt really worn down. I think we had a lot of adrenaline coming in. We were really hyped up for the game. And we just came up short. Q. (Indiscernible) about covering Purdue defensively? COREY SANDERS: They got a lot of shooters. Everybody on their team can shoot the ball with the exception to, like, their posts. But great shooters. Some hard matchups for us out there. Haas is a monster. Coach compares him to the Empire State Building. I mean, just tough coverage out there. But I think we did a great job. Had the game we wanted to. A couple more plays, the game could have went another way. Q. I know it's hard to put things in perspective after a loss like this, but just with the ups and downs you guys had this season, what did it feel like in the moment, this type of environment at the Garden and with all the Rutgers fans here and how you went toe to toe with one of the best teams in the country? COREY SANDERS: Felt great. Especially to come out here for our seniors, the guys that don't get to play again at this program. Had their families come out and had great support. The last couple of games went on a little run, made some history. So it was pretty good for us. Nobody expected us to win one game. To win two and push Purdue to the max, that's a great accomplishment. Q. Geo, obviously a tough loss, but you played well. You and Corey, efficient in tonight's scoring. How does this feel for you playing on the big stage, Madison Square Garden, Big Ten Tournament and your confidence going into next summer and the next season? GEO BAKER: It feels really good. I've got great teammates and a great coach, always telling me to stay confident and ready. I was really just playing for the seniors, to be honest with you. I really didn't want to go home because I know when we go home it's their last game ever in this program. But in terms for me, it felt really good going forward. Q. Geo, coming off some of the high screens and pick-and-rolls, were you surprised how many times they left you wide open and you were draining those 3s? GEO BAKER: Maybe a little bit but that was definitely our game plan coming in. You know that Haas is a big dude and he's kind of slow. That was definitely our game plan coming off those high screens and pulling up. Q. Corey, just your impressions of the impact P.J. Thompson had on this game? He hit a couple big shots for them. And maybe defensively what he was doing against you? COREY SANDERS: Yeah, I definitely -- it was two big 3s he hit that I helped too much, definitely were big shots. But defensive end, I mean, I went for 11 for 20. So I don't think it was a problem what he was doing for me. THE MODERATOR: Thanks. Questions for Coach. Q. This game in particular, you outscored them 20-2 in second-chance points, you had all the hustle stats in your favor. What ultimately turned the game for them down the stretch, do you think? COACH PIKIELL: Again, I think this is a Final Four team. I watched all the tapes. I watched all the films. I mean, they really don't have a weakness. The only thing that they don't do great, that they're not 1 or 2 or 3 in the league in, is offensive rebounds, and I think that's partly because they make all their shots. So they're in the top 2 in the country in field goal percentage, making 3s. They're efficient. They have assists. They have the most experienced team in the conference. They have size. They have versatility. I mean, we outrebounded them. We did a lot of good things. We hung around with a really talented team. But down the stretch they had four different guys make huge plays for them. And they're well-coached. So tremendous respect for that team. That's as good a team as there is in the country. I haven't seen many teams better honestly in the last 10 or 15 years of doing this. I thought we had a good game plan, one day to prepare. And I thought we played well. We were playing well at the right time of the season, too. Q. For how this season finished, not knowing maybe what was going to happen here, what was it like for you to see how the crowd responded here, to how the players responded to basically getting everything, I'm sure, that the program had hoped to see when they joined the Big Ten? COACH PIKIELL: I love the crowd. I'm glad people came out. It was a tough weather night, too. So I think you're getting a dose of what we can be at Rutgers. I'm so excited about the future. I really am. And we're going to get better and better. And you saw us on a stage today. Corey was terrific this whole weekend. And everyone kind of chipped in and did their thing. But they liked the big stage and I liked that they liked that. And that bodes well for us moving forward in this league. But Rutgers, you know, I said to them, two years now we've gained some respect. And people don't want to play us. My phone's not ringing as much, and I think that's a good thing. Q. A tight game. Obviously shot goes in for you guys, a miss for Purdue and the game turns out differently. How much of it was physical tiredness versus mental? It seemed like a couple of the plays that Purdue hit 3s you guys were maybe a step slow, rotating challenges, just a fraction -- COACH PIKIELL: Yeah, I mean, I don't know if it was really that. I really don't. When Haas sets a screen it's like going around a bus. And so if you're a half a second late, it's not a normal-sized screen. So they're just very efficient, too, in what they do. And if you close out a little bit late, they can really pass the ball. I mean, you guys have seen a lot of basketball. That's a very good basketball team. They space you out. They have inside. They have outside. They have veteran guys. They have versatility. Vince Edwards is good at driving it. If you play up on him he goes by you. If you stay off him he makes 3s. And then he can drive it and kick. Very few teams in the country can drive four guys drive and kick. They have that. So it's a real tough team to defend with one day to prepare, too. But I thought we did a great job, I really did. I thought we just hung around there. And they made some tough shots, too. They hit a banked 3 at one point in time. Again it's hard. I kept telling our guys you can't defend the free-throw line. So like I want them to score over us or make contested shots at the free-throw line. And can't defend that, and they got to the free-throw line a lot more than us. Q. It seems appropriate Mike Williams in his final game led the team in rebounds, eight rebounds, he had five offensive. Can you talk about what he's meant to this team and this program the last two years, for him to finish it out in the hometown? COACH PIKIELL: He was the first guy two years ago when I took over the program. He's a dean's list student. He's graduating here. He's been a captain for two years and he's overachieved. He really has. I mean, he's really overachieved. Proud of him. He missed 12 games this year with a high ankle sprain. Didn't think I would even have him back. Tells you what kind of a kid he is, and that tells you what a Scarlet Knight is moving forward. He'll be an example to me and the rest of the team for the rest of my career. There will be a big picture of Mike in my office and next year at this time I'll be calling him somewhere and I'll be wishing he had another year of eligibility. I'll tell you the same thing with Deshawn Freeman. He's really given blood, too, to the program. And he's improved so much, too. He's graduating here in May. And Candido Sa has been great and Jake Dadika. I want to mention all of those guys. All four of those guys jumped on board. It's not easy when you get a new coach that didn't recruit you, and people are telling you should do something else or leave or whatever. And these guys stuck with us and they're true Rutgers people. And they love Rutgers and real proud to have coached them. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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