	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 9, 2018

Travis Ford

Washington, D.C.

TRAVIS FORD: First of all, I just, a couple things. I'd just like to say how proud I am of the Billikins Basketball Team and how proud I am of those guys in the locker room and how hard they fought, how hard they've played. And as I told them, they probably don't even realize at this point kind of what all they have accomplished this year. You know, really proud of those guys.

Tonight just wasn't our night. As I told them, it was Davidson's night. I can sit up here ask talk about it, it was all about them. They played tremendous. Very well prepared. Their stars played great, off the chart. It just wasn't our night. It was Davidson's night, plain and simple.

I just, you know, I'm proud of this league. We've got two, for sure, locked teams in the NCAA Tournament and two more trying to get there. You just wish all the four teams that are left the best, and again, really proud are our basketball team. Tonight just wasn't our night.

Q. Obviously I think you probably wanted to slow the game down, muck it up a little bit, since they have so much offensive firepower. Right away, they just --
TRAVIS FORD: We couldn't get them to miss. I mean, face and all that was thrown out the door. I mean, we couldn't -- they were -- Aldridge was making tough shots, difficult shots. And you know, obviously Grady got involved. You know, two players of the year in the league, both guys are players of the year. One a freshman Player of the Year and the other, conference Player of the Year. And they played like it.

And it really wasn't anything we were doing. Some of the breakdowns we had late, we were trying to change stuff, but first 15, 20 minutes, they earned it. They earned them. He earned every -- both of them earned it and they deserved it. Again, you know, big-time player, played big-time tonight.

Q. This was a turbulent season. At the end you had a short-handed team and they kind of fought to the end. What does that say about those guys in the locker room?
TRAVIS FORD: It says a lot about them. We did. I mean, it wasn't looking good and we still competed the second half and got it within striking range several times.

I was telling our guys in time-outs, we just couldn't -- we never, ever went on a run, necessarily could get them to miss enough shots to get it with -- as close as we wanted to get it.

But yeah, you know, this team, I'm really proud of them. This team, you know, enjoyed coming to practice every day and they gave me everything they had. That's one thing; they left it on the court.

And I've been doing this a long time, 21 years as a college head coach, and sometimes the last loss is tough because maybe you didn't play your best or maybe guys didn't leave it on the court. We left it all on the court. I've got no problem with it.

Davidson outplayed to us night, outplayed us. They deserved it. They were a really, really, really good team who played great, who played off the chart, played trick. They are playing well right now. They ever playing well. So give them all the credit. I've got no issue with how our team played and the effort they gave. It was terrific.

Q. What were the emotions for you when Davell checked out and what he's meant to this Billikins team?
TRAVIS FORD: Well, he's meant a lot to the university. He's meant a lot to our basketball team. He's meant a lot to our athletic department, because here is a young man who came from Memphis, Tennessee to Saint Louis University and gave Saint Louis University a chance and Saint Louis University gave him a chance and Davell Roby took advantage of that. I've said it many times in the last couple weeks, talking about him as a senior: He's a trued student athlete. He's the definition. His picture should be right there by student athlete. He has taken full advantage of an incredible education that you get at Saint Louis University. Incredible. It's not an easy place academically; it's challenging.

In the two years that I've known him, I've never had to call him into my office because he missed a class or because he missed a tutor or didn't do well in a class or whatever it is. He rises to the occasion. He's learned at Saint Louis University how to be a very accountable, responsible young man. He's prepared for the next step, whatever that is for him, because he's put a lot in to Saint Louis University, a lot, time and effort and great attitude, a lot. He's put a lot into it, and Saint Louis University has given a lot back to him. For two years, like I said, he has a smile on his face every single day; and as I told him, man, he's always going to have me in his corner for what he's represented.

Q. Obviously you guys found a lot of success finishing sixth in the league, and it was a big jump from last year. Do you think getting --
TRAVIS FORD: Sixth seed. We finished fifth, but yeah, sixth seed. We like to get the details, just minor details. Minor details (laughing).

Q. Getting some of these young guys that experience and having them see some success, do you think that's kind of the building block for this program, getting back and potentially competing for a league title?
TRAVIS FORD: Well, I hope so, and that's funny you asked that, because that's kind of what I talked to them about, some of the things, in the locker room, is I thought last year's team really kind of set a tone a little bit. Set a tone. This year's team I thought really laid a foundation of some standards of succeeding; of succeeding, winning a lot of games, finishing higher than we were picked, and succeeding and winning some games -- and talked to our team.

So yeah, I think some of these younger guys experienced some success and they fought some adversity on the court, off the court, and were able to stay focused. So they learned a lot of life lessons through this, off the court -- on court and off the court.

So hopefully we do use that. Hopefully we use this season to continue to improve and get better. That's the goal.

Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297