|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: DALLASMarch 14, 2018Jim LarranagaLonnie Walker IVJa'Quan NewtonChris LykesDallas, Texas Q. You guys come in as a six seed going up against an 11 seed. They've won 28 games. A lot of people are picking Loyola as an upset special. Does that get your attention even more? How do you view this team coming in that's won ten games in a row? JA'QUAN NEWTON: They're a very talented team. Everybody in this tournament is very talented. So you've got to be good to get here, but we just watched film on them, and we just go out there and play hard, and everything will take care of itself. We've got full respect for the team. They've got good and talented guards. They've got a great big man. So we're going to take advantage of the pick-and-roll and stuff like that. Q. Lonnie and Chris, the two freshmen, can you talk about actually being here in your first NCAA Tournament and what's it been like compared to what you probably anticipated coming up in high school? CHRIS LYKES: I mean, it's everything I've anticipated. I'm definitely excited to be here, definitely excited to have this type of opportunity. Not many people get to play in a March Madness as a freshman. I'm going to definitely take advantage of it, give 100 percent when I'm on the court. I know the rest of my teammates are going to do the same. LONNIE WALKER IV: With me, it was kind of just how we would honestly look. Once I set foot and committed to the University of Miami, this is definitely one of the goals that I expected this team to accomplish, and that was to make March Madness. Now that I'm here and I've been consistently thinking about how it looks, how is it going to be and everything, it's been going past that. I'm really shocked with how everything is going and how structured, how things are. So I'm very excited, and I can't wait to step on the court. Q. For each of the players, today there's a national student walk-out in protest to gun violence, and I think it was largely spurred by what happened in Parkland. Considering you guys are just an hour away, how did that impact you, and do you have any thoughts on gun control and addressing this problem? CHRIS LYKES: It kind of -- like for me, it's a national like problem that we have. I mean, it kind of makes me understand that your life can be taken at any moment. Kind of like respect like the situation that I have with the security that we have on campus and stuff, so I think we do definitely need to make this an important, like, situation for the worldwide. Like we've got to do something about this. We need to kind of like continue our focus towards that. JA'QUAN NEWTON: It was an hour away from us, so it impacted us a lot. I think the next game we had wore t-shirts for them in the pregame warmup. It's just something that I think should be handled in a very, very calm way by the government and things like that around the world. LONNIE WALKER IV: It was definitely a difficult time for myself because I have a couple friends who had family and friends that also went to that school. Seeing the negativity and the people upsetting crime, it definitely impacts you in a personal way. Just knowing -- you know what Chris said, it can happen at any moment at any time. You just be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and that's the end of your life. Most of those kids went to that school not expecting that to be their last day living. Most people went to that school to get educated, be knowledgeable and learn and look forward to their future lives, so the fact that they got taken for granted, got taken away too quickly is one of the sadder things. It definitely has to be struck, especially because of this national walk, and we have to take this seriously because Lord knows what could happen next. But it's all about how we want to make a change. Q. Chris, Lonnie has really seemed to kind of take on a leadership role, particularly once Bruce went down. What have you seen out of him during the year since you're kind of fellow freshmen? And what kind of a leader and player is he to you? CHRIS LYKES: Like you said, when Bruce went down, it was kind of like a collective team, like we got -- each of us got to step up into bigger roles, and for Lonnie, I think for him, it was more so of a scorer, like we need to put more points on the board. And Lonnie is one of those guys who leads by actions. In practice, he works hard. In the game, he's trying to get everybody up on their energy level so we can continue to play well even if we make a bad play. I mean, but it's been multiple guys. We've got a lot of different guys who lead in different ways in this team. Like Ja'Quan Newton, the senior, he tries to get us all on the same page, definitely prepares us well for the game to get out there and give it the best effort. There's been multiple guys on this team to help take up for Bruce's role. Q. I want to ask you again about the Cinderella thing. The Loyola guys and their coach said they're not buying into that, that they fully respect you guys are No. 3 in the ACC. Yesterday getting on the bus there was a little bit of a chip on the shoulder like we need to go prove that we really are better. Does it add extra fuel to see that so many people are picking you guys to lose the first game? JA'QUAN NEWTON: I mean, I think it don't matter who you play coming to this tournament. You always have a chip on your shoulder. But like I said, it doesn't matter if we play Loyola or any other team, we're always going to have that chip on our shoulder like we've had all year. Like I told another reporter, we've got a lot of respect for the team, watched film, and they're really talented. Q. Chris, for a guy your size, you seem to have an ability to get your shot off. How much of that is innate, and how much of that's been developed over time? CHRIS LYKES: For me, I've always been small, so I mean, I think, like you said, developing over time, just developing different ways to create space so I can get my shot off. I mean, I've been playing basketball for like 13 years now, so it's just been a development, just work hours in the gym and stuff. That's pretty much it. Q. Bruce Brown, everyone is wondering is he going to play. I know he's going to be dressed tomorrow. What do you anticipate from him? Do you think he'll play tomorrow or possibly Saturday if you made it there, and what would he bring if he comes back to the team? LONNIE WALKER IV: As of right now, Bruce I'm pretty sure won't be playing, but even besides playing on the court, the way he leads, the way he brings the energy on the bench is something that truly can't be explained. He uplifts us in a huge way without even dribbling a ball or shooting it or telling people what to do. He's kind of just there bringing that energy off the court and helping us to see it. Regardless if he's playing or not, he definitely brings that energy, you know, consistently day by day. Q. Lonnie, you're hair is like artwork, looks like sculpture. How long did it take to get that way, and what kind of response do you get on the court and walking around campus for that matter? LONNIE WALKER IV: I kind of get that question at least twice a day. You know, people are truly surprised with how different it is. I kind of let it grow up by itself. It's its own person at this point because ever since my freshman year, it was a regular flat top, then going into my junior year, it was still a flat top, then senior year, it just became its own -- people have been calling it a pineapple. And the student section definitely has a fun way of pleasing and telling me what type of names it is. It's my thing. It defines who I am, just being a different person and a different kid. All I can say is it's pleasing that other people are truly delighted to look at my hair consistently. Q. This can be for any of you guys. How much pride are you taking in getting this program to where the level it is right now, especially a school that's considered a football school really? JA'QUAN NEWTON: Yeah, when I first came in my freshman year, like the games were different. They weren't like sold out how they are now, and I think me and my teammates, we did a great job of leading on the court, just trying to get fans there by winning games. And my sophomore year we went to the Sweet 16, and then my junior year, we went back to the tournament. I think we turned this program around a lot, and I think the best is yet to come. JIM LARRAÑAGA: Just in case you're interested and wondering if I'm going to try to change my hair style to do the pineapple look like Lonnie has, the answer is no. My wife told me I wouldn't look good that way. (Laughter). Secondly, we are very excited to be here in Dallas. My brother used to live here. My brother and his wife lived here in Dallas for I think about 20 years, and we used to come and visit. And I've done a lot of speaking engagements for the corporate world here in Dallas, and just love when we've come to Texas. My team is very young. We have five freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and only one senior, but it's a great group of guys, lots of youthful enthusiasm. As I think you can see, they have a lot of personality. Our freshmen guards, Chris Lykes and Lonnie Walker are really dynamic athletes and fun to coach and fun to watch play, quite frankly. And then we've got a group of front court guys that have really improved during the course of the season, and it's one of the main reasons we're here in Dallas. Q. What kind of player was Loyola AD Steve Watson when he played for you? JIM LARRAÑAGA: Steve Watson, the athletic director at Loyola of Chicago is one of my former players, and we stayed in touch over the years, just a great young man, great family man. He and his wife Ann have a beautiful family. Steve is almost 6'10", can really shoot the three, was an outstanding passer, had a very, very nice low-post game with a little right-handed jump hook. He could use some work defensively, but I believe he's still playing today. He plays in all those three-on-three events and kind of in the old man's league now. But he was a very smart basketball player. And when I look at Porter's team, they kind of are similar to the way Steve played, really share the ball well, really shoot the ball well, and they shoot a very, very high percentage both from two-point and three-point range. Q. As a follow-up on the scouting report about this Loyola team, you could say it's David and Goliath looking at your size, not just the seeding, but what do you see from this team particularly defensively that could pose a problem for your ballclub? JIM LARRAÑAGA: Well, I think the whole key is in Loyola's case they've got a lot of experienced guys. They're older guys. They have two guys who have transferred in from other schools, sat out, now playing at a very, very high level. They've got the Player of the Year in Clayton Custer, they've got the defensive Player of the Year in Ben Richardson. They've got the freshman Player of the Year in Cameron Krutwig. They've just got a really, really good skilled basketball team at both ends of the court. They play very good team defense. They play very good sharing of the ball team offense. Q. I'm sure you're aware that Loyola came into Gainesville and beat the Gators earlier this year. I don't know if you reached out to Mike White or anybody on their staff to pick their brain on them? What does that say about them? JIM LARRAÑAGA: No. The University has got a great basketball program, great team this year. They're in the NCAA -- I think they're also seeded sixth like we are. And my staff and I have watched that game repeatedly to see how Loyola approached the game, how they played the game. Maybe the most impressive thing about it was Clayton Custer got hurt in the first half and didn't even play in the second half, and they still were able to pull out the victory, showing you like what kind of player Townes is. He moved from the three to the one and did a great job of ball handling. So they're just a well-rounded team, well-coached team. Porter Moser worked with Rick Majerus, who to me is one of the legendary coaches, a tremendous defensive coach, and I see a lot of Rick's influence on this Loyola team. Q. Can you talk about Bruce Brown and what he -- do you expect -- I know you've been sort of saying that he's going to dress, but he's not going to play. Is there any chance at all that he would play at all in Dallas, and whether he does or he doesn't, what does he bring to the team? JIM LARRAÑAGA: No. Bruce Brown is a unique personality. And when we recruited him, I kind of anticipated that, that just getting to know Bruce is a real joy. Bruce has tremendous personality and energy, and I heard Lonnie Walker describe that. He's got great natural leadership qualities. And even though he's been injured and hasn't played in the last six weeks, he still has had an impact on our team. And if you'll notice him during the game at time-outs, he's the one getting up and talking to his teammates about what's going on. Yeah, he'll tell someone, hey, you've got to block that guy out, that guy is a heck of an offensive rebounder, or hey, don't dribble so much, there's open men, you've got to hit the open man. So he's not a coach, but he is definitely a leader. You know, he sat out for six weeks. The foot has healed beautifully. The doctors have cleared him, but he's not in basketball shape. He's going to have to rehab and get himself in great shape before he ever steps out on the court. Unless we're able to advance into April and May, you know, chances are he's not going to play. Q. Miami, Florida, Florida State all in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. What does that speak to the level of basketball in the state college-wise? JIM LARRAÑAGA: Yeah, I think one of the interesting things that has happened over the decades, once the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat started up back in the '80s, basketball at all levels has improved dramatically in the state of Florida. And it starts at the grass-roots. It's the elementary schools, playing a lot of basketball. We've always been a great football and baseball state. But now you'll see some of the best athletes choosing to play basketball. And now you have a lot of in-state kids being recruited all around the place. I don't know how many high school seniors out of the state of Florida are playing in this tournament, but I'm sure it's quite a few. We only have two. We'd love to have a lot more, but we have Anthony Lawrence and Dewan Huell, two of our starters are terrific college players coming out of the state of Florida. Q. Can you speak to the progression of the program, especially since you've gotten there, and the level of what it is right now, I think three years straight NCAA? JIM LARRAÑAGA: Yeah. When my staff and I arrived in 2011, there were three things that everybody said we wouldn't be able to do: Number one, we'd never be able to beat Carolina or Duke; number two, we'd never win an ACC regular season or tournament championship; and number three, we'd never be able to draw consistently good crowds to our home arena because people didn't have that much interest in basketball. Well, we've been able to compete pretty well with Duke and Carolina. We've won our share. Second, we've already won a regular season and a tournament championship. And for the third year in a row, we've been sold out for every home game. And as you mentioned, this is now our third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. So we feel like we've laid the foundation for a successful basketball program, and we're trying to build on that tradition. Our football and baseball programs have won National Championships. Football has won five. Baseball has won four. We feel like we're building a foundation that maybe one day we'll be fortunate enough to win our first. Q. You know firsthand an 11 seed can pull off an upset -- JIM LARRAÑAGA: I've heard that. Q. You've been through that. What do you think is going through the minds of the Loyola players in terms of motivation, and how are you alerting your own players that, hey, don't look past this team because they're an 11 seed and we're a 6 seed? JIM LARRAÑAGA: Well, as far as I'm concerned, my experience is the seeding doesn't mean that much. It's how well you play. And my George Mason team back in 2006 happened to be a No. 11 seed, and we beat the 6 seed, which was Michigan State at the time. I think very, very clearly the success that you've enjoyed during the regular season and that Loyola has enjoyed, both during the regular season and in their conference tournament, is going to give them a lot of confidence. They haven't lost in a very, very long time. They've won 10 in a row, 18 of their last 19 games, so you know they're going to believe that they can win this game. The challenge for our Miami team is we need to play at a very, very high level to compete with them. They're actually the favorite in terms of if you read all the prognosticators, they're calling them the Cinderella already. And we've got to be sure that we understand the caliber of our opponent has earned an awful lot of respect. And there's only one way for us really to earn that same kind of respect, and that's to play great tomorrow. Q. Just following up on that, why do you think, even though they have had all the success this year and everything you just said, why do you think so many people are picking them to win this game? JIM LARRAÑAGA: You know, years ago, the discussion was always surrounding the RPI, and there was a lot of complaint the RPI was not really good or what have you. Since that time, there have been a lot of other statistical websites that you can go to to analyze teams. The one I'm most familiar with is Ken Pomeroy's, Kenpom.com, and the thing that's most impressive about Loyola is their Ken Pom numbers, how efficient they are offensively, how efficient they are defensively, and I think that's one of the reasons why the prognosticators are looking at them as a team that's already proven that they can play great basketball at both ends of the court. And I also am a great believer in Ken Pom, as well. 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
|