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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: CHARLOTTEMarch 15, 2018Roy WilliamsTheo PinsonJoel Berry IICharlotte, North Carolina THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for Joel and Theo. Q. Do you guys feel any less pressure this year? THE MODERATOR: Joel. JOEL BERRY II: I mean that's a hard question. I mean I don't feel any pressure. You know, this is our last one, and we just want to enjoy it as much as we can and just do like we did last year and take it one game at a time and make sure we're focusing on the game that's coming up. We don't want to look ahead. I know everybody, you know, the question is do we want to make it back to the Final Four. I mean that's the ultimate goal, but right now we just have to make sure we're taking it one at a time and just focusing in on that game. THEO PINSON: I agree with what Joel said. We'll take it one game at a time. I think my biggest thing is living it up right now, just enjoying the process, enjoying this, all the practice coming up, all that type of stuff. Staying in the moment. I think that's the biggest thing for us. THE MODERATOR: Please address your questions to a specific student-athlete. Q. This is for both you guys. You've been to a few NCAA Tournament games before, you've been here before. What are you guys doing to try to help the freshmen grasp what's getting ready to happen? THEO PINSON: I think we're just being ourselves. I mean going around, laughing, having fun with each other, and taking it as a regular game. We know it's not a regular game. Everybody understands what's going on, but at the same time, we want everybody to be relaxed and just know that we need to just take it one game at a time. I think we're doing a good job of that right now, just making sure the young guys understand you can't win it all until you win the first one. We have to take it one game at a time and see what happens. JOEL BERRY II: Yeah. I think what helped us out the last couple of years is just us coming into, you know, doing the interviews and going out to the court. Every time you see us, we're always laughing and joking around. That's how you have to be. If you sit around and think about the game too much and think about if you lose you go home, that kind gets to you a little bit. So just us -- with our personalities ad; the way this team has been over the last couple of years of us just going out and just always having fun and laughing and joking, I think that kind of relaxes everybody and you get your mind off of, you know, the one game and you go home. It just gives you a chance to relax and enjoy the moment. I think that's helped us. Q. Question for Theo. Apologies if it's a bit of an essay question. You and Mike Buckland from Lipscomb, high school teammates, two State titles, right? THEO PINSON: Yep. Q. Can you describe for us what the relationship between the two of you is like, what it was like when were you playing in high school ball, and if you guys have had any communication since you guys got paired? THEO PINSON: Me and Mike are really good friends. In high school he was always that guy to look up to the older guys. He always listened, he always tried to learn from us, even though he wasn't as big of a freshman -- I mean as big of a player as all of us were. We were all highly ranked and stuff like that. He was always under the radar. But he always worked hard and always wanted to get better. I haven't talked to him that much since I've been at college because, I mean, I've been where I am and where he is. We're not the same age or whatever. But he's a really good dude and I'm happy for him. Q. This is to either one. Lot of people want to can call this a rebuild year for you guys. Do you guys feel like that way, or do you feel like you have a solid identity on who you are going to the tournament? JOEL BERRY II: I think this year was kind of a rebuilding year, but I knew we were going to have our ups and downs with the young players that we have. But to make it as far as we have and to be at the point where we are now as a team, I wouldn't have thought we would have been this good. Like I said, we're having the young players and guys from this team who are stepping into different roles from last year. You know, it was really only me and Theo the ones that were returning from the run last year that actually got a chance to play in the game and got some good minutes. Everybody else, you know, Luke, Kenny, you know, they weren't playing as much, and so even those guys are stepping into different roles this year. So, you know, it's been an up-and-down year, but towards the end, you know, for some reason we always end up clicking and that's when you want to be playing your best basketball. And I think that when we went up to the ACC Tournament, even though we wanted to win, we made some strides and, you know, showed ourselves that we can be as good as any team in the country. We just have to put our mind to it. You know, it is a rebuilding year, but I think we've done a great job of getting the young guys to buy into the system and the older guys to play a little bit better, and me and Theo led this team and, like I said, we made some strides this year. Q. Both players, how important is it to have a healthy Cameron Johnson in the lineup for you guys? And as guys who have been through this before couple of times, does it give you a rush to see an older guy like that going through this for the first time and kind of discovering all things you already knew about this tournament? THEO PINSON: I think, like I said, with Cam being on the floor, it's another threat. You have to be aware of him being on the floor because he's such a good shooter and he can open up the court. And even if he's not moving well, with him being on the court it opens up driving lanes because you don't want to help off of him because he will still knock down the shot that's not going nowhere. That's a big thing for us. Yeah, I mean, at the same time, I just try to make sure everybody knows just be in the moment, enjoy the moment. You never know when it's going to be the -- you don't know if you're going to come back here at all. You want to enjoy every moment. JOEL BERRY II: Basically what Theo said. Cam is a great shooter, and you know that's what he does, and if we can have him out on the court, regardless it opens up the court. We want to be able to drive the ball and get it into the lane. Even though this year we've taken a lot of 3-pointers, we still want to get the ball down low, and still get in the paint and get some driving lanes. So having him out on the court spaces out the court to where you have to respect him as a shooter. And so we need him to be out on the court, and he's doing everything he can to get his body right and I'm sure he will play, you know, with. You know, with him being the older guy, he won't sit out the tournament. He's pretty excited, you know, coming from a team who didn't make the tournament, and so I think that he's pretty excited to be in this and we want him to be able to enjoy it as much as possible. So they're doing everything in -- our trainers are doing everything in their will to help him get out there on the court and play. Q. Both players. Before Sunday, how aware were you of Lipscomb? Did you even know Lipscomb was a team and what have you learned since then, since preparation has begun, about them? THEO PINSON: I did, of course, because my old teammate went there. But also I remember we was looking at film on Tennessee and they played Tennessee right before we did, so we saw a couple clips on them before. I mean that's about it. THE MODERATOR: Joel? JOEL BERRY II: Yeah. I've heard of the school before, but, you know, I really didn't get a chance to see them play much. But we've been watching film and been watching tape. They're a good team. They like to get out and play a fast pace like we do. I think they average more points per game than we do. So, we know it's going to be a fast-paced game, which we like. We got to make sure that they're not playing it better than us. Q. Theo, you're such a catalyst for this team. When you look back at the Virginia Championship game, what went wrong in that game and what do you think your role in this tournament should be for this team? THEO PINSON: Well, me going 1 for 10 wasn't good at all. Also, just -- they made big-time plays, big-time shots at the end of the game. Kyle made some big-time shots. Those are the ones that you just got to tip your hat to them. Those are huge. We were right there, we made a couple plays at the end and made a turnover that tried to throw to Garrison that was terrible, speaking personally. Other than that, I mean in the tournament just be Theo. Do what I've been doing pretty much the whole season. Get my teammates the ball, staying aggressive and doing it on defensive end also. Just doing whatever it takes to win games is the biggest thing for me. THE MODERATOR: Time for two more questions. Anybody else? Q. Are you guys doing anything differently going into the tournament this year to try to avoid any complacency or anything like that? THEO PINSON: We just lost so it's not really any complacency as all. That adds a little more fire to us. Just the fact -- we went four days in a row of playing quality teams and had a chance to get a championships and we fell short. So, if that doesn't get everybody motivated I don't know what will. And it's the NCAA Tournament. We've been here before. We're excited and we want to go out on top. THE MODERATOR: Middle of the room. Q. After being in the ACC wars for the last two months, how does it feel to get a chance to play some different teams for now? JOEL BERRY II: That's what Coach was stressing in practice today and practice the other day before we left, is that now we're getting a chance to play against different teams who necessarily don't know our offense as much as a conference team would. We have to make sure that we're going out there, executing what we're doing and what we want to do. You know, it's hard in the conference when every team knows exactly what you're about to run and know, you know, every single play that you have, and now you're going against teams who don't know us. We have to make sure we're executing and doing -- running the plays that we want to run because they're going to work and eventually the teams catch on to it in the game. But right now, you know, we're going against teams who don't know us as well, so that's a great thing, being able to go against another team from another conference that, you know, we don't know each other. THE MODERATOR: Last question. Q. This is a question for both guys. Can you describe in what ways you feel like this game against number 15, Lipscomb, feels dangerous? THEO PINSON: I think anybody can be beat. I think we saw last year, I think it was Middle Tennessee State beat Michigan State or something like that. I mean, it can happen. But, at the same time, we're focused. We know they can score the ball. They scored 106 points in their championships game. I mean, I don't know if we hit that this year or not. They can score the ball, great shooters and so we're mentally prepared and we'll be ready. THE MODERATOR: Joel. JOEL BERRY II: Yeah. I mean we're coming into the tournament. We want just do what we have to do regardless of what team it is. I mean, we can't look down on any team. They call it March Madness for a reason. Anything can happen. All it takes is for one team to play great that day, and I mean that's all it takes and the next thing you know, you're going home. We have to make sure regardless of who it is, 1, 16, you just got to come out and play basketball. If you're a competitor you don't worry about the runs, just go out there and do what you do on as a basketball player and compete on every single play. I know personally I will do it that and I'll do my best to try to help my teammates to understand that if we want to be the best that we want to be, regardless of what seed they are, we just got to be out and got to play Carolina basketball and do what we do. THE MODERATOR: Thanks guys. ROY WILLIAMS: Opening statement would be see that Tiger Woods just birdied a hole. He's the sole leader now at 4 under par through 16 holes. That's all I got. THE MODERATOR: Any questions about that or anything else? ROY WILLIAMS: He doubled bogied a hole, two. He's 4 under with a double bogey. Q. We've been over the Luke story before, but I feel like there is this misconception that he was sleeping on the sidewalk outside your office begging for a roster spot when really he was pursued by a number of different teams in your league. And what did you have to say to him to turn down those scholarship offers from other schools? I know eventually he's always been on scholarship, but when were you recruiting him, that wasn't the case. ROY WILLIAMS: You're exactly right, Joe. A funny story. I go see him play in the spring of his junior year, I think it was, and at an event in Myrtle Beach. And I was there, head coach at North Carolina State was there, the head coach at Clemson was there, the head coach at Virginia was there, the head coach of Notre Dame day was there, the head coach at Davidson was there. It was perhaps the worst basketball game I've ever seen in my life. And Luke fit right in, but everybody had seen him before that time as well, but no, he could have gone anyplace he wanted to go, really. I mean Notre Dame offered, Clemson offered, Virginia I think had offered. He could have gone anywhere. What I had to do is just convince him that you're going to be treated just like a scholarship guy. You'll never have anything different. If the scholarship guys run ten sprints, you'll run it. If they get filet mignon, you'll get if filet mignon. The only thing, because we don't have a scholarship, your first year mom and dad are going to have to pay the bills. I want you here. I think you fit in here. I think you're going to be successful here. You're going to surprise people here. I really did believe that. He had been to our camp two years or maybe three, and so I felt that strongly that he would be successful and both mom and dad being North Carolina parents and graduating from our place was pretty good, too. Q. Roy, do you have an update on Cameron Johnson's health? And how important is it to what you do to have him out there and functioning, you know, close to a hundred percent? ROY WILLIAMS: I think at this time of the year, you need everybody that's been important to you all year to function at a high level. You need those guys coming off the bench to be able to do and step up their play a little bit more. Cam practiced this morning. We've already had practice. He got through it, didn't seem to have any problems. Unless he's laying back in there on the floor that I don't know about it, I would feel that he would be fine. He adds another shooter from the outside. He's a good basketball player. He can make plays, too. He's got to get better defensively and all those kind of things. But no, he's important to us and I expect him to be full go. Q. Quick question. How are you soaking up these last moments with Theo? ROY WILLIAMS: How am I soaking up these last moments with Theo, I'm really sort of counting down when I'll get rid of the rascal (laughter). What are you thinking? He's a unique young man that I've really, really, really enjoyed. In some basket ball games, he's dominated the game without being a great scorer. He's one of the best leaders in practices, one of the best talkers I've ever seen on the court, when it's very appropriate to talk. He talks a lot of other times, sometimes when it's not appropriate, I guess. But no, he's a unique individual. He really is. I'll miss the sucker so I hope we get to play a few more weeks. Q. Aaron Rohlman is a guy you took a chance on last year. He's now a senior, chance to go 2 for 2 in this event. What does it that mean to you? ROY WILLIAMS: If he can pull that off, he'll be one of the greatest players in North Carolina history. I don't think there's anybody that's been there two years and won two. Aaron is a fantastic kid. I don't know what's wrong with my throat. But a fantastic kid, been a great addition to our team. Everybody else on the team just adopted him immediately. He takes kidding very well because they kid him, I kid him, but he's been a pleasure to coach as well. Great young man. He's going to be very successful some day. He'll be my boss one day. Q. Coach, what have you seen from Lipscomb? Is there anything -- what's the one thing that sticks out at you that they could possibly give you trouble with? ROY WILLIAMS: There's a lot of things that stick out that could give us problems. But their ability to shoot the ball, ability to score, the pace they play. One thing that really jumps out at me is Mathews has shot, I think -- I don't have the stats up here in front me -- I think he shot 130 or 140 more free throws than anybody on our team. I mean, that's remarkable. Tiger may have made another birdie. My phone is buzzing. But it is something, they do a great job of getting to the free throw line. That means the team they're playing is in foul trouble a lot. So we got to play defense without fouling. We always go up and down every practice so we're used to running, but this is a team that's going to run back at us. Yesterday in practice we had two different occasions where we didn't get good defensive balance and the blue team lays it up. That's what we're going to face tomorrow. We can't give up -- they have scorers who are expected to score and come through for them every time. They have rebounders, defenders, guys who set screens. Casey has done a nice job. It's a very well-coached team. The thing that jumps out at me is how many times -- because everybody talks about a shooter. He can really shoot the ball, but my gosh, he's not just a shooter, they don't foul too many of those 3s. Q. So just to be clear you get Tiger updates sent to your phone immediately. Is this going to be a distraction for you, this Tiger comeback that seems to be enthralling the country? ROY WILLIAMS: I was looking around. Taylor Czar (phonetic) was at the Final Four that -- that was not, somebody wanting tickets (laughter). Why even check the doggone thing? Taylor Czar said one time at the Final Four, "Where does Tiger stand today?l" right before I walked in. I'm a huge fan. Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods to me are the guys that I really have a great deal of respect for because they were the best and nobody had better focus, nobody had better work habits and all that. I'm amazed by those kind of guys. Michael -- I'm pretty close to Michael and I've seen it up close and personal. I met Tiger one time, I talked to him on the phone. He's surprised me. I never thought he would get back here. I really didn't. I did not have the faith, but I am a fan so I enjoy -- what else will I do, sit here and wait for 30 minutes until I talk to you guys? Come on. Q. Two? ROY WILLIAMS: Two formers players are asking for tickets tomorrow. Q. (Inaudible) ROY WILLIAMS: I think we're getting recognition. It's what we deserve. We didn't win the regular season or the tournament. We're a pretty doggone good basketball team. I believe if we play well and do the right things, that we can play a lot and so that's probably the way people are treating us. I heard Jay and Seth, and I forget who else it was, nobody picked us to go to the Final Four. Michael Wilbon did. I'm not saying he's a lot smarter than the rest of those guys. What we try to do really is just enjoy the experience. I want our guys to enjoy this today. Then I want them to play their tail off and enjoy the locker room tomorrow. And if we play well enough, perhaps somebody will let us stay around and play again. And that's the reason we do all the stuff on putting in how many teams are left. I know it's a thing you guys don't like to hear, but we really do take it one game at a time. Somebody let's us play again, that's great. Q. Coach, I asked your players this question, I'm ask you, too. Your thoughts, you've been playing ACC teams the last two months. Getting to play somebody different for a change? ROY WILLIAMS: We talked about it with the team, that there may be some things we'll do in the game tomorrow they may not recognize before we do it. Once you get in the league and playing people 18 times and things like we do in your own TV every game, if we call "box right," the coaches on the other staff they yell "box right." So, perhaps we might get something that they're not familiar with and the same thing. We showed our team clips yesterday on Lipscomb the first time. I started watching tape -- I can't even remember -- I guess Monday night, but throughout the course of the year you're playing people, you watch tape, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 weeks, see them play 8, 10 times. We've been in some tough, tough first round games. I mean I've been in some really tough ones. Kansas one time we were the No. 1 seed and Holy Cross had us beat, we're down 9 with five minutes to play. Kirk Hinrich hurt his ankle. He's sitting on the end of the bench with a ice wrap. Two years ago Florida Gulf Coast. A really good basketball game. We probably blew them out by 5 or 6. I can't remember, but it was something like that. So, we do try to realize that we've got a target on our back. And that's okay, I like that. Q. Coach, has there been a player maybe behind the sense in practice who has really made a post-season leap, you know, ever since the regular season ended in practice or whatnot? ROY WILLIAMS: If you were to ask each one of them, they probably say it was them. I don't think so. Our guys, those other guys that don't get all the minutes, they've been pretty steady for us all year long. I think K.J. Smith has gotten better all along as we go. Aaron Rohlman that we talked about a minute ago, just does a marvelous job. He can play the 5, the 4, the 3 with the scout team. I don't see anybody that's jumped out. I know for awhile there Garrison Brooks, his minutes and production slowed down a little bit. I think he played better in the ACC Tournament. But other than that, nobody jumps out at me. Q. Roy, anybody this year or in recent history that Lipscomb really reminds you of that you've played against? ROY WILLIAMS: Yeah, two bad memories, Belmont and Wofford. Belmont beat a pretty good team in the Smith Center a few years ago and Wofford beat a pretty good team in there this year. Mathews can shoot the ball. Marberry gives them another guy up front. Little more balanced than people think I would hope that they think those are compliments because both those teams beat us. That's exactly who it looks like to me. One of our coaches said it reminds us of looking at ourselves because they do push the ball, they do share the ball, shoot from the outside, they do score inside. So -- but I think those two games. Q. Someone asked Joel about this being a down year. He said it kind of was a down year and he didn't expect this team to be where they are now. What are your thoughts on that? Would you reflect his answer or did you expect your team to be where they are now? ROY WILLIAMS: I expect to win every game, I really do. Start the season, first meeting I told them, I'm standing here looking at guys that are good enough to win the whole blessed thing. You got to play. You got to buy in. You got to wish -- we saw tape on Virginia, not just from the game but this is the way we want to play, I think that should be very flattering to Tony and his team. 2005, middle of the season I brought in tape of Illinois to show our team how unselfish Illinois were. They were the number 1 team in the country that time. They were playing better than anybody. We ended up playing them. We beat them. I don't really try to figure out where we can be and be up or down myself. I just think let's practice every day, work every day, try to be better every day. And that sounds corny as all get out, but that's exactly what we do. Today I said let's get better, let's get better. Coach Wooden told me one time that at the start of the season he would get his schedule and mark down which games he thought they would win and which games he thought may lose. And put it in an envelope and put it in his desk and wouldn't get it out until the season is over. He would get it out. Coach, I can't do that. I can't even remember who we played the second game. That is true. But I said, "Coach I'm sure you're pretty close all the time to what you expect." For Joel to say that, he was looking at Justin was gone, Kennedy was gone, Isaiah was gone, Nate Britt was gone, who is going to take those guy's places. I'm sure there were doubts, but I really don't try to look down the road to figure out what what we would be. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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