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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: BOISEMarch 15, 2018Mark FewJohnathan WilliamsJosh PerkinsZach Norvell Jr.Boise, Idaho THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Gonzaga. MARK FEW: It was a heck of a ballgame. We sit up here and feel very fortunate to advance and to win. But at the same time I'm proud of how my guys just hung with it and hung with it and hung with it. We knew it was going to be kind of that pace of a game, that's all UNCG plays. And I think we just made enough plays down the stretch to hold them off. But, man, I thought they were really, really good. And I thought they were really good down the stretch. The guards hurt us with the penetration. And yet we were guarding them very, very well. And they were able to make some very difficult shots against some of our switches on the ball screens. Our guys kept their poise and continued to get good shots through all that. Made one more play than they did. We're fortunate to advance. Q. This isn't your first tournament. Just talk about the battle you just went through. JOSH PERKINS: I'm still shaking, still sweating, but I'm just glad I'm here with these guys and coaching staff. This is my first tournament, but I'm just glad I'm here with this group of guys, my brothers. Q. The shot at the end of the game, can you talk about that? ZACH NORVELL JR.: For sure. I'm a really confident guy. And the coaching staff and all the guys around me put the confidence in me. I don't know how many shots I missed tonight but every time I missed all the guys came to me, The next one is going in, the next one is going in. So I had no choice but to make a bucket. Q. On that shot it seemed like you were feeling it. You saw the open window and you took it. Walk us through the play and why you felt so confident. ZACH NORVELL JR.: Throughout the whole game they were trying to get over the ball screens really good and they were showing really high, as well. So I knew if I tried to get over really hard and I was able to knock the shot down. Q. You had the shot to tie the game. What was going through your mind? What were you trying to say and the emotions you're behind and 30 seconds it all turned back around? JOSH PERKINS: They were all over the place. I looked at the coach and said, We've got this. I trust you and we're trusting each other. I'm glad I'm here with this guy and we're not done yet. Q. What was the crowd like and what was it like having them behind you tonight? ZACH NORVELL JR.: It was great. Anytime you have Zag fans that can travel like that and have our back, and when we got down, they didn't sit down at all. They kept us going. JOSH PERKINS: It's nice when it felt like a home game out there for us. A lot of credit to them and hope we can keep doing it Saturday. JOHNATHAN WILLIAMS: We have the best fans in the country, probably in the world. We appreciate them coming out and supporting us. They did an awesome job. Q. From the first three minutes you had three turnovers. Was it jitters or their defense? And if it was the defense, how did you push through that down the stretch? JOSH PERKINS: I don't know. I can't answer that question. I'm just glad we didn't keep that train going. If it was jitters, we got rid of it. I'm glad we got rid of them. Q. What's going to have to improve for Saturday? THE MODERATOR: Let's direct the questions to the student-athletes and then we'll go to the coach. Q. The matchup between you and James Dickey was entertaining in the first half. What does he present from a length perspective, and why was it rubbing off on the other guys? JOHNATHAN WILLIAMS: It wasn't just him. It was also other guys, as well. And 32, he had a big body. As far as Dickey, he's long and athletic and he can jump. He made it tough for us. But we was able to make the shots down the stretch. He played awesome game. I give him a ton of credit. Q. What made you calm enough to play Perkins after four fouls? MARK FEW: Basically out of necessity. He's essentially the only point guard we have, and they were pressing us. But also there's some trust built up after being with him, around him for four years. So it's a combination of probably both of those. Q. You've done this a few times now, ten in a row. Does it get any easier? What were you telling the team when Greensboro was making the run? MARK FEW: No, it doesn't get any easier. These first-round games are hard. They're really hard. And I think people get a little misled when they see the seed numbers up there. That's a really, really good team that we were fortunate enough to beat. They were a very good defensive plan that kind of never quite let you get the flow. I think we were able to get flow a couple of times there, especially in the start of the second half and around that eight- to ten-minute mark. But I kept telling our guys to stay with it, stay with it, stay with it. We were taking great care of the ball down the stretch. And we were actually getting good shots on goal. I just felt like we weren't quite finishing them, even the ones that led up to the three. It was a very good play. I think somebody else had a jump shot that was a great shot for our team offense. I think the thing that probably most surprised us is their guards finished 2s in the paint better than we saw on film or better than we had seen them do all year. We went into the game trying to held them from the 3-point line, went 3 for 22, we out free-throwed them 13-5. But they made two. So that's when you tip your hat to them. They did a heck of a job making some really tough shots. Q. What's impressed you about the confidence? Josh had it and Jack had it, too. Making shots like that, and they felt they had a chance. MARK FEW: Those two are really confident players. It's probably more so than anybody in our program have a high belief in themselves and at times that can hurt us. But at times, especially down the stretch of the game when obviously pressure is up a little bit and somebody has to step up and make a play, that's when you want those two guys. Perkins has hit shots like that for us. Last year he hit them and this year he hit him. And Norvell has a knack for that. When you size the guy up, A, he was going to shoot it, and B, it was probably going to go in. So I was fine with it. Q. Can you tell us a little bit about Zach? He was a red shirt last year. And he had to sit there and watch a lot of your great stuff happening. How did he deal with it? MARK FEW: I think he had some knee problems all through the summer and into the fall. And then I think reality hit him. And he was a little bit behind with everything. But he was looking at a back court that had Perkins, who had been a two-year starter, Nigel Williams-Goss, he was a preseason All-American, Jordan Mathews, who was a grad transfer who had unbelievable success, especially shooting the ball like Zach does at Cal. And then Silas was obviously going to play a lot of minutes because he's such a good defensive player. So I think he understood that. And he's got a winning spirit about him. He has an effervescence and charisma that is much needed with this team, because it's a really quiet, introverted team, and he's certainly not any of that. He provides not only that stuff on the floor, but off the floor is very important. Q. Obviously first tournament game for Zach. Just talk about the confidence you had in him making that shot. MARK FEW: Well, he's done it a lot. He's really done that time and time again this year. And it might have happened in the first half when someone is on a 10-0 run against us and we're really struggling, or five minutes to go in a game and they've shrunk our lead from 15 down to 7. And he's just wired to -- he's going to make a play. Now, sometimes it's a bad play and sometimes it's a bad shot. But usually down the stretch of games he's confident enough and it usually goes in. But prior to that shot, guys, he was 2 for 11. So it wasn't exactly one of his greatest games in the Zag uni. I felt totally confident. When he sized it up I knew it was going in. And that's kind of what he does. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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