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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: DETROITMarch 16, 2018Nathan DavisStephen BrownNana FoullandZach ThomasDetroit, Michigan Michigan State - 82, Bucknell - 78 COACH DAVIS: First, I thought our guys came out, competed, never backed down, never stopped playing. That's why we were in the position we were in to be here in the first place. Gotta give our guys a lot of credit for the way they played, the poise we played with. But at the same time, give Michigan State a lot of credit. I thought they played well. Every game you go into, you say if you're going to get beat you want the other team to just play better than you did. And I think that was certainly the case today. I don't think our guys have anything to hang their heads over. It's certainly disappointing when you don't advance, but again give Michigan State a lot of credit for the way they played. Q. Zach, can you walk us through what in the world happened on that technical? ZACH THOMAS: I'll try. So I drove from the top of the key, bounced it to Nana, and I thought he got fouled. But I was backpedaling. It was a physical game. I thought he maybe -- missed a couple of calls, or got fouled on a couple of others before that. I was just backpedalling. I said, "What are you watching?" from about, like, half court. And he was still on the baseline. I didn't think he was looking at me. But apparently he heard me and he didn't like it. I shouldn't have said it, but I mean I didn't agree with the call. At least warn me or something. Q. Nana, your last game with these guys. Reflect back on your time at Bucknell with this special, special class? NANA FOULLAND: Like Coach said, we've got nothing to hang our heads on. They were a good team. Last year, West Virginia was a good team too. It's hard to win games. Only one team can win this whole tournament. So it's hard to beat these guys. And it's just been fun. It's been a fun four years. I've grown a lot as I player. These guys have grown as well, not just as players but as individuals. I'm going to miss it a lot. I'm going to miss them, miss the team. But, like Coach said, we've got nothing to hang our heads on. It was fun. Just sucks that it has to end. Q. Stephen, every kid dreams of hitting that last-second buzzer beater and the NCAA Tournament. Yours was a little bit different. Could you walk me through that moment? STEPHEN BROWN: It was kind of disappointing for me because the ones that were early on in the game didn't really fall. But in situations like that, just trying to get the ball down as fast as I can and -- work on it a lot of times. Just trusting the shot, for it to go in. And then the last one it was kind of a lucky shot, I guess. So, yeah. Q. Zach, can you talk about your first half and the rhythm you were in? And then in the second half, Miles Bridges seemed to take over. Just your thoughts on his game seeing it in person? ZACH THOMAS: Yeah, coming in I thought it would be an interesting matchup. I wasn't really sure because I know I was giving up some size, but I thought I could play on the perimeter pretty well. I was able to do that, especially in the first half. I was able to get 3s off, get to the rim. So I felt pretty comfortable. And in the second half I still felt good. Got in some foul trouble there. And then, yeah, Bridges, he played well. He made shots. He got to the rim. He got fouled. He got put-backs. He was pretty impressive. He's definitely, I would say, their best player, or at least he was tonight. Yeah, he was a tough matchup for us. Q. Zach, curious if you can reflect on your four years and being with these guys and then it coming to an end here. ZACH THOMAS: Sure. Like Nana said, I love these guys and the rest of my teammates as well. We've kind of made a name for Bucknell and the Patriot League a little bit. We've competed the last two years. Obviously we'd like to have won a game, but I thought we competed well. I think we got a tough draw this year for sure, which kind of sucked. But besides that, I'm really proud of how we've competed. And each one of us, I think, each year we've gotten better, like Nana said, as basketball players but also as people. And I think that's a big statement of why you come to a school like Bucknell and then also how the Patriot League represents itself. So we're proud to represent our school and our league. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. Zach scored 27 tonight. But I was doing the research, he's actually scored in double figures 10 consecutive games against Power 6 opponents. So the national TV audience may have been surprised tonight, but you probably weren't. What makes him so effective when he's going against guys that are longer, stronger, more athletic than him? COACH DAVIS: I think, one, he's a really confident kid. Kid -- he's 22 -- I'm not sure he's a kid. But he's really confident. Once we were talking in the locker room or after practice about something. He goes: I've been scoring all my life. He's like the second all-time leading scorer in the state of Maryland. So it's not by accident. He's very skilled. He can shoot the 3s. You saw the range. He can put the ball on the floor and finish. He draws fouls. Maybe not on Jaren Jackson Jr. but on other guys he can post them up. A lot of guys post up Jackson. He's a very versatile offensive player. And he's smart. And so he doesn't force it. He kind of lets it come to him, knows how to play with the other guys and to get himself in position to score. I wish it was something we could teach to everybody, but I think it's one of those things that's just kind of an innate ability. Q. You've been around basketball quite a long time and have had a lot of success. Can you tell me how good this Spartan team is in your opinion? You've watched them on film; you played against them, just your general thoughts on them, please, sir. COACH DAVIS: Usually I enjoy watching Michigan State play but this week it wasn't a whole lot of fun. They are, in the time I've been -- I think I've been in Division I on some level for probably 16 years -- they're as good as anyone I've seen. I think that obviously when you have guys like Bridges and Jackson, who are going to be lottery picks, I think the pieces fit well together. They have balance in that they can throw it inside. They can score from the perimeter. The first half we were actually kind of forcing them to take the shots we wanted them to take and they were making those, too, with Langford with those pull-ups. They rebound it well and then they're long and can defend. You watch them, they don't have a lot of weaknesses. They're as good as I've played against in a long time. Q. I don't know if you're a woulda, coulda, shoulda-type of guy, I'm not trying to get you in trouble here, but would you have liked to have played that game maybe with a little more flow to it, with some less whistles and different types of things to see the outcome? COACH DAVIS: I think you always want there to be flow to the game, and we're at our best when there's pace and it's going up and down and the ball is moving side to side. Certainly that's better. But a lot of that's on us, too. There's things we could have done better as far as reaching in and rotations and boxing out and taking some better shots. So the answer to your question, yes, flow is always better. Sorry. Q. Your thoughts on Miles Bridges, film versus in person, and how is he able to kind of take the game over there in the second half? COACH DAVIS: He was pretty impressive on film. I would say the same about in person. I think the thing that you don't quite see as much on film is how high he gets when he shoots the pull-ups. I thought we were there to contest a lot. Just because of how athletic and big he is, he's able to get up and get a clean look anyway. He's very strong. You don't see as much of his strength when you're watching film until you see him in person, but he's a really, really good player. Q. I'm just curious, did you get more of an explanation from the referees about Zach Thomas' technical foul? COACH DAVIS: No. Q. When a team goes 12 or 13 deep, can that be a difference-maker in a tournament where they can go with guys? It's hard to game plan for 13 people. COACH DAVIS: I think the biggest advantage it is, and we typically do that, too, is that you have a lot of -- you have a lot of guys you end up having confidence in, and a lot of guys on the floor that the other guys are confident in because you've seen them do it before. There's some nights some guys are playing a little better than others, gives you a little more flexibility to get through those nights. And then obviously with foul trouble. I mean, games are officiated differently and fouls are called differently. And if you have more guys available, if there's fouls, it allows you to sit some guys longer, especially in the first half, where you don't pick up a third or a cheap second one late. So there's certainly major advantages to it. Q. Do you wish you could have played Michigan State on a neutral court? COACH DAVIS: I'd be okay never having to play that team again. (Laughter). THE MODERATOR: And on that note, Coach, thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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