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ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 14, 2019Keith DrambotMarcus WeathersLamar Norman, Jr.Washington, D.C. Saint Joseph's 92, Duquesne 86 COACH KEITH DRAMBOT: Have a lot of respect for Coach Martelli and his team, a lot of respect for Coach, been through some difficult times, both personally with the tragic losses of his parents, and a lot of injuries with his team. But we knew it was going to be a tough game. They have been playing better. They are healthier. They are difficult to guard because they can spread out, and you know, we just had a hard time, every time we got close, we made a defensive mistake which hurt us. Q. Marcus, the two big runs when there was the foul, the third foul that was picked up on Mike and then when they had the 9-0 run, what commonalities from those two runs really stood out when they were able to make those big jumps? MARCUS WEATHERS: They got out in transition on us a couple times, but the main thing that we wanted to do is just stay together and stay positive throughout the run. That's the one thing that Coach was telling us. He was telling us the whole game that we had to win it on the defensive end. Q. Lamar, I know it's tough after a loss like this but this has been a really good two-year stretch for you, for the program, very young. Talk about the future of the program. LAMAR NORMAN, JR.: The future of the program, I thought it will be really good. All we need to do is stick together, every stay positive and have a level head, and we'll have a very good year next year. Q. Obviously a season of ups and downs. Just for you, what do you get out of this season? Obviously the reserve role, starting today, just trying to pick up the pieces and make the most out of it for yourself. LAMAR NORMAN, JR.: Just sitting back and analyzing things I need to work on on the team, like make sure what to do better and things like that. Just learning a lot. I learned a lot, but yeah. Q. Given that you like to pride yourself on defense, to see a 92 on the opposing side means what with this game? COACH KEITH DRAMBOT: Well, I thought we played a little bit better in the second half when we backed them -- when we backed off a little bit and quit getting penetrated on so much. But every time we made a run we messed up a switch, and they made shots. They are a dangerous offensive team because they can spread out and drive you, and they have got good individual players, and you know, now that they are all healthy, you know, they become difficult. But we didn't do enough to win, and you know, the interesting question was just because you're young doesn't mean you're going to be good in the future; you have to make some changes in order to be good. So until we're one of the top two or three defensive teams in this league, we're not going to win the Championship, and certainly, we were one of the two or three worst defensive teams tonight. So we got to get better. We got to be more mature. We got to be more even-keeled. I know exactly what we have to do. We have to continue to hold them to high standards and hold them accountable, but we made progress, but not fast enough for me. Q. Even though Brown had 28, did you feel like you made him work for it? And secondly, just thoughts on any possibilities of postseason tournaments. COACH KEITH DRAMBOT: For us, I mean, we could play in the CBI or CIT or one of those, but I kind of -- I don't want to sound arrogant, but I kind of am I high-expectation guy. So until Duquesne plays in the NIT or NCAA, I'm not really all-in on that. We have to hold our guys -- we have to make them understand, and that's no disrespect to those tournaments by any means. I've played in them before. But our guys have to understand what the goals are at Duquesne and to me, those goals are pretty evident. Q. Given that it seems like that statement sounds like it's more of a finality to the season, what do you get out of the season that you're able to move forward, not just from today but the season as a whole through all the peaks and valleys? COACH KEITH DRAMBOT: Well, I got another year of experience in the league. I think I know the league pretty well now. I think I know what we have to do in order to have better success. I think our deal's going to be pretty simple in the off-season. Like we'll make no excuses. We'll go to work every single day. We'll quit talking. And you know, we'll be like Lamar Norman, who bided his time, worked hard every time and it paid dividends at the end of the year. I think that was the difference in the game, is their maturity level versus our maturity level. They handled the ebbs and flows better than we did. So ultimately, that's me and Coach Martelli, right. He did a better job keeping his team more mentally mature than I did keeping my team more mentally mature. Because really, that's what it came down to. It came down to runs, spurts; runs, spurts; and they made them and we got a little flustered and put two bad plays together in a row and they didn't when it mattered, and that's typically what happens in games. Appreciate it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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