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ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 15, 2019David CoxJeff DowtinChristion ThompsonDana TateWashington, D.C. Rhode Island 75, VCU 70 COACH DAVID COX: Well, that win right there was a testament to the strength and the culture of this basketball program and obviously these two individuals up here on the stage with me. Our guys have gone through a lot of adversity this year. They have shown a tremendous amount of resiliency. They have continued to play hard and they have continued to play together, and now we are reaping some of those benefits. That was just an outstanding effort today. We took some big shots from that team, particularly in the first half, and then the way they started off the second half on a nice little run, but we closed the gap. We stayed together. We trusted in one another, and just I'm awfully proud of this group of young men. Looking to ready to tomorrow's semifinals. Q. Jeff, I saw you on the court after the game. You were emotional. Where did those emotions come from after this win? JEFF DOWTIN: Just from being disrespected throughout this whole season. Nobody really counted on us. Everybody counted us out, but we stuck together as a family. You know, this is a brotherhood for us. We're one small little group of family that just trust in each other and that just shows on the court. Q. How did you get that shot to go, the late shot clock, 3-pointer there? JEFF DOWTIN: 8:30 workouts with Coach Sutton (laughter). Q. Gentlemen, talk about this win tonight. You come in here riding high, and Jeff pretty much just mentioned this as the team that really has been kind of at the bottom, and you're now two wins away possibly from an A-10 Tournament, what do you have to say about what you've overcome this season. CHRISTION THOMPSON: We went through something this season that most thought that we wasn't going to come back from and we needed to go through that and that just brought us together as a family; and we were already a family, that just brought us so much closer and that really end us and got us to this point; and right now we take it one day at a time, one game at a time and we going to continue this run we're making right now. Q. I just want to follow up with Jeff. Were you hearing heckling from the VCU fans throughout the game or from players? Because you did seem pretty pumped up there, and I know that you had to be just escorted away from the handshake line. SO if you could give a little more context to that, it would be appreciated. JEFF DOWTIN: They have a great group of fans and they heckle us a lot, try to get us out of our game. That has to do with my mentality, just staying focused on the game and keeping all those emotions inside until after the game. Once the clock hits zero and we won the game, those emotions just come out. Q. How powerful is that chip on your shoulder right now and how much is it motivating you through those games? Do you feel like you're playing with a chip on your shoulder, and how much does that motivate you? DANA TATE: Definitely feel like we're playing with a chip on our shoulder. Like these guys have said, we've been playing through adversity all year, counted out, disrespected and we just stuck together. Coach believes in us and we believe in ourselves. We carry those emotions and that disrespect every game and go out there and give it our all. Q. For any of you guys, do you feel that there was any sort of a change in momentum when Evans went down with his injury? CHRISTION THOMPSON: Start out by saying, I hope he get better soon. We just stuck to our game plan, that's just playing hard and staying together. We knew what we had to do. We knew we had to come out and play hard and keep the pace of the game and stick with the game plan and stay together. That's what we say every huddle, every time, stay together, and that's what we did. Q. They say that a team is a reflection of their coach. Now, how were you all able to withstand the pressure that VCU can put on teams and how were you all able to fight through it and keep your composure? JEFF DOWTIN: Just the pressure that Coach Cox put on us as a team, as a collective group, that just us being able to just withstand our own and just fight through adversity and that just helps out with that VCU pressure. It's kind of like a mental thing. You know, once you fight that battle with yourself, your mentality, that just translates on the court and makes everything a lot easier. Q. The four freshmen have had impacts all season long but probably none bigger than this game. What's allowed you and the other three freshmen to have such an impact on the team this season? DANA TATE: Coach and the guys giving us confidence, letting us go out there and play our game, just telling us the right things to do on the court, don't do too much, stay within yourself, just play confidently. You know, these guys are my big brothers, they are with me through practice and through the games every day. They believe in me and makes me believe in myself even more and makes me go out there and give it my all for this team. Q. This is the third year in a row you've knocked VCU in the tournament, when you see them in the draw, not that it's going to be easy, how much confidence do you bring into a matchup with them knowing that history? JEFF DOWTIN: When I see us against VCU, I get that smile on my face. I know that's going to be a big game for us. You know, they are very competitive. You know it's going to be a dogfight. Like I said, we've played them these last two years and we've been able to come out with wins each of these two times. We just have to keep going. Q. Congratulations on what was probably one of the best games I think I've seen all week, and I know there's more to come. With Fatts and Cyril kind of not playing the way they were yesterday, how big were these three that just took the podium? COACH DAVID COX: They were huge, obviously, I mean, Jeff kind of controlled the tempo, obviously when Fatts went out, he was our ball handler and our scorer and our defender. Take him off the bench, and it gave us 12 big points, six big rebounds, just a lot of energy and he played very, very solid defense. Probably his best defensive performance of the year. And then obviously Christion Thompson is known as a defensive stopper, but to step up and step to the line and go nine for nine in a game as big as this, you know, it was huge. Q. You've been around this game for a long time, but as a player and a coach, have you ever experienced anything like VCU just experienced in losing a top player and your team, as a player or coach, responded to that adversity? COACH DAVID COX: I've experienced it before. It's part of the game. I mean, when it happens, you've got to -- it's next man up. They are a very talented and a very deep team, so they have to respond. I guess we responded. We lost our guy with four fouls early the second half, and other guys had to step up and that's what we did. Q. In the second half, was there any point, any play in particular, where you could sort of feel your guys taking control of the game and really putting your noses in front? COACH DAVID COX: Not any particular play, no. I thought our guys were in the game the entire time. I thought we just fighting not matter what. When we went down eight in the first half, our guys kept continuing to fight. Went down eight again, our guys continued to fight. Started the second half with a turnover and a layup for them, went down early and our guys continued to fight. No, there was no particular play. I just thought our guys showed a lot of togetherness tonight, and as they have throughout the year and they fought through adversity and showed a tremendous amount of resiliency. So yeah, no particular play but just all night, 40 minutes, it was a battle, a man's game, hand-to-hand combat, and fortunately we came out on top. Q. Coming into this one, it seemed like you guys circled this one on the calendar. Did you sense that, and what did you sense pregame coming into today that showed you that maybe a little extra confidence? COACH DAVID COX: We were excited about this game. You've got to understand, the last time we played them, they literally wiped the floor with us, and you know, that was hard to take, hard to swallow. And what it did, as Christion Thompson said, it was almost necessary. It put us at the bottom and we had to come together or separate, and what we did is we came together; we had meetings; we had some very tough practices, and the guys responded very well. And I think that's what you saw today. They wanted to -- they wanted the opportunity to get back kind of at VCU and that's what you saw today. Q. You mentioned there wasn't really one particular play, but how big was that 7-0 run you had to protect the lead in the early portion of the second half? After that, it seemed like you had a big confidence boost. How big was that stretch right there? COACH DAVID COX: I'll be perfectly honest with you: It's all a blur right now. The 7-0 run, I'll have to look at the film. I'm not sure exactly what 7-0 run you're talking about. I know Jeff had a big shot, but I just thought that our guys kept fighting. In all honesty, I was paying attention to the score as a coach, but I really wasn't paying that much attention to the score. I was paying attention to how hard our guys were playing and how positive they stayed with one another and how well they were communicating. Again, that's the fabric of a strong -- of a championship culture. We might not have necessarily championship talent or championship depth, I'm certainly not a seasoned, veteran, championship-calibre coach, but that culture is so strong and that's what you saw today. Q. A couple times I saw that you even took in the atmosphere a little bit, turning around and waving your hands towards the fan base. What's that like, turning around, seeing a lot of yellow everywhere, but behind your bench is that Keaney Blue? COACH DAVID COX: I've said this throughout the year, and I want to give a lot of credit to all the fans, all those Rhode fans who made the trip down here. They have been tremendous for us the entire year. You know, we laid some eggs in that Ryan Center, and those people have continued to come back and continued to support and now they make a two-and-a-half, three-hour trek down here. So I wanted them to know that I appreciated them, and obviously I probably got a little caught up in the emotion of the game, but you know, that's what it is. It's a big game. It's March, and you know, again, thank you to all the roady fans. Hope to see you guys tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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