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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: COLUMBUSMarch 21, 2019Mick CroninTrevon ScottCane BroomeJustin JeniferColumbus, Ohio THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Cincinnati student-athletes Cane Broome, Justin Jenifer and Trevon Scott. Q. Cane, how do you handle the excitement this week and the nerves? And what's your secret to get through a week that's bigger than any other week you're dealing with in the season to this point? CANE BROOME: I think it's just wanting to play, keep playing. That's what we keep in mind. It's not just about this week. We're trying to further our season. So that's what we keep in mind every day. We said today in practice, we didn't just came here to play one game, so that's how we stay on track and not get too excited, try to win a tournament. Q. How do you avoid the distractions that obviously come with a week like this with all the chatter out there? JUSTIN JENIFER: Just staying focused, not worrying about things we see on social media and all the stuff we see every day and things that people talk about, just making sure we stay focused and we stay as a team. Q. How hard is it to do that? JUSTIN JENIFER: It's very hard, but at the end of the day when you've got big goals and big dreams to conquer and to get to, that's what it comes down to. Q. Trevon, a lot of people around this area maybe haven't seen you guys play since that first game. In what areas do you think you guys have grown most since the beginning of the season, that opener? TREVON SCOTT: We've grown in all areas, in all aspects from the first time we played Ohio State. We made a lot of changes, individually and as a team. But in every area you can think of in basketball as a team, we've grown in those areas. Q. Trevon, having a tournament like you did in Memphis and making the all-tournament team, what does it do for your confidence and what does it say for your development this season? TREVON SCOTT: It's most definitely a confidence booster. I've got to keep my head focussed, just keep the same focus I had while I was in Memphis, playing hard and playing confident. A lot of the stuff I did in Memphis, it was from constant, like, reps I did over the summer and throughout the season. And I mean I just gotta keep doing what I was doing, just keep staying focused, focused on important things and let the distractions go and just stay confident and I'll be fine. Q. Cane, you and Justin had a difficult senior day just as a team and everything. Did you guys get together after that game, because obviously things have gone pretty well since then? Did you get together after that game and say let's keep our senior day going? CANE BROOME: Yes, it was a tough day, but everybody has tough days. I'm pretty sure you guys have a tough day in the office. So we just had to come back to the drawing board and we had better goals in mind. We didn't win that championship but we knew we wanted to win another one. So Coach got on us about it and told us what we needed to do to fix ourselves and told us that we would see them again in the championship. So we just worked our way to that and tried to take it game by game. And once we got there we just, as a team, stayed focused and mentally locked in. That was the big change after that game, was just our mental focus. JUSTIN JENIFER: To piggyback on what he said, just after that game, it was a rough day. We had that day. We can't just dwell on that game. We had other games we had to prepare for and the conference tournament was coming up. So we know that was a big stage for us, coming from our senior night not having, like you said, a good game. So we had a bigger goal to get and we conquered it. Q. Justin, coming into your senior campaign, March Madness, looking at your first competitor here, Iowa, hopefully the first of many, looking at the Iowa Hawkeyes, how do you match up against their back court? JUSTIN JENIFER: Following the scouting report. We always go in and come together as a team, and we follow the scouting report. We feel if we follow the scouting report and have Bearcat toughness, we can get the win. That's what we did when we played Houston. If we play just like we did against Houston and we keep that going, we can't be stopped. Q. Trevon, seems like down the stretch you've really picked up your game, attacking the forwards and all that. I don't know, anything particularly clicked for you or a sense of urgency. You're a junior, it's not like you're getting old? TREVON SCOTT: Honestly, I just want to win, for real. I just want to win. And I know doing things like that will, especially rebounding will help us win and elevate our team. Like, me scoring will open up the floor for these guys also. So I was just trying to stay aggressive offensively and showing what I can do. And also I like playing with Justin and Cane. This is their last year. So, like, whatever I have to do to keep our season alive, so I can continue to play with these point guards I'm going to do. Q. Did Jarron express his disappointment about not coming out to the table with you guys? TREVON SCOTT: Nah. Q. Cane, talked about how hard it is winning here, compared to playing at Sacred Heart. Three years in a row that you guys got to the tournament; these guys it's been four years. Has it gotten harder or easier, are you more appreciative after all these years or does it become more routine? CANE BROOME: It's inward pressure we've been putting on ourselves. Obviously the last nine years we've got here in a row. It's more pressure now that we want to further our status here. The last few years has been rough, coming out of the second round. So I think that's more so our pressure we've been putting on each other -- let's be that team that make it. Coach has been telling us why can't you guys be those guys that further it, especially me and Justin. We talked about it yesterday. And I think that's more so what it is than actual pressure than being at the tournament. Q. Cane, there's a lot of talk, just in March Madness you need elite players to go on deep runs. What makes a player like Jarron so invaluable this time of year? CANE BROOME: I think personally the way he gets fouled. Obviously it's big-time games, the refs will be on their whistles. He has a knack for getting fouled. He's aggressive, whether he's making shots or not. That will be huge in this tournament. And I think he's one of the best players in this country at getting fouled. And that in itself is going to help us in these games. Q. Justin, just what type of atmosphere or crowd are you expecting being kind of close to home? JUSTIN JENIFER: It's the same. Basically like a home game. We call it -- when they say, we was in Columbus we called it backyard basketball. Just having all the fans wanting to come and support us is going to be a great atmosphere, great energy for the game. Q. A little bit of a national question here. How do you guys -- how did you guys handle your freshman-sophomore years in particular when it came to seeing what's going on around the country in terms of transferring? Am I going to stick this out? Do I need to look around? Did you look around? What got you to not do what so many other of your peers are doing and stay? And what did you see that made you want to stay as opposed to go? Did you even think of going? CANE BROOME: I'm one of those guys. I can't really answer that question. JUSTIN JENIFER: Just trusting the process. Even though you come in as a freshman, you come in thinking you can play all these minutes and stuff like that. It don't happen that way. But, you know, sometimes you've got to look at it and look in the mirror sometimes and know that it's you; that you've got to work harder and go and step your game up, and looking at the older guys, seeing what you need to do to go ahead and get better. So staying here I feel as though was the best decision for me. Q. Can you talk about why you did it? CANE BROOME: Mine is different reasons. Like I had an interview with Justin earlier this week. And as a kid I wanted to play tournaments like this. What you see on TV. I was at a great institution, just a lower level. And I just seen the opportunity to come be a part of something bigger than myself. And I just wanted to take that opportunity and do so. And I don't regret it because I'm here with my brothers right now. And I think, to piggyback on what Justin said, I haven't been here four years, but I had ups and downs here. But I think more so as a brotherhood here, even with the coaches it's like a brotherhood. We all stick together through tough times. And I think that's the reason why Justin stayed, too. He made friendships here. And it's bonds you don't want to break, whether you're playing or not. Like it's a bond you don't want to break. TREVON SCOTT: I guess I'll say I didn't transfer. But did I have those thoughts? I mean, at times I did. Especially coming in as a freshman expecting to play, coming from high school, being the man on your team and coming here. I redshirted. It was tough. But I didn't give up. I just thought about the players who did that before me and is successful -- especially from the UC program. Like Sean Kilpatrick, he was someone who I kind of like -- I'm not going to say I looked up to -- but he was in the same situation as me. And, I mean, he was successful. He redshirted. He was successful. He went through hard times. And I'm like why can't I stick it out and go through hard times, make something of it. And like they say, the friendships we made, the bonds we made with each other and the program, like the history, it's like coming from where I'm from -- UC is a historic program, a lot of great players come from there. So I told myself I want to -- why can't I be another good player who gets through this hard time and be successful. So I stuck it out. I wanted to stick it out with my brothers, and I wanted to be successful. And it got me here to this point talking on the stage with these guys and talking in front of you. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Coach, an opening statement. COACH CRONIN: Well, it's been obviously a whirlwind week for us, winning our conference title Sunday and trying to put that to bed, get the guys refocused for this week. But we're obviously excited to be here. This is what it's all about. It's why we play the regular seasons, why we play our conference tournament, to get a chance to be on the big stage. Every kid growing up who plays basketball dreams of playing in this tournament. So we don't take it for granted. Try to make sure our guys enjoy it and embrace it and, most importantly, get ready to play tomorrow. So we're extremely excited to be here. Q. How long was the bus ride? And how surprised were you to see or did you think it was possible that you would be here in Columbus? COACH CRONIN: Bus ride was a little longer than usually takes me to drive it in my car. My last trip was -- downtown's really nice. My daughter plays club volleyball. So that's an all-day event. If anybody doesn't have a daughter that plays club volleyball, it's an all-day event. I've walked around, beautiful day in May. It was at the convention center so I got to see downtown. To be honest, my father is in charge of all that stuff. I didn't even know Columbus was a site. Glad to be here. I also don't know what region we're in. I know we play Iowa and I know Tennessee plays Colgate. And I mean that. We've been really busy the last couple of weeks. And like I said, right now my daughter is in club volleyball and we've got a lot going on. But Columbus is a great city. We're happy to be here. Q. How do you control the distractions? Obviously there's a lot that goes on in this week. And how do you keep things -- I'm sure you want to keep things as normal as possible. But how do you go about doing that? COACH CRONIN: I think it's a great point. I think that you've got to realize there's a game at 12:00 Friday and that's really what matters. And you've got to have your mind on that. So Coach Knight said a long time ago, the mental is 4-to-1 to the physical. If you don't have your mind in the right place, you're not going to be at your best. And you're going to have to be at your best. Anybody can win games in this tournament. Everybody -- obviously we play Iowa. Fran's a good coach, a good friend of mine. They've got a great team. We talk about it a lot. You that hope your veteran guys understand that. We've been through some distracting things this year with the opening of our arena. The Crosstown Shootout is always a distractive situation with all the talk that goes around it. So hopefully our guys will be able to be focused. Q. At this point do you still get nervous yourself? And how do you temper that and handle that? COACH CRONIN: I don't know if -- I wouldn't say nervous; I would say excited. If you're not excited to do what you do, I think no matter if you're a basketball coach or you're reporting at USA Today, you probably need to try to change your job. Because you only live one time. And I'm getting a little bit older. I believe in that now. You've got to be excited about what you do and appreciate it. So, not nervous. Extremely blessed and excited to be here. I don't take it lightly. Don't take it for granted. Last time we played here -- when did this building open? Q. 2000. COACH CRONIN: We're pulling in, my dad said, you're playing in a building you haven't played in. I said, you're wrong. First game in 2004 with Murray State was here. I didn't even remember that until we were pulling in the tunnel today. I was thinking back -- I was riding in here with my former president, Dr. King Alexander, he's the president now at LSU, so I get a chance to say hi to him, thank him for hiring me. So just really excited and appreciative. Always nervous. Then when I watch Iowa make 3s on film I get a lot more nervous. Q. I think there's some people around Columbus who probably haven't watched you since the opener against Ohio State. How much has this team grown since that opener and how does that maybe compare to other years as well? COACH CRONIN: They don't watch Cincinnati up here? I'm teasing. I understand. I understand. The answer is experience. We were very inexperienced in our roles. Jarron Cumberland had played, but he hadn't played the star. Cane Broome had played but, like, now he really understands that when Jarron's out of the game or getting rest that he's got to be aggressive. Justin Jenifer wasn't looking to shoot open shots whenever he could get them. And we weren't running things to get him open shots until this year. Obviously the rest of our guys weren't really ever in the game. So last year when we played in the NCAA Tournament, Keith Williams and Nysier Brooks did not get in the game against Nevada, and they've been starters for us. The only way to grow is to get experience. I've tried to be sure I injected that I believe in what they could become from the time we started spring workouts last year. I think that's important. You have to make sure your guys know you believe in them. I tell them all the time, the most important thing for young people, you've got to believe in yourself. But you gain experience and that helps you get better. And it's a hard thing for a guy, for a guy like Nysier Brooks, the first time you're starting at this level. And to be as consistent as he and Tre Scott have been for us. So the growth as players is the answer to your question. Q. Is that different now entering into March where they haven't had that, Jarron really came on at the end of last year at this stage, and maybe does that give you an added element that's almost like invaluable because some of those guys haven't had experience at this stage? COACH CRONIN: Tough to say. I would say of all the added elements and the things that may go on Friday, I'll take made shots over all that stuff. You can split atoms all you want, try to dissect what's going to happen. These games -- it's why it's called March Madness, why it's the greatest event in sports in the world because anything can happen whether it's UMBC or what happened to us last year. Anything can happen at any time. So we've talked about since the end of the regular season is playing in one-and-out environments, and that you have no margin for error. And you have to know that when you're tying your shoes to get ready for the tournament, that if you lose you're out. And that was our mentality going to the conference tournament. It worked well for us. So I think that you've got to believe that you can win the tournament or at some point in the game you may have to give up because you think, well, we're not going to win it anyway. So I think the teams that have any advantage are the teams that think they can win the whole tournament. And that if they don't win it that they're not going to feel like they accomplished their goal. You might look at me and say you guys at Cincinnati are a 7 seed, but I think that's the mentality. I don't want my guys ever walking around thinking that they can't win the tournament. Whether we're playing Iowa or whoever is No. 1 in the country this week, I don't know. Q. Ninth straight year for you here. Do you feel it's gotten easier or harder? COACH CRONIN: I feel like I'm getting older. I think it's hard every year. You should never underestimate how hard it is to win and never take winning for granted. And I say that not -- fans are always going to want more. But I think for the players, my thing is that what they accomplished this year, I want them to know that they've done a great job. And although we expect it and we work extremely hard to sustain our success, you can't take it for granted. And you've got to make sure that the people on your staff, the guys that come off the bench, our managers, that everybody's a part of it. Because everybody doesn't go to the tournament every year. We know this. So you have to appreciate it and you have to make sure that everybody that's a part of it knows that they're contributing. And probably getting better at that as I get older. It's definitely not a one-man band, I can promise you that. Q. How much of a dilemma is Iowa's grain-fed beef. They have some big dudes? COACH CRONIN: Their strength? Q. They have big guys, 250 pounds-plus. You guys are strong, but you don't have any 250-plus bodies? COACH CRONIN: I don't know what Noz (phonetic) weighs, but I don't know. We're not in a sumo wrestling match, so I think how the game is called is big, important. I think footwork is important. I think you've got to play smart. I think the games are usually called a little tighter starting today. And the games get real physical in conference play in February. So what we've talked about is making sure that we don't pick up cheap fouls battling for offensive or defensive position in the low post, regardless of who they're battling against, whether it's Garza or Cook, whomever because I think it will be a little different. I don't think it will be quite the way conference games tend to get real physical late in the year. I think it will be back to more free-flowing. And I don't want them guys getting cheap fouls in the low post early in the game. Q. Based on the numbers, looks like your rebounding is a priority for you guys, right? How do you balance that with Iowa's transition game in terms of crashing the offensive boards and your ability to do that? COACH CRONIN: That's a great question. We would never change that. I get asked that a lot by younger coaches and people that talk about, what's your theory on transition defense. It's called get back. And I have people -- there's a lot better coaches than me, and they rebound two guys and they run to certain spots. I worked for -- Coach Huggins will be in the hall of fame, and Rick Pitino. We rebound the ball, obviously your point guard gets back. But with Iowa, I think the biggest key is you've got to find shooters early. That's what you're alluding to. You've got to find shooters early with them. But we will not not rebound because of that. But people do try to score on us -- we're used to people trying to score on us in transition because of our half-court defense can give people problems at times and it's tended to be pretty good. So we're used to that. But it will definitely be a challenge but we will not rebound because of that. Hopefully we won't have to. We'll make a few shots. It will be nice. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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