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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: SALT LAKE CITYMarch 21, 2019Bill CoenJordan RolandBolden BraceSalt Lake City, Utah Kansas - 87, Northeastern - 53 THE MODERATOR: We welcome Northeastern representatives to the stage. In addition to Coach Coen, we have Jordan Roland and Bolden Brace. We will take a brief opening statement from the coach and then we will go to questions to the student-athletes. Coach. BILL COEN: Obviously, it wasn't the day everyone associated with Northeastern was hoping for or envisioned. But you have to give credit to an outstanding Kansas program. You know, they played really, really well today. I think they took us out of our own identity. Typically we're a team that, you know, moves the ball on offense and shares the ball and gets quality looks. I thought their efforts really limited the quality of our looks and unfortunately, we couldn't make any shots today. You know, if you are kind of dialing up the blueprint for an upset, it would include, you know, a great shooting night. Unfortunately, we didn't have that. That being said, I couldn't be prouder of this group of young men. It doesn't take away of what they accomplished this year. And just getting to this point and playing in this tournament and competing against some of the very best teams in this tournament. Certainly Kansas is one of the best programs of all time. It was an experience I think we'll all remember for the rest of our lives. So at the end of the day, it was just -- they were just too much for us and shot the ball too well and executed too well in order for us to get a victory. Q. Jordan, just looking at the second half there, you guys came out to start the half, cut it to seven, and then they proceeded to outscore you guys 32-6 over an 11-minute stretch. What kind of got away from you as a team defensively and offensively in that stretch? JORDAN ROLAND: I think getting away from our plan. We had a game plan that we went in and we didn't execute, we got a little momentum going. Before that, they came out and we weren't able to stop them. Q. Just for both of you. Vasa and Anthony are playing their final game, what was it like to play with them? THE MODERATOR: Jordan? JORDAN ROLAND: We will miss them tremendously. They have done a lot for our program. Vasa is one of my closest friends, so I will miss him. All three brought a lot to our program and they will be definitely missed. THE MODERATOR: Bolden? BOLDEN BRACE: I think being with those guys for the three years that I was, was a really special opportunity for me. I went through a lot of turmoil with those guys. I feel after this season, it almost seems like we overcame some of that. Despite the loss tonight, I'm appreciative I got the opportunity to play with those guys and be a part of this family with those guys. So I think they really are special guys and I'm grateful to them. Q. You guys are known for your excellent three-point shooting and tonight it wasn't there. Were they doing something differently on defense, or was it one of those nights where the shots aren't falling? THE MODERATOR: Bolden? BOLDEN BRACE: As coach said, we went in with a plan. We knew they were going to hard show, that was their defensive coverage. And as bigs, we were supposed to pop in and try to skip, get skip, open threes, and I just don't think we executed very well. After the first couple of shots didn't fall, I don't know if we got a little flustered. We kind of relied on our offense and our three-point shooting and when that didn't work out, I think other parts of our game kind of fell apart a little bit. THE MODERATOR: Anything more for student-athletes? All right. Thank you, guys. We will return to questions for Coach Coen once the student-athletes have left the stage. Questions for Coach Coen? Q. Coach, Dedric Lawson is a great player, had a very good game tonight, a tough match-up. It seemed like he got his game going on both levels. BILL COEN: Yes, he is an outstanding player. Maybe a top ten player in the country. He's got a tremendous feel for the game. He's got great hands. Obviously, his skill set is what it was. I mean, I think he's three-for-five from three. He's incredible around the basket in terms of his timing and his length and the way that he creates angles on the glass. And we didn't really have a match-up for him. And Bo got him the start, but when they put him at the five, it gets even more problematic for us because he is a guy that can take Anthony away from the basket or Tom -- overpower Tomas underneath. So it was a very difficult match-up for us going in. We were hoping to do a better job on him. I think every time that we made a mini run, he was the guy that kind of stepped up and answered to it. It speaks to his senior leadership and his talent level. And, you know, when you're facing a guy like that, he just settled them down each and every time that we made a mini run at him. Q. When we look at the three-point shooting, from your perspective, what was kind of the biggest factor for the shots just not dropping? I mean, it seemed like you were getting some good looks on there, but they just weren't dropping. BILL COEN: Yeah, I thought we were anxious to start the game. I thought everybody -- usually your catch-and-shoot threes are your best percentage shot threes, and a lot of the threes we took were of that variety, but we also took some threes off the dribble which are generally a lower percentage three. I thought their switching defense ultimately caused us some problems because they put -- everybody has a man on them, so it's a one-on-one situation. And I thought their defensive scheme turned our team, which is typically an elite teamwork philosophy, into a one-on-one game and that certainly favored Kansas. I mean, whether it was one-on-one on the post and not going against team defense, or on offense trying to go one-on-one against their switching defense. I thought we lost some energy. I do think at the beginning of the second half we came out, we made a little run at them and thought we could climb back in it. But they answered that with a big punch of their own. Q. Vasa has done so many good things for you guys over the last couple of years. Was it tough to see him on a personal level have such a struggling performance in his final game for you? BILL COEN: Yeah, certainly it doesn't diminish what he's accomplished and what he's meant to this program. But whenever -- it's so hard to get to this stage and I think everybody almost in some respect just wanted it too badly to happen. And sometimes when you try too hard, or you push too much, you put too much expectation on yourself, you cannot perform at a high level. But he's been outstanding. We would not be playing today, we'd all be home, you know, glued to our TVs watching it if it weren't for Vasa. He's a tremendous competitor. He's a tremendous leader. And unfortunately today, he didn't have his best game. But we're proud of him, as we are of all the guys and their efforts throughout the year. Q. Bill, forgive me if you have been asked. But you made a line-up change in the second half, brought some guys off the bench. What were you thinking, was it to get some new blood and let those other guys watch the game for a minute? BILL COEN: I thought we were pressing and we were pressing most of the game offensively and so -- even defensively, we were trying to contain their defensive transition and we were taking some gambles in the back court. Guys were one-pass shot on the offensive end, we didn't take time to break the defense down. And it's not because they don't want to win, they don't want to -- they are trying to help, but sometimes when you're in the moment, if you can take a breather and see it out, one, to get some fresh blood in there, guys were coming out a little winded and just utilized the guys on the bench, maybe change our energy. I thought that group did a decent job. They settled down. They ran some offense. It wasn't perfect. But it allowed the other guys to kind of shift their paradigm a little bit. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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