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NCAA MEN'S 1ST AND 2ND ROUNDS: SAN JOSE

March 23, 2019

San Jose, California

MODERATOR: Okay. We're ready for the Oregon student-athletes. Paul White and Kenny Wooten will be joining us today. We'll open it up to questions.

Q. Paul, this team turned around its season over the last few weeks here. What's been the key? What happened after that trip to LA, and just kind of what's happened since then?
PAUL WHITE: Well, one of the things that happened was after the USC game, Coach after the game just really emphasized about having a positive attitude. I think throughout the USC game we kind of lost some of our composure, and he told Francis Okoro that because of how positive he was throughout that entire game, he was going to start for the UCLA game. We started big lineup. It was me, Payton, Lou, Kenny, and Francis.

And ever since then, I think that lineup has kind of, you know, been a staple for this team right now. Well, not only that, but, you know, it's also kind of encouraged people coming off the bench to -- I believe to have that same positive attitude, to have a certain kind of energy about them when they do get on the floor.

And ever since Coach has kind of emphasized having a positive attitude and a positive energy, this team has kind of just gone in a new direction. And ever since that LA trip, I think that we've been a more cohesive group, a more mature group, and it's really showing.

Q. Along that same line, Dana talked about that story on Thursday. He talked about his anger and maybe that being a defining moment. What do you guys remember about that moment specifically? Was there any anger amongst the team, and were you as maybe disappointed as Coach Altman was at that time?
KENNY WOOTEN: No, I don't think the team was angry at all. I think we all kind of bonded together at that time and realized that we really had to depend on each other and we have to pick each other up, because we weren't going to win games doing the same thing. That's kind of the definition of insanity.

So we realized that we had to change and get ready for the rest of the season. I think UCLA was a big start for that, and then after that we just realized what we had to do to win.

PAUL WHITE: Yeah. I kind of remember that moment. I think it was some people that were kind of frustrated. Not only just with each other, but I felt like people were kind of just frustrated with like the performance that they were just giving at that time. I know I was frustrated with myself.

But Coach rewarded, I think, the right person at that moment. Francis throughout that entire game, he was just in people's ears like: Come on, come on, guys, you know, we got this. Let's stay together. He's very aggressive in how he tells you. You know, like he'll grab your shoulder. He'll almost grab your face and kind of break it down to you.

But I think in that moment, you know, what I want to give credit to are the people that are coming off the bench. You know, we've changed up the starting lineups a lot, and I think this team has done a great job of kind of maintaining their egos and putting it to the side and just putting forth a positive energy for this team.

Q. Kenny, how can you tell that you've intimidated someone after you block a shot in the next few trips when they come down? And Paul, when can you tell that Kenny has intimidated somebody?
PAUL WHITE: Oh, I don't intimidate people? (Laughs). I'm just playing with you. I'm just playing with you.

KENNY WOOTEN: Usually I could usually tell when I made an impact on a defensive end is when like teams, they'll drive and be real aggressive, and then once I block a shot or two, they'll tend to like drive in, try to like stop or kick it out. Or they'll like shoot a lot more threes. Like you'll see a lot more three point attempts. And that's when I realize that I've done my job because it's a higher percentage shooting them outside than inside.

PAUL WHITE: I mean, I see it when -- just like what Kenny said. When teams start to kind of stop in their tracks. They start to give multiple head fakes. Also I think when Kenny, you know, he kind of lets -- sometimes he lets you know like when he blocks a shot. And, you know, that can kind of play into that mental mind game where, you know, it's not about being unsportsmanlike, it's just about celebrating that play at that time.

And as a player with pride, you know, it is one of the things that you just don't want to happen, is to have your shot blocked like that. So it starts to kind of seep into people's minds, and I think so far over this stretch of the games that we have won, he's done a great job of really planting that seed in Peoples heads.

Q. The seedings of these two teams isn't vastly different, but the perception certainly is of the two programs. Do you guys feel like you're about to play a Cinderella?
PAUL WHITE: No. We've heard the background of this team, that they haven't lost since January. No matter what conference you're in, no matter what division you're playing in, that's still pretty tough to do. I think they won 30-plus games this year.

We've watched them. We watched some film on them. We watched them play some yesterday, and you know, they're a very smart but fast team. And that's one of the things that we have to take into account. So they've gotten to this point for a reason. And for that we for sure have to respect them. Definitely not a Cinderella, though.

Q. You guys did this in the Pac-12 Tournament in Vegas because you did back-to-back-to-back games. How difficult is it here to flip that switch and scout a team like UC Irvine and get prepared for that game tomorrow?
KENNY WOOTEN: Well, I mean, it's kind of difficult, you know, because you have to completely scout a whole different team that you never scouted before throughout the entire season. And being able to play -- I mean, it's a blessing to be able to play right now, but it's kind of difficult being able to play games right after the next and have a whole different scout. It's hard, but, I mean, not too many people are playing, so I can't complain.

PAUL WHITE: Yeah. I told somebody this before. I think kind of in this setting it's important to know the other players' tendencies probably rather than so much their plays. So if we start to really study what they do out on the floor, which, you know, kind of carries over, no matter, whatever play that they are running, I think that's something that we've done very well with, I think, in Wisconsin. We really paid attention to their tendencies and what they did well and probably some of the things that we could exploit.

But I think with this team, you know, just kind of drilling in what their strong suits are and kind of just going from there.

Q. This one is for Kenny. Jordan Bell had a lot of memes two years ago about his blocking shots. Have you seen the ones about you, and do you enjoy seeing the highlights on ESPN of you blocking shots? I mean, you were talked about a lot last night, about your game against Wisconsin.
KENNY WOOTEN: Yeah, it's always great to turn on the TV and see them talking about you. So I really -- I enjoy that. And I did see the -- I think it was like a hashtag, like Things Jordan Bell Could Block. And I remember them talking about that, and I remember being like that's what I wanted to be. I wanted to feel like that, and it's truly a blessing being able to see things like that going on for myself.

Q. Kenny, you guys have been on such a great defensive streak the last eight games or so or since UCLA. And the different things you do defensively, the man, the press, the zone, and Russell Turner was talking about how the man sometimes looks like a zone and vice versa. How much do you sense teams getting confused or tentative by not being able to figure out what you're in?
KENNY WOOTEN: It is kind of difficult to realize what type of defense we're playing at the time, because a lot of teams really don't know like what type of plays to run against our -- it's like a man or a zone --

PAUL WHITE: Yeah, don't tell 'em.

KENNY WOOTEN: Yeah, I'm not going to tell them the secret. But yeah, they really will never know because they run different types of plays for the defense that they see. And then they'll like run a zone play, and really we might be in something completely different. So it's kind of -- it's hard, like we're throwing them off balance, and I think we're doing a great job of that.

MODERATOR: We good? Thank you, fellas.

KENNY WOOTEN: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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