NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR

March 28, 1998

Vince Carter

Bill Guthridge

Antawn Jamison

COACH GUTHRIDGE: I want to congratulate Utah with a great win. They really played well. They got off to a big lead there. We just couldn't quite get over the hump. It took us a long time to get going, and probably had a chance there at the end but we couldn't get over the hump. I also want to praise my team. I'm really proud of them and proud of these two young men here and proud of the other players on our team. No coach could ask for any more than what this team has given me. I would go to war with them any day of the year. I'd like to have all of them as my sons. I think the world of these guys. I'm sorry that we couldn't find a way to win tonight.

ANTAWN JAMISON: I may never have the opportunity to get back to the Final Four. I don't think it was a sign of this being my last or best ballgame whatsoever but it was at a time whatever I felt, I had just to make it to the Final Four for years in a row is almost impossible. I am grateful that I got this opportunity, and whatever my decision is, it is an emotion going through me.

VINCE CARTER: It was a little of both. We missed some shots and missed some big shots. They played great defense and didn't back down. We didn't expect that, of course. They were fighting the whole game. They played a great basketball game for 40 minutes. Like the coach said, it took us a while going and they got a big lead on us and we were trying to maintain and hoped in the end we could put it off. But they were doing too good a job to get over that hump.

ANTAWN JAMISON: I think we looked at the Final Four and everybody was there and we were trying to do too much at the beginning. Utah did a tremendous job. They was ripping and running and hitting the shots. Their defense was causing some problems sometimes, and we were missing easy shots. You can't ask for a better game on their behalf, and on our own, we struggled offensively and defensively.

VINCE CARTER: Not at all. He did a great job to get his team here. He plays hard and he just refuses to lose, and he showed that tonight. How many point guards can get 14 rebounds and still get 7 assists? He did it all tonight. I'm happy for him and hope he does a great job in the championship game.

COACH GUTHRIDGE: They are very well coached. I think they're athletic. I think a lot of people underestimate their athletic ability. I said that before the game. They are a great team, only three losses they had were in New Mexico, at Wyoming and Las Vegas where most teams would lose all three of those. I think they had a great season, and they are very sound, well coached, very good team.

COACH GUTHRIDGE: I talked to the whole team and told them how proud I was of them, and they should hold their heads high and Shammond should hold his head high. He had a great career. I really thought that we were ready to play. Maybe we were too ready. I think we were probably too tight. I'm sorry I didn't read that better. But with these guys, they really played hard and they should all hold their heads high. They had a great year.

COACH GUTHRIDGE: I've done that a lot of times during the year. A lot of times it worked. I did have a substitute up there when he didn't make his fifth foul. I was going to give them a little rest there.

COACH GUTHRIDGE: My emotions right now are very down and disappointed and I haven't had any chance to reflect on this year because our staff took over October 9th. We just worked hard to try to get a lot accomplished. I'm certainly proud of the team. As Antawn said, the chances of getting in the Final Four are not very good. To get here this year after being here last year, Shammond Williams was here three years, and it is certainly not a given that good teams are going to get here. There are a lot of teams that don't. I'm proud of our team and their ability to come through and get here. I wish we could have found a way to win tonight. But I think we have to congratulate Utah on a great win.