NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR

April 7, 2003

Nick Collison

Kirk Hinrich

Roy Williams

COACH WILLIAMS: This is one of those times that I feel so inadequate as a coach and so inadequate as a person because there's nothing I can say to change the way my kids feel, nothing that can change the way I feel. But I'm extremely proud of my basketball team. For Syracuse to come out, make 10 out of 13 threes in the first half, for us to be down like we were, they got back in the game, just never could get back over the hump, is something that I'll never forget. I've never been one to like moral victories, and I don't like this one. But I love the competitiveness of my kids. I love the way that they fought until the very end, and things didn't look good a lot of times during that game, but they never quit playing. That's what college athletics is supposed to be all about. As much as I hurt right now because of the loss, I hurt even more because I'm not going to be able to coach Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison anymore. As much as I hurt right now, I told them after the game, I was happy for Jimmy Boeheim. I think over so many years he hasn't gotten the respect he deserves. I really am happy that I think he'll get more of it now. I hate that it was at our expense. There's no question about that. But all you can do in college athletics is do the absolute best you can. We didn't make some shots. We didn't block every shot that they shot. We didn't play our best game of the year by any means. But if you ever have a chance to work with somebody and care about somebody as much as I have these kids, you're going to be really a lucky person. And even though I'm in the wrong locker room, I really feel like I'm an awfully lucky person.

KIRK HINRICH: The one I passed to Michael, we needed three. I was a ways out there. I thought I had two guys on me. I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I thought he was open. They just did a great job of closing on him. The last three I took, you know, I just didn't get a very good look.

NICK COLLISON: You try to make a free-throw. You miss, you make, there's nothing else you can do.

KIRK HINRICH: It was bothering me a little bit. But, you know, I was just playing on adrenaline. I mean, it wasn't, you know, a serious sprain. You know, it was just, you know, a minor -- you know, minor pain.

KIRK HINRICH: You know, I still, you know, don't even know how to explain it. You know, I'm done playing basketball here. You know, I knew going in, that was going to be the case, you know, that when this game was over. You just -- you just, you know, hope for a better outcome. But, you know, I just -- you know, sad, disappointed. You know, whatever you want to say.

KIRK HINRICH: I think, you know, it probably did. I think, you know, when you come back and you're, you know, fighting and scrapping, you know, running a lot of double teams, you know, scrambling, playing catch-up most of the game, it does take a lot out of you. You know, I just think we showed a lot of heart, you know, a lot of guts.

NICK COLLISON: He's a very good player. He hit big shots. Rebounds the ball very well. Probably the most talented player in the nation.

NICK COLLISON: Well, you know, we fought back. We fought all year. We got a tough team. We got enough stops to make a run. Missed too many free-throws, 12 for 30. If we shoot 50%, we tie. Just wasn't our night.

KIRK HINRICH: We were just, you know, trying to make plays, you know, trying to get them to speed up a little bit, you know, get in transition. We got them to turn it over a couple of times. It worked in our favor. But I think, you know, if we would have just, you know, played better. You know, I think they obviously, you know, played, you know, out of their minds in the first half. But, you know, we obviously could have played a lot better.

NICK COLLISON: You know, we have had great careers. You know, this will hurt for a while. It's a great place to be. I think, any high school kid in the country needs to take a serious look at Kansas if they're recruiting them because you're not going to play for a better man, you're not going to play for a better staff. You know, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I wouldn't give a million dollars to be on Syracuse right now. They have a ring. But my experience here has been unbelievable. You know, you're playing for the best man in college basketball. Regardless of whether we lost. I mean, I swear we could have made NIT and I still would have felt the same way. It's a great place to be.

KIRK HINRICH: Yeah, you know, like Nick said, it's a great place to be. But, you know, so disappointed right now. It's so hard to reflect on all that. You just can't put the disappointment out of your mind.

COACH WILLIAMS: Yes.

COACH WILLIAMS: Some of the older guys in here will remember a guy named Bob Quincy. And I love Lefty Driesell. But Lefty talked one time about, "I could whip all you guys." So Bob Quincy was a writer at Charlotte Observer, supposedly went into the shower and invited him in. So what I was thinking about when Nick was saying that is it was hard for me not to have some more tears rolling down my face. You know, as a coach, that's what you live for, to have those kind of relationships. And I am emotional. The reason it reminded me of Bob Quincy is I do have people in the media that make fun, other teams' fans make fun of old Roy crying at the end of the year. But I've never had one of those suckers come up and do it to my face. So I guess I was thinking that Nick Collison making those kind of statements, and it does make me more emotional, but I still haven't found that sucker that's tough enough to stand up and make fun of it in my face. So I guess I'm just a little weird.

COACH WILLIAMS: You know, he was sensational. Six 3s in the first half. They were 10 for 13 from three in the first half. You don't expect that to happen. You don't expect a team to make 10 out of 13 with you keeping your players over on the sideline, not guarding him. I thought he was sensational. A key for us in the second half was to make sure we got to him and didn't let him have the open looks that he had. We didn't get to him as much as we should have. He really made one tough one with Kirk flying at him. You know, it was a tough game to get a feel because they made so many shots. I mean, we go zone one time, because I don't like to play zone, we go zone, they make a three. We go zone another time, Carmelo gets it at the top of the key, drives in, makes a four-footer against their zone. So I was just trying to search for some things to do. You know, we're not a very deep team. Somebody asked a question about pressing, why didn't you do it the whole game. We can't. I mean, we don't have enough guys. You got to dance with what brung you. We're not that kind of team. We did pick them up in the back court, but we never pressed, because we never double team in the back court, we double team in the front court. We don't have enough players to play, make substitutions. We were already in foul trouble anyway.

COACH WILLIAMS: You know, those kids in the locker room, the relationships that you can have with young people is what college athletics is all about. Again, not being able to coach Nick and Kirk again, that's hard. At the same time, even right up here, we lost, God, I've been so fortunate to have coached them. Syracuse has great kids, I'm sure, but I don't know them. I know right now I wouldn't trade my kids even though Syracuse won the game.

COACH WILLIAMS: You know, I think back -- when I think back on it, yeah, you're going to say, "Gosh, made a free-throw." One of the times we did try to press, we ran up and didn't get the goaltender spot. They throw it to the big guy, he dunks it. I think he had a -- three field goals. One time we pressed a little bit more than we should have, threw it to him. Of course, you'll think about the free-throws. You'll think about the makes that they made in the first half. I think the dominating thoughts that everybody will have will be their shooting percentage in the first half and our inability to make free-throws. Yet, folks, I tell you what, that guy that was sitting right here (Nick Collison) 3 for 10, I'd still take him. 19 points, 21 rebounds, he knew he wasn't shooting the ball very well, wasn't getting it in the hole. He missed a layup a couple times. You're talking about a fricking warrior. My God, he's a warrior.

COACH WILLIAMS: You know, I said some things probably on the air, I don't know if they used it, don't know if it was live or whatever. You know, the journalistic part of you has to ask that question, and I understand that. I said yesterday, I told the truth. I haven't spent one second thinking about that. I haven't spent one second yet thinking about that. And I do realize the journalistic side of you has to ask those questions, but there is a side of human behavior or human decency or human sensitivity. I made the statement on the air after I said that because I thought the question was pursued deeper than it should have been. I said, "I don't give a blankety-blank about North Carolina, I care about those 13 kids in the locker room." Coach Smith will be disappointed in my blankety-blank, but he understands.

COACH WILLIAMS: You know, I think he may be the best player we played against all year. I think somebody told me Jimmy said he's not first team All-American because people don't want to put a freshman there. He's so gifted. Keith got in foul trouble, and that hurt us. Two of Keith's fouls were trying to box him out, where Carmelo got three offensive rebounds in a row. Then after that, we were really scrambling because it's either Michael Lee guarding him at 6'2" trying to front him, or Nick at 6' 10", doesn't have the foot speed to try to drive him. A key play in the game, when we made a huge run, got it to three, got a rebound, Jeff Graves throws a pass to the center line. It's intercepted. They throw it back. Carmelo makes a three. We have a chance to go down court, tie it up. Instead it's six. Great players make great plays. That's what he did.

COACH WILLIAMS: Well, Keith gave us the ability to get the ball to the rim that enabled us to not have them going out so far on their shooters. 4 for 20, we didn't shoot it very well. Kirk's ankle I think did bother him. He had one wide open look in front of our bench, I knew it was going in. As soon as it left his hand, I knew it wasn't going in. He didn't get the bounce to get it up in the air. Keith does have that ability to penetrate. It breaks down some of the zones. You know, we played against a zone against Utah State, Arizona played us some zone. Marquette played us some zone. We have played a little bit against zone. I said earlier, Syracuse's length and athleticism let's you close up ground. When Kirk passed the ball to Michael. Michael Lee was wide open. But they closed so quickly because they're so athletic that they blocked the shot. Jeff Graves, you know, he's been a heck of a progress during the course of the year. He's developed so much. He's come so far. Yet I think he can still come even farther, but he's got to get the self-discipline that it can't be me just pulling teeth trying to get him to do it. 16 points, 16 rebounds in a national championship game is something he'll remember for a long time.

COACH WILLIAMS: You know, when you think about it, folks, everybody says free-throws are easy. You know, that's the reason they have a SENIOR TOUR right now, because those players couldn't make four-foot putts because they got the yips. That's the reason you see long putters now because they get the yips. He goes 3 for 10 and it bothered him greatly. But it didn't bother his heart. 19 points, 21 rebounds. What a performance.

COACH WILLIAMS: You know, I told him, and I meant it, as much as anything I've ever meant in my life, and I don't make a habit of lying, that I was really happy for him. I hurt, I hurt for my team, but I was really happy for him. You know, in coaching, it is a little bit of a fraternity. We're the only ones that know what you go through each and every day, and every phone call you worry it could be something that you're responsible for, even though the kid may be 500 miles away from you, you're still responsible. But I don't think Jimmy Boeheim has gotten the credit. In the old days they called him a whiner. I think his facial expressions are much better now than they used to be. They don't say that too much anymore. He's been in three championship games. I am happy for him.

COACH WILLIAMS: You know, he was really, really nice back. I always am hesitant to say what somebody else said back. I think that's their prerogative. Just let you know he was kind.

COACH WILLIAMS: No. I said the other day that it goes back to -- Pervis Ellison is the only one that I can remember. You know, if the first half, Carmelo and McNamara particularly, those two were really something. That little story you tell your children, grandchildren, read them the story about the little engine that could. We tried and we tried and we tried, but we never could get over the hump. Those freshmen are the ones that built that big hump there for us to have to get over. All of us have said that freshmen aren't like they were five and 10 years ago. They're so much more worldly than they were at that point. Talent takes you a long way.

COACH WILLIAMS: Fellows, thanks very much. All the junk that's been going on, it's been hard because people haven't believed me as much as I would like for them to believe me. But I felt like that I owed everything to those 13 kids. Thanks for not pursuing it any farther -- further.