BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT

March 9, 2005

John Allen

Donald Copeland

Louis Orr

COACH LOUIS ORR: To God be the glory. I just want to just give Him the praise for keeping us all year. You know, these guys give their all every game. The last couple of games I thought that we played really well together, and we played some of our best basketball the last two games. Late in the game, you know, two things: One, you got to make buckets and make baskets to try to keep things going, to stave off a run. On the flip side, you've got to get stops. I got to give Georgetown credit; they were 10 for 19 from three. I think Darrel Owens made some big threes for them. Biggest one late in the game from the corner. But, you know, that's something that we kind of went through for the whole year. I give our guys, guys like Donald and John, they're warriors, they compete every game and they never drop their heads. You've got to learn to persevere. That's something that we have to learn to continue to do.

COACH LOUIS ORR: Well, we had some transition plays, you know, maybe in the five- or six- or seven-minute mark that we didn't convert. Then we had some looks. And the same threes that gave us a lead and the shots that gave us a lead early, we got some looks. Again, I can't really put my finger on it, but some untimely turnovers, I think some youthful plays. But we're a team, we try to get the ball inside, and today - really the last couple of games - our perimeter people have really done a lot of scoring for us and made plays for us. But to describe this for the night, just a matter of us not making shots and having some turnovers. In reality, we've got to get stops on the other end, and that's something that we didn't do.

COACH LOUIS ORR: Well, "You got more basketball," basically. "You got to learn." Hopefully, some of the best lessons are learned at the toughest times. I think the courage that he has to try to make plays at the end of games, you know, you got to have a balance. I think that's something they're going to have to learn. But, again, some things I think you just, you just got to go through them. It's feast or famine. "You got more basketball ahead of you, so you just got to go through adversity."

JOHN ALLEN: I mean, I really haven't thought about it, but I'm sure it will hit me at some point. But, I mean, it's basketball, you know. In May I'm going to graduate with my degree. That's when it will finally hit me that college is over. It's basketball. Hopefully I got a lot more basketball left. In May, I'm gonna graduate. That's the thing I'm most proud of. But all in all, it's basketball. Hopefully, I got a lot of basketball left.

COACH LOUIS ORR: I'd like to just give John Allen credit as one of the most competitive and hardest-working and hardest-playing guys I've ever coached. If anybody deserves an opportunity and prosperity in this sport, John, because he works so hard and he's been a warrior for our program. To me, he's kind of a guy that, the toughness and how hard he plays, he's a model for what we try to do on the basketball floor. I tip my hat to him and I appreciate his hard work and his support and everything he's given the program; he's been a warrior for us.

DONALD COPELAND: Well, I was a little fatigued at certain times, you know. I tried to pace myself in certain situations. But overall, I mean, I just tried not to hurt the team in any way.

DONALD COPELAND: I mean, just we -- I think we executed at certain times. You know, we got the ball inside, to people we wanted to get it to, those spots. Just a matter of the shots coming out.

COACH LOUIS ORR: I think so. I'm not saying that, you know -- I just think, considering the challenges that we've had, the last couple of games, I liked the spirit and the team play that we've had. We still have to improve. Everybody that's coming back, our whole team, we have to improve. It's really a fine line. We're not that far away. But really that last step of being able to make plays in crucial situations and having our guys have the confidence to make those plays, that last step is the biggest step. But there's positives that you have to build on, and that's what we'll do. But we got competitive guys. We got guys that are competitors and, you know, they'll be licking their chops about next year and getting back out there. They'll do the work they have to do to improve as individuals and collectively, and we as coaches will do the same.

COACH LOUIS ORR: I mean, I just think, you know, Kelly has always been -- I mean, he's a guy that's drawn a lot of attention all year. I think for him, it's been one of the biggest adjustments because he has drawn so much attention. He's tried to play unselfish at times and move the basketball. We still need him to score. But when you're a guy, he was really our low post for us, him and Sweet, and he drew a lot of attention. I think you just have to grow from that. I think for Kelly, if he puts the time and the work in - which I know he will - this is something that he'll have to grow from. But I don't know if anything was wrong with him. I just think it was a matter of -- I don't know if he really got into a rhythm, you know. He missed some shots early. I don't know, he was 2-for-7 in the first half. You need to see that ball go through that basket a few times. Again, we were making shots from the perimeter. He just has to continue to work hard. Like I said, everybody has to take something from this and work on it for the future.

COACH LOUIS ORR: Well, this was a little different because we had the lead. Sometimes we've been in situations where we've been down. So this was different. Really, the last two games had identical points. Even against West Virginia, they made a run, but we answered it with some baskets. This game, Georgetown, I give them credit, you know. They tried to turn it up on both ends and they made a run. But, you know, we weren't able to keep the scoreboard moving. I think we missed some free throws, also. I think maybe 49-42, something like that, 49-40, I don't know how much time was left, I don't have the book, but we only scored two points the rest of the way. I think it was Jamar Nutter's two free throws. So, you know, I think one of the biggest steps is being able to learn and have the confidence and the mindset that we're going to make shots down the stretch and we're going to get stops. We've been a team that's been able to get stops, but you can't depend on your defense solely the whole game. You have to keep the scoreboard moving, you got to be able to make some baskets and get to the free throw line.