NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR

March 25, 1998

Mike Montgomery

Tubby Smith

MIKE MONTGOMERY: Well, it's been overwhelming and that's probably an understatement. We've never experienced anything like this here and, frankly, I will be glad to get out of town to get to a hotel where, hopefully, we can get away from some of the distractions and try to focus a little bit on the job at hand. The amount of interest, amount of telephone calls and all of the things that have happened here are somewhat abnormal for us and so, even though we are out of school, we've -- you know, the kids are a little bit frenzied right now and we've just got to get it back on an even keel and try to get ready to play against a great basketball team and see if we can't compete with them and we know how difficult that's going to be. We know how -- We've had an opportunity to watch them last year in the Alaska shoot-out -- sure, some different personnel, but much of the same -- and it's a great challenge for us and, obviously, the other end of the spectrum is we're thrilled and excited about this opportunity.

TUBBY SMITH: Well, it's a -- it's a little bit different, I guess, from Stanford in that the expectations here because they've been so successful over the years going to the Final Four, it's kind of like ho-hum. No; it's pretty exciting. It's really -- It's an honor for me, certainly. I mean, it's a dream that we all share as coaches in this profession to be the best and reach the -- reach the top -- which many people consider getting to the Final Four and competing with great programs like Stanford and matching and testing yourself and measuring yourself against the best, as we will be against Mike Montgomery, his staff, and great the players at Stanford. I've been impressed from them from day -- the moment I saw them play, which I considered a very good team early in the year and I've kind of followed Coach Montgomery's career over the years. He's done a fantastic job there. I'm excited about coming out. Certainly, we feel like we're a team that really -- this year with not any real marquee players in our program, a very balanced group of young men and a very balanced team that needs to be playing -- we need to be hitting on all cylinders in order to compete with what I consider, you know, a very outstanding and very deep Stanford team and I think there's a lot of similarities there in the teams from the personnel standpoint, as well. Obviously, the atmosphere is trying to find time to get the job done that we're -- as coaches, our first love and passion is to teach and coach, and so our first responsibility and obligation is to prepare our team as best we can. So, with that, we're just happy to be coming to San Antonio and happy to be participating in the Final Four.

MIKE MONTGOMERY: This is Mike from Stanford. As Tubby mentioned, I suspect that it might be a little bit different in terms of the two respective programs in terms of expectations, perhaps, but certainly for both of us being the first time for us as coaches. I know, from my perspective, it's -- it's a thrill as to -- I'm really not thinking about it in those terms because, probably, I'm not sure I can handle it. But for us at Stanford, I'm not sure that anybody ever thought, maybe, that that could happen and I've been going to these things for about 30 years now and watching others, kind of, in observation and now it's going to be my turn. So we expect to enjoy and relish the opportunity.

TUBBY SMITH: Same here. Having never been to the Final Four in a coaching position except to sit in those seats way up there where everybody looks so small and then I get to be down there and so I'm going to be waving to them, my coaching peers up there and saying, Hey, fellas, you can get here, too, someday. I think -- like what Mike said -- It's a surreal-type atmosphere for me because you're living a pretty much a dream of -- and then to have witnessed, you know, championship Final Fours and games. So it's exciting to be going there for the first time as a head coach and with a group of young men that I think have really made a commitment this year from the very beginning with the changing of the coaching staff and the things that have transpired this year. I just can't say how -- I can't compliment them enough on how they've accepted their roles and we would -- At the beginning of the year, I know our goal was to do a lot of these things, but it's now come to fruition and we're excited about it.

MIKE MONTGOMERY: Well, in our case, of course, Brevin was instrumental in getting us to the point to we got -- that is, to the 16 -- and beating Wake in the second team game to allow us to get to the 16. But on that team, we also had four other starters that were sophomores that -- partially as a result of Brevin, but partially as a result of their own play -- had the experience of doing it. So that experience, I think, that Brevin was able to help them have allowed them to step up and be players in their own right this year. And a lot of times with a dominant player I think, too, that they overshadow what others might be able to do given the opportunity and thing that's the case with us with Arthur Lee, now having the opportunity to be the player he is in his own right and, certainly, maybe we took a back seat to Brevin and all the things that he brought, but there was a lot of other kids that were capable and they're now just demonstrating that.

MIKE MONTGOMERY: Go ahead, Tubby.

TUBBY SMITH: Well, I've been doing it -- I've been sending out a poll and a survey to all the championship coaches over the years to find out exactly what needs to be done. No. I've talked with Rick Pitino and Rick, obviously, has been there, what, two years and been there for the last six years and he's been very successful with Kentucky and I'm very close to Rick and we've talked about just how to -- to maintain your sense of focus and that's hard to do because it's a very unique situation, a very different situation, as far as the hype is concerned. So we try to keep everything pretty much the same as it's been, not change, keep as much the same routine and we've used most of the year and I'm just trying to be myself and do the things that helped us get to this point. So, basically, that's who I've talked to. And the players have been very instrumental. We've had head great leadership all year long from some guys like Jeff Sheppard and Cameron Mills and Allen Edwards, who have been to the dance before and been to -- and played in the championship game and have won an NCAA championship before. So their leadership is very vital and very instrumental in helping me and the newcomers prepare for this tournament.

MIKE MONTGOMERY: I had -- We had a conference call yesterday -- Monday morning with NABC board of directors and so there was a couple of guys on there and I wasn't on the total call because we had a lot of other stuff and my major concern was logistics of this thing. There were some things that I just didn't know what would be the most prudent thing to do logistically as far as whether we should stay in town or out or some of the ticket allocations and some of those things that we've just never had to do deal with as far as the kids. As far as -- I had talked to Mike

Krzyzewski and Lon because Lon's son and mine have become friends and I told him my son would be there so they could play a little hoops and, in the course of the conversation, they just mentioned that it's almost as if you don't have time to prepare your team like you normally do and that you have to be selfish, you have to say no because the demands on your time are going to be such that you simply can't do it and, if you do try to do it all, that you are going to find yourself shorting your kids and they would notice a difference in how you were as compared to a normal game. So I think for ourselves, for coaches, the bottom line is, we've got a game to play and all the other things we have to keep that in mind. We have to give our kids the opportunity to be prepared to compete.

MIKE MONTGOMERY: Well, I just said I was going to enjoy it for all you guys, so I'm not going to change. I don't know that there's time to really enjoy it from the standpoint of really having time to step away. I think the enjoyment will come when it's all said and done, it's over with, and we can all look back and reflect on what we've accomplished and how the kids were able to enjoy this opportunity. But it is difficult just because of the things that you have to do, that -- places you have to be and all the responsibilities that you have to really just say, Hey, isn't this fun? And there's a certain amount of pressure that exists knowing that the focus and the attention that's going to be on you is so great and you want to do well and show well. And, so, the enjoyment comes in different sorts of ways, but I think, really, it will come when it's all over with and we can look back and reflect.

TUBBY SMITH: To answer the question, I kind of feel the same way. But the pressure, I guess, to get this team to this point, I never felt like there's been pressure here at Kentucky to do that, to get it to the Final Four. The attitude of this team has been to work every day and improve every day because they didn't come back -- you know, they didn't -- with a new coach and -- myself -- and a new staff and six new players, really, in the program, the expectations of fans and people, I think, around the country were, They've got a good team, but there's no Rick Pitino there to lead them. I don't -- I think some of the pressure may have been off this team year as far as the expectations were concerned and I think they were very relaxed. Again, I go back to the leadership, which has been a key ingredient from our tri-captains -- Jeff Shepard, Allen Edwards and Cameron Mills. I think they were very vital in setting the tone and the attitude of how they will relax and getting one another relaxed and playing as one and playing as a team and showing the real -- and just having fun. I think they genuinely had a good time with one another this year.

TUBBY SMITH: No, no. The expectations were pretty -- but, again, that's the pressure, I think, he was feeling early in the year, that he had to do more. And, obviously, Jeff has the potential to play at the next level and I think kids come into college today with -- sometimes, at this level, thinking, you know, they've -- and it's enough pressure on them as high school because of all the notoriety and the publicity and then you add more pressure when -- here's a kid who red shirted and now everyone -- for instance, Midnight Madness -- and everybody -- and then -- here's a kid that only averaged 13 minutes a game his career prior to this year in this program, but he was expected to carry this team and so we try to take a lot of that pressure off Jeff Sheppard. So now, I think once the season progressed and he realized, hey, that we have other people on the team, that we have a very balanced team, we can't win with just one player, we have to -- it's got to be done as a committee -- as a committee -- as a team and I think he was able to -- his shot came back, he was more relaxed and that's why he's been one of the hottest players, I think, in the country over the last month. And then, you know, shaking off the rust of having sit down for a year is always tough.

MIKE MONTGOMERY: Well, we've got to be known for something, I guess, because it's sure not our quickness. It's kind of just -- I guess it's just what you are. I think sometimes we just get in the way of people because we don't have whole lot of choices. We try to get these guys to play 94 feet and over play and -- (INAUDIBLE) -- teams and we found thought that wasn't something that was going to work for us. So we just -- I think it's a little bit -- some of the guys have postured throughout year. I've kind of got a kick out of guys that have spent a lot of time trying to set the tone like we were some kind of big old bruisin' thugs and so forth and I kind of got a kick out of that. We try to play hard. We try to compete with what -- to do what we can do and, again, I don't think that's going to be outrunning everybody or outquicking everybody. Sometimes when we got a spot, sometimes it's tough to move us off that spot and, as a result of that, we've kind of gotten a little bit of a label, but I think the kids enjoy it. They enjoy working in the weight room and enjoy looking in the mirror every now and again, at a muscle every now and again. So it's just what we are, it's what we do, and by being a little bit -- I don't know if "physical" is the right word, but being a little bit stronger in some instances than others, it's gotten us to where we are, so we're not going to change now.

TUBBY SMITH: Hey, Mike, are they in that World Wrestling Federation?

MIKE MONTGOMERY: We've got that set up.

TUBBY SMITH: I'd be into that, boy. They got buffed in there -- they're down there -- oh, (INAUDIBLE) -- whatever his name is, the wrestler, they ended it all. I think we're very similar teams in that you have to play to your strength and if you're strength is your inside strength and your height and your physicalness, then you have to utilize your strength and I think -- I don't know what we're known for, to be honest with you -- but we're still searching and, hopefully, we'll find it before Saturday, what our strengths are. We've tried to do things because we feel like balance is a real key to the success that we've had so far this year that we can -- that we've got a versatile team and so -- and that's what we've tried to do and that's why, I believe, that we've been able to do what we've done is because we can play so many different combinations and I think that's the same case with Stanford. I think we're very similar in that regard.

MIKE MONTGOMERY: Tubby, you kind of had a silver spoon, didn't you? I don't know about you --

TUBBY SMITH: No, not me. That was -- the ultimate -- you said "dues-paying" -- Maybe you can handle it. Can you handle it, Mike?

MIKE MONTGOMERY: I worked for a lot of years not making much money, I'll tell you that, when I first started. I don't look at it as paying dues because I loved every minute of it, but I was not a very good player from not a great program, so I didn't have, you know, an avenue in the -- into this thing. I just liked to coach and knew a little bit about basketball and so I bumped around trying to find jobs. I was working for $1,000 here and $2,500 there just trying to get a foot in the door like a lot of guys did back then. You know, they had graduate assistanceships and you could have a lot of coaches and I lived in athletic dorms and so -- and I suppose I paid dues, but I was single and loving it, traveling around, eating -- thinking that was a heck of a deal.

TUBBY SMITH: That's the life, hey. I guess, when you look at it, I've kind of sacrificed because I got -- in coaching -- we all get in coaching because we love it and we love teaching, we have a passion for the game, and I was fortunate enough to play college basketball -- I wasn't very good -- I played, but I wasn't very good -- so I got the reputation of being a hard worker. And then I was offered an opportunity to work with J.D. Barnett at VCU. I had been a high school coach for six years. And, you know, I think you spend time and, I think, in this business, it's a matter of longevity. Just lasting. You've got to -- obviously, people pay dues. I wasn't really -- I was fortunate enough to be associated with some outstanding coaches in high school that taught me the game and, in college, like Jerry Steele, who is still at High Point, J.D. Barnett, who is still at VCU, and others that I've worked with -- Rick Pitino -- and just, I can go on down the line but, really, everyone has had a -- have really helped me and I've made some sacrifices in moving my family in many -- to the opportunities. So I think that's how I see the dues paying that I've done in this business to get to this point.

MIKE MONTGOMERY: You better answer that, Tubby, because I don't know. I wasn't included that.

TUBBY SMITH: You weren't included? You know what -- Obviously, it's tradition. You know, you have great tradition programs and, really, from the beginning, people -- you know, here at Kentucky, this -- reflecting back at a time that people took pride in the success of those great teams back doing during the Butch Beard era when they won three national championships in a row and they had some -- and those kids came and they were Kentucky players. I think that same team went on to play in the Olympics. I think the tradition has a lot to do with it and, obviously, the exposure. When I was at schools like Tulsa and Georgia where the basketball tradition -- you didn't have the resources to really promote and really market your program like you do -- in this day and time and, also, like Kentucky had because we sell out every game here and they have forever. I think that's why the Carolina's -- the programs like -- and they've had stability over the years. You know, I think that's a big key. Coaches that have stayed and -- starting with the great Adolf Rupp, Joe B. Hall spent 12, 15 years here -- he was a player here and an assistant coach. So it's kind of been kept in the family, sort of, and I think that's the same thing that's happened at the -- and that happens at the rich, traditional schools.

MIKE MONTGOMERY: My only comment would be as long -- I was at Florida for a year way back and had the experience of Kentucky and being in that part of the country and it's almost bigger than life. There is just a sense -- Everybody knows about those programs and when you go on those campuses or in those communities, if you're a basketball player, I mean, it's just huge. And the sense of that and the kids going there on their visits and feeling that and, as Tubby said, there are resources definitely committed to make things as good as they can be and I think that, over the years, traditionally they have always been the programs that have generated the great players and have been in games that people remember and, of course, you know, with North Carolina, how can you dismiss Dean Smith being the guy that has been there and having the reputation for success that he had.