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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 9, 2006Ronnie BrewerStan HeathJonathon ModicaNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE THE MODERATOR: We're ready to beginning with Arkansas. We'll ask Coach if he'll begin with some opening remarks on the game. We'll take your questions for the two student athletes first. Coach. COACH STAN HEATH: We were concerned coming into the game because we felt Georgia would play at a higher level, and they certainly did. I have a lot of respect for Dennis and the job he's doing. I can see a lot of semblance in what he's doing and what we've gone through, too, and they played very hard, both teams played very hard. I thought our second half was huge just the way we came out of the locker room and got a lead, extended the lead, and I thought held on to it pretty well. It's a good win for us, and we've got to get some rest and get ready to play tomorrow. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions just for the two student athletes first. Raise your hand and we'll get a microphone to you. Questions for either of the two student athletes. Hands up. Okay. Start right over on the right. Go ahead. Q. Ronnie, Jonathon, both of y'all, how much did this take out of you, how much did the game take out of you guys from what you can tell? THE MODERATOR: Ronnie, you go first, please. RONNIE BREWER: Georgia plays an up-tempo game. I think that fits our style. We've got to recover from this game. It took a little bit out you of us, but we know we face a tough team in Florida. We faced them earlier in the year. We've got to prepare ourselves mentally and physically. THE MODERATOR: Jonathon. JONATHON MODICA: I'm kind of tired. I'm always tired. I think our team was pretty good. I think the most important thing for us was just to get this one game behind us in the SEC Tournament because this is the first time in my career that I won a game in the SEC Tournament. So I just think that was of the most important thing. I think that will bring more energy and more even continuity that we play in tomorrow's game. THE MODERATOR: Okay. Hands up. Other questions. Q. Both players, you guys, along with Eric, y'all had like 16 and 20. Just talk about how you guys play the perimeter. THE MODERATOR: Ronnie. RONNIE BREWER: We were trying to be aggressive the entire night. We were trying to penetrate and kick. We were throwing it into the big guys, and we were knocking down shots. We wanted to make sure take we were aggressive. I think that's why we scored so many points. THE MODERATOR: Jonathon. JONATHON MODICA: I think Georgia, Georgia defense was pretty good in the interior. We tried our best on the perimeter not to be passive and not -- you know, not play timid on offensive ends. We attacked them. Ronnie Brewer did a great job going to the basket, but we definitely got to look to get some interior game working for us the next game. THE MODERATOR: Other questions? Raise your hand. Anybody? Okay. Let's go on this side. Q. Ronnie and Jon, seems like you guys are developing a toughness, more so each game in and out, and you guys are getting tougher and tougher mentally, kind of punching the guys in the back of the nose like did you tonight. First half Georgia was kind of on their game. Second half the knockout blow. Is this kind where you want to be going against a team like Florida tomorrow? THE MODERATOR: Both players? Q. Yes, it is. THE MODERATOR: Ronnie. RONNIE BREWER: It shows our maturity because earlier in the year people were saying that we weren't a tough team, and I think throughout the season towards the end we just dug deep and just got this fight inside of us that if you're going to throw a punch, we're going to throw a punch back. I think we've just been fighting down the stretch, and it's been working out for us. That's what we're going to need to be to beat a tough team like Florida tomorrow. JONATHON MODICA: I feel we went through so many close losses and tough losses as a team. Once we found out how to win and what it took to win, it just -- we just continue to build on that and we know we're playing with a lot more poise than we did in the past down the stretch. We're making good decisions with the ball, and I think overall as a team we're just playing good basketball. I think that's what it comes down to. It's more team than just individuals. THE MODERATOR: Another question over here. Go ahead. Q. Ronnie, Jonathon, do you fear a revenge factor on Florida's behalf? Do you fear the fact they might want to get back at you after that loss? RONNIE BREWER: Well, I bet they're going to have lot more intensity knowing that we beat them at home and they got -- they might have something to prove, but at the same time we still got to prove that a lot of people are not respecting us as a team. We feel that we're developing as a team and we're getting better and a lot of people should fear us as a team and so they might want some revenge, but we've got something to prove. We're not going to back down at all. JONATHON MODICA: First of all, my teammates don't fear any team. We definitely respect the team they have and the coaching staff they have. We know it's going to be a hard-fought game. We've got to come with a better game we came with tonight. That's what we look forward to doing. Fear, that's an overstatement. THE MODERATOR: One more question for either. Go ahead. Bob. Q. Jonathon, you didn't hit a 3 tonight, which is sort of rare, but you still got the 20 points getting free throws, driving, hitting medium jumpers. You didn't score for the first 8 or 9 minutes, but then you really got it going. JONATHON MODICA: I tried to make sure I didn't stand on the perimeter. I know much the coaching staff hates to see me standing out there. I try to get inside, and my teammate did a great job of finding me on cuts and giving me some post-up feed. So it was just good to get myself going, but most of all, I was glad to see the team just play well and that's definitely what it takes for us to win, you know me and Ronnie both have learned over the past that it don't matter how many points we score. It matters how much success the team has, and that's what we're about. We're about team. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. We'll let Ronnie and Jonathon return to the dressing room. Thank you for coming. We'll take questions now for coach if you'll raise your hand. We'll start right in the front. Q. Stan, just what are your thoughts about how it feels to win your first SEC Tournament game? COACH STAN HEATH: Little bit of a monkey off my back. I think the same thing for our team. You know, we've really haven't shown well when we've been here, and we wanted it not just for that reason to get one, but we want to be here for awhile, for not only ours but our fans. So, you know, a little bit of maybe pressure off our back but still feel a lost of pressure going into this next game, too. THE MODERATOR: Question. Take one on the side. Q. Stan, anything eating at you going into the Florida game that you're thinking, "Oh, maybe we should improve on that or maybe things should get better before we play Florida"? Anything bothering you? COACH STAN HEATH: No. THE MODERATOR: On this side, go ahead. Q. Coach, talk about Modica's play. He missed all five of his 3-pointers, yet he still scored 20 points. He did some things maybe he doesn't do when his shot is falling. COACH STAN HEATH: He's a scorer. I don't label him as a shooter or a driver. He's a guy that can find different ways to score, and he had some post-ups, some transition runouts, he had some drives and pullups and different things like that, and he just has a knack of finding different ways to get the ball in the basket, and I prefer to have a guy like that than a guy just a one-dimensional player, and, you know, he certainly can make things happen out there even if the jumpers aren't falling, he's still an effective player, and we know that we've got to find ways as a coaching staff to make sure he is involved and, you know, put him in spots where he can be very effective and, you know, I really wasn't worried when maybe he got off to a little bit of a slow start because I knew he would find a way to get it going. THE MODERATOR: Question over here. Q. Coach, back to the toughness thing. Your team at Michigan State, trademarks of the Spartans, as well as Kent State, you've been trying to instill this in the team last four years. They getting to that toughness mark that you've been looking for now? COACH STAN HEATH: They are. They're definitely getting there. It's something that really has bothered me that we haven't had that, maybe that persona, and it's starting to get that way and, you know, there are tough guys on that team, believe me, they are and, you know, I think our inside guys are maturing now. They're sophomores now. They've got experience underneath their belt, and they're starting to be a little bit more physical. You know, the rebounding thing has been something that, you know, has gotten under my skin, too, for awhile, and I think that's a toughness trademark. We are starting to rebound the ball a lot better. I don't think we're the dominating team I like to see us be down the road. That's something we're going to try to get to, but I'm pleased that that's something that is now being talked about our basketball team because when it wasn't, I wasn't feeling good about that. THE MODERATOR: Over here. Q. Stan, you guys really went to the guards posting them up a lot tonight. Can you just talk about that. Ronnie's side, Jonathon's strength. Is that basically when you see those match-ups, you want to take advantage? COACH STAN HEATH: Well, you know, we try to spread the floor out a little bit, and we try to look at different things. We felt our big guys, especially Charles and Vincent, maybe had the ability to drive some of their bigger players, but we also felt like with Ronnie at about 6-foot 7 and Modica with the strength he has, they did have the ability to get down there and make some things happen. Georgia is a very aggressive defensive team, and you have to be careful that they don't speed you up too quick with their pressure. If you show some patience, I think some good things can happen for you, but I thought that was an advantage for us to get the ball in close to Ronnie and Modica, especially, and they did deliver and draw some fouls and made some scores in those situations. THE MODERATOR: Time for one or two more. Right here. Q. Stan, what was your emphasis at halftime? COACH STAN HEATH: If we didn't have a transition to have a little bit more patience in our offense. I just felt like the initial part of their defense was very tough and if we got some movement, we got some touches and we got some spacing, some good things would open for our team, and that's what I thought happened, but I thought the defense for us really picked up more than anything in the second half, and it created some offense for us and we got a lot of forced turnovers. We had some runouts and some transition plays. I thought that was a bigger part of our success in the second half than really the offense. THE MODERATOR: Right over here. Q. Stan, Bob down here. Ferguson and Modica and Brewer come out for 54 points. Talk about how good they were tonight. COACH STAN HEATH: I think Ferguson is the key to that equation. Brewer and Modica have been pretty consistent around those kind of numbers throughout the SEC conference play, but now when you add that dimension of Ferguson being a knockdown 3s or get penetration, create some things. It's a tough backcourt to defend, and he is playing very well for us. It's not only -- he's always been a guy that's capable of playing at that high level. This is the most consistent high level play he's had in his career. Couldn't come at a better time. THE MODERATOR: Okay. I think the last question over here. Q. Coach, what sort of things do you remember from the win over Florida? What are the things you will you want to take into the game tomorrow night? COACH STAN HEATH: It was a hard-fought game. Both teams really had a chance to win the game. I remember us making some great plays. Modica got a steal to give us an extra possession. I think Brewer got a steal and Modica might have even had a block to make some great plays to give us a chance to win that. I don't think either team really played their A-game that night. You know, Florida is a very good shooting team. I don't think they shot as well as they normally do. I thought we had some opportunities to be a little bit better offensively, and yet I don't think we were as effective as we could have been. I expect both teams to play better than what we played in Fayetteville. THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
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