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NCAA MEN'S 3RD & 4TH ROUND REGIONALS: MINNEAPOLISMarch 23, 2006Jared DudleyLouis HinnantAl SkinnerCraig SmithMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Boston College Coach Skinner. Coach, if you could make an opening statement and then we will take questions. AL SKINNER: I will just take questions. THE MODERATOR: Please raise your hand, state your name and function. Q. Al, what kind of match-up challenge does Villanova with their four guard line-up present for you? AL SKINNER: Well, obviously, it's a problem that everyone has had to adjust all season long. They have been quite successful with it. So we have to kind of pick your poison and that's a decision that we have to make. Q. Coach, if you could just talk about Craig and Jared, what they mean to this team and how much of your system really resolves around them, getting them the ball. AL SKINNER: The most important thing is -- about them is you have two forwards who handle the ball well, pass it well, and have very high basketball IQs. Because of that understanding, it allows them to initiate a lot of their offense where normally it comes from your back court. It gives you some flexibility or some versatility to have your front court players make plays that way. I think that's clearly one of the strengths of our club is the fact that, you know, whether it's our guards initiating offense or our forwards, but we can still be effective. THE MODERATOR: Right here on the end. Q. Al, two-part question: Can you talk about what you have to do in the perimeter defensively, and also, how much does Sean Williams come into play in this kind of match-up? AL SKINNER: The thing that we have always talked about, and I think is going to remain consistent for us, is that we have to continue to put ourselves in a position to contest shots. If we are consistent in doing that, then that's what our goal is. Try to avoid open looks. You know they are going to shoot the ball. You know they are going to shoot some threes, so that's going to be a factor for us. Sean can, obviously, be a help if they do drive the ball to the basket, but it's not like it's a team that relies on penetration and lay-ups or interior scoring. Their scoring is clear from their guards and on the perimeter. Like I said, we have to consistently be in position to contest shots. If we can do that, then we give ourselves a chance. If we can't, then we are probably going to struggle. Q. Al, Villanova gives you familiar old Big East opponent. Is there any tension there, given whatever lingering effects there were from that ugly divorce? Is there any kind of undercurrent at all? AL SKINNER: I think that was administrative stuff. I don't think that had anything to do with the basketball team or players or coaches. I think that is mostly an administrative thing. I don't think that type of thing lingers. You are talking about two teams, obviously two pretty good basketball teams, pretty competitive. I don't think -- we are not bringing any of that to the floor. I can't really speak for Villanova, but we are clearly not doing that. Q. So much was made about the familiarity these teams have given their Big East ties. In what way do you think your team is different than the team that played Villanova last time around? AL SKINNER: I think our perimeter shooting is better. Our execution is a little more improved over what it was at the time we played them last year, but, you know, the one thing is -- and the thing that is probably best for us is our material defense. Interior defense has improved, but I am not sure how it impacts this game. Q. Lenn Robbins, New York Post, Big East city. AL SKINNER: Thank you for telling me that. Q. Jay Wright was saying the other day he doesn't think there is a coach in the country who does a better job of finding players who fit his system, and I am curious as to how you go about that. What do you look for? What do you identify? AL SKINNER: Well, I am not sure. I mean, what we have here is a unit that works together this way. I don't know necessarily, or think I necessarily have a system. What I try to find is guys that want to compete at the highest level to have a good skill level. And when I say "skill level," I mean able to pass and catch and maybe shoot, dribble a little bit. I think those skills are lacking in a lot of players today, and because of that I would like to have it because I like to move the ball, but I have had teams where my guards have been the leading scorers, like Troy Bell and Ryan Sidney. Now it is the front court doing the scoring. I am not sure if I have a system per se, but I know what I like to find in a player, a player that wants to compete at the highest level and has a pretty good skill level. I think that's what we look for. Q. Al, Kyle adds a few inches to your back court, but what does he present together with his speed? AL SKINNER: Not so much his speed, it is the strength. It is a combination of both. He puts a lot of pressure on the defense because he is strong enough to drive the ball and maintain and handle the contact, absorb the contact that occurs and still make plays. So it is more his strength, or maybe it is a combination of his strength and his speed. The size, you know, for him is not a factor. I saw him play U-Conn and he was getting in there getting rebounds. So it is the old saying about the fight in the dog, that saying there. I think everybody else knows it except me, but you know what I am trying to say. I think that's important. Q. This is asking you to rehash something old, but did you have a conversation you remember with Craig about his weight and just sort of changing his body after his freshman year? AL SKINNER: No. You know, he knew who he wanted to be as a player. I think he understood what it is he wanted to accomplish, and it was clear, and I think he understood in order for him to achieve that, he had to get himself in better shape, better condition to work at it. I mean, sometimes you never know what's in a young man's heart, the drive that's there. I can't take credit for the work he has put in. The work he has made on the daily basis has allowed him to be the player he is today. He was dedicated to improve and to be able to compete against the best. That's why the change occurred. You know, he was just driven. It is just credit for him to making that work for him. He has been blessed with a good mental understanding of the game. Obviously, some physical tools, and then work ethic to go along with it. Now we are looking at it is not the finished product, but we are definitely looking at a pretty good product. Q. I don't know if it is an issue for you now, but I notice on your roster you don't have any players from the Boston area or Massachusetts. Is that an issue for you in that area, and how do you account for your success recruiting around the country like you have? AL SKINNER: It's really not an issue for us. Again, we are looking for players that's going to fit our style and that's going to fulfill a role in our club. If he happens to be local, we will take him. If we have to go outside the area, that's what we do. Every team, at least our future team, has some weaknesses, and you try to make up for those weaknesses with your recruiting club. To me it doesn't matter where the young man comes from. It matters to me if he is going to be able to fulfill a role. Obviously, if he is from the Boston area, from the state of Massachusetts, I just think it enhances himself as far as what his future can be, but as far as basketball is concerned, we need a type of player. I don't care where he comes from. Q. I am curious, in the recruiting thing, were there any Villanova kids you went after, and if so, did you get close to them? AL SKINNER: There is no one on Villanova we recruited. Again, we recruit for needs and at the time, obviously, this recruiting class came along, I just thought Jay did a great job, got an early commitment and one led to another. So it was a tremendous job on his part. But at the time I thought we had some pretty good guards, so I didn't think we had a need for players at that time. Q. When you started preparation for this game, was the preparation easier because of being in the Big East in the past and having played Villanova, and what do you see on the key things you guys need to do tomorrow night to have some success? AL SKINNER: I think it is easier for the players. I think the coaches go through the same efforts and do the same things that they have to do. But as far as the players are concerned, I think they feel a little more -- when I say comfort, as far as understanding who they are competing against, so I think that's important. Again, you know, we are just going to have to -- defensively we are going to have to contest shots and hopefully we make a concentrated effort to do that. We all know that they are good enough that they can shoot with a hand in their face, but if -- our goal is to hopefully do it consistently over the 40 minutes. Q. Just the flip side of the question I asked you earlier, how is Villanova different than the team you faced the last time? AL SKINNER: The thing is, I just think they are playing better together, and I think really they have a good understanding of who they are. I've just seen them grow and mature. I just think they have a really great understanding of what it's going to take for them to be successful and how hard they have to play. I think they have consistently come out night in and night out and give a great effort, knowing that they may be a little smaller, they clearly work a lot harder. Obviously, they have made it work for themselves. Q. This is the flip side portion of the program. The first question you got was about Villanova's different style. You have three big guys who are pretty mobile and pretty tough. Do you think that's going to force Villanova to pick its poison? AL SKINNER: I think that's going to be a question for them. There are a lot of different ways they can attack us, I think, and I am not exactly sure what they are going to do, but I am sure whatever it is, they are going to feel like it is going to be fairly effective. There is no question, every team that's in the Sweet 16 has some advantages, and so for the opposing team to address the advantages. Q. One of the things that people are saying that is so weird about Villanova is that they are so small, yet they defend so well. When you see them on film, why do you think they are able to be a pretty good defensive team being so small? AL SKINNER: They are not really small. They are maybe a little shorter, but they are strong enough to be rather effective. Foye is as strong as we are going to compete against. Lowry is short. They are quick and strong. They are very fortunate to have along with the quickness and some basketball savvy, they have some strength. So Nardi may be the only one who doesn't fit into that profile, but everyone else is pretty quick, pretty strong, and pretty aggressive. It is more the mind-set than anything else. They understand that, and they make it work for themselves. I don't think they at all consider it a disadvantage as far as their height is concerned. I think they use it as an advantage for them. I think it allows them to maybe be a little more aggressive than a guy who is a little bit bigger can't be as aggressive because, you know, people are willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. So I think it works for them. Obviously, they made it work for them. Q. I heard Billy Donovan say once the year they went to the Final Four they had a very close scare from a lower-seed team in the first round against Butler. He said even though it drives you crazy at the time, he thought it made his guys focus, and they played much, much better after that. Have you seen any change in your team since that first-round team against Pacific, and as a coach, did you try to build something from it and use some good from it? AL SKINNER: There is no question in our second game against Montana, I think that came into play because we got a lead against them, and I think at times, and it happened against Pacific, we got a little relaxed and allowed them to get back into the ballgame. Against Montana I think the guys kept their focus and didn't allow Montana to come back. They maintained their concentration and their intensity and allowed us to continue to control the remainder of the game. So I think we learned from that experience. I am not sure if it's going to carry over to this weekend, but it definitely helped us in the Montana game as far as maintaining our consistent play and our intensity on the floor. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. Q. I will start off with Jared since it seems you are settled in. Jared, can you talk about the Villanova team you last played. I know you had a career high against them. How different is this team without a guy like Curtis Sumpter in the mix? JARED DUDLEY: Not that much different. He makes a huge difference himself being a 6'8" power forward, but still play the same way, have the same plays, a lot of isolation, trying to beat you off the dribble, a little quicker since they bring another guard in to depress you, a lot of very vulnerable rebounds. Q. If Craig and Louis can both answer this. Villanova is probably the shortest team overall that you are going to play certainly at this level. What kind of challenge does the four-guard lineup provide for you guys? LOUIS HINNANT: It represents a challenge in that, obviously, one of our big men is going to have to guard one of their guards. You know, other than that, I mean, it is a quickness factor. At the same time we want to present some challenges on the opposite end because one of their guards is going to have to match up with one of our big men. Hopefully we can do a good job helping out, being able to recover and capitalize on our size and try to negate their speed. CRAIG SMITH: Basically, the quickness advantage, you know, probably one of the wing players, but at the same time, on the other hand, they have to find out they have to be able to guard myself and Jared. Q. On the subject of your recruiting or non-recruiting by big-time Division One schools, what was your feeling about that? Were you offended? Were you determined? Were you confused? Just how did you approach it in your head and how did that drive you to your final decision about BC? JARED DUDLEY: I knew a lot of politics would come into it, rankings and everything. Definitely wasn't offended, more determined to get to where I wanted to. I wasn't going to let my lack of recruitment stop me from reaching my goals. I was going to go to prep school, work on my game, develop my body. Hopefully a college would take a chance on me. It worked out, BC was there at the right time. It has been a great fit for both of us. They definitely have more, and I definitely got more out of them, too. It is basically good for both parties. Q. Jared and Craig, I was hoping you could address this question: Coach was saying how -- he was talking about how you can handle the ball well and pass well. Can you just talk about how you are counted on to initiate offense rather than just score yourselves through passing? CRAIG SMITH: It starts with our offense. Our offense lets us be able to come out on pretty much a high post or in the wing and make plays. JARED DUDLEY: You are going to have the big man be able to pass the ball. Luckily enough, I have Craig. He has the ball at the high post. I have to seal my man for a second to get open. It makes life so much easier. Obviously, you know, having missing Nate Doorenkamp from last year, if you noticed his passing abilities, he is one of the biggest passing men I have been with or played with. Obviously, it has been a different challenge not having him here. Definitely if you have a big man pass the ball, life is so much easier. Q. Craig, similar question as asked of Jared. Was there one school that really stuck in your craw that they did not recruit you of all the schools way back when? CRAIG SMITH: UCLA and USC pretty much. I felt I should have been recruited by them. I was right in their backyard. At the same time, I guess they felt that I wasn't going to be able to play at the collegiate level. Q. Did they show any initial interest? CRAIG SMITH: No. Q. No contact at all? CRAIG SMITH: (Indicating), no. Q. This is for Louis. So much is being made right now about having to defend a guard with one of your big men. Can you critique the defensive skills of the two big men that sit next to you? LOUIS HINNANT: They do a good job, you know. Q. PC answer. LOUIS HINNANT: They do a great job. They come out, contest shots. That's what we expect them to do, is go out there and be focused and give their best effort they can. You have to understand, these are two big guys. To be playing against somebody below 6'2", quick guy is definitely not one of their strong suits, but I feel pretty confident they come out and try to make them take best shots. We are not asking them to step out to the perimeter and shut somebody down. We want them to contest shots. Whether you are a guard or big man, just put forth an effort, make them take a tough shot. We do that over the 40 minutes, that will be to our advantage. Q. What has this week been like preparation-wise? Knowing Villanova like you do, have you been working on your game and not viewing so much film because you know them? JARED DUDLEY: Basically both. You have to see what they do different this year to last year. This team is very quick, very athletic, try to use their strength to their advantage. We're going to sit down and try to use our strength to our advantage, too. Basically it's going to be who can will their style of play to win the game. Turn the ball over, threes going up left and right. That's not to our advantage. If it's a slow game pounding the ball in, making these guards have to guard the post, it is definitely going to be to our advantage. Q. This is for Craig. I am wondering, how much vindication do you feel to get that kind of an honor considering how you weren't recruited that much out of LA, and second on that, being from LA, how long did it take you to kind of wow fans in Boston that never heard of you, to kind of get their respect coming from such a far place away? CRAIG SMITH: First of all, it's an honor to be mentioned as one of the great players in this country. I mean, I have come a long way from Los Angeles being a chubby kid, Fairfax High School. You know, the year that I went to Wilshire Academy, I felt it was one of my biggest years because I really made an adjustment academically and basketball-wise. It was an immediate impact my freshman year. I figured that my determination, you know, to prove the critiques wrong that doubted me, and just to come out and give my best, 110 percent every game kind of -- it kind of showed the fans real early what they can be seeing for the next four years. Q. Jared, did you have a role model player at all? JARED DUDLEY: When I grew up watching basketball? A role model? My family was definitely into the Bulls and Lakers. Obviously, everybody loves Jordan, but Magic Johnson, being 6'8", being able to handle, not just the post, but my brother working on my game to go outside because a lot of undersized people, and I was a power forward center, just limit my versatility. Q. Louis, what does it mean to you and the ball club to get to the Sweet 16 for the first time in Coach Skinner's career? Unlike Salt Lake City, you will be an underdog and may get some Minneapolis fans rooting for you against Villanova. LOUIS HINNANT: As far as the underdog thing, not too much concerned about that. Whatever the situation may be, we have to step up to the game. The fans, more power if they want to root for us. As far as the Sweet 16, we felt like we should have been here in the past. We felt like we belong here, so we just taking it one game at a time. We are here. We are glad to be here. It is definitely an honor, especially to be the first team to get Coach Skinner here. Starting tomorrow it is going to be a tough challenge for us, but we have to be ready to step up to the challenge. Q. You have scored a lot more points in the NCAA Tournament on. Is that because the defense has given you or is it because you are a senior and need to stand up? LOUIS HINNANT: More taking advantage of these two guys. Everybody knows what they can do. Both of these guys made ACC teams. A lot of people are giving them a lot of attention. Myself, as well as the rest of the guys on the team, are taking advantage of opportunities and open shots and things like that. Coaching staff has been doing a good job trying to give us, telling us to shoot the ball and things like that. You take advantage of opportunities that you get. I don't think we are doing anything as far as I am concerned. I don't think I am doing anything different than what I have been doing all year, just taking advantage of the opportunities that has been given to me, but from these two guys that are receiving so much attention. Q. Louis, you guys have had the same starting lineup every game this year. It looks like barring injury and that sort of thing for quite a stretch before that. How is that continuity benefitted when it comes to running offense? LOUIS HINNANT: For the most part, barring injury, we have had the same four guys for the last three years. We pretty much know the ins and outs of the offense. These four guys know the ins and outs of the offense. We know our strong points and weak points. That helps you over the course of time. We have been able to play a whole season without any injuries this year, and I think that has helped a lot stepping into a situation like this where there are little bumps and bruises, but at the same time every team here probably has some bumps and bruises this time of year, but no serious injuries have plagued this team this year. That has been really big for us. We haven't had to worry about shuffling guys in and out of Atlanta and that has been a major factor for us. Q. This is for Louis and for Jared. There are, obviously, two Big East teams here and Boston College. Do you think the rest of the country knows who you guys are, what conference you play in, really what you are all about? Do you think they look at this regional to some degree and see the (inaudible)? JARED DUDLEY: I think they definitely know who we are. If you watch TV or Sports Center, you are going to know who Craig Smith is, all American. A lot of teams, if you are a Big East team, because Big East ACC doesn't matter now, those conferences on the table when we get here. We are trying to move on. It's nice being here, but we are trying to get to the next step. We are not satisfied with this. No one locker room is excited right now. We are going to be excited going to St. Louis or Indianapolis, wherever it's at. Q. Do you have a short followup? LOUIS HINNANT: I mean, Craig Smith is an All-American. Jared, he is probably one of the most exciting players you are going to see at the college level. If they are not familiar with these guys, they must not have a TV, but I am not really looking for the recognition or the hype or fame or nothing like that. I am just trying to get another win. When it is all said and done, if we do what we are supposed to do and get where we want to go, everybody in the country will know who we are. Q. Jared, just wondering, any different feel coming through an ACC season into this tournament than there was coming through a Big East season? Is there any more of a toughening effect, any difference at all? JARED DUDLEY: Like I say, obviously there is a difference in conference, but I would say the difference would be the crowd. Big East, to be honest with you, we knew going in certain gyms we were going to get wins, about 1,000 fans, Providence, they can crowd sometimes, but you go ACC, we went down to Virginia, sold-out crowd, definitely put it on us pretty good by 16, 17 points. You have to come ready to play every day. A lot of people with pride, tradition in the ACC and people play really hard. That's the biggest difference getting us ready. It's a neutral court. It is going to be hard. We are used to playing well on the road so it's a neutral. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, student athletes.
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