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NCAA MEN'S 3RD & 4TH ROUND REGIONALS: OAKLANDMarch 23, 2006J.P. BatistaMark FewAdam MorrisonOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: On the stage we have head coach Mark Few, Adam Morrison and JP Batista. We'll start with a statement from Coach Few. COACH MARK FEW: Well, just didn't quite finish that one off. I mean, I'm really proud of how our guys came out. I thought we had a great approach and were the aggressive team for almost that entire game. I think going into it, people had questioned our toughness and maybe how physical we could be. I really thought my guys responded and responded well. They executed the game plan. You know, UCLA made a couple big plays down the stretch and deserve a lot of credit for just hanging in there, hanging in there. This team has been so incredible this entire year of winning games like that and digging 'em out, making big shots, getting that last big stop. Just finally caught up to us at the end. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. Q. Adam, could you comment on the final sequence. ADAM MORRISON: I thought they were -- I was on the other side and I heard "foul." I assumed they were trying to foul JP. They didn't call it. That's the way the NCAA tournament goes. They got the ball and scored. THE MODERATOR: Further questions for the student-athletes? Q. JP, could you go over that same sequence. Did you feel you were fouled? JP BATISTA: I'm not going to sit down here and complain about fouls because in the NCAA tournament, that's all about it. Referees, they make bad calls. I don't know. We had a play set up and I was supposed to pass the ball. Everything worked out. I thought he fouled me. But, hey, they didn't call it, so you just got to keep going. Unfortunately, we lost the game. That's how basketball game goes. Somebody has to lose; somebody has to win. Q. Adam, I think you missed something like your last three or four shots. Did they do anything differently defensively on you? ADAM MORRISON: No. I missed the shot. THE MODERATOR: Further questions for the student-athletes? Q. Adam, obviously you were very emotional at the end. Stunning way to lose a basketball game. Could you talk about that experience. It seemed like you were as surprised as anything. ADAM MORRISON: Yeah, you know, we had -- like coach said earlier, we had control of that game for most of the game. It just happened in a blur. That's the way the game works. If you don't execute down the stretch, you pay for it. We just had a few missteps. Got to take your hat off to UCLA. You know, it was -- I hate losing, period. I mean, anything, especially basketball. You know, obviously I'm going to let it hang out, and that's what I did. Q. A couple of the UCLA players came over to kind of pick you off the ground. Did you realize it was someone from the other team? What's your reaction to that? ADAM MORRISON: At first, I didn't. That's just a sign of obviously a great program, you know, great people as far as they're concerned. They had enough guts as a man to come over in their moment of victory, pick somebody up off the floor. If I could thank them, I would. That's just a sign of, you know, great people and great players. That's more than basketball. Q. When the last ball was inbound, what did you say? Did you call for the ball on the last possession? ADAM MORRISON: Yeah, you know, obviously I was calling for the ball. But we got a great shot with JP down way farther than I was. I mean, I wouldn't have it any other way. JP had a really good shot at it to tie it. THE MODERATOR: Student-athletes, thank you very much. We'll take questions for Coach Few. Q. You and the whole team congregated at center court after the game. Could you share the essence of what was said in there. COACH MARK FEW: Well, a lot of things we say, you know, we keep to ourselves. But, you know, basically I just wanted to kind of protect them a little bit. It was a vulnerable moment there where they were obviously, you know, devastated when it hits that your season's over. For some, their college career's over. I think it's important to get with your family, get in tight. I just told them, you know, make sure you enjoy all the good times, because we had a lot of them this year. Don't focus on that last, you know, 20 seconds. Q. Can you talk a little bit about what Adam has meant to the program, not only in the tournament but for you guys all season. COACH MARK FEW: Yeah, I don't know if I could put a word to describe it. I mean, he's one of a kind. I'll never coach another kid like that. I mean, he's a warrior. He is such an incredible competitor that it can't help but be contagious. He's literally willed us all year to wins and end-of-game wins like that. You know, this last one, it just didn't happen. You know, I told the whole team, just when you thought I think people were putting a ceiling on Gonzaga basketball, this group came in, tore it down, raised the ceiling up even higher, when you thought it might be impossible to do. But they did just with the wins and the national accolades, everything that they've done. Q. Have you ever been part of a game like this where I believe you led the entire way till the very end like that? Such an unusual game at finish. COACH MARK FEW: Yeah, no, I don't know. I don't think I have. I'm sure at some point in racking up the games here as we go along, these seasons go by. Not quite like that one. No game is over with a three-point shot, the ability to lengthen the game, foul, make plays down the stretch. I think that's the big thing. UCLA hung in there, made some plays. We actually had the ball in the people's hands that we wanted to have the ball in. We just had -- gosh, there was a couple shots that just rimmed out. Adam had one where he drove right down the lane, he makes that thing 95 out of a hundred times. He made it all year. That's why we're here. He shot a step-back there at the end. They got a foul I think about 19 seconds left. He makes that step-back, I've seen him make a thousand of those. We had Derek with a wide-open three in the corner. I think either of those shots would have probably effectively ended the game. They didn't go. We've been making them all year. That's why we're here, because those guys make those shots. Q. In the last 40, 50 seconds or so, were you maybe trying to get your guys in position to get fouled with them needing to get the ball back? COACH MARK FEW: Well, I think they were pressuring. They were really, really pressuring, really climbing up into us. We wanted to spread it out, bounce it at them a little bit, and also use a little bit of clock, which we did. I think our guys executed it perfectly. Like I said, we had three good looks that we usually make. Then at the other end, we defended well all game. I thought we defended them very well all game. If you look at their field goal percentage, they got a couple put-backs, unscramble plays that hurt us a little bit. They stepped up and made -- Farmar had a big runner, then obviously the steal at the end, whatever that was, it was a big play. THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you very much.
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