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NIT SEASON TIP-OFFNovember 22, 2006Julian BetkoTodd LickliterBrian LigonNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK TODD LICKLITER: Well, I haven't seen the stat sheet yet, but I thought that the keys were if we could -- we had 16 turnovers. I thought honestly if we could stay under 15, we would be in great shape. I thought it would be a very difficult team that we're playing against averaging almost 30. But I believed in our guys. I thought they would be strong and they understood the importance of it. It's just demanding. I thought they did a nice job with that. And then I thought if we could keep them off the glass but we could not do that, 15 offensive rebounds, but we guarded. It's a great lesson and what I told the guys, it's a 40-minute game and you have to persevere. Didn't look good for us in the first half but we stayed solid, continued to guard. A lot of times when you're not rewarded on the offensive end, teams have a hard time concentrating and being committed to the defensive end. This team has not done that and they have been rewarded for it and I'm thankful for that. They have been a great group to coach, and we've got a lot more to do. Q. You talked about the turnovers, you talked about rewarding, but they shot ten percent from the field in the second half, was it just you guys played great defense or they missed shots or what was the difference? TODD LICKLITER: I don't want to take anything away from our guys. I thought they stuck with it and defended and helped one another. They had their correct priorities. But some of the time, pressure mounts, and it gets difficult to shoot. They ran the shot clock down sometimes, and our guys, they stayed committed to it. We didn't shoot it 6 for 20 from the 3 isn't something to write home about. We need that. But again, it didn't affect us defensively. Q. Todd, talk about your interior defense, you were outsized in a lot of games but Tennessee did get the ball close to the goal a lot but there were always so many arms and they could not get really clear shots inside. TODD LICKLITER: Well, that's important. We want to contest shots. We would prefer the ball not being in there obviously. It's very difficult to defend when it's in there but when it was, our guys didn't quit on it. They continued to battle and they came up with some loose balls. We might not get the first rebound but we tap it and somebody come up with -- I thought Brian did a terrific job defensively, a guy that is willing to do what you ask him to. Not all the glory in it, but really guarded well. I think our guys are showing a lot of grit. Q. Can you talk about the job you guys did on Chris Lofton? He really seemed to be struggling to get the shot off tonight? TODD LICKLITER: Well, he also I think was in foul trouble. Q. Was that part of the plan to try and get him in that? TODD LICKLITER: No, I wish I could say it was. I would love to claim that, but it just happened. I thought our guys attacked pretty well. Offensively, it made him guard. Our two guards, three guards or whatever -- I guess we played four or five guards, but they are good at attacking. I thought Mike Green really got to the rim and struggled to shoot it, but it didn't affect his defense, didn't affect his rebounding, didn't affect his ball handling. He was really solid. Lofton is a great player and we knew we had to beat it on the catch to find him. We really struggled to find Smith in transition early and that cost us, but we adjusted to that. Q. Halftime adjustments you discussed in the locker room? TODD LICKLITER: No. At halftime I thought if we kept trying to keep them off the glass and took care of the basketball, I thought we would shoot it better. I don't know that we did. I felt like we were anxious. I knew we would settle down but we had to stay committed to the defensive end and our guys did. Q. Julian, can you talk about what it means to you to, a player from Slovakia to come to America's biggest college basketball stage and be able to help get your team to a championship game? JULIAN BETKO: Well, to come to America was a big adjustment. I had to learn the language. One thing I do want to say is that I went to different places, South Carolina, Pennsylvania. Butler, I found a lot of great people around me and it's just exciting and I have to say thank you to all of the people that helped me on my way to succeed, I would be here for a long time. But being in the NIT and succeeding, it's a great competition, great teams, and I'm just glad we took care of business. Today was a great game and we're just going to try to compete on Friday. Q. After all the knee problems that you had, are you kind of feeling more like yourself again, more healthy? JULIAN BETKO: I feel like -- I'm feeling better than last year, I have to say that. Also, it's kind of confidence, getting to it, because I was out for two years, so it took a long time. I think the past off-season with our strength coach and everything, I do feel a lot better than last year, yes. Q. You've now beaten BIG EAST, Big-10, and SEC teams along this run. Just the prominence of those Conferences and knocking those teams off, what does it say about what you guys have accomplished and where you're at right now? TODD LICKLITER: It was difficult. But I don't know that -- you know, we try not to focus on that. We look at the teams, what they want to do, how they approach the game, the individuals, scout them, and know their tendencies, and we look at it as there's five players out there. We want to be stronger than the opponent, five-on-five. And actually, 12 of our guys and our staff. We really don't try to focus on anything like that. We look right at the individuals and try to figure out if we can figure out a way to guard them. You know, we've been fortunate. Q. Brian, you've labored for four years and had your knee problems, too. Can you talk about what it means to you early in your senior season to help get Butler to the NIT Championship game? BRIAN LIGON: It's just something special for me. It's a lot of hard work, and Julian can back me up on that. But having the team and the coaches support you along the way, rehab and everything, it just makes it a lot easier even though you go through a lot of frustrating things. It's something special to come here and have fun doing something you love, and then also succeeding in it. TODD LICKLITER: Five knee surgeries between the two, just so you'll know. Brian's had three and J.B. has had two. (Laughing). Q. Do you want to talk about the play of Julian tonight? He had 11 straight points for you guys to turn a one-point game into an eight or nine-point game. TODD LICKLITER: Yeah, we had a couple of covers. That's something about J.B., he responds positively. I'm probably as hard on J.B. as anybody and J.B. stays focused and does his job. He's a great teammate. I have a lot of confidence in him and that's why I'm on him. I think he can bring a lot to the table. He's a skilled guy that knows the game. I've been waiting for him; he can really shoot the basketball, and tonight, I'm proud of him for stepping up there and shooting it in. Last year, he didn't shoot it quite as well but that did not affect his play. He was still instrumental on the team winning. I think you're seeing a little bit closer to what Julian can do, but he still is playing, you know, you don't come back off two knee surgeries, serious ones like he's had and not have some effect. But he's doing everything he can to balance that out, and I'm proud of him. Q. It's possible you'll be playing the No. 2 team in the country tomorrow night, and you'll be playing a program that's had a ton of success but you've proven that you don't get intimidated by any of these teams. BRIAN LIGON: Well, our coaches do a great job of giving us the team's, our opponent's tendencies, their plans for the game and what they like to do. It helps us to go into the game relaxed knowing that we have a lot of stuff that we know and how to guard. End of FastScripts |
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