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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 9, 2007Corey ButlerDennis FeltonSteve NewmanATLANTA, GEORGIA THE MODERATOR: We're ready to begin with Georgia. Coach, would you begin. DENNIS FELTON: Well, obviously this game was so much about the beginning of the game, and how far we fell behind from the outset. We had some poor turnovers early on that led to some easy offense for Florida. When we weren't turning it over, we got some excellent shots, but we just didn't knock them down. And Florida came out and shot extremely well at the same time. I believe it was 17-0 before we scored. So obviously we were on our heels for the rest of the game. That was pretty much the story of the game. I was proud of our players, proud of our team, how we battled the entire game and kept fighting, proud of the fact that we came back and played much better in the second half to score and score more efficiently, and just kept fighting for our lives to try to creep back into the game. Q. Steve, is there any way to explain that start for y'all? Just feel like a bad dream? Like nothing was going your way? STEVE NEWMAN: I wish I could explain what happened. We came out, I guess the best word is we just came out soft. It appeared as if we weren't ready to play out there. Some careless turnovers and that is the one thing you can't do against Florida, give them more possessions than you give yourself. Q. For both players, just wondering, what is the most important thing coming out of this game? Obviously you're going to keep playing, is it kind of picking up the pieces of your confidence, I guess it is? STEVE NEWMAN: Well, we definitely turned things around in the second half. We outscored in the second half, did a lot better job taking care of the ball, outrebounded them in the second half, so that's a good step forward. Hopefully we can just take that on into the next game, wherever that may be. COREY BUTLER: Well, basically what Steve said. I don't want to reiterate anything, but we've proved that we could play with these guys in the second half. But unfortunately, we didn't do that in the first. Q. Yeah, Corey, Takais said yesterday you almost have to play a perfect game to beat Florida, but at the beginning of the game, did it feel more like the other way around, that Florida couldn't do anything wrong? COREY BUTLER: I mean, everyone puts Florida on a pedestal as though they're not human or anything like that, but once we really get into the guys and really play with them, you realize that you can play with them. ? Q. Coach, Sundiata Gaines didn't play the final 9:27, can you explain why you sat him? DENNIS FELTON: He was really struggling, because he was trying to take on an awful lot by himself. We were trying to get away from that, and his competitive nature was getting the best of him a little bit. So clearly he was struggling. And at some point, too, I wanted to make sure that he didn't get injured in a way that could hurt us possibly down the road. But primarily it was just because he was struggling. Q. Coach, Corey just said that people want to put Florida on a pedestal, do they deserve to be on that pedestal? DENNIS FELTON: They're an outstanding team. That's been well documented by anyone that talks about them, not just others, but also by me. I have a tremendous amount of respect for their team, and their ability as a team, and their ability to defend their National Championship. They really stretch you in every way possible as you figure out a way to stop them, to score on them, and all those things. So that's the best answer I can give you. Q. Dennis, when Steve says it looks like y'all weren't ready to play from the beginning, do you agree with that assessment? Can you explain that in a game that I know you've put a lot of importance in? DENNIS FELTON: We're certainly, I feel that we were as motivated as ever. I'd say we were probably a little tight. I think that's the best way that I can explain how we struggled offensively at the outset. As we struggle a little offensively, I think we found ourselves in a little bit of a daze, in terms of just all of it coming at us so quickly. I think clearly if we'd make a couple of those open shots that we got off, good team work and execution, both behind the arc. You know, you had Levi, who obviously shot it superbly yesterday. He got some great looks in the opening minutes. Couldn't ask for any better rhythm shots. And then we also had some great opportunities inside. We just had trouble finishing them, as a matter of fact, more trouble than we've ever had. Florida struck fast. They really capitalized on our shortcomings. Once again, before we knew it, it was a major, major deficit. Q. Dennis, they had only played one game in nine days, were you concerned they might come out and press you as they did in the beginning of the game? DENNIS FELTON: We expected them to come out on fire with a lot to prove. We expected them, yes, we did expect them to press from the outset. Had every expectation of that. So yeah, we did expect all those things. We expected them to have great energy. Q. Coach, same question I asked a couple of players a while ago, is the biggest fix after this the psyche and confidence that may have been lost in those first few minutes of the game? DENNIS FELTON: No, I don't think tonight is going to create a loss of confidence. I really don't. I think it will be just a matter of continuing to work to be the best we can be every day and focus preparation on an opponent, if we get a chance to play again. I really don't think this will leak into any extended confidence issues. You know, when you get beyond those first 10, 13 minutes or so, we held Florida to two points the last seven minutes of the first half. And in a big way, I'll tell you who really, really helped us was Corey. Corey really came off the bench and gave us tremendous energy, and gave us the ability -- you know, the beating stopped at the seven minute mark of the first half. But we just couldn't eat back into that lead enough for the rest of the game. After the first 13 minutes, I think we won the rest of the game. You know, I really liked the perseverance and tenacity that our team showed to fight back and try to give ourselves a chance. Like I said, Corey really helped us there. He had a lot to do with that. So I don't worry about extended confidence issues. Q. Coach, I've been watching you guys all season long, and it looks like Rashaad Singleton has all the right attributes to succeed, except when it gets down to it, it doesn't feel like it's there for him. Can you tell me how he's developing or maybe lack thereof developing? DENNIS FELTON: He's developing. He was very much a project when he came to Georgia. He's the kind of guy that would typically certainly be a red shirt as a freshman under normal circumstances, but we didn't have enough bodies to be able to afford to do that. And he is getting better. For him to turn the corner and make the next step to be a consistently effective player, he just needs to learn how to play harder and with more aggression. That's going to be the difference in his game, growing and developing, and being more consistently effective. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. End of FastScripts |
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