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NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: SPOKANEMarch 16, 2007Mike BreyLuke HarangodyTory JacksonRob KurzSPOKANE, WASHINGTON THE MODERATOR: We'll start with an opening statement from Coach Brey and then questions for the student-athletes. COACH MIKE BREY: First of all, Winthrop's very good. And I thought their experience and their men tonight played like men. Defensively they did a great job on us. We missed shots, but I think we missed shots because of their defense. I'm very proud of our team after getting put it on us early in the second half to comeback and have a chance to win. But you got to give Winthrop credit. I thought that their experience and their men, their pro prospects played like it today. THE MODERATOR: All right. Questions for the student-athletes. Q. In the first half you were up seven points and you got possession of the ball with a chance to stretch the lead, where did this one slip away, where did Winthrop, how did Winthrop kind of seize the lead from you guys and put you in the big hole that you found yourselves in? TORY JACKSON: I felt like they stepped up on defense. They kind of got up under us a little bit and we kind of got frustrated. From there on it kind of went down hill. And we bounced back, but it was kind of too late. LUKE HARANGODY: I'm just like Tory said, they really picked it up on the defensive end and I think we had some let downs getting back on defense. We were kind of flat there. ROB KURZ: I think that towards the end of the half they had a couple big plays where they hit a couple of threes, and then just to start the second half I don't think that we played defense like we should have. They got off to a quick run. Got out to I think a 18 point lead and then it was too late for us to -- we did a good job fighting, getting back in the game, but in the end they were too tough. They played great. Q. Tory, if you could describe the run that you guys made to come back in the game and take the lead? COACH MIKE BREY: Your emotions and during the run and then before. Because Mike took out you and Russ right before that and when you came back in you made that run. TORY JACKSON: I was -- I felt like that me and Russ had to get back in, I felt like we had to be, have a lot of energy when we came back. And we felt like we had to be the ones to start it up a little bit. When we came back in we talked to the rest of the players that was in there, Luke Harangody and Rob and Colin and we talked to them and just we, we know, I mean we got here because we earned it. So we're not going to blow it, you know, like the way we played in the beginning. So we just fought back and just put our heart on the line. It really showed. And it paid off. Q. Luke, were they doing anything special inside? You kind of struggled early and well struggled really the whole game. Did they do anything special that will to stop you? LUKE HARANGODY: Both their post defenders are, they really got into me and tried to push me off the block and they kind of took me out of position. I think that had a little bit to do with it. But I never could really get into the flow of the game. Q. Did they do anything to surprise you? Rob KURZ: I don't think they did anything that we weren't prepared for. We knew coming into the game that they were a really tough team. And had a lot of experienced guys. So I don't think that it was necessarily anything they did or any adjustments they made, they just played really tough all game long and they made some key plays and some clutch shots and so I don't think it was necessarily anything they did in their game plan. LUKE HARANGODY: Yeah, we scouted them the whole week and we knew their game plan. They just came out and I think that they played well of the they had a good flow to them and hit some big shots like Rob said before. I think they played like a veteran team like they are. TORY JACKSON: We were prepared for them. They just executed very well. They came out with a win. Q. I know it might be difficult now, but all of you guys are coming back next year. What does an experience like this do for the future? TORY JACKSON: This gives us the momentum going into next year. I'm very excited to play with these guys again. It's going to be very -- this had team is going to be nice. We're going to make a lot of noise next year. So I'm just happy about this. LUKE HARANGODY: I think this is for the summer and work outs leading up to next season is going to be a lot of motivation. I think we're all going to remember this like coach said, look around because we want to be back here next year. Rob KURZ: I think that even though this game was disappointing for us it was our goal ever since last season to get back to the NCAA tournament. I think it's definitely something to build on. We have Kyle coming back and these two guys next to me and we feel Luke we have a lot of talent. We know we're going to work hard all summer and hopefully put ourselves in a position to win a first round tournament game next year. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions now for Coach Brey. Q. 3-point shooting tonight's really been your thing all year and you guys have struggled. What did you see? COACH MIKE BREY: Well, I think in the first half we got some pretty good looks. Especially Colin. And we'll live with that. I do think that they defended those guys pretty well though overall. They took away the 3-point line. And that's why in the second half we had a little more success with both of them just driving the basketball. We probably could have done a little more of that in the first half. We talked about that. But Colin got some good looks, that's how we play. You can't change it all of a sudden. But I give their defense a lot of credit. They were quick. They react quickly defensively. Q. Rob ended up with three first half fouls and Carter had a couple. Can you kind of talk about how foul trouble factored into this contest at all? COACH MIKE BREY: Yeah, both teams were banging on each other early. One of the things that we have done with our front line always is told them to play and not worry about foul trouble. We use our depth and rotate those four guys. I felt we had to have Rob in the basketball game and because we were losing the handle of it a little bit at the end of the half. But we have just not really reacted to foul trouble on the front line as much because of our depth on the front line. We're a little smarter try to be a little smarter on the perimeter, especially with the starting perimeter. Because we, it's a drop off when those one of those guys comes out. Q. In having to respond to the adversity there when they were on that 37-10 run, was it something where it hit so fast your guys were a little shell shocked at what was happening? COACH MIKE BREY: I thought the end of the first half and then the beginning of the second half we were back on our heels. They really executed in the half court. We didn't do a very good job of Bradshaw on him, when they were building the lead. And we were a little demoralized. We were a little knocked back. We looked young, they looked old. They looked like the men, we looked like the younger group, the first five minutes of the half. Once we were able to press and change the climate, our energy level got going again and we had our chances. We had an opportunity to win the game. You wouldn't have thought that -- I told our guys in the huddle, I said, when we were down 20, I said, CBS has left this game. Let's make them come back to it. And I think that they did. And we made a run at it. So I'm proud of our kids. I would hope that how we ended the game as I told them, is some momentum into next year with our young guys. Just playing with a lot of energy and going for it. Q. I think you during the first half you had a seven point lead and I think you made 10 of 12 stops in succession and but yet you didn't really stretch out that lead. Was that a kind of an important factor? COACH MIKE BREY: Well, I think so. I said to our assistants at half time, what did we have 28 at half time? That's low for us. We're a team that gets that thing up to high 70's or '80's. When you're at 28 I said we need one of those 50 point halves. Maybe 45. We weren't really able to get that. And I think that you got to give their defense overall credit. I thought in the midst of that run in the first half when we were defending we shot it a little quick. We were so excited. But I wanted us going for it. I didn't want us over thinking it and our shooters have been guys to kind of let it go and let it rip and play with a free mind. Q. You used your bench a lot, was that just because of the foul trouble or were you looking at something else there? COACH MIKE BREY: Well, I've gone to bench therapy, you know, over the last couple years, I've been in that, use your bench, use your depth. Use your depth. We needed -- yeah, I thought that Harangody tweaked an ankle early in the game. So I, but Hillesland has been practicing well, and I thought that we needed him a smaller matchup. Their big guys are out on the perimeter. Zach gave us good minutes off the bench. Zeller gave us good minutes. I thought Jonathan gave us good minutes and that's something to build on for next year. So we played pretty deep this year. That's been an advantage for us. And certainly in the second half we had to play some different guys. Q. The full court press got you basically back into this game, you got within three and you stuck with it. Can you talk about that a little bit why you stuck with the press? COACH MIKE BREY: Well, a game is fragile and it's long and it has many swings. And that was a great example of it. I think it was 10-3 them, 13-10 us. We're up. They finish the half. They punch us in the face hard in the second half. I mean, it's it was a great, it was an entertaining basketball game and at the time out when we were really down, I said, we got nothing to lose, we're picking up full court, trapping, and going for it. And we did a good job reacting to that. I've been on the other side of a 20 point lead with 17 minutes to go. That's a lot of basketball still to play. And sometimes you can't play as free as you did building it. And that happened a little bit. We wanted to put them on the foul line. Because we felt that their percentages said make them make free throws. We gave ourselves a chance. I'm, you know, I'm very proud, but I told our guys out there, maybe we'll have to press more next year. The way that looked. Q. You talked about playing loosely and freely, was that where you wanted it today? COACH MIKE BREY: Yeah, I mean I think we came out ready to go. We were running. I liked we were going in transition. Again, I thought we got some good looks early that didn't go down. And when you're playing loosely and freely, sometimes you shoot it a little fast. That could help you, that can hurt you. It bit us a little bit at times in the first half. Especially when we were up seven. But you can't ratchet it back and you can't have guys with free minds all of a sudden a little tight. I thought overall it would play its way back around for us. THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you, coach. COACH MIKE BREY: Thanks. End of FastScripts |
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