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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2008Garrett GreenButch PierreMarcus ThorntonATLANTA, GEORGIA Q. Down the stretch, what turned around for you all? Obviously when Coach Pierre took over, what changed for you? What light went on all of a sudden? MARCUS THORNTON: We've been preparing more for the game, whatever, Coach Pierre, making sure that we get enough sleep, going to the hotels, every home game or whatever, just being focused and going, going out there and knowing we're trying to turn the season around. GARRETT GREEN: Like Marcus said, we've been preparing a lot more than we did in the past. We watch film the day of the game and maybe right before the game starts, and Coach has been harping on playing hard and relentless for 40 minutes, and that's something that we've been doing lately, defending and playing offensive essentially for 40 minutes the whole game. He's just letting us go out there and play, and we play a little freer. He tells us to have fun out there, and that's what we've been doing. Q. Marcus, I asked Garrett and one of the other guys this yesterday: How key is defense for you guys to stick around here as long as you can this weekend? MARCUS THORNTON: Defense, it's very important. It transitions to our offense. We get stops and we have a chance to get buckets on the other end. Without defense the other team gets ahead and you lose the game, so you have to play defense. Q. I know Butch would never ask y'all this, but how much have you played, as far as really playing for him, hoping he gets the job? And how much in your minds, if we play really, really good maybe they'll hire him? MARCUS THORNTON: I'm hoping that he gets it because if another coach comes in, it'll probably be a transitional period. He's been here for 11 years so he knows what it takes to win. He's been to places that I haven't been, so I'm confident in him that he'll come in and do a good job right away. GARRETT GREEN: Yeah, I've been playing real hard for Coach Pierre. It's a dream come true for him to coach us these last nine games, the SEC games and the tournament, hopefully a lot more postseason games. The thought has crossed my mind. Coach has been here my four years, and I would love for him to stay my senior year being the head coach. Like I said, we've been playing hard for him. He's been doing great for us in preparing these games. Hopefully they're looking to Coach Pierre for the job. THE MODERATOR: We'll excuse you, fellows. You can return to the locker room. We'll continue on with Coach Pierre. Q. What do you think you've proven these past nine games as a coach? I mean, how did you prove yourself as a head coach? What did you always think you'd be able to do as a head coach? COACH PIERRE: You know, obviously at this particular time, you know, to become the head coach at LSU under those conditions, you never want that to happen after working 11 years in particular with Coach John Brady. But when the transition occurred, it never occurred in my mind about how well I was going to do. I really never thought about myself. You know, I was excited to have the opportunity. You know, I felt that I was prepared from being a player since I was 14 years old and played for an outstanding college basketball coach, Bob Boyd, and being in the southeast conference, playing the point guard position for four years as a starter and being able to go against a lot of great coaches in the southeast conference, and I can name them all from a scouting report to defense and offensive philosophies, the differences between Whip Sanders and C. M. Newton, all the great coaches that were in the league. So it prepared me for a lot of different styles. So I've been associated with big-time basketball for a long period of time. When that transition occurred, from being in the league for 11 years and knowing all the coaches and the philosophies, you know, that helped. But the biggest transition for me was the players. I wanted to make sure that those guys' spirits was lifted and put them in the best possible situation that I thought and the staff thought that we could be able to win some games and be real competitive. You know, we always played hard, but we didn't play hard with determination to win the game, and the difference between the team then and now is that they understand how to win. And that's the major focus that I put into this team, and I was just glad we got some positive results. Q. You've talked about this a little bit. Do you sense that the guys have had more fun the last nine games with the pressure off a little bit with you coaching them? COACH PIERRE: Let me tell you, you know, I've always wanted to explain this, and I'm glad I have an opportunity in the SEC Tournament. It's the definition of the word "fun." The only time you have fun on anything you ever do to me is you've got to have success and you've got to win. That's when it's fun. I think -- well, to use the word, determine how the guys felt, the reward of some of the success we had, I would not use the word "fun." I probably would use the word "attitude." I just think their attitudes changed, and once their attitudes changed, they started to believe, and once you believe, hopefully you have some success. And once we have some success, then it became I guess what you call fun. But it didn't start off being fun because we wasn't in a winning situation, being 1 and 7 in the league. So after some success and after the Florida game and being competitive in the Tennessee game, then all of a sudden the players believed. They became more aware and attentive to instructions, and then I think that's when it became fun to them and the pressure was off of them, and I was very positive with them, and I think that had a lot to do with the way they're reacting right now. Q. I notice that you're really active on the side line. You've shown very defensive slides this year than you did when you were a player. When you have that energy, when you're up the whole game, does it translate to your players when they see a coach over there, and you go from one end of the box to the other and you never sit down? I guess it's from your years as an assistant, you finally get a chance to get up and move around. Are you conscious of that, or is that just the way you coach? COACH PIERRE: First of all, I'll tell you, I knew I could defend, and you knew that because you watched me play. Defense was my specialty. One of the things about that is that on the very first practice that I had as the interim head coach at LSU, I walked off the floor, and Van Chancellor was sitting there, and he watched us practice, and I went over to him, and I said, "Coach, any recommendations that you can give me right now being in this situation?" And the first thing he said to me, "No matter what you do, be who you are and be yourself," and that's what I did when I coached the first game. I just said, hey, I'm not going to sit on the bench because that's not what I do. That's not the way I am. I'm an energetic guy, a positive guy, and one of the things about it is maybe way off, five, ten years down the road maybe, but being on that side line, what I'm feeling is I'm feeling as though when I was a player. That's the way I feel when those guys are playing and there's the excitement within me. It's almost like I'm being out there to that point. And I think the guys really feel that. If that helps them and gives them a little bit more determination and will, that's what they're going to get. Q. It's kind of a unique situation with both teams. Obviously COACH LEBO is on his way out, and your situation is uncertain. Do you feel like that can be an impact in the game, or do you want it do? Or do you feel like after a moment or two to start with that kind of thing for the players it goes away and it's not on your minds? COACH PIERRE: Never really thought about it. You know, I just -- I'm just so excited about the opportunity. It's at a place that I would love to be, and it's in the Southeast Conference, which I think is one of the, if not the best conference in America, from top to bottom. I've been preparing the players -- even when we played Mississippi State, I said, "Don't play the game for me now. I want to beat them just as bad as you do." We just take it one game at a time, and I believe if you're going to be able to sustain winning, a certain attitude, you've got to have an even keel. I think when you start doing things like that, not only you as a person but your team will have highs and lows, and I just don't believe in highs and lows. That's not one of the ways that I go about motivating a team. I can't speak for South Carolina, but they will be preparing, I guarantee you that, because COACH LEBO has been around a long time. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. End of FastScripts |
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