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NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: WASHINGTON, D.C.March 19, 2008Aaron BruceTweety CarterScott DrewHenry DugatCurtis JerrellsKevin RogersWASHINGTON, D.C. Q. This question is for Curtis. Interesting in that you and Purdue both like to shoot a lot of 3's. You know who their shooters are. Is this like looking in a mirror, because you like to rely on that, when you're playing well, you're making a lot of 3's? CURTIS JERRELLS: They like to shoot a lot of 3's like we do. We are different, where we can get to the basket, as well. I think whichever team is going to play defense and get to the rim and get to the free throw line is going to win. Q. Aaron, can you talk about being the last team to hear your name called, you were sweating it out to see that name on the board. AARON BRUCE: It was pretty stressful times. There were a lot of people that showed up. The more that our name didn't get called, the more stressful it was. And we knew there were a lot of people there and we didn't want to let them down. We're glad we got called, no matter what order they called us in. It made a lot of people happy in Waco. Q. Aaron and Curtis, just curious what the first thing you remember when you heard the news about Patrick Dennehy, that there was a murder. As a follow-up, what made you decide that that wasn't enough to keep you from going to Baylor? AARON BRUCE: I was, like anybody, I think, shocked and I didn't really know what was going on. But this is the very reason that I think everybody up here wanted to come to Baylor, it was a chance to play in an NCAA tournament. I think the turnaround is so much bigger than the team and so much bigger than the University. Sometime in the future you'll look back and be real proud of it. But everything just seemed so quick and is flying right now. We've just got to capture the moment, capture the opportunity and enjoy it. Q. Aaron, you've been here four years, this is pretty much the culmination of what you wanted to do is get to an NCAA tournament. Curtis, you've had three years, here, too. Now that you're here, now that you're here at the Verizon Center, what about your thoughts on what you came to Baylor for? AARON BRUCE: This is exactly what we play for. We worked extremely hard, not only this season but in the three seasons before this and for C.J., obviously, the seasons he's been here. It's a joy to play with these guys, to be part of this team. The atmosphere that we have in the locker room and on the practice floor is competitive, but it's healthy. I don't think people are fighting for shots or minutes and we're all in it to win it. That's pretty cliche to say that, but it really is true for us. CURTIS JERRELLS: One of the main reasons that everybody up here and everybody on the team came to this school was to be part of something special. We started from the ground and look where we're at now. We understand that this is an opportunity for us. In addition, we haven't been here 20 years, but we're not just satisfied with being here, we want to actually do something. Q. Can you relate any stories the coach has told you about his experiences, being the underdog in the tournament and how that sort of has gotten you excited for this week. KEVIN ROGERS: I think ever since we came to Baylor we've always been the underdog. We were put in all those situations. So we definitely know about being kind of behind. Coach has always shared his experiences at the NCAA's with us, but I don't think it's anything different than what he's always told us. Just coming to Baylor it has kind of been like an underdog. And I think that's how we like being. HENRY DUGAT: Like Kevin said, coach tells us all the time about it. But he also tells that we will never really know how it is until we get there. He can't explain how it really is. We are here now and we can see how different it is. It's a great experience. Q. Curtis, can you talk about Selection Sunday, was there a moment where you thought: We're not going to hear our name. Were you feeling that way at all? CURTIS JERRELLS: Yeah, when that last spot -- it was still blank. But somewhere in my mind I just told myself to have faith because we felt like we did what we need to do all season. We let one slip away from us against Colorado. I was a bit nervous, but everything turned out as we planned. Q. At a program where making the tournament in itself means so much, how difficult is it to turn the page and not just be happy to be here like Curtis was saying? TWEETY CARTER: Like Curtis said, we've got a lot to do here. We're looking forward to winning games here and we've got to take care of Purdue on Thursday, we're just looking forward to playing them and hopefully we can come out with the win. To come here and not take it for granted, play every possession like it's our last. COACH DREW: I hope everybody made it out to the West Regional okay. I know we're very excited to be here. And as far as Baylor University goes, second time in 58 years, so we're very excited to be a part of this tournament. Q. I'm sure you've been asked this a lot, but I'm curious if there was one particular moment in the last four years before this season where you've seriously wondered if you'd gotten yourself into something that you couldn't turn around? COACH DREW: The great thing is when you have so much work to do you don't really have time to think about everything else. Every day we knew the harder we worked the sooner we'd be able to reach our goals and accomplish what we wanted to accomplish. When you're working with great people and at a great institution, it makes things a lot easier. Q. Coach Painter has talked several times this year, they love to shoot the 3 like you do. But he says it's been interesting when they go back and watch the films, sometimes less is more. In other words, when they've shot 16 or 17, it seemed like they made 9 or 10. When they take 30 to 35, they make 8 or 9. Would you agree with that math or is it different? COACH DREW: There's some games we've shot 25 and made 12, and other times we shot 28 and made fewer. I think it depends on the defense and how you're shooting and playing. Coach Painter and I agree in one area, the more you make the better. Q. All of central Texas will have their eyes on you. Your players said they're in it to win it, just getting here is not enough. Talk about that now that you're here, your thoughts about not only being here, the atmosphere, but advancing. COACH DREW: I think the great thing in being in one of the top conferences in the country like the Big 12, it prepares you for the NCAA tournament. During the year, not only facing the type of teams you'll be facing, but the Big 12 tournament is run like the NCAA tournament and that gives our guys a chance to be familiar with this type of environment, No. 1. No. 2, we're coming off a performance where we weren't very pleased with how we performed. So I think we're hungry to play again, and we definitely have the opportunity and we're glad it's in the NCAA tournament. Q. How does this compare? You've been to the NCAA tournament so many times as an assistant, how does this compare, particularly being the underdog? COACH DREW: The great thing is normally when we go to the tournament we've always been an underdog, so that makes it easy. I think in our situation the big thing is being able to know that we've been in this situation before as far as preparation goes. Big 12 tournament, playing the type of teams that we're going to face in the NCAA tournament, I think we're much better prepared than I was before when we were at Valparaiso University, when we weren't playing in this tough a conference. Q. What would your team have to do for your team to have the best NCAA moment in the Drew family? And do you have the long pass and the tip to Bryce, is that play in your play book? COACH DREW: Well, the good thing I never envisioned a moment like my brother had, so I would rather not envision any moment that would be better, we'll just let that happen, kind of like the Selection Sunday being the last team revealed. I do know we're extremely proud for what our team has been able to accomplish. Whatever they do, I know it's like a proud parent, you're happy to see them excited. We hope there's a lot of excitement because then we have a great moment. Q. It's kind of an interesting coincidence that both you and Georgia are here at this same pod. You both took over programs that had tumultuous situations about the same time. Beyond obviously what this means for Baylor to be here, any sense what it means for college basketball, for both of you two that show you can recover from something like that? COACH DREW: I think it really speaks to the institutions and it also speaks to the players that you bring in. If you bring in quality players that do the right thing and high character kids, good things are going to happen. Both of our teams have been fortunate to bring in those type of individuals. Obviously the better the players the better the coach, so we're fortunate there. Q. The Crusaders are not in the tournament, but a lot of people in Valparaiso will watch it with you, Scott Martin and Robbie Hummel. Were you aware of those guys, you left at the time they were making their run in high school? Were you aware of those two players, at all? COACH DREW: Knew them all the way back from when they were in 4th, 5th, 6th grade. Happy to see them successful like they are. I want to let you know, they're going to score 30-plus, they're going to let us win the game, that's covered. I think for Valparaiso, Indiana, it's great to see two kids have that much impact at Purdue. I'm happy for them. Q. How difficult in the early stages was it to convince guys to be part of your plans to kind of rebuild the program? COACH DREW: Well, the first couple of recruits were easy, because they were the walk-ons we were trying to recruit in the rec center. They were excited not only could they be on the team, but they could play. They were happy. As far as when we first start recruiting, for people that know about Baylor University and the great institution it is, it's the only private college in the Big 12, great academic reputation. Those people, the big question was the recruits that we recruited, did they want to play as freshmen and have a chance to win as freshmen, and did they have the type of character to go through a rebuilding process and we were fortunate to find those people. Q. Can you talk about the kind of pressure that's on your guards tomorrow with the way Purdue plays man-to-man defense? COACH DREW: I think Purdue does a great job defensively. I know our guards and their guards match up very well. So the good thing is I think all year long our guards have been under a lot of pressure because teams have always tried to make it difficult on them, so I don't think it will be anything new. It will just be another challenge for them. Q. You're the most positive guy in the world. Does it get anymore positive than being in the NCAA tournament? COACH DREW: Advancing. End of FastScripts |
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