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NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: RALEIGHMarch 21, 2008Roy HibbertJohn Thompson IIIJonathan WallaceRALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA Q. Jonathan, Jay Greene came as one of the best unknown point guards in the country with his stats; did you do anything special to shut him down? What was your game plan? You stifled his offense all day? JONATHAN WALLACE: Watching him we knew how good he was and we just tried to take away open looks and hoping he would miss and get rebounds. Q. Did you feel that there would be opportunities for you to shoot 3s on the perimeter? JONATHAN WALLACE: That's been the case all year, Roy is such an anchor down low, a lot of teams focus their defense around him and with him doing his job taking up space, that allows us to get some knock-down shots. Q. What were your general impressions of UMBC? ROY HIBBERT: They are a real scrappy team. They are under-sized but they like to get up and down the floor and get up shots. They like to just throw different stuff at you on defense. So I think that they did a good job but I think we pulled through today. JONATHAN WALLACE: Like Roy said they are a very good team and play with a lot of heart. They were all over the floor as far as loose balls and rebounds and really in charge and contesting on both ends of the floor. Q. What did you think of your team's performance as a good prep for next one, make you feel good, make you feel worried; which? COACH THOMPSON: Watching Davidson makes me feel worried. You know, good prep, bad prep, at this point, you just need to figure out how to get a win and move on. And so, you know, it's good to get -- that's a terrific team that's playing very well right now. You don't accomplish what they accomplished in their regular season and in their tournament and not be a very good team with very good players. And so, you know, coming into this game, we knew what a terrific offensive team that they were and that their matchup, their zone, has given people problems, their matchup has. You know, we were ready for that I think. But I think at this point every team that you play is terrific. We are fortunate to get out of here and we have to start preparing for not only a very good team, but one of the most, more special players that are in this tournament. Q. What do you try and work on in a game like this once you are up double-digits? COACH THOMPSON: We don't function -- we are not trying to work on stuff. We are trying to play each possession well and we are trying to see if we can move on and get a victory. That team is too well coached; they are too experienced; they are too talented to say, okay, let's start working on stuff. Because if you make a mistake, if you let up, if you start to think that way, you know, all of a sudden, they are right back in it, and it's a game. At no point, and probably until it was under two minutes when I felt like, phew, I felt like we might win this one. Q. You always want to play well, but playing against an underdog like this, is there an extra effort to come out and try to play extra well in the beginning so you don't give a team hope, and their fans? COACH THOMPSON: No. I think the answer to that question is similar to the previous answers that I've given. That team is too good. If you do jump out on them, they are not going to quit. They are not going to go anywhere they are too well coached and there are too many good players. You know at this time of year, in this tournament, they are 40-minute games and you have to be attentive to every possession and you can't, oh, let's start working on stuff or oh, let's beat them in this five-minute stretch and they will go away. You didn't get to this tournament by giving up or giving in. So, you know, yes, in a perfect world, do you want to start off well? Yes. Do you want to have a good middle? Yes. Do you want to have a good end? Yes. But teams are too good. Q. You mentioned watching Davidson makes you feel worried. While I guess before this game while you were waiting for the game to start, did you watch that game at all? COACH THOMPSON: We saw a middle portion of it -- that's the answer to your question, right? Q. From what you know of Stephen Curry, what strikes you about him and what makes him tough to match up with? COACH THOMPSON: What strikes me is probably what strikes everybody is that he can shoot the cover off the ball, and he has a group of people that he's playing with that is not threatened by that. He has teammates that do a terrific job of screening for him, of getting him the ball; and, you know, anyone that's watched that team play and watched them play, you can't just focus on him. He has good players around him and they have people that can hurt you, they have interior players. They are a very balanced team. They are a very confident team, as they should be. End of FastScripts |
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