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NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: TAMPAMarch 21, 2008Bill GrierDe'Jon JacksonBrandon JohnsonGyno PomareTAMPA, FLORIDA COACH BILL GRIER: I apologize if I start coughing. I've been a little sick. This will I'm sure make me feel a lot better. You know, I really felt that a big key to this game was how we came out in the opening minutes, whether or not we'd come out aggressive and not be afraid of going at them. I thought our team did a really good job of coming out and executing the game plan that we had put together with them, and being an aggressive team. You know, I thought being even on the glass at halftime and being able to do the things offensively that we had talked about going into this game was a tremendous effort by them. Certainly we knew in the second half that they were going to turn up the pressure, and they certainly did, but they also turned up the heat with their guards on penetration. And they also did a good job on the glass, and we didn't handle that as well as we had in the first half. But this group has been very tough here this last two months. We've won a lot of close games, and they know how to win. Even with our two juniors and top scorers out of the lineup, this group found a way to get it done. You know, I've been saying this all year about De'Jon Jackson, he's the glue guy and he's a winner. You know, he does the little things that help us win games that don't necessarily show up in stats. Yet I knew when the ball was in his hands there at the end he was going to make a play to win the game for us and he certainly stepped up and did that. So just like we drew it up, I guess. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes. Q. Obviously, going up against Thabeet, a guy who is significantly bigger, can you talk about, one, just the banging going on on the inside and how you made your impact on the boards and the scoring? GYNO POMARE: Yeah, that guy, he's a beast in there. He's the biggest guy I've ever played against. He's a great player, great shot blocker. I wish I would find other ways to get me to score and get the ball. We did that. The guards found me on the pick-and-roll. He's a great player. He's going to go on to do things next year and the years to come. Q. Can you walk us through the last play from getting the ball inbounds to taking the shot. Was that your intention when you broke the huddle to go in that direction? And did you have any doubt? DE'JON JACKSON: Yeah, that's the way coach drew the play up for me, to come off the double. And while I was under the rim, I think it was Rob who said, he's coming out the top. I was like dang, ain't no play, so I was like whatever, I'll just do it. So I went off the double and saw the opening, and Coach said, just drive it to the right. I drove it to the right, stepped back and it went in. COACH BILL GRIER: Just like we drew it up. Q. Did you see the big guy coming when you were going in there for the game-winner? What did you see when you went up? DE'JON JACKSON: Well, I kind of saw him like dropping, and, like, I was like, I can't go in there because he's been blocking everything. So I said, I need to step back. So I needed a step back and that was the play. Q. For Brandon, you're on the bench, Gyno's on the bench, what are you thinking? Who is going to get the ball? Realistically what were you thinking of your chances at that time? BRANDON JOHNSON: Actually, I thought the game was tied when he hit the shot. I didn't even get off the bench when he hit it. A lot went through my mind. I was just praying on it. I hoped De'Jon can make the play. I saw it in the huddle, and De'Jon went out there and executed it great. Q. San Diego teams, whether it's San Diego State or USD have not been known for winning close games, and never won a NCAA Tournament game before. How did you guys do it? And what is it that makes this team win these close games like the coach said? GYNO POMARE: Well, we just stuck together and stuck to the plan that coach drew up. We knew if we kept it close we could finish it out. We've been doing that the last part of the year. We just really started playing hard and kept the guys off the boards, because those guys are kind of taller and bigger than we are. But just sticking to the plan and doing what we know we can do. We just executed. BRANDON JOHNSON: Yeah, like Gyno said, just sticking to the plan. Just knowing that we can do it. And believing, Coach talked about us believing. I think our team right now is playing the best ball they ever have. You've just got to believe. You go out there with the same confidence you do every game, and you've just got to step up and make shots. DE'JON JACKSON: Yeah, to go along with what Gyno and B.J. said, all that stuff. But also our team is real small. We've got big heart. And every time we come on the floor we show it. It's our heart. Q. When you're sitting there on the bench after you foul out, what are you thinking when you see four freshmen teammates on the floor? GYNO POMARE: I mean, I have faith in our teammates. These guys don't play like freshmen; they play like seniors. They go out there and play hard. They do what they're coached to do whether it is set a screen, or Clinton went out there and gave us great minutes on the defensive end. Rob's being aggressive, Trumaine making great plays out there. Everyone on the court knows they can play, and they played, like De'Jon said, with heart. Q. Could you describe the feeling and what it is like to make a shot like you made in a game like this? And have you ever made a game-winning, buzzer-beater kind of shot before? DE'JON JACKSON: Yeah, in high school I did from half court, and it was to go to the championship. But this is on a way bigger stage. So this feeling right now, I can't even explain right now. It's like the best feeling I've ever had in my life. It's a good feeling. Q. Do you think they overlooked you a little bit, UCONN? BRANDON JOHNSON: No, I saw in the paper a couple of days back where the coach had kind of respected us, our talent. So I think he knew this game was going to be tough. But at the same time, I think some of the players did. I know the coach respected us. But that's any team. If you're UCONN, they're a historical program. This is our first time in the tournament, we're young. That's just a natural attitude to overlook us. Q. With the minutes that were required of him today, do you think Ginty has earned a scholarship? GYNO POMARE: I thought that he deserved a scholarship a long time ago back in Kentucky. But that's not up to me. Devin, he plays hard. He does everything we ask him to do. He's going to be a player. He's a great, great player. BRANDON JOHNSON: Yeah, I believe he needs a scholarship, but if it don't happen, I'll try to start a little charity for a scholarship (smiling). But, yeah, Devin stepped up big in big games this year. He's done so much. In practice he pushes hard. Even when we're tired, he keeps going. He's like a practice All American, really. But he's just helped us a lot on our team. Q. What was bugging you at the end there? Were you cramping up? Were your legs shot? You looked like you were fighting it a little bit? BRANDON JOHNSON: Yeah, I was cramping up. I think both of my legs were just tight. I was trying to fight through it. But I don't feel it no more. After that shot De'Jon hit, I was cool then (smiling). Q. And do you think Coach Calhoun knows how to spell your name now? GYNO POMARE: He might. He might not. Doesn't matter to me. He's a big time coach. I respect him. He's going to do a lot coming in, these next years anyways. Q. Was there any point where you kind of saw in their eyes that they realized you guys were for real and weren't going away? That this wasn't just a little run? BRANDON JOHNSON: I think the first half. The way they came out, they were kind of cocky. But at the same time, they're a good ballclub and you've got to stay cocky out there and confident in whoever you're playing. I think that just goes with the game. I think at halftime they came out a little more aggressive. They started going at us way more. So I think that's when they realized and they started picking up their game at the same time. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Grier. Q. Can you talk about Rob Jones in the first half. I think he went in there and looked like he was going to take a shot and kicked it out and came out of the game. Talk about his first half versus his second half and his aggressiveness. COACH BILL GRIER: Well, I thought that, and he's played like this in a few games down the stretch, where he comes out and a couple things don't go his way. He had a silly turnover, then he went over the back when he didn't need to to pick up his second foul. That is the reason we took him out. He and I have a love-hate relationship at times. I got on him pretty hard. And to his credit, he responded. I talked to him at halftime about it, about settling down and, you know, we need him to play well in the second half to win this game. We can't have him out there with a deer-in-the-headlight look. And to his credit, he responded back and really played a great second half for us. And he had -- I'll tell you what, he had a huge basket down the stretch there. Missed his free throw, but that was a huge play. Q. I know you had a lot on your plate going into your game. Not sure you were aware beforehand that both Gonzaga and St. Mary's had lost. And if so, what does your victory mean for your conference to be able to keep away from an 0-3 today? COACH BILL GRIER: Well, I was aware of that. I'm disappointed for both those teams because I have felt certainly all year long that they're both two of the top 25 teams in the country. But things happen in the tournament, and it's too bad that they weren't able to win today for the conference. But they deservedly were in the tournament. I think both of them, the resumes that they put together this year spoke for themselves. I didn't feel like there was pressure on us now that they were out. But certainly it's great for our league that we won, but bigger than that I think it's great for our university. To never have won a game in the NCAA Tournament, I'm really excited for our university, the community of San Diego. You know, it's been great these last couple of weeks to see a city that has so much going on because of the great weather and those kind of things. And it's tough in southern California to get interest on a regular basis. But to see the buzz that's been around this campus and this community the last couple of weeks has been unbelievable. Although it's great for our league, it's really great for our school. I'm excited for the university. Q. A.J. Price is a big part of their team. When he went down or looked like he was going to be out for the game, what changes did you make offensively and defensively? COACH BILL GRIER: We didn't change anything. And you know, you're right, he is a big part of their team. I really felt coming in everyone wanted to talk about Thabeet's size and side and certainly Adrien. And because I was on the staff at Gonzaga so long, I had been on the staff and played him in Maui, so I knew Jeff's game and his presence inside. But I think so much attention gets put on their size and things get a little lost, I think, in how quality a player A.J. Price is. I think that kid's a future pro. His quickness, his decision making, and his ability to score, I think he's the guy that makes them go. It's unfortunate that he sprained his ankle, but we didn't change our game plan. Q. What did you draw for the final play? And is it a play that you practiced? COACH BILL GRIER: Well, it is. I wanted it in De'Jon's hands. And it is kind of a set that we do run. Essentially it's a clear-out with our two bigs getting opposite and a guy in the corner. I was hoping he could get it to the rim and maybe both their bigs would be concerned about the guy coming off the double. But they were just sitting in the paint, and I'm pretty sure that's what he saw, and that's why he went to the step-back. I think it was Robinson that was guarding him. And you get it up over a long, athletic player like him, it's a heck of a play. Q. UCONN's a very physical team, what did you think about the way our guys came out today? COACH BILL GRIER: I thought we had a great approach. I felt that, like I said in my opening statement, I felt a big key was how we came out the first four minutes of the game. I thought coming in that UCONN would come after us with a haymaker and try to get us on our heels and covered up back in the corner. You know, I kind of used all the boxing analogies with these guys the last couple days, but that we had to come out swinging. We couldn't cover up. We had to come out swinging. I think the way we came out and got off to such a good start gave these kids such a belief that they could play with this team and beat them. And that's really what happened at Kentucky. We got off to a good start there, and I think at the first media timeout you could see it in their eyes that they believed they could beat them. So that was certainly the case today. You know, we executed the things we really wanted to especially early in the game, the way that we had talked about the last few days. End of FastScripts |
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