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NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: TAMPA

March 21, 2008

TAMPA, FLORIDA

THE MODERATOR: From Clemson, we have Coach Oliver Purnell and the student-athletes are K.C. Rivers and Demontez Stitt. Coach, opening statements, please.
COACH OLIVER PURNELL: Obviously, we're bitterly disappointed that we're not moving on. We obviously got off to a real good start, energetic start, scoring the basketball and getting our pressure up. Building a pretty good lead in the first half. We've got to give Villanova a lot of credit because they kind of hung in there. I thought we let up just slightly toward the end of the first half. Probably they scored maybe like five or six unanswered points going into the half to make it -- to keep them in striking distance. They came out in the second half, scored the first two or three baskets. We had the ball in the lane and didn't finish. We really struggled scoring the entire second half.
So we weren't able to get our pressure up, which was the thing that was effective for us. We turned it over 19 times. But we weren't great in our half-court defense, obviously. I think they scored 48 points or something like that in the second half.
But we couldn't score at the end to get our pressure up. They got some decent looks. We didn't convert some two-on-ones, some things like that that should be -- should normally be high percentage for us. We just weren't very good offensively which didn't allow us to get our pressure up.
But I've got to give Villanova all the credit in the world. We talked about them before the game. They're a tough, resilient team. They certainly showed that by hanging in there. Took control in the second half. I thought their trapping defenses in the half court really frustrated us. Some got us off balance, and they did a good job on the backboards all night.
Their guards kind of controlled things there in the second half once they got the lead. But once again, I'll give our guys credit, because we came back and got the thing tied. Then I think we fouled on a trap in the half court, and seems like they got up four before we ever had an opportunity to take the lead, and that was pretty much the story of the game.
THE MODERATOR: Questions to the Clemson student-athletes.

Q. How aware were you all of what was going on today with the three upsets before you went out there and did that have any effect on your game?
K.C. RIVERS: Basically, we were pretty much aware was what was going on. We sat and watched earlier today the beginning of the UCONN game, and we seen the end of the Western Kentucky and Drake game. So we knew what type of atmosphere we was going into, and what type of games were being played. But that wasn't a factor of our mentality as far as getting prepared for Villanova.
DEMONTEZ STITT: Pretty much the same thing K.C. said. I mean, we knew, you know, the atmosphere. We knew what was at stake when we walked in the gym. I mean, I don't think that really changed our game plan.

Q. Just wanted to ask you what Villanova's doing differently defensively in the second half, especially from the three-point line?
K.C. RIVERS: Basically Villanova's type of team defense that they played, they pretty much were switching everything as far as covering the three. Any time they found our shooters, they were trying to switch out to myself, Oglesby, they started switching out on Stitt and Cliff as well. So it was pretty much just a switching man-to-man basically the whole time. Any time they had an open look, you had somebody flying right at you.

Q. Can you just talk about the trouble getting the ball inside? Mayes and Booker both fouled out, but they only had five shots in the whole game between them. How difficult was it just to get the ball to them?
K.C. RIVERS: Well, Villanova's defense was they fronted the post. Trying to get them the ball was a hassle because Villanova's bigs were playing aggressive defense in the post, getting in front of our bigs. The looks just weren't there. When we got them the looks, they were going up strong. Villanova was there as well.

Q. Can you talk about the kind of disappointment in the locker room considering the historic season you've had and for it to end so abruptly tonight?
K.C. RIVERS: I mean, it's just a speechless locker room. It's like the air's been popped out of a bag or something if you want to resort to that. The guys, our seniors, that was it for them. There's no more college basketball for them. It's above and beyond. I wish them the best of luck, those guys. They gave Coach Purnell the best four years ever at Clemson.
Right now it's tough. It's tough to handle, you know, because we had a game plan. We had our plans set to take it one game at a time and doing what we needed to do to make that stride. It didn't backfire, we just failed at it. We failed at our mission.
But, I mean, the guys are down right now. But when we look back on the season we've had, it was a tremendous run for us. We did some special things with a special group of guys, special coaching staff. So, I mean, for right now I'm in pain. I know Demontez is in pain as well. But as we look back on it, I mean, it's just something you can look back and say, wow, we did some special things. Let alone not forget about the loss tonight.
THE MODERATOR: At this time we'll release the Clemson student-athletes. Gentlemen, thank you very much. Questions for Coach Purnell.

Q. How much do you think it had an effect that you guys led by 18 fairly late in the first half, and you kind of gave them a sniff a little bit? They got within 12 by halftime. They got a little bit of something going.
COACH OLIVER PURNELL: I think any time a team finishes with a flurry going into the half and starts with a flurry coming out, they've got a great chance to win the game. That certainly proved to be the case here tonight. So I thought that was huge. Around the halves was huge.

Q. Can you talk also about just getting the ball inside? And not just those two, but really nobody was getting any shots inside.
COACH OLIVER PURNELL: No, Villanova, you've got to give them credit. They do a great job with that. They held Hibbert to zero points. They really kept the ball from going into Thabeet. And what happens is if your post guys get frustrated, they don't hold their seals, and your perimeters really don't make a conscious effort of finding them in there on the reversal. That's what happens. I thought Trevor got frustrated, and I think it cost him some in terms of fouling on the other end and that kind of thing.
They do a great job. They front the post, and they play with two hands high to keep the pass from going in there. It's just very important that you don't fall in love with the three, which we did. You start to take early threes that appear to be good, but then they contest you late and they aren't that great. All you have to do is look at our three-point shooting. Just like you said, the number of times our post guys shot it, and you recognize that their defense was pretty good after a point. From 12-minute mark in the first half till the end, it was pretty good. Or maybe it was the 15-minute mark in the first half until the end it was pretty good. But it really affected us.
I thought their trapping defense in the second half had as much to do with changing the game as anything. They were trapping the first pass to the wing. They were trapping the ball screen, and we didn't react very well to that.

Q. Can you talk about all the upsets today, what was going on before y'all took the court? And was your team aware of it? Did you talk about it? And being part of this day, even on the wrong end of it?
COACH OLIVER PURNELL: You know, I thought, if anything, what happened earlier today got our guys ready to go. I mean, I think anybody that watched our games, our guys were ready to go. I thought we let up just slightly. Not a lot. Villanova's very, very tough. If we could have kept that hard edge and pedal to the metal, then obviously things may have been a little different.
I thought we let frustration creep in there a little bit. I thought we let the fact that we lost that lead creep in there. The frustration factor late in the game, I'd say starting at the early in the second half, I don't think that had anything to do with what happened earlier. We were ready.

Q. You played a lot of good guards this year. But talk about the problem Reynolds presented. It seems that sometimes he had Cliff lost, and that happened very seldom during the course of the season.
COACH OLIVER PURNELL: He's good. There's no question about it. But I thought Cliff did an incredible job. Any time you get in the chase mode. We walked him to the line a few times on some, you know, some traps out front that maybe normally we'd get away with. But I thought Cliff did an incredible job on them. He's a really good player. Obviously, they feature him. They run ball screens for him. They're look to go get him free at all times. I mean, he's a focal point of their offense. But I thought he did an incredible job.

Q. Was there a point when you just kept thinking sooner or later the next three's going to go in, the next three's going to go in? Did you just keep thinking, sooner or later it's bound to happen?
COACH OLIVER PURNELL: Absolutely. Particularly late I thought we got some decent looks there late. I thought K.C. got one. I thought Terrence on a couple of long rebounds got a couple that I thought for sure might go down. But, you know, sometimes those things can be contagious the other way.
Again, I thought there was a certain frustration level there with our team because Villanova, because they're tough. But also because of losing the lead. Now here we are as opposed to missing free throws. Some turnovers, some things that we didn't normally do in the last six minutes. Not both of them. Certainly we missed free throws before, but turning the ball over and those kinds of things. Certain fouls were called. And again, we tie it, and they call a high ball screen trap, and walk Reynolds to the line. He knocks it in. I think it creeps back. So we're fighting uphill all the time.
But again, goes back to Villanova. Tough, resilient. They got back in it. They made those things happen.

Q. K.C. referenced it, but how tough is it to go back in the locker room knowing that what was a great season for you guys is done, and also the first recruiting class is finished now?
COACH OLIVER PURNELL: Maybe they might not be back there when I get done. They're on the bus. But it was tough going back there right after the game. It's hard to believe that the season's over, because I just felt this team was built with its balance and all that kind of thing to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. I thought we were playing well the last three ballgames. I thought we played at a high level.
So when you think about all those things all week and you dream about the possibilities, it's hard when it comes to a crashing halt. So it's difficult. I'll wake up tomorrow, won't feel good. Hopefully, by the afternoon, we'll start to feel a little bit better. But it will be hard watching games and feeling like you could still be playing.

Q. Talk about the legacy of Cliff and James, and Perry leave behind here and what they started for you?
COACH OLIVER PURNELL: Those guys were our first recruiting class. They believed when no one else did. They took a leap of faith coming to Clemson when our program was down. They stayed, and they worked. All they did was get better every year. Every team that they played on got appreciably better every year, including this year. They went to postseason play -- how many times did they go, four? All four. Went all four times. And got to the NCAA this year. So I can't say enough about what they've done and the impact that they've had on our basketball program.

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