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

March 22, 2008

TAMPA, FLORIDA

THE MODERATOR: We have five student-athletes from San Diego, De'Jon Jackson, Brandon Johnson, Trumaine Johnson, Rob Jones and Gyno Pomare.

Q. De'Jon, Ty Rogers was in here a little while ago and said he had 172 text messages by the time he got back after the game. Are you close to that, or can you walk us through what your day was like after the game.
DE'JON JACKSON: Yeah, it was a little crazy after the game. I'm not sure if I had 172, but I had a lot of text messages. It was kind of exciting for me as well. I never had that many text messages in one day, so it was kind of fun. But 172, I don't think I got that many.

Q. Brandon, you're probably going to see a lot of Tyrone tomorrow, can you talk about how you guys kind of match-up. Brazelton.
BRANDON JOHNSON: I really don't know. I think he's a good player. He plays great defense. I just got to try to do what I can and try to get open and stay focused on the task.

Q. You played 40 minutes in last night's game, as a true freshman how does it feel to know that your coach has that much confidence in you?
TRUMAINE JOHNSON: I feel it helps my confidence a lot knowing that he believes in me enough to let me play 40 minutes. While I'm out there during those 40 minutes, I just go out there and try to do all I can. So yeah, it gives me a lot of confidence that he believes in me.

Q. Gyno, yesterday you said you unveiled a mid-range jumper we hadn't seen. Do you have other things that we haven't yet seen that will be unveiled tomorrow?
GYNO POMARE: Just depends on how the game's going. But I have a few things up my sleeve that I only show when needed (smiling).

Q. Brandon and De'Jon, there was some concern back in San Diego about your physical health after the game yesterday. Can you sort of tell us how you're feeling and what the prognosis is for tomorrow?
BRANDON JOHNSON: Yeah, I feel great. Just a couple of naps and everything, I'll be ready to go. About the groin, it wasn't my groin. I was just cramping up real bad and I kind of sprained my ankle. But overall this opportunity comes once in a lifetime so I got to take advantage of it. So when the ball goes up, all injury is out the window.
DE'JON JACKSON: Same thing as me. My knees are real bad. I've got tendinitis, so it's always hurting. But being in the NCAA Tournament, you've got to play through it. You've got to be tough. So I'll be ready.

Q. If you guys were to win tomorrow, would you claim to be the champions of Kentucky if nothing else, considering you beat Kentucky earlier, then Western Kentucky?
GYNO POMARE: I don't know, because we haven't played Louisville or anything like that. They're a big-time program. We won't be champs of Kentucky, but we beat a couple teams in Kentucky, that's what we can say.

Q. Did you grasp the significance of the win maybe when you got back to the hotel or did it sink in even more once you left the arena last night?
GYNO POMARE: It sunk in a lot right after the game, during. When I got back to the hotel I had a lot of text messages also and missed calls. It was a great feeling. I mean, that's a great program. Just being able to win against them and the whole nation thought we weren't going to win, it was a great feeling.

Q. You guys, obviously, have two major victories as far as high-profile programs with Kentucky, and now with UCONN. Are players today or players from your perspective not intimidated by whoever is the name on the jersey? Does that really bother teams anymore? Obviously it doesn't bother you guys.
BRANDON JOHNSON: I think it does. UCONN's a historical program. At the same time I think our team just right now, the preseason we had just prepared us for the conference, our conference. We didn't know how far we were going to get to this day, but I mean, right now just a lot of the team plays with a lot of heart. That's what we're trying to focus on, not reading the name on the shirt. I think that's what we go out with.
As far as other teams, I really don't know their mindset, but on this team I know we've just got a lot of heart and a lot of players that got the same goal. So it's kind of easy to go out there and play against anybody.

Q. I wonder, how much of the other games did you watch here yesterday? And is there any conclusion you can draw from four upsets like that? Is college basketball more closely competitive than maybe it was five or ten years ago?
ROB JONES: Most definitely. Just watching the game. We were watching on the ramp, watching the Western Kentucky game. It got us ready to play. A little more motivated because we saw how these mid-major teams can go out there and do big things. But definitely basketball's getting more competitive every year.

Q. Gyno, do you ever have to correct people who might think you're from San Diego State? And if so, does a win like this help put you back on the national map?
GYNO POMARE: Every once in a while. In the beginning we had to, but I think we've got a little more recognition than San Diego State with how we've been playing. I haven't had to lately. A lot of people know about USD now, and hopefully we'll get even more with these wins we've been having this year.

Q. With the buzzer beaters yesterday, I've asked this question a few times: Brandon and De'Jon, can you talk about how often you've rehearsed the situations of the last-second scenario where you have to get a shot off to either win a game or tie it. And I would think that a lot of times the ball is in Brandon's hands but you were fouled out. Of course, De'Jon made the play, could you just talk about that practice.
BRANDON JOHNSON: Right now them kind of situations, it's just a confidence thing. I got a lot of confidence when I've got the ball. But at the buzzer it's more my confidence started raging because I don't think too many things can go wrong when you have to take the shot. So that's kind of what I focus on, just trying to make a big play. I think De'Jon, as myself, thrives on big plays. As it showed yesterday, Coach just said you've got to go out there, and this is when players are made, and execute and knock down the shot. So I think that shows a lot about his character. The fact that he had two points in the beginning and never gave up. So that shows a lot towards him.
Just going out there and not taking that many shots, he was kind of off. But stepped up and made the biggest play of our career and his life.
DE'JON JACKSON: Actually in practice we do practice plays like that every once in a while. It usually is Brandon who has the ball or coming off the screen, so this time it was me. So I went out there and executed. But Coach does have everybody prepared for plays like this.

Q. Rob, what was it like playing inside against a team as physical as UCONN?
ROB JONES: Well, usually we don't play against teams that big. Just with the reverse I did yesterday, I was about to go up and dunk it, but I realized how big he was. So I had to throw something up there. But I definitely love the challenge of going in there and playing against the bigger guys.

Q. So who takes the shot tomorrow?
BRANDON JOHNSON: I think Gyno might be. He went 10 for 12, so we might throw him a little pick-and-roll right there, because he was pretty productive from the outside. So I don't think we posted him. He might go down and post tomorrow. So Gyno might play the wing tomorrow. So I don't know. He's been shooting it good. So we don't know who is going to get it. Any guy could step up that night.
THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you very much. From San Diego Head Coach Bill Grier is here. Questions for Coach.

Q. This is as unlikely a match-up for the right to go to the Sweet 16 as we've seen in some time. If someone told you that San Diego would be playing Western Kentucky for the right to go to the Sweet 16 before the start of the season, what would you have thought?
COACH BILL GRIER: I'd have said they're crazy. You know, I've actually been fortunate, I was on the Gonzaga staff for such a long time, and one of the runs that that program made -- I can't remember the year, but it was in Memphis. Gonzaga was a 12 and beat Virginia. And Indiana State was a 13 and beat Oklahoma, so it was the same scenario.
But I think it just speaks volumes for the parity in college basketball, you know. And to have Tampa have so many upsets yesterday, just in terms of the seeding. I think that's what makes the NCAA Tournament so special and what draws so much interest to it.

Q. Could you talk about similarities and differences just from a larger scope with you, and Western Kentucky, and particularly from the situation where it looked like neither one of you would be here doing what you're doing had you not won your conference tournaments?
COACH BILL GRIER: Well, I think there's certainly some differences in the fact that we're not afraid to push the ball and play fast, but we like to control tempo. And they want a higher-possession and fast-paced game, and they're very good at creating that. I think that the way they pressure you in the half court and they switch some screens and they run and jump you in the half court, but they also do it in the full court trying to get you to speed up and play more at their pace. I think there are some similarities. You know, they have a heck of a point guard in Brazelton. He's got very, very good quickness, yet we have two guards that have very similar quickness. They have good inside kids. And you know, I think we have a good inside player in Pomare.
But, you know, after that I just think the styles of play are different. You know, it's a really tough match-up for us or for anybody to play against them just because of their style of play.

Q. Why do you think we are in such an age of parity? Are there that many more good players than there used to be? Is it brilliant coaching? What are we looking at here?
COACH BILL GRIER: In my case I don't think it's brilliant coaching much (laughing). I think when there was the change made to go from 15 scholarships to 13, that certainly helped. I think with kids leaving early, and you see teams that like a Western Kentucky who has three seniors in their starting lineup, that experience is invaluable. Especially when you go up against younger teams. I think that helps create it. I think the culture that these kids grow up in with AAU basketball and the amount of exposure that these kids have, more and more kids are discovered across the country. I think it's just a combination of all of those things that have led to that.

Q. Some of the kids talked about that their phones were getting quite a few messages, text messages. I'm wondering if you heard from any particular people that might have just left a congratulatory call or met something special to you?
COACH BILL GRIER: I had a couple, but one that was really kind of funny was Jud Heathcote, he left me one. I got to know Coach Heathcote fairly well over the last 10 or 12 years. He retired in Spokane. And if you've ever been around him you know he's got a gift for the joke and his delivery. It was great to get one from him. But I had them from several different people.
You know, actually, Coach Holland, who I ended up replacing. He sent me a tremendously kind text message. You know, I called him last night. And I've said this throughout the course of the season, but he deserves a lot of credit for the success that this program has had this year. I mean, they're his kids. He recruited them, and I've just been fortunate enough to coach them.
You know, I had messages from the Gonzaga staff and some other people, but certainly those were ones that were very special.

Q. Can you talk about your familiarity with Darrin Horn? He mentioned you guys kind of go back a little bit from when you were assistants.
COACH BILL GRIER: Yeah, you know, he was with Coach Crean at Marquette for a while and certainly, I think everybody knows I was at Gonzaga for a long time. The two programs played each other in the Great Alaska Shootout. I can't remember the year, but it was the final. It was the year they went to the Final Four, and they had Dwyane Wade, and at Gonzaga we had Dickau and Stepp and those kids. You know, the two staffs really got to know each other over the course of that weekend up in Alaska. Certainly there was a tie with Coach Crean and Judd and his past at Michigan State to our staff. So it was great to get to know those guys. Todd Kowalczyk was on that staff, now the head coach of Wisconsin at Green Bay. So it was good to get to know those guys, and we've been pretty good friends ever since and stayed in touch.
Darrin and I actually talked earlier this year. I don't think either one of us expected to be here, but, you know, he's done a terrific job in his time there. You've watched how he's built that thing and the success he's had. It just speaks for what kind of coach he is.

Q. I'm wondering, yesterday's game, such a prohibitive underdog and you use that as a motivational tool. What do you use tomorrow? What is the carrot you dangle in front of the players and what is the message you're trying to get to them?
COACH BILL GRIER: I still think we're the underdog. They're 28-6. Had a heck of a year. They're a senior-dominant team for the most part. That's still the same approach we're going to take. Also the motivation, hey, 40 minutes away from doing something really special.
I don't think it will be an issue to get these kids ready to play. Certainly I wouldn't think it would be an issue for Darrin and his squad either.

Q. This is kind of getting a little ahead of ourselves here, but looking down the road regardless of what happens tomorrow or particularly if you win tomorrow, what do you think the long-term impact could be on your program of doing what you've done? Whether it be in terms of recruiting or visibility or things of that nature?
COACH BILL GRIER: Well, I think all of those things. Being at Gonzaga at the time that run in '99, Dan Monson was the head coach, and just to see how it changed not only the program but the university. Certainly it can do nothing but positive things for the program, but also for the university to get this kind of exposure on a national stage speaks volumes.
I think people need to understand how great a school it is academically and how beautiful that campus is. Certainly all this exposure helps.

Q. Another looking-ahead kind of question on those lines: Scheduling in the non-conference, will this tournament experience help, hurt, if you can gaze into that crystal ball?
COACH BILL GRIER: You know, scheduling is never easy. But these kind of things don't help you in terms of getting home at homes. It makes it more difficult. But certainly I think with what we'll have back next year, I think it would be attractive to some people in terms of scheduling a quality team.

Q. Maybe some of the fans, USD fans that aren't familiar with Western Kentucky, what would be two or three keys you guys would have to execute tomorrow to prevail?
COACH BILL GRIER: Well, I think first and foremost we have to do a great job in defensive transition. They just are relentless at pushing the ball at you. I think that's a big key for us is making sure we get back and we're taking away things to the basket early. But we also have to be able to fan out and take away their threes.
Watching that game yesterday was like a wild west shoot-out between them and Drake as many threes that were shot. And I think they went 14-of-28, which is pretty impressive. I think the second thing is trying to limit their threes at the defensive end. Then, lastly, I think for us to do a good job taking care of the basketball, I think they create tempo and baskets off of turnovers and they play panicked. And that's going to be a big focus for us.

Q. (Indiscernible).
COACH BILL GRIER: Well, it's their run and jump, their pressure, their switching, everything they throw at you. They just keep you off balance, that's why they're good.

Q. Is there a team that you've played that is similar to them or you could compare them to?
COACH BILL GRIER: Well, I guess in our league, the closest I can compare them to is the way Pepperdine played the last maybe month of the season. Now Pepperdine was all freshmen and sophomores, but I think similarities and the style of the defensive pressure and certainly we didn't handle that as well as we'd like to have through the year, but hopefully we will tomorrow.

Q. Typically, if you have all your options available, who takes the last shot? Who would have yesterday, Gyno, given his 10 and 12, would it have been Brandon? How do you go about designing or deciding who is going to do it?
COACH BILL GRIER: I really have a lot of confidence in both Brandon and Gyno. They've both hit big shots or game-winning shots in several games. You know, I like having the ball in Brandon's hands. Just his ability to create his own shot. But I also had a lot of confidence in De'Jon yesterday. The set we ran is a set we've run for him several times throughout the course of the year, and he's delivered on that on a fairly regular basis.
I think that the play he made was a heck of a play just because he could see that he wasn't going to be able to get to the rim. To get it up over as athletic as a defender as Robinson was, it was a great play by him.

Q. You talked about their three-point shooting yesterday, do you kind of have to just tell your guys and remind them that they are going to hit some three-point shots? Because it can be demoralizing when that many threes are going in. Do you have to prepare them and get them to be able to withstand that and bounce back from it?
COACH BILL GRIER: I don't want them to accept it. I want them to make sure that we do the best job we can at eliminating or at least making their threes difficult. Yeah, that happened just like I told them yesterday, guess what, guys, you're going to get your shot blocked and they're going to dunk on you, but we still have to keep playing. So we just have to keep plugging away and sawing wood throughout the course of the game.

End of FastScripts

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