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

March 23, 2008

TAMPA, FLORIDA

THE MODERATOR: From San Diego, we welcome Head Coach Bill Grier. Our student-athletes are Brandon Johnson, and Gyno Pomare.
Coach, opening statements.
COACH BILL GRIER: I apologize for the voice, but it's not going to get any better. First of all, I want to congratulate Western Kentucky. I knew coming into this game that they were a very good basketball team, and they certainly proved that out today. They're 29-6, and have had a heck of a year. They have three very, very good senior guards and nice inside players. They certainly did a nice job today.
You know, I felt early in the game we got a little rattled by their press, and let the tempo of the game get into their favor as opposed to the way we wanted it. We're not afraid to push the ball, but, you know, they wanted a really high-possession game. So early it was going the way they wanted it. You know, we just couldn't get stops on our man, which has been our bread and butter all year.
This group's done a good job, especially from about January on, of guarding people, and we just didn't do a good enough job in the first half. That's also a credit to them. I think Courtney Lee, I mean, he's a first round NBA pick. I thought that coming in and he certainly proved that out today. Then Brazelton is as quick a kid as we've gone against all year. I'm fortunate I have some quick guards, but he's extremely quick.
I think in the second half when we went to the zone, I got them a little bit out of their rhythm. Certainly showed the heart and the character that our group has the way they battled back and took the lead. There was probably a possession or two where I should have taken a timeout to maybe settle us down. But, you know, Western Kentucky made plays down the stretch, and they did a tremendous job today.
THE MODERATOR: We'll open the floor to questions for the student-athletes, please.

Q. Brandon, can you just tell us what the pressure was like out there from their defense.
BRANDON JOHNSON: I think their defense was pretty good. I think we try to control it. They got us up tempo where we tried to control our tempo most of the time and be poised. I think a lot of it falls back on me. I kind of sped the game up, not sticking to the plan. Coach talked about sticking to the plan a lot. I think I took a couple of contested shots when I didn't have to. Just my leadership out there should have came up.
And Gyno was dominant inside. I think he went 6 for 8 in the first half. I think we should have found him the ball more. That just falls back on me. I shouldn't have sped the game up. I don't think their defense was that hard, I just didn't stick to the plan.

Q. Gyno, what was it like playing teams with contrasting styles in the first and second rounds?
GYNO POMARE: You just got to adjust your game to however it comes. They're a great squad. They got us out of our, like BJ said, got us out of our comfort zone and kind of sped us up a little bit. Just sped it up too much. In the second half we slowed it down some, and just, we were right there, but just got to make plays in the end.
THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you very much. Questions for Coach Grier.

Q. You made the nice comeback to take the lead. But then Courtney Lee answered with a big three, so you never had the lead and the ball. From a coaching standpoint, how critical is that when a team can immediately answer your run and take back a lead after you've worked so hard to get ahead?
COACH BILL GRIER: Well, that's huge and certainly you could tell the momentum was in our favor up until that point, there for a stretch of the second half. Had we been able to get a stop -- you know, I probably hung with the zone too long, but it got us back in the game. It eliminated a lot of their penetration.
He hit a big shot, but he hit big shots all day. Like I said, I think he's a future NBA kid. He played a terrific game at the right time.
You know, if we could have gotten a stop and had the ball, been up one, we certainly would have had a lot of momentum on our side. But, again, I can't fault our group for the way they competed and battled back. I mean, it looked bleak out there down 14. That's been one thing about this group pretty much all season. We've dug some holes and they fought back. We did that in our conference tournament. We were down 17 to St. Mary's, and found a way to battle back into the game and get a win.
We just didn't have enough left in the tank to finish it down the stretch.

Q. You said there's a possession or two where you might have taken a timeout, can you be more specific? Was one of them after Devin hit that three?
COACH BILL GRIER: Yeah, it was after Devin hit the three. I don't know if we were a little confused or what it might have been, but Brandon ended up dribbling around. I was trying to get us into something there, and I don't think they could hear me. I should have taken a timeout and I didn't.
But I've also had so much faith in that kid throughout the season to make the right decision and the right play, and it just didn't happen. But ultimately, that comes down to me.

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