|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA MEN'S REGIONALS SEMIFINALS & FINALS: DETROITMarch 27, 2008Brian ButchMichael FlowersBo RyanDETROIT, MICHIGAN THE MODERATOR: We're joined by the Wisconsin student-athletes. Questions for our student-athletes, please. Q. In the press conference on Monday, you talked about the guys who had guarded in the Big-10. You said you were going to use the lessons you used there against Curry. What lessons did you learn and how are you going to apply them? MICHAEL FLOWERS: With somebody as quick as Curry, I'm gonna have to force him to the screens, make sure -- make him go one way. He's very quick. He does a little shake and bake along the baseline to try to lose his guy. Force him to help, get a hand in his face every time he shoots the ball, you know, corral him when he gets the ball. Try to, you know, go to the basket and beat us that way because we all know he's a great three-point shooter. Try to force him to do things he's a little less comfortable doing out there. Q. Michael and Brian, you have played an 11 and a 14, but for some reason you're usually portrayed as the underdog in the tournament. Now that you're playing a team that's really an underdog, I'm wondering how you deal with the situation? BRIAN BUTCH: Well, for us, it's just a basketball game. You know, we try not to pay much attention to any of that stuff. I think people still want Davidson to win. People are still picking Davidson to win, too. For us, we just play basketball. That's all we can do. That's what we've been doing all year. Like we said last week, you know, no one picked us to win the Big-10 conference and we did that. For us, our main concentration is to stay focused, keep on doing the things we've been doing that have led us to be successful this year so far. Q. Could you talk about the offense. Is that one of the reasons you went there? What do you like about it? BRIAN BUTCH: Well, I think the main thing with the swing offense is that it allows different players to be in different positions. Our guards post, our bigs step out and shoot. For me, yeah, it was one of the advantages of going to Wisconsin, as a big man that can step out and shoot, it fit one of my strengths. It was one of the reasons I went there. Overall I think the swing offense just, you know, allows players to be players. I don't think it's one of those things where you're a point guard so you have to be out on the perimeter. If one of your strengths is inside posting up and you're six feet, it doesn't matter. You're just allowed to be a player and make plays. MICHAEL FLOWERS: It's very team-oriented structure. I'm a very team-oriented type of player. So there's no one main, you know, star. Nobody gets any special treatment, special benefits. There's no favorites on the team, 1 through 15. No players out there -- just get the playing time they deserve. It's a very fair system. That's why I went to, you know, Wisconsin. Q. Even when they play basketball in football domes, it's not usually set up this way right in the middle. Have you practiced yet? BRIAN BUTCH: We haven't practiced yet. We do it right after this. Q. Have you taken a look at it? BRIAN BUTCH: We haven't had a chance to take a look at it. We've heard it's a raised floor. We've had a chance to play at Minnesota, which is a raised floor a little bit. That's kind of what our SIDs said a little bit, it's raised, reminds them a little bit of Minnesota. We haven't had a chance to get out there and take a look at it yet. We literally just got off the bus and were headed up here. Q. They might set a record for a regional crowd. Is that going to make you nervous playing in front of that many people or does it turn into a gym when you're playing? BRIAN BUTCH: Yeah, for us, it just turns into a gym. It's exciting to have that many people here. It's exciting to have Wisconsin be seen by that many people is the way we look at it. I think it's 80,000 or so people hopefully, right around there, a little bit less or more. To have them get a chance to see Wisconsin basketball, it's exciting for us as players and also exciting for the university and fans of Wisconsin. Q. Let me get the dumb question out of the way. Davidson has been the story of the tournament, loveable underdog, small school, academically oriented. Will you feel any guilt if you end their season? BRIAN BUTCH: You know, for us, it is a basketball game. There has to be a winner and a loser. So for us, we're trying to win the game just as much as they are (smiling). You know, I think a lot of people are, you know, encouraged, and they see the way they've played. They've played great so far. They've done a great job of playing team basketball. They do a lot of great things. For us, we have to concentrate on what we've been doing all year long. We really have to concentrate on sticking to our rules and really concentrating on what needs to be done to win the basketball game - just like they're trying to do, so... Q. Michael, what part of the defensive rules that Coach Ryan has put out are you going to apply against Curry? Are there certain parts of the defensive rules that fit against him? MICHAEL FLOWERS: Pretty much what I said in the first question. The defense, you know, that Wisconsin is pretty structured. There are rules. For the last four years, you know, everybody out there on the court knows what they are. We try to stay disciplined as much as we can. You know, following those rules, you don't have a lot of miscommunication. You don't have a lot of people getting open shots. You don't have a lot of people not guarding the ball. Staying disciplined to those rules are going to be to our benefit to come out with a W. Q. In this day and age it's sometimes rare to see a team like yours that has completely bought into the defensive mindset. What is it about it that attracted you and what makes you different than, say, what Georgetown did against Davidson last week? BRIAN BUTCH: Well, I think the main reason we bought into it is because we know you can win basketball games, you know, playing good defense. I think if you get any college student to realize that they can win basketball games, they're going to buy into it. I think everyone wants to be successful. Everybody wants to be good. That's one of the reasons we're good, is 'cause we play pretty good defense. I thought Georgetown did a pretty good job of playing defense. It's just, you know, Curry made some amazing plays. That's one of those things where we've got a great defensive player in Mike, and great team defense. We realize we have a challenge in front of us. We realize that he's one of the best players in the country. You can't put up those numbers and not be considered one of the best players in the country. So for us we realize we have a challenge, but we've had challenges all year. So hopefully we can live up to those challenges like we have so far all year. Q. Can you talk a little bit, do you get a kick out of the fact that every time a team plays you, they talk afterward about how they just missed open shots, they were unlucky that day, they just didn't hit the shots? Seems to be a trend when a team plays against you guys. MICHAEL FLOWERS: That's new to my knowledge. You know, basketball is a game play-by-play. If teams feel like they just beat themselves, then so be it. But we go out there with one goal, one mind frame, that's to come out with a W. We've had some huge wins, we've won in ways that we should have lost that game. So it doesn't matter. As long as you get the W, you know, I could care less what the opponents say after the game as long as we're moving on to the next round. BRIAN BUTCH: Yeah, I mean, that's pretty much exactly it. We have to concentrate on what we have to do. We can't worry about other people. We know what we have to do in our locker room. Q. Could you comment, a common perception going into tomorrow is slow tempo favors Wisconsin, fast tempo favors Davidson. Has there been back-stage discussion about that and how do you make it happen? MICHAEL FLOWERS: Wisconsin, slow basketball, possession-by-possession game is kind of what we've been labeled as this year. But we've scored, you know, in the 70s and 80s before in the season. It goes to say what I was saying early about, you know, anything for a W. If we get open shots and if we can score in transition, we're going to take the opportunities. We're very opportunistic. If the defense gives us a driving lane, we'll take it. If they're playing hard defense, we're going to milk the clock and try to get the best shot we can get. It's just a more kind of the way the game is going. If it's up-tempo, if it's to our benefit, we're going to take advantage of it. If it's to our benefit to slow it down, make five passes, try to get the defense to work and sweat a little bit, then we're going to do that. BRIAN BUTCH: People say we're slow, tempo down, do things like that. I think that's farthest from the truth. I think a lot of people just expect that, the Big-10, that stuff. But it's not what we do at all. You know, what we do is we make sure we get a good shot on the offensive end. We make sure we give the other team a tough shot. So, I mean, most of the times teams aren't shooting the ball in the first 10 seconds like they would against any other teams because we don't allow them to. Where I think that's probably the biggest misconception out there, is that, you know, because they're playing Wisconsin, it's to slow it down. On their offensive end, I think they're saying make sure you get a good shot. Our goal is not to allow them to have a good shot. So it takes them some time to find an open shot. So I don't think we play slow or we bring it down or we try to make the game slower. I think we just look for a good shot on offense and try to give them a tough shot. Q. Brian, you played against LeBron James in the McDonald's All-American game in high school. When you look at what he's doing, does that seem like a long time ago? Can you describe what made you decide to redshirt your freshman year? BRIAN BUTCH: Yeah, especially watching the McDonald's game last night. It's like, Wow, where has the time gone? Now you look at what he's doing, setting records for the Cavaliers and that, and I'm up here trying to get to a Final Four. I think it's one of those things where we're two different maturity levels. I was 6'11", 185 pounds coming out of high school. I don't think that many of those kids in the McDonald's game last night where 6'11", 185 pounds. That's one of the things where I decided it was the best for my maturity level, for my development as a basketball player. And I really thought it helped me out a bunch. You know, I talked to one of our assistant coach, Coach Close, about it. He said, Are you going to be able to help this team more as a freshman or more as a redshirt senior? I think the numbers kind of explain for themselves what I've been able to do and help this team. When I look back at it, I wouldn't change anything. When you look at LeBron and those guys, even Chris Paul, too, it's one of those things where hopefully I'll have a chance next year to go up against them at times and do some things. All that stuff will follow its course. Right now I'm concerned about trying to get to a Final Four and trying to help this team win. And it's pretty exciting. I've had five years to experience college basketball. Personally I think it's the best kind of basketball you can have. Look at all the media attention you have for a Sweet 16. Look at all the attention you get for everything else that you do. It's just awesome. The fans, it's a completely different feeling. So you have the college fans. I think winning the Big-10 championship at home on Senior Day will be a memory I will have for the rest of my life. I wouldn't have that opportunity if I didn't redshirt. Two thumbs up for me as far as my decision (laughter). I think it was a great one, a lot of memories that I'll have forever. Got a lot of memories to cherish with my family, my team members, and my coaches. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Brian and Michael. We'd like Coach to open it up with a couple-minute statement, then we'll open the floor to questions. COACH RYAN: Well, it certainly is a treat for us to be here in Detroit. For this senior group especially, it's a nice reward for the effort and all the things that this team has put in - like everybody else. There's a lot of teams that worked hard that aren't here. To get to represent the Big-10 and the state of Wisconsin, this is an awfully good feeling. I just told the players when they left, it's kind of like, who's that guy that hides in the picture, Waldo? Our locker room is so big, I told them they're going to have to try to find their teammates. You just got to see these locker rooms if you haven't. They're huge. We're excited. This will be interesting to play here in this kind of a venue. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Ryan. Q. What are you telling Michael Flowers and the other guys about Stephen Curry? COACH RYAN: Well, we always talk about teams. We always talk about defensively we're doing the same things, gonna try to tomorrow, that we've done all year. But just have certain focal points that we emphasize. They're help positions, angles, things like that. But you're not changing the game of basketball when you play another team. It's out of respect for the team always that you prepare, not just an individual. They have some pretty good players and they have a very good team. They're experienced. A lot of their guys, most of their guys, are back. There are some teams that are in the Sweet 16 that have more guys back and have been in this environment before. So I would say that's a little bit of an advantage. But Stephen Curry can create his own shot. He's like a Devin Harris in that way. He can stop on a dime. Quick release. All those things. And we've faced some players who are pretty good, but I don't know if we faced a player that's as hot as he is right now. What we have to do is try to figure out a way to beat Davidson as a team with Stephen Curry as one of the key parts. Q. How many defensive rules are there? I've heard a lot about your defensive rules. Which ones will apply? You were talking about stopping Davidson. Which ones apply to stopping a player like Curry? COACH RYAN: I mean, you got to stop Richards first. He's the guy that transports the ball, gets them into what they do. Their initial look is getting a big to seal your big inside one of the lane lines and getting him to the rim. So it starts with getting him, and then it works from there with Richards. I don't know how this thing got out there about rules. There's only a few. Actually there's one: don't let the other team score. But nobody believes that one (smiling). No, it stems off of an offensive theory that comes from getting more shots and getting better shots when you're on the offensive end. Conversely, don't give a team good high-percentage shots and don't give 'em more than what you're going to end up getting. How do you do that? You got to block out so many times off of their threes. Northwestern is good at this, I've seen Georgetown do it, when a ball is shot from three, a team that shoots a lot of threes, and I'm not saying they shoot a lot more than most, but they shoot enough, it just seems like when Stephen Curry shoots and he misses, the other guys find the ball. So they get second-chance opportunities. That goes against one of our rules: don't give teams more shots. And the way you get more shots is by not turning it over and getting offensive rebounds. So we have to try to get them to turn it over a little bit and not give them offensive rebounds. That's part of the rules. Q. You're playing one of the real sentimental favorites of the tournament. With a venue like this, this many people, maybe a lot of them pulling for Davidson, is that addressed at all in the preparation? COACH RYAN: Not at all. It's 13 scholarships. I remember at Platteville we played scholarship schools. Now, that is a Cinderella. We had no scholarships there. We played Northern Iowa, Rice, UWM, Western Michigan, Drake. Now there's a difference. Both teams have 13 scholarships. Bob has his. We have ours. All that other stuff, it doesn't matter. We played Bucknell after they beat Kansas. So whoever people feel is the team that they would like to support, more power to 'em. I don't ever think about that. You know, I just -- when I'm watching a game, I'm looking for certain things in a game as a coach. I'm not on that other end. So, you know, I think there's a lot of people that feel that our team has accomplished quite a bit, like, How the heck did they get here? My college roommate after Davidson played Duke right to the end called and said, Wow, you are in for a long season. Well, what he didn't know is that Davidson is a pretty good team. What he did know, though, was that he said we're in for a long season, and I hope it's even longer. So I don't know about the other part. Actually, after December 1st, whenever they played Duke, we certainly weren't a team that was looked at that was better than Davidson. We got drilled. So here we are in March. Q. A moment ago you mentioned the vastness of the setting. 40 years ago Elvin Hayes and Lew Alcindor played at the Astrodome in the middle of the field. They've redone that here. What do you make of playing basketball in the middle of a football field and have you had a chance to scout out the venue outside? COACH RYAN: Well, we've been in domes before. We haven't been out on the court yet. We're doing this press conference before we even get to see the floor. I saw a picture, so I can imagine. So I don't know. I can't really answer that question yet. Q. Do you remember much about the Alcindor/Hayes game? COACH RYAN: I watched it. '68, wasn't it? I was in college. I remember that game. Alcindor had a patch over his eye, didn't he? Q. He had a scratch. COACH RYAN: Yeah, and he had to wear a patch over his eye. You know, that does bring back memories. Being in Detroit and growing up with Motown all the time, you start mentioning the '60s, I can relate to that. Officials know of my affinity for Motown because they think my favorite two songs are by the Temptations, Ain't Too Proud to Beg, and the second one is Marvin Gaye's What's Going On? I like the way you led me into that. That's what I remember about Detroit. Not the cars, I remember the music. Q. How many DVDs have you sold and can you talk about the genesis of that offense? COACH RYAN: Oh, I don't know. I really don't keep track of that. There's a guy with Cisco in Benetton, Wisconsin, that could fill you in on that. Every penny from every one of those videos went towards one of my five children's' college education. I never spent a nickel, by the way, on anything else. It started in the '90s. We've done some different ones. Maybe it was 16 millimeter to start. Now it's DVDs. It was the videos, then went to DVDs. I only did it because teams would see us play and they would go, What in the heck are you doing? Can you send me your offense? This guy convinces me, Bo, you don't have to keep mimeographing, that's about how long ago it started, sending this to people. Why don't you do one of these and we'll send it to them. By the way, we'll make a little money off it, too. Business, America. So this company did that. I said, Good, if people want to get it, they can do it that way. That was how it started, to pass on information. Q. How about the offense itself? COACH RYAN: Just from scouting live in the '70s at Wisconsin as an assistant. You didn't have the tape that you have now on teams, so you could scout live. They took that away eventually. Coaches can't go on the road now and do scouting that way. I just said, whenever I get my head job, whenever I get to be a head coach, there's certain things I want to do offensively. That's how the swing -- I did some of that stuff when I coached in high school with the backscreens, at times an upscreen. I didn't have them together. When I got to Platteville, that's when I put it all together. Q. From what you've seen of the tape of the Davidson/Georgetown game, where do you think you guys differ from Georgetown defensively, that you can stop Curry and the rest of the Davidson guys? COACH RYAN: You ask that like we've figured out a way to stop them. We're preparing to play them. When you prepare to play, there's certain things that you're gonna try to do. But if you all of a sudden you try to create something totally new, you're not going to be very successful with it. Georgetown is one of the best defensive teams in the country, especially from the shooting percentage standpoint. They tried their hardest. They did a great job. Davidson just had a few more buckets, had a couple more buckets than they did. I haven't seen a shutout yet. So the thing about totally shutting them down or stopping them isn't how we approach things. We approach things defensively from the standpoint: play the percentages. What is it that they do? Some teams get 20% of their offense from transition. Some teams get 30%. Some teams get 10%. Some teams don't get very much at all. Some teams get 20% of their offense from offensive rebounding. So what we've done is the Georgetown tape is one of 30. What we always do, and my staff, guys that have worked for me, I tell them, This is what I want you to be able to tell me when you're doing the scouting report. But if I told you all those things, then the other teams would gain an advantage, so I can't tell you the rest of it. We're not gonna stop 'em. What we're going to try to do is have at least one more possession better than them in the end. Q. Do you recruit kids specifically because they fit into your offense, big guy who can shoot, guard who can post? COACH RYAN: Not really. People say that all the time. I can't agree or disagree. If I see a guy that I like as a player, if he's somebody that catches my eye as a good student-athlete, tough kid, competitor, hungry, when his parents and he are sitting in my office, does he respect his parents, if the mom says something, does he look at the mom and say, Oh, mom. I don't recruit those kind of guys. Or if he says, Oh, dad, would you stop. I like to see kids with their parents, a lot of respect. If they have all that coming in, they tend to listen a little better. They tend to work a little harder. They tend to buy in with their teammates. Of course, if they can play, you know, they wouldn't be sitting in your office anyhow if they couldn't play. But it's the other parts of it, too. And then they're also with our players. Our players will mention a few things. You can't totally count on the players, though, because some guy might be worried about other guy taking all his minutes. I don't think I've had any of those guys. Q. The McDonald's All-American game was last night. Five years ago Brian was playing LeBron James. What was the thinking behind him redshirting his freshman year? How do you think that's helped him become the player he is today? COACH RYAN: I have a question for people here. How many people saw the game last night, saw the All-Star Game? Could you see Brian Butch out there on that court as a senior in high school in that game? How well would Brian Butch fit in that game last night? So that's the kind of environment he was in five years ago. Some guys are a little better in certain types of situations. So Brian being a tall young man with a good touch, that's why he was projected and why he was on and in that game. Now, Brian wasn't gonna have the - I guess I can't mention the names, because then it would be like recruiting. He didn't have his 360 down at that time. He doesn't have it now after five years either. But Brian Butch has become a pretty good player. He wasn't physically ready. He worked out in the summer. That new rule where college students can come in before their freshman year and take classes. Mike Wilkinson was knocking him from one end of the floor to the other, I was told, because we can't watch 'em play in the summers. I think Brian realized in the summer and in the fall, you know, Mike Wilkinson redshirted, he wasn't a McDonald's All-American because nobody could find Wisconsin Heights High School. Wilkinson could have played in that game. So Brian realized, Wait a minute, if Mike Wilkinson redshirted, and Coach Ryan isn't putting any pressure on me, that might be an option. Pretty good decision, don't you think? We're pretty happy with it. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach Ryan. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|