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NCAA MEN'S REGIONALS SEMIFINALS & FINALS: CHARLOTTEMarch 29, 2008Marcus GinyardTyler HansbroughRoy WilliamsCHARLOTTE, SOUTH CAROLINA COACH ROY WILLIAMS: Folks, Ty is in the locker room getting some ice. I know you all have deadlines. I'm not going to make an opening statement. I'll tell you we're ecstatic. Q. Tyler, could you talk about the 12-point second half lead gets away from you. I'm sure Georgetown might have been on your mind but you looked like you were not going to be denied the trip to the Final Four this time. TYLER HANSBROUGH: Yeah, I mean, you know, it was in the back of a lot of our minds. One thing about tonight there was that point where they went on that run and I think the difference this year is we handled that run better and stayed poise and came back. Got some points and kept fighting back until eventually we had a run. Q. Tyler, just what your raw emotions knowing the buzzer sounded that after three hard years, you're finally going to the Final Four? TYLER HANSBROUGH: My feelings right now are great. Definitely I've never been -- it takes all of those past experiences away. But also, at the same time I feel like we want to accomplish more. Marcus said something to me as we were walking in here, it feels like we did something big, but we can also do something bigger. Q. Coach, could you talk about the pump fake and shot that Tyler hit on the left side and does it sometimes seem like the things he does are larger than life in those big moments? COACH ROY WILLIAMS: I'll answer that but I think we want the questions to go to the student-athletes. Are you talking about when the score was tied at 59? The reason he made that shot is he's made it hundreds of times already. Just like that television commercial, the young man shoots extra shots before every practice, every off-day, he's made that shot hundreds of times. Q. Marcus, I know you in particular were really affected by last year, it's kind of been on your mind, and this is something that you wanted to do. Your emotions right now? And could you describe the way you guys picked up your defense with about sixth and a half minutes to go and caused some turnovers, forced them to miss shots? MARCUS GINYARD: It feels good right now. I'm just going to piggy back on what Tyler said. You know, coming to the press conference right now, Tyler said we just won a tournament in a tournament. So we know that this is not our last step. We're very excited to get to this point but we continue to have that same attitude that, you know, we have more work to do. But this team has continued to show that when we need to dig deeper and play better and play harder and play smarter, we do. And I think that just shows how good this team really is. Every time we get into those sticky situations we always get ourselves out. And that's what you need, you need a team that's going to be tough enough to not give in, and to continue to push forward. Q. Tyler, if you could address the two big jumpshots down the stretch that you hit. I think the clock was winding down on both of them. And Marcus, if you would also talk about those and just what that did as far as momentum and everything else. TYLER HANSBROUGH: Well, to be honest with you, I kinda felt like they were both going in when they left. I was confident. But, you know, in that situation, the clock was winding down, so I knew it was a good shot. And I felt confident. We work on it every day in practice. The bigs do, and it's nothing that -- it just carried over to the game. MARCUS GINYARD: And, you know, I'm just going to say the same thing Coach Williams says, he's made that shot each and every day hundreds and hundreds and thousands of times. He shoots that shot every day before practice. Every off-day he's in there shooting those shots. And everybody on this team feels confident when Tyler shoots those shots. And I told him during the game, at halftime we were talking about using the screen on the ball and having Tyler pop up and knock that shot down. Everybody is confident in it. He's confident in it and we know he can make it. Q. Marcus, what was going through your mind when Clark hit that second free-throw to tie the game with a little over 10 minutes left? MARCUS GINYARD: I don't remember that free-throw. Q. It tied the game, what was going through your head. MARCUS GINYARD: You know, Coach tells us not to look at the score, and just to go out there and play, and to be honest with you, I never saw the score tied, so I don't know. I don't know how I was feeling at that point. COACH ROY WILLIAMS: That shows he's a very coachable player. I don't look at the score a lot. When Steve and I were walking down here, he said, They tied the score, and I said, What was it? Was it 64? And he said, No, it was 59. Because I want to play everything possession the best you can, and I think that's what the kids do. Q. For Marcus, I was hoping you could talk about how in last year's regional final it was outside shots, and, yes, Tyler hit some outside shots, but how you found him and how important that was down the stretch? MARCUS GINYARD: You know, Tyler is a big-time player obviously. So you've got to find a way to give a player like that the ball to give him the opportunity to make those big-time shots like that. It says even more about Tyler, the fact that he's ready and the opportunity presents itself, he's there and he's got the guts to knock the shot down. Q. Tyler, when it was tied up at 59, I think you scored seven points in a row. Did something go through your mind where you said, all right, Wayne is not hitting it, Danny is not hitting. I got to put it on my shoulders? TYLER HANSBROUGH: Not necessarily, I think there were times when I became more active and my teammates got me the ball. Certain times when things aren't falling outside we try to get the ball inside, and I just happened to demand the ball and got some looks. Q. Tyler, I would like to get your reaction about what Coach Pitino said about you because I thought he gave you one of the ultimate compliments: He mentioned a lot of the great players he's coached against in the NBA and college, Michael Jordan and a lot of different people, and he's never seen any player play every possession as hard as you play it. To hear a guy like that say to you, what does that mean to you? TYLER HANSBROUGH: It means a lot. Coach Pitino, if you know basketball, he's one of those guys that everybody kinda knows. His teams are always great, so I know that he's seen a lot of players, and it's an honor to be considered in that category that he's put me in. Q. Marcus, could you just speak a bit about Louisville's defense? I guess you could consider this the first really tight game you all have played in some time, particularly in the second half. MARCUS GINYARD: Louisville did a great job of pressuring us, and forcing us to make bad plays, I think, for a good stretch there. We weren't taking care of the ball, and they were capitalizing on those opportunities that they created for themselves. So they did a great job of fighting back and just staying on top of us. But in the end it gets back to, you know, this team getting put in that situation, we've got to step up and we did a great job of stepping up tonight. Q. During the tournament how much were you all able to watch what was going on? Like Davidson has been a big story in the tournament, do you see those games or the Kansas games? How much time do you allow for that? TYLER HANSBROUGH: A lot to be honest with you, because a lot of times during breaks and things we're laying around the hotel, and it's hard not to turn on the TV. And you hear about Davidson and Curry, what he's doing. You see all these other teams. So I'm aware of it. I mean, I can't talk for Marcus, but that's just my take. MARCUS GINYARD: We're definitely aware of it. We see it on TV, but nothing that is going on on TV while we're not playing is really that important to us. Obviously we enjoy watching it to see what happens, but we're more focused on what we're going to do what when we get on the court. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, guys. Congratulations. Questions for Coach? Q. Coach, it just doesn't seem like this team has ever really been rattled in the last few weeks, even when the game was tied. The team's focus seems like it's at an all-time high. COACH ROY WILLIAMS: They are focused young men. They have dreams and hopes. I've said many times this year, we don't deal in other people's expectations. They don't have anything invested in it like these kids do. When the score did get tied, Tyler came down and he got a layup. And he showed a lot of poise because he faked, and guys were flying around, and I think this is the right one, and he ended up laying the ball up. And then we go down and get a stop, and he comes down and he scored again. And we go down and they miss, and we come down and I think we're up four, and we pass it around and it gets knocked out of bounds. And it was our ball out of bounds underneath. And it's one of the times Louisville was playing man to man. And I called a set play for Ty to get a shot from the corner, and he stepped up and knocked in the three. So it was something where the kids were able to step up and make plays, they are focused, they're tough kids. We still don't guard people as well as I would like for us to guard, with Louisville shooting 50% for the game. But we did get some stops down the stretch, and they had some turnovers and things that helped us as well. Q. You all played Davidson in the first game, are you surprised at all by the run they've had and what they've been doing in this tournament? COACH ROY WILLIAMS: I would say I'm a little surprised, you beat a 2 seed and a 3 seed, and I think that's what they've done. I think Georgetown is a 2, Wisconsin was a 3. That's been sensational. I think Steph Curry's accomplishments in the games that he's played have been phenomenal. I really haven't watched a lot of other games but I've seen the highlights on Sports Center, and he's just been phenomenal. I knew they were an extremely good basketball team. You know, they had UCLA by 18. They played us and lose a close one. They lose a close one to us by 4, a close one to Duke by 6. So when you think about that, you shouldn't be surprised, but maybe I'm just not as big of a fan of the other teams or the Selection Committee or what's going on. I'm so focused on our club, but to beat a 2 and 3 seed to get to the final 8 is amazing. Q. Roy, we've talked about Tyler for three years and watched him do a lot of stuff, but to hear a guy like Rick say he's never seen a player play every possession the way he does, as his coach, could you comment on that. COACH ROY WILLIAMS: You guys have heard it before, he does the same thing in practice every day. I mean, the young man is the most driven, most focused youngster I've ever seen in my life to try to be the best player he can be and to help his team win. And twice during a late time-out he yelled, "Hey, come on, let's finish this off." One other time he said "Come on guys, let's go." He's not a rah-rah individual. When he says something like that, they listen to him. But, I mean, 28 points and 13 rebounds and being willing to take those shots. But he does, last week, I forget which day it was that we had off, he was in the gym two and a half hours on the off-day. So for Rick to say it, it was fantastic. I compliment Rick for making a youngster feel like that, I think that's great. But that's Tyler Hansbrough. And that's Tyler Hansbrough at practice every day. That's Tyler Hansbrough in the off-days. It's what he is. And I've said that when that young man takes the Carolina blue uniform off and doesn't put it on, I'm going to sit on top of the Smith Center or whatever and sit there for an hour and realize how lucky I am to have coached that youngster. Q. Before we go you might want to describe that play and give us an injury report on your left hand, when Tyler pitched that ball over there to you. It didn't look like you were ready to receive that pass. COACH ROY WILLIAMS: No, I wasn't. I slammed it to the floor. I wasn't mad at the officials by any means, I was mad at our offense. Two possessions in a row. And I really jammed the dickens out of my finger here, but sometimes you've got to suck it up and not be a baby. Q. Obviously you have a great love for Kansas, when you watch that game tomorrow, knowing if they win, what will your emotions be like? COACH ROY WILLIAMS: I have the greatest love for a place I gave my heart, body and soul for 15 years. I have no idea what my emotions are going to be. I know when I was at Kansas and we played North Carolina in '93 and '94. I said I hated it, but if I was ever going to play North Carolina and Coach Smith, I wanted it to be at the Final Four. I will never play the University of Kansas in a regular season game. It will have to be a tournament, whether it's NCAA Tournament or a holiday tournament. But nobody could have more love and try to give more to that place than I did for 15 years and they gave me a chance. They gave me a chance when I had Bob Frederick, and a chance when not exactly a household name. I was barely a name in my own house. So I have no idea what the emotions will be. I'm ecstatic for this club right now to be going to San Antonio and enjoy what's going on, and enjoy the accomplishments that they have made. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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