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BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2009Andre McGeeRick PitinoJerry SmithNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Louisville 73 JOHN PAQUETTE: Sure. Questions? Q. Rick, at the start of the game going inside to (Earl) Clark, Samardo Samuels, like you did, was that part of the game plan or what? COACH RICK PITINO: The mistake we made at home, we like to play fast but we don't like to quick shoot and we kept doing that and playing their style and they shot 75 percent in the first half. Fortunately for you we were only down one. Second half we played smarter offensively. We do a very good job of moving the ball and defending. Did a very poor job of rebounding and taking care of the basketball, but sometimes in the first game of any tournament, whether NCAA or Big East, guys realize what's at stake. Nobody wants to be home and throw the ball away too much. We tried the make some spectacular plays rather than basic fundamental plays. Q. Talk about defending them on the perimeter. COACH RICK PITINO: We've done that the last two games. I say this, take away one thing but you give up something else. The last two games West Virginia, really wanted to -- almost looked like a half court trap -- wanted to get the ball on the perimeter. It opens up the lane sometimes for offensive rebounds, so you had give up one thing but take something else away but I'm such a believer that the 3-point shot must be taken away that sometimes we'll sacrifice others to take that away. We held (Alex) Ruoff without a three and held these guys to two. If you give great players the 3 point line you're going to have a long night. That's the great equalizer in college basketball. You have to defend it as well as make it. Q. Rick, do you have an opinion on whether Providence should make the NCAA tournament? They appear to be on the bubble and also can you just assess Sarmado's Performance. COACH RICK PITINO: I've been in this league both when there were few teams and now a lot of teams. Anytime you go over 500, in the ACC, the Big 10, the Big East, you should automatically be in. I don't want to hear about all the other stuff, automatically be in because you're playing the toughest competition. If your league is down in a given year then it becomes subjective but we all know that this league is not down. We all know Providence beat the number one ranked team in the country. They've got five 1,000 point scorers. In my mind if someone is over 500 in the Big East they deserve to be in the tournament. Q. Rick, what about that Notre Dame game and what did that game a month ago do for these guys as you look back in hindsight? Was it an a abberation? COACH RICK PITINO: Sometimes. Like I saw West Virginia play the greatest game on tape I've watched all year against Villanova. They were up 20 late in the game. I think they wound upbeating them by 22. Villanova is a terrific team, well coached and it was just one of those nights where West Virginia did everything great, put on a clinic passing and shooting the basketball. That night, Notre Dame is coming off 30-point loss to UCLA and everything they did that night -- we tried hard, didn't play well but everything they did. So we go home and whether lose by one or 30, try to give the other team credit. Notre Dame was brilliant and we weren't that one night. It was really no big deal. The guys will tell you it's not a big deal. It happened to me as a pro coach all the time. You go on the third game in a four-game road trip and have a bad night. You don't worry about it. You just concern yourself with the next opponent. We never worried about -- this is not football where they total up the points at the end of the game to try to move up in the rankings. Q. Rick, I know you're here to coach and win a game but when you come in here to the Garden what kicks in for you just looking around? COACH RICK PITINO: Well, the freight elevator still smells (laughter). Q. That's one. COACH RICK PITINO: Walking in, you know, I always remember because I was an assistant with the Knicks. We used to have to park across the street, at the time it was called Park-n-Lock; I don't know if it's still called that. We would always stay at the Park-n-Lock. We would go over to about 180 stats before we were able to leave the building and I always remember the people if we lost yelling at us so we were walking so fast downstairs and then we got to park inside and so many unbelievable memories of Bernard King and obviously being a head coach and winning the Atlantic Division Championship and coaching a young team and I remember laughing about the broom incident in Philadelphia. So many things come to mind. I really can go back when I was just an average basketball player myself and signed my letter of intent or my scholarship papers on the Garden floor when Julius (Erving) lost to Marquette by 30 points. It's something to be a New York kid and sign the scholarship papers on the floor of Madison Square Garden. I have so many things, I would worry to death. Q. At the finals Saturday night, do we expect to see the white suit? COACH RICK PITINO: Unless the Garden goes goes white-out. If they go out white-out, I'll bring the white suit. It's a thing we do at Louisville. Q. Rick, I know it was a long time ago, whenever you coached against Providence, do you ever sort of catch yourself in flashback, particularly your special team that went to the Final Four? COACH RICK PITINO: I always root for Providence. It's like my unofficial alma mater. I always just root for them. It's a really, really special town, a really special place for those people who have never been there. If I had to pick anyplace in America, just live, not do anything else in life and live, it would be Rhode Island. Providence College is a small community that has great basketball tradition, special school for all students and I just think of those two years and how magical it was and how much help they gave me to grow as a coach. Conditional page break: 2 JOHN PAQUETTE: Questions for the players, please. Q. Rick what did you think of Samardo tonight? COACH RICK PITINO: I thought he was good. I thought his teammates got him the ball and he had easy shots. He finished the shots and I think he's improving and getting better and better and better. I think Samardo had an excellent season as a freshman. I don't think he did anything spectacular tonight. I just think he stayed within the framework of teamwork and got a lot of good shots that his teammates got them. Q. Andre and Jerry, can you guys talk about I guess the depth perception. It seems like gauges in the Garden, you fellas have a tendency to struggle shooting from the outside. ANDRE McGEE: It does play a little part sometimes. Coach always tells us to take great shots and takeover shots. We do that. Whether it goes in or not, we can't control it. If the shot is there the coach always tells to us take it. If it doesn't go in we all just try to our best to get the offensive rebound. Q. Just from what you see, how different is it from shooting here than at Freedom Hall? Is there there anything that you see today? ANDRE McGEE: When you're playing you don't focus on the crowd or anything behind you. It's a court. It's the same depth, same height, ten feet and the same ball. So you just try to shoot it the same way. Q. For both or either, does Coach ever bore you with these New York stories; do you get a sense that this means a lot, this tournament, this building to him personally? JERRY SMITH: Not at all. You know, it's great to be around him and I definitely enjoy hearing those things. I mean it's special. ANDRE McGEE: It's hard to get bored because he has so many great stories. He's also a great story teller. He keeps you interested in anything he has to say. Q. Is there anything he told this week or anything like that? ANDRE McGEE: No specific stories this week. JERRY SMITH: I don't think so, no. Q. Jerry, just your defense on (Sharaud) Curry, obviously that was key to the game is the pressure. Either one of you guys talk about that? JERRY SMITH: Curry is a great player. Last night I was four for five in the first half from beyond the arc. We didn't even want to try to give him an attempt. Coach told us to pressure the ball as much as possible and that's what we did the first and second half. JOHN PAQUETTE: Anything else for Louisville? Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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