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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 13, 2009Alonzo GeeJaMychal GreenPhilip PearsonTAMPA, FLORIDA Tennessee – 86 CLAUDE FELTON: Coach Pearson, a couple of opening comments on the game. COACH PEARSON: Well, obviously, it was a tough and difficult ball game for us. I felt like Tennessee did a really nice job. Give them a lot of credit. From a defensive standpoint, an offensive standpoint. I thought they got off to a great start early in the game. Got us back on our heels a little bit. We recovered there a little bit before the half. And a little bit like our game last night with Vanderbilt. Thought the first four or five minutes of the second half would be critical just as they are in about every basketball game. To Tennessee's credit, they came out and threw another punch or two. And we just weren't able to recover from that point. Awfully proud of our guys, certainly these two, and those guys in the locker room for the way they've hung in there in a difficult circumstance, trying situation. I think our guys have really done a nice job with it. Awfully proud of them, and we'll move forward. Q. Did Tennessee do anything differently on Sunday than they did on Sunday? Were they just executing better? What was the difference? ALONZO GEE: I thought they just came ready to play. They were physical the whole game. They were just ready to play tonight. Q. Could you comment on J.P. prince's play tonight? ALONZO GEE: I think he played pretty good. He was very aggressive tonight. He did a lot of things out there to help them win. Q. As the game was ending and you were sitting on the bench, if you could take me through what you were thinking, watching? You know, you probably played your last game, what was going through your head? ALONZO GEE: It was a lot, you know? It was tough to lose this game, but I think my teammates, they played strong in the end. We just couldn't win. Q. They seemed to be able to get the ball inside, you know, real deep when you guys were especially in the first half. What were they doing well to get the ball in so deep? How did they kind of handle your zone? JAMYCHAL GREEN: I mean they had Tyler Smith in the middle. They had a couple of people running baseline. So that's how they led the bottom inside. Q. Can you talk about just the season and what did you learn? I mean there is a lot that happened, what did you learn and take away from this season? ALONZO GEE: I learned a lot. Coach Pearson helped me out a lot, just to stay focused and stay mentally and physically ready for everything I do in practice and games and everything. So I learned a lot. I took a lot from this season. My teammates helped me out this year. So I've learned a lot. Q. It was your first year, just talk about what you expect the difference from your first year to your second year to be coming up? JAMYCHAL GREEN: Well, first off, I'm going to get stronger. I'm going to go in the weight room and get something to expand my game. Just hope for a better outcome next year. CLAUDE FELTON: We'll continue with questions for Coach Pearson. Q. Now that the season's likely over, how can you reflect on this experience for you and how it's all gone? COACH PEARSON: Well, it's been a very unique experience. It will probably take a few days for this all to sink in. I'm very proud of the way our players have performed. I've told them in the locker room over the last six to eight weeks. You know, when this whole thing happened and we had three out of four on the road to start with, and three difficult games. We were in a game or two there that we lost early on. We had the tough loss at home with South Carolina. I just am real proud of the way our guys hung in there with our coaching staff and with each other. I felt like we had a really good finish to the year. Very proud of that. I think I was 5 out of 7 after tonight. But some good wins in there. I thought we played some very good basketball down the stretch. Q. As they were kind of building their lead in the first half, did you consider changing defenses and what was coming to mind as they built that up? COACH PEARSON: Yeah, we just played them here in the last week. We felt like the way to defend them was with the zone. We were better geared to defend them in that manner. Whether we were man or zone, it felt like the key to the game from a defensive standpoint outside of transition defense would be our ability to contain the dribble or contain the ball. They were able to get too many penetrating opportunities that led to easy baskets, easy shots in the paint. They made a few jumpers off the penetration. I thought that was real key for them. Q. You know these guys as well as anybody. Do you feel the pieces are in place for whoever the coach is going to be next year? COACH PEARSON: I think so. When you look across the locker room and you look at a guy that I think has really come along the second half of the year, Mikhail Torrance. He was I thought outstanding last night. And wasn't as good tonight. But I think he's a guy that's got a lot of things people like. He's got athleticism, size, and experience. And a little more success maybe as an individual. I think that he can build on. Andrew Steele can do some nice things, and Hillman is a great athlete. Obviously, Jamychal Green is on the all- freshman team. Anybody in our league would like to have him on their roster, I can assure you. The other post players, Justin Knox has had some bright moments and certainly Demetrius and Yamene Coleman. So there are enough guys in that locker room that if led in the right direction they can have some success. Q. Tennessee may not be the best basketball team in the country, but 1 through 8 is there a more athletic and long team than Tennessee? COACH PEARSON: I don't know around the country. But certainly within our league, I think you would probably have to cast a vote for them. Just as you said, they're very long, very athletic. Certainly I thought they came out as a very focused basketball team tonight. I thought outside of us containing the basketball, I thought that their defensive pressure and it wasn't necessarily the pressing sort of nature, but it was the even in the half court, they really guard us and defend us well in the half court. Q. You made no bones about as an assistant wanting to be a head coach. Then obviously this is probably not the way you wanted to get the head coaching job. But nonetheless, what did you learn from this and what are we going to see Phillip Pearson do in the future, very near future? COACH PEARSON: I don't know. We'll see what happens. I haven't had a chance to think about it. I think the pregame meal doesn't go down quite as well. But from a basketball standpoint for me, it's been a lot of fun. Certainly everything we've probably tried, it didn't work. I think there are things that have. The practices have been fun, the relationships with the players. You know, we've done a lot of different things. We've had officials come in two or three different times. So it's been a learning experience for them. It's been one for me, too. And hopefully something that awe all can build on. Q. They seem to really, particularly early on, pressure Mikhail and knock him out of what he was able to do last night. Y'all weren't able to recover from that offensively? COACH PEARSON: No, again, I felt like they got some transition baskets I thought early in the game. They were geared and ready to play the game, and certainly they should be. We got down six or eight or ten there, and we were fighting an uphill battle. I did everything -- as a result of their pressure I didn't think we were able to get into any flow offensively that we have in some other games. For example, last night I thought Mikhail was great with the ball screen. But tonight Tennessee did a much better job of defending that. Q. Washington, studying them on video any time this year, have you ever seen them play any better defensively or be more effective inside offensively and aggressively going to the basket? COACH PEARSON: I thought their defense was obviously very good. You know, again, I thought that the way they got the ball at the basket wasn't as much of throw it to the wing and post feed it in there. It was off penetration, I felt like. We gave up ten offensive rebounds in the first half. Obviously I gave them a chance to capitalize on some easy shots around the basket. End of FastScripts |
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