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NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: DAYTONMarch 19, 2009Wayne ChismScotty HopsonBobby MazeBruce PearlJ.P. PrinceTyler SmithDAYTON, OHIO THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student-athletes only, please. Q. It was kind of an up-and-down, ragged season for Tennessee. Do you see the tournament as a chance to get on the right path and get things going like you did in the regular season? WAYNE CHISM: We got ourselves together a long time ago. We're playing together as a team, we're staying together as a team, and we're believing in each other. We done got better as a team, and we believe in Coach Pearl, too. Q. This is the third time in four years that you faced these guys. Tyler, anybody, J.P., what stands out about Oklahoma State? It's their third different coach in that same time period. TYLER SMITH: This will be my first time playing them. I wasn't there when we played in Nashville. They have four guards that shoot the ball real well. They made a game and that's something we'll have to control. Our big guy is going to play tomorrow. J.P. PRINCE: They're an exciting team, get up and down the floor, shoot a lot of 3s, like Tyler said, and score a lot of points, and I think it's going to be a good matchup and fun to watch. Q. Bobby, you've played against Oklahoma State when you were at Oklahoma. And you're one year at Oklahoma, did you learn to respect and the like, what was the feeling between Oklahoma State and does that carry over for you? BOBBY MAZE: Definitely learned to respect them, because I'm a fan of basketball as well as I play it. And they play very hard and play with a lot of intensity, and they were a well-coached team, what I remember. They had a good point guard in Barry Eaton, who was the leader of that team and he's a senior. He's grown. They lost a guy like James Curry in the NBA. They have shooters. I remember when I was playing in high school, they've got him playing the floor an advantage for them. Q. Tyler, for you, particularly, and Wayne, last year High C, lot of expectations this year, a little disappointed in the seed you did get. Is there a different feeling as you go into this game? Is there a different motivation going into this game because of the change in seeding? TYLER SMITH: We just want to stay together, regardless of our seed. If we was like a 2 last year, or this year like a 9, we've still got to play together regardless of our seed, and it just made a tougher opponent on us this time. I mean, like last year we have hard games against America and Butler. It's going to be a hard game for us this year, too. Q. Tyler, and J.P., I guess this is the first environment you've come in where you're not the story. In Orlando, a lot of hype. SEC tournament, people thought you would win it. Here you're not the headliners. Is that lack of pressure, is that good that you're kind of coming in under the radar? TYLER SMITH: We don't look at it like that, coming under the radar or target. We know who the target is and it's Pittsburgh coming out of the Big East. We're not picked to make it out of the first round. Regardless of what we're picked, we're going to play our game and that will take care of itself. J.P. PRINCE: I think Tyler did a great job. Doesn't matter whether you're the headliner or the underdog. Win or go home, it's simple as that no matter who you're playing. Everybody is going to give 100 percent out there on the court. Q. Wayne, Marshall Moses, about 20 pounds and a couple of inches. That's their post player, six four and a half and 240ish, have you gone against somebody like that size differential this year and what are you trying to exploit? WAYNE CHISM: I played a lot of post players, so it doesn't really matter. I learned how to play against a smaller guard or bigger person, doesn't matter. Whoever is in the paint that I have to play against, I play against them. I go out there and play my game and stay out of foul trouble. Q. Tyler, you mentioned Pittsburgh. What makes them so difficult and what do you see in them? TYLER SMITH: I mean, they're one of the teams, one of the toughest conferences in America, with the Big East. I mean, they've just got a great -- they've been No. 1 two or three times this season. We know how much people are big on the Big East and things like that. I don't want to say they're a headliner, too. Every team here can be beat. That's what it comes down to, either win or go home. Q. Scotty, last week your first post-season at the SEC in Tampa, what do you gain from that and how are you feeling this week being in the NCAA? SCOTTY HOPSON: Great watching it over the years, me being in high school. Now I'm here getting this experience to play, just make me as a better all-around player. I'm taking it in stride and living the moment out. Q. Bobby, getting a chance to play in the SEC tournament and that environment, does it give you a sense of this team playing in consecutive days, playing in a neutral court and those kind of situations, does it give you a better sense of this team and how it might approach the NCAAs? BOBBY MAZE: Definitely I know what this team is capable of doing. I have a lot of confidence in myself and this team. And I believe that we can do wonderful things whenever we put our mind to it and play together. I definitely feel like knowing that we're one game on the line and taking one game at a time knowing this is our last chance, our last thought, we have to go out there and play as hard as we possibly can knowing that if you lose you go home. And I feel like I believe in these guys and they believe in me. Q. Bobby, what's your biggest concern with these guys, both teams like to get up and down the court? BOBBY MAZE: My biggest concern is just transition defense. They score a lot of points in transition and they thrive off of it. Not just their point guards, but anybody on their team except for Moses brings the ball up the court, when they get the rebound they just like to push it up and they are dangerous from 3. Byron does a good job of driving this side and kicking it on to the open shooters and that's the main concern is just transition defense. But Coach did a great job of the schedule we had. We played against a lot of teams all season, different types of teams, transition and slow teams and I definitely feel like we'll be prepared. Nothing we haven't seen before. Q. I guess this is for Wayne. I know we've talked about this before the season and during the season, but you were again left off the first team all CC is this just another opportunity to maybe try and get more of an identity or come out of relative anonymity? WAYNE CHISM: As I said the first time it doesn't matter. I still have to prove myself to a lot of people. I have to go out and play my game. I just have to continue do what I do best that's rebound and play good defense and help my team come out with a good win. Being on the SEC team first team doesn't matter. If I don't make it I don't make it, I just move on. Q. Why do you suppose that your numbers and performances have been overlooked? WAYNE CHISM: I'm just a hard-nosed player. I go out there and play hard out there. I don't know why it's been overlooked. But some people can keep looking over it and I won't care about it. It's nothing. Q. Wayne and Tyler, Chris Ferguson, coach at Oklahoma State was on the Tennessee staff when you guys were in high school, and I'm just wondering if either one of you remember him recruiting you at all during your high school days and for Tennessee and if you got to know him at all? TYLER SMITH: Yeah, when we were in Orlando they were down there, too, and seeing Coach Ferguson down there and talked a little bit. But I mean we remember him recruiting us in high school. Q. Wayne, do you remember him at all? WAYNE CHISM: No. Q. How much do you guys think it helps that you've been in the NCAA Tournament every year, this is the first time for everyone on Oklahoma State's team to be in it. How much does having done the interviews and all this process help you guys this week? TYLER SMITH: I think it's going to help us out. But at the same time when you're on the court, I mean all the cameras and interviews doesn't matter. Because if you're a great player and you're going to show it out there on the court. But us coming here being here before. And Scotty first time, my second year in the tournament it helps a little bit. But like I said when it's inside those lines it doesn't really matter. WAYNE CHISM: Well, I've been in the tournament three years now, so I grew up a lot in this system and the tournament. And like he said inside those lines it's going to be just straight basketball. And in the media room it's straight media. I learned a lot being in the media room and on the court. And especially on the big stages. Q. Last year you were spanked by Louisville in the tournament, I'm wondering if that memory affects either -- TYLER SMITH: You have Louisville? Q. I am. But I'm really asking how you all use -- it's a new year obviously and how you all used, if that is in any way a motivation, if it affects how you emotionally or prepare from a practice standpoint and would also like to ask Scotty if that makes any difference to him? TYLER SMITH: I think last year was a totally different team. We can't sit here and go off last year's team. Yeah, Louisville got us, and that's the past. I mean this year we're trying to take care of business and make it past that Sweet 16. Q. I was wondering if that game last year -- being a Kentucky fellow, that being from Kentucky, if you remember that game and if that game in any way is helping you prepare to be ready for your first tournament? TYLER SMITH: After that game we called him to make sure we could get him to come to Tennessee so we could get extra help. (Laughter). SCOTTY HOPSON: I mean, I remember watching the game. I wanted for Tennessee to win. That's what I was looking for in my recruitment. But now I put that in the past and I just want to get up as far as I can this year and do as best we can in the NCAA Tournament. Q. Scotty, you obviously came in with high expectations, how would you describe the seasons? As far as your performance and the team, has it been disappointing? Is it about what you thought? I guess just what you rolled in here thinking about your season so far? SCOTTY HOPSON: There's been ups and downs the entire season you have that as a player, as a team. But these guys have been helping me out a lot. They're leaders and they have really been taking me through the ropes and I thank them for what they've done this season. At this point right now we're just sticking together and everybody is just trying to contribute. That's when we play best when we play together and everybody contributes. So at this time we're trying to stay together and get as far as we can, like I said, as far as we can go. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. If you could begin with an opening statement. COACH PEARL: We're excited about being in Dayton and being back in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year at the University of Tennessee. We know the road to advance is probably as challenging as any we've faced being a 9 seed. And getting prepared for Oklahoma State has been a great challenge. I was always a fan of Travis Ford's. I was a head coach at Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana and he and his father were very, very prominent in Western Kentucky basketball circles at all levels. I followed his career as a player. And then I was witness to the work he did coming through the ranks and particularly began to take notice at UMASS with the way his team has played. He's got a style of play that's -- I'd like to think it's similar to ours. It's up tempo. His players play with great freedom, and yet they play with terrific purpose. And we know that with a four-guard rotation and a point guard like Byron Eaton that can really get in the lane and create havoc and then be a pass first guy, they're very dangerous on every possession. You can basically kind of spread things out, get Byron Eaton the ball screen and see what happens and it's pretty good offense. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach. Q. Third time in four years you've faced them. They've prepped for Bruce Pearl and Bruce Pearl and you've prepared for Eddie Sutton, Sean Sutton and Travis Ford. Talk about the differences and is there an advantage or disadvantage either way? COACH PEARL: Well, Terrel Harris had 17 the last time we played. Byron Eaton played very well the first game in Oklahoma City. And so I would -- I guess if there's got to be an advantage it would be basically the system we're running is similar. Although, this year's team is much different than the teams they faced in the past. We were the smaller undersized team that spread you out and shot the 3-ball and now we're bigger and a little bit more traditional. So even though it's the same coach, we're playing differently than we did the first couple of times that we saw them. And, you know, what Oklahoma State's team reminds me of a little bit is my first year Wisconsin Milwaukee I was a great beneficiary of Bo Ryan's progress that he made his first year at UW in Milwaukee. They hadn't won yet. But he at least instilled a really solid defensive system and toughness, and certainly when Travis takes over for a Sutton, two Suttons, he was left with that mind-set and then opening things up himself offensively, it's almost like the best of both worlds. Q. It's been four days since you guys received the seed. Have you noticed any difference compared to previous years in first round games and how you guys have responded and where your focus is right now? COACH PEARL: Well, the approach that we've done, the approach that I've taken and again I learned this from Dr. Tom Davis, who was my mentor, we have a four-team tournament that we're playing in. Pittsburgh, East Tennessee State, Oklahoma State and Tennessee. One of those four teams is going to advance to play in the Sweet 16. And so that's how we approach it right from the very beginning. This first round game will be the toughest first round game that I've had since I was probably back in Wisconsin Milwaukee when we had to open up against Alabama or Notre Dame. So I think the approach is very, very much the same. I think our guys have great respect for their personnel and what they do. And there's a desire on behalf of our players to try to advance. And I know that Oklahoma State's excited about playing Tennessee. They'll know the challenges of trying to advance, and then the winner gets one of the top teams in the country. And that's when you start to get into that one shining moment stuff, where can Oklahoma State or Tennessee pull off what would be a huge upset. I'm sure the players for Oklahoma State would like to get that opportunity. I know our guys would as well. Be careful what you wish for, of course, but still that's why we're in this tournament, to try to make something special happen. I promised my guys. I said, "Listen, I promise you if we're able to advance through this weekend," and believe me we know how difficult it's going to be. It's something they'll never forget. I'll never forget our run in Cleveland. I'll never forget what happened in Columbus Ohio when I took this Tennessee team there and we had to beat the ACC champions, Virginia, to go on to play Ohio State. And I'd like that very much for these student-athletes. Q. Oklahoma State has their freshman starter No. 12. List him at 5-10 might have been 5-8 or 7 Keiton Page. What's your opinion and does he remind you of anyone? COACH PEARL: He's an old D guy. He's obviously got great range. If you leave him and he makes shots, it really opens everything else up for them. We played against a guy named Rodney Clark from Arkansas, and he was a similar cover. And you've got to have great discipline to be able to stay in his passing lane. The difference was Arkansas had Courtney Fordson only to penetrate. These guys have got Eaton, Anderson, Harris, Neilo, a number of guys that are going to be hard covers off the bounce and it's awfully hard to stay with Page and stay with his passing lane when the other guys are driving left and right around you. Q. Is there much of a different feeling coming in as a 9 seed than a 2 seed with your players and your approach and pressure or no pressure? COACH PEARL: Well, I don't know. I'm sure you've maybe asked that question of these guys. I know last year we had to beat American University and Butler at South Alabama to advance. There wasn't an Oklahoma, Oklahoma State. There wasn't a Pittsburgh in that pod. And so maybe this has more of a Sweet 16 feel for our guys as far as competition was concerned. When I was in Iowa we were in the 8, 9 game a bunch and we knew how difficult that opponent is going to be. Evenly matched. If you look at Oklahoma's strength of schedule and RPI they're a pretty tough 8 and I think we're a pretty tough 9 as well. So I think the point is whoever comes out of this game is going to be a very good basketball team moving on. And a team that's going to give whoever wins that first game a challenge. Q. Obviously you were juiced when you were at Milwaukee made the tournament. Past years you've been a high seed. I'm sure there's pressure that goes along with that. What goes along with being a No. 9 seed? COACH PEARL: You've asked a couple of questions about the differences maybe in expectations or pressures coming in as a 2, feeling you have more pressure as a 2 than you do as a 9. I really didn't feel that way. I mean, our expectation is to try to advance through this weekend. We understand the challenges. I mean, there's some serious challenges to beating Oklahoma State. We understand that. But our expectation is to advance and go to Boston. Our expectation was to do the same in Alabama. Our expectation was to do that when I was at Wisconsin/Milwaukee. We know how hard it's going to be. I don't think we feel any less pressure well because we're the 9 and Oklahoma's state really good and they're the 8 and of course there's the 1. I honestly don't think our kids feel any different. Maybe we should. I just don't. If we don't win it we'll be really disappointed. Q. This is the first time from all these guys from Oklahoma State playing in the NCAA Tournament and you got kind of a bunch of guys who have been here before. How different is that for them? COACH PEARL: I'm going to answer that and help if I could take you in a direction. Is this Tennessee team as hungry as Oklahoma State having been there two or three times as opposed to this is the first time? I remember at Milwaukee, this was a pretty important press conference for me when I was at Milwaukee. Being on CBS that was a big thing. That wasn't for the university of Wisconsin Milwaukee, that was for the university of Wisconsin. And so I think both teams being high major teams and having the visibility that they both have, this isn't going to be any bigger of an opportunity for Oklahoma State or us. I think for the mid majors, this is huge. I mean, to get to this opportunity. And so the play I think it's tremendously elevated. You come in in a stage you've never been to before. I don't think that's an intimidating situation. In fact, I think that brings out the best in you. You can sit there you get tired of watching everybody else on television and going I can play with those guys, that's not the case for Oklahoma State or Tennessee. Both teams are very, very visible. I don't necessarily know that our experience having been in the tournament before is going to make much of a difference. Maybe it will help Wayne or Tyler or some of the individuals that have been there, but we have four or five guys that are in their first year in the program and in fact two starters that have not played in the tournament before. Scotty Hobson and Bobby Maze. Q. When you guys get going and you get the full court pressure going and you score during a regular season game, sometimes that can snow ball really on a team. I'm wondering about your experience, the differences once you get to this tournament with some stoppages in play, maybe the timeouts are a little longer, how different that is, and how maybe you adjust to that? COACH PEARL: The timeouts are longer, and it is a factor. We do try to wear people down. But we're not pressing as much this year as we have in the past. We're not quick enough. Oklahoma State has got a real good rotation, seven or eight guys are in that rotation. They basically have six starters that will play 30 plus. And that's shortened bench sometimes can bode well in tournament play, because those guys are all real comfortable, real familiar with each other. The longer timeouts fatigue won't be as much of a factor at the end of the half or at the end of the game. But we're not going to change. I mean I've never gone into a team with a pressing team changed our style of play because the timeouts are longer. We're still going to play the way we play. It will be a game of runs. No lead is safe with Oklahoma State. They can be ahead by a bunch and because the way they play if you can get a few stops you have a chance to crawl back into it. By the same token, if they're down, you better keep scoring, because they're going to keep shooting it. And they can score -- again they can score in bunches. Nine and a half 3s a game is fifth in the nation. So we're going to have to continue to attack. It should be an up tempo game. Has a chance to be a high scoring game if both teams are shooting well. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. End of FastScripts |
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