	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: PORTLAND

March 19, 2009

Matt Painter

PORTLAND, OREGON

Purdue Â– 61
Northern Iowa - 56

COACH PAINTER: First of all, I thought we beat a very good Northern Iowa team. A team I felt was going to give us trouble inside and on the perimeter with their skill level and their size. I think that's something at that level it's very difficult to get size. And with their big fella, just puts you in a bind. It makes you hold on the weak side. It makes you stay in there. And they spread you with all the skill.
I knew it was going to be a tough match-up, I thought our guys, after playing the last basketball game of the regular season and turnaround and play a morning game in Portland four days later, I thought they were ready to play and I thought they were locked in.
We missed a couple of shots, got frazzled a little bit, but I thought that had a lot to do with Northern Iowa and the way they defended. Ben Jacobson is a very good coach. It put us in a little bit of a bind. When we needed a basket, we got a basket. I thought E'Twaun Moore made tough shots down the stretch. We made free throws. Chris stepped up. And we took that charge late in the game. I thought that was a very key play.
Once again, just proud of our guys for their effort. Proud of them for being ready after a quick turnaround and very fortunate to survive after beating a very good Northern Iowa team.

Q. Would you talk about the quick start, there was a 14-0 run early. They hadn't played for a while and you guys had, was that maybe an advantage allowing you to get off to that 14-0 run, because in retrospect you obviously needed it?
JAJUAN JOHNSON: I thought we could maybe do something with it, but I think it had a lot to do with our guys coming out, ready to play, had a lot of energy starting the game. And that's what I think the biggest thing was for us.
ROBBIE HUMMEL: I'd agree with JaJuan. I think it helped that we had played about four days ago. I think that's probably a good time for us to not only rest, but also stay tuned up, I think. Ten days is a long time. So I thought that kind of was to our advantage.

Q. Robbie, could you talk about playing in this game in the second half when you guys had a lead and they're closing and you're the favorite and they're playing loose and what's sort of the mindset for you guys to try and get through a game like this at the end.
ROBBIE HUMMEL: You know, I think when you're the higher seed and obviously everyone loves upsets in the NCAA tournament, but you have to go in with the mindset that you're going to make plays, make big baskets and get defensive stops. I think we were able to do enough of that to win the game today.

Q. You missed the one free throw, but in the second half I think you guys were 15 of 19 from the line and that's kind of been an area that's been up and down this year. Talk about how important the free throw shooting was in the second half. I think you had 6 or 8 free throws the second half.
E'TWAUN MOORE: It's definitely important, especially down the stretch where you're trying to win the game, trying to close the game out. They come back and they hit a few buckets. So it was definitely crucial for us to finish out on the free throws, that could win or lose the game.

Q. JaJuan, the old expression, survive and advance, is that applicable to this? You guys do what you have to do and look forward to moving on to the next round?
JAJUAN JOHNSON: Definitely. It doesn't matter really how the game turns out unless you get the victory. If you get the win it doesn't really matter what happened during the game. In this part of the year it's just advancing and that's the most important thing, and we did that tonight, so I'm happy.

Q. You've got ice all over your bodies. How tough was it out there for you today?
E'TWAUN MOORE: It definitely was a physical team. Sort of kind of like the Big Ten teams we've played. They have some big bodies. They did a good job getting physical, especially off the rebounds. The ice is just temporary, we'll be fine.
ROBBIE HUMMEL: Yeah, I agree with E'Twaun. It was one of those games where it was similar to a Big Ten game. It's just a few bumps and bruises that you get with the grind of a game. So I think we'll be okay.

Q. Can you talk about your match-up? We've seen you play out on the perimeter, is that something you really wanted to do tonight against their big guy and draw him out there?
JAJUAN JOHNSON: He was a tough match-up for me, because he outweighed me a lot and he was taller and things like that. But I had one advantage and that's my speed. Coach was telling me if I go out and set some screens, pop, I might have some opportunities and knock off some shots on the outside.

Q. Rob, rebounding, you had a good rebounding game against Ohio State. But seemed like you guys got every big rebound you needed to get today. You had a good day on the boards. Talk about how important a factor that was in the game today.
ROBBIE HUMMEL: I think rebounds is always important. Coach is preaching to us about stealing possessions. It you don't turn the basket over and rebound -- it's a very important statistics for us and we need to keep getting better at it, I think we improved at the end of the season.

Q. Any of you can answer this, but you guys have only been a part of two of these, but by winning today you extended Purdue's record to 11-0 in first round games. The last time they lost Coach Painter was playing at Purdue. Are you guys aware of that (laughter), and how important is that to you to just -- to sustain that? That's kind of a pretty interesting statistic.
JAJUAN JOHNSON: I think that's a pretty interesting stat. I didn't know that. It's pretty cool that we're able to come out and win that first game and hopefully this year we can win the second game. I think that's what we're all trying to do.

Q. JaJuan got into a little bit of foul trouble in the second half. Did you see a difference with him out of the game? Do you think that helped Northern Iowa get in on you a little more?
COACH PAINTER: I thought they were getting inside on us when he was in the game, too. The thing that I was trying to get him to do, because we were fronting, and then when it went high we three quartered them. He was just allowing them to catch it. When you allow them to catch it at the rim, he's too big, he's going to score the ball. And we were going to scrape down with some of our guards when that happened. JaJuan needed to make a play on the ball and he wasn't doing that on several occasions.
Thought they were effective going to Jordan when he was in the game and when he wasn't in the game. It's a tough match-up and it's something that didn't happen a lot with mid-major schools. You just don't have a guy of that size and that skill level across the board. You normally have a couple combo forwards.

Q. You've talked about the free throw shooting all year. You've had some really good free throw shooting games, and others were ugly, to say the least. You missed a couple down the stretch, but when you had to have them, I think you were 15-19 the second half. Talk about that.
COACH PAINTER: We made just enough free throws to win the game. We also missed a couple to make it very interesting. If we could have made those free throws at that time, it could have pushed it to 3 or 4 possessions. We were not able to do that. But the overall we stepped up and made some shots today from the free throw line. That was encouraging. We had some guys miss free throws in the championship game against Ohio State. They stepped up and made crucial free throws today. Chris Kramer made some very, very important free throws to seal the victory.

Q. I'll ask you the same continuing. You talk about building a program and a program that can do -- there have been many different players, but since '93 you've never lost a first round game in 11 attempts. Different guys, different years, how important is that to you? You're going to tell me, yeah, we want to go on and win more than that. But to be able to sustain that without stumbling in the first round.
COACH PAINTER: It's difficult because you can't control your match-ups. And even if you can have a nice number next to you, there's very little difference between us and Northern Iowa when it gets down to it. They have a good team. We have a good team. I think both teams are tough, played to their strengths. So to have that consistency and be able to win those first round games, the past 16 years, whatever it is, it shows consistency and that really lies with Coach Keaty and what he was able to do. And that's the same blueprint we've used at Purdue. What he's established and the toughness, and playing to the strengths and being a good defensive team, and let that being the stable and trying to grow from there.

Q. You just talked about Chris making those two free throws. He obviously made important ones against Ohio State. He made important ones through the course of the season. From a percentage standpoint he's not your best shooter, but makes the big ones. Is that sort of that Chris Kramer, steel will coming through a little bit?
COACH PAINTER: Well, I think that's very important for us, not just in games but also in practices. And that's something we've tried to drive him to understand, that he can't impose his will on Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons, he has to do it all the time to grow and get better and make improvements. The fact that he's improved from last year and he wants the ball in those situations is a plus. We obviously want him in the game defensively guarding people, now to want him in there offensively to make those free throws really helps us. But you have to give him credit. He was shooting around 80 percent. His percentage is pretty good. The fact that he's been able to step up and make free throws late in the game has been huge.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297

NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: PORTLAND

March 19, 2009

Robbie Hummel

JaJuan Johnson

E'Twaun Moore

Matt Painter