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NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS REGIONALS: KANSAS CITYMarch 20, 2009Jeff CapelTaylor GriffinBlake GriffinKANSAS CITY, MISSOURI KEVIN KLINTWORTH: We are being joined in the interview room by Taylor Griffin and Blake Griffin from Oklahoma. Q. Outside Big 12 country, Blake, not a lot of people knew you before this year. Did you feel because of that as well of national attention, is that something you could feel as the season went on this year? And then also for Taylor, what did you do to keep him grounded in that sense? BLAKE GRIFFIN: I mean, I feel like the team as a whole we've had kind of a swell of national media attention that, you know, I think for me personally it's attributed to how we play as a team and the games we've won. It's not something I think about and worry about affecting me. TAYLOR GRIFFIN: I don't have to do a whole lot. From the way that our parents raised us, you know, you know where your talent and your abilities come from and, you know, that's never been something that Blake, you know, had to struggle with or, you know, have any issues about humility or anything like that. Q. Taylor and Blake both, could you guys talk about defensively the problems that Michigan will give you that you'll have to try to defend against some of the things they do that what you can do to defensively against them? TAYLOR GRIFFIN: I think they run a really good system. You know, I think they rely on that a lot, and it's been really good for them. I think the biggest thing for us is to play really good team defense. You know, they make a lot of cuts, curls. They utilize coming off screens really well, and I think that the biggest thing is just being alert every possession and crash the boards. Q. Blake? BLAKE GRIFFIN: Pretty much the same thing he said. They're very, very good at what they do and they run a great system, and they all know exactly what they're supposed to do. So we're going to have to be on our game. I don't know exactly what we're going to do just yet, but I know we need to come out and play right because they're a great team. Q. Blake, any lingering effects from the spill last night when you woke up today? BLAKE GRIFFIN: Just a little soreness. That's about it. Nothing unusual. Q. For both you guys, looks like the Big 12 will be 6-0 after today. I know there's a lot of talk this year about the Big East conference being one of the best. What does that say to you guys, if anything, that your conference is 6-0 or about to be 6-0 after the first round? TAYLOR GRIFFIN: You know, first of all, that's great for the conference. You know, we know how tough the Big 12 is, even though the Big East got a lot of attention this year and rightfully so. But, at the same time, you know, the Big 12 has been tough this year. I know a lot of people said it's kind of been a down year, but I think it's been just as tough as ever. But, you know, that's great for us, great for the program, great for -- the conference, actually. You know, best of luck to everybody out there. Q. Question for Blake. The highlights that have been on television the whole -- since your game, you know, a lot of photos of you in the flip there. What did you think when you saw it and, you know, any reaction to what happened? I know when we asked you about it last night, it was really right in the heat of battle. BLAKE GRIFFIN: I mean, I haven't seen photos or anything of that. My reaction is still the same as last night, pretty much we got tangled up. He took it a little personally. So, I mean I don't think he was really trying to hurt me or anything like that. I think he just kind of got caught up in the heat of the moment and things happen. Q. Taylor, do you go into this game tomorrow expecting to see a lot of zone and then how much focus does that put on your guards? TAYLOR GRIFFIN: You know, I think the zone has been really something that they rely on a lot. We expect to see 1-3-1, 2-3, and they're very good at it. That's one thing that we're going to have to have well-rounded game offensively to compete with that. You know, I'm sure they'll double-team Blake and whatever, but, you know, be ready for anything and be ready to knock down shots, knock down open shots and make plays. Q. Michigan starts four guys that are 6-5 or under. How do you guys -- how do you game plan for that? Is there a routine? BLAKE GRIFFIN: Just by, you know, just because they don't start as big a lineup, we still have to prepare the same way for what they do, because like we've said, they're very good at what they do. We can't take them lightly just because they might be a little bit shorter. We just need to concentrate on doing what our game plan is, executing that, taking care of the ball. I think hopefully we'll be alright. Q. Blake, considering all the hits you've taken this year, are people -- are they taking it personally that you're just beating them on the floor and getting rebounds? Are they taking it personally against you? Is that where these hits are coming from, the stitches, concussion, the knees? BLAKE GRIFFIN: It could be. I'm a physical player. That's kind of my game and, you know, I think that might be it because most of the guys we see aren't so physical down low. I mean, that's my game and I think that might be some of it and, you know, every once in a while things happen in the heat of the moment. Q. Blake, a number of coaches have tried to describe who they think of when they watch your game. Some struggled and gone back years. Who have you patterned yourself after, if anybody? BLAKE GRIFFIN: Really, I mean, there's not a single player that I really, really try to be like. Maybe throughout the years I've had -- I've watched a lot of players and really tried to play like them, but I mean, you know, any low-post guy that's big and likes to bang, anything like that is somebody that I kind of look up to, I guess, so to speak, but I can't really think of one person in particular. Q. Taylor, how difficult is it for you to contain your emotions when you see something like what happened to your brother last night? And secondly, do you think something like that could help even bring this team closer together? TAYLOR GRIFFIN: It's kind of been -- it's kind of been tough, you know, watching some of the cheap shots that he's gotten. You know, I've said this before, I have complete faith in him that he's going to handle any situation like that correctly and, you know, what's in the best interest of this team and what we're trying to do. You know, yeah, you see your brother out there, not only a teammate but my brother out there, and you don't want anything -- anybody attacking them like that. But, you know, like I said, I have complete faith in how he handles each of these situations. And, second, question, I think it can help us to bring us together a little bit more, kind of help us buckle down mentally, and that's kind of the mindset that we have to keep throughout the game. We can't just turn on when something like that happens. We got to keep that mindset for 40 minutes. Q. Guys, last year at this time you were getting ready to play Louisville and that's a big step forward for the program. Can you just talk a little bit about what your feeling going into this game tomorrow night? Obviously, you're favored seeding-wise. Your approach this year as opposed to last? BLAKE GRIFFIN: We're definitely excited, but at the same time, Michigan is a great team, and you see games like this go down to the wire all the time. So, you know, by no means are we relaxed. We're very, very excited for it, and we need to be on top of our game, like we've said, and really come out and not make a lot of mistakes. Q. Taylor, how excited were you guys to see the guards really come out, play free, play with emotion, play well in the game, and has Austin Johnson been able to practice today? TAYLOR GRIFFIN: It was very good to see all our guards play well. You know, it's been something that people have been questioning for awhile, and I think they've kind of taken that personally. You know, that's a big key to the success of this team is guard play and along with, you know, everybody playing defense. But, yeah, it was great to see, and hopefully that was just a starting point for our tournament run. What was the second question? Q. Austin Johnson, was he able to practice today? TAYLOR GRIFFIN: Yeah, he should be. I don't see anything that would keep him from doing that. Q. Blake, did you say you haven't seen any photos or film of that from last night? BLAKE GRIFFIN: I saw like a quick highlight last night. I didn't see any pictures of it or anything like that. Q. What did mom have to say about that? BLAKE GRIFFIN: She was pretty upset, but, you know, we calmed her down a little bit. She'll be alright until the next day. Q. What about your dad? BLAKE GRIFFIN: He's a man of few words. He didn't really say much. TAYLOR GRIFFIN: We bought him some ice cream. BLAKE GRIFFIN: Calmed him down a little bit. Q. What did you learn? This time last year, you guys played Louisville, lost pretty bad. You're the big dog on the block this year. Also the fact that your dad was a coach when you guys grew up around the game, does that help you to know how to deal with the situation of people beating on you? Has your dad talked to you about stuff like that? BLAKE GRIFFIN: Yeah. As far as, you know, this year compared to last year, I think from last year we just learned that, you know, Louisville didn't take us lightly and didn't take a break on us at all. They came out and pressed us from beginning to end, and they really got after us, and that's kind of the attitude we want to have this year going into each game, no matter what team we're playing. So that's definitely something we need to do. TAYLOR GRIFFIN: Yeah. Definitely. You know, it's all about mentality. We have the ability, we have the coaching, it's just how to get the instinct, be able to go out and put teams away no matter who you're playing. KEVIN KLINTWORTH: Last couple of questions. Q. Taylor, I wanted to follow-up kind of on John and Dave's. You've been around this league a long time. You've seen guys like Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley. Those guys really didn't have to go through what he's going through as far as the fouls and things. We can see his eye right now, still a reminder from the Rice game. Why do you think Blake has gone through it like others haven't? TAYLOR GRIFFIN: I mean Durant and Beasley were very good players, but they're not nearly, not even close to as physical as he is, big and strong as he is, and I think that's what a lot of it is. You know, he's going to get his buckets, you know, no matter what he's going to go try. I think it's frustrating for guys. I know it's frustrating for guys trying to guard him in practice everyday. So, you know, I can't imagine when you're in the game and your one assignment is to stop Blake and it's not working, you're going to get frustrated. KEVIN KLINTWORTH: Last question. Q. Guys, last week after the OSU lost, Coach Capel said he wasn't happy with the way you competed. Taylor, when Blake fell and hopped back up, do you think that sent a message. Blake, do you think you guys competed the way he wanted last night and kind of it's a new season? TAYLOR GRIFFIN: Yeah. I think, you know, he obviously wasn't very hurt by it. You know, he's a tough guy. He's resilient and that's kind of the mentality we want to have as a team, just that nothing is going to knock us back, nothing is going to knock us down. We're just going to keep coming and, you know, bring it altogether. BLAKE GRIFFIN: I was very pleased with how we competed last night. That's something that we really stressed all week in practice, you know, to come out and play like we did. We didn't do it the whole game, but I felt like we did a much better job of competing throughout the game, and, like he said, we needed to have an attitude, you know, we'll take whatever -- whatever you give us, and we'll just keep moving forward. KEVIN KLINTWORTH: Thanks, guys. Coach, if you wouldn't mind opening things up with a quick statement and then we'll get to questions. COACH JEFF CAPEL: We're excited to still be playing, to have another opportunity to play, playing against a very good Michigan team that's well coached, really tough to prepare for them especially just one day. We'll get out there and practice and go through some things, and hopefully we can be prepared. Most importantly we have to be ready to take care of us and doing the things we need to be doing. We're excited about the game tomorrow. Look forward to seeing what happens. Q. Jeff, I'm sure you've seen the tape from last night, the takedown. Just your reaction since you've seen it? COACH JEFF CAPEL: It was awful. Blake was very fortunate, very, very fortunate. After I left here last night, went back to the locker room, I had the TV on, they showed it. I saw it then. Just made me even more angry. That doesn't need to be in our game. I'm talking about college basketball, plays like that. One of the things that it could do is it could make the really elite players not want to be in college long for fear of getting hurt. You know, again, I had an opportunity when I played to play against some elite players. I don't think they went through anything like that. I don't recall Duncan getting hit like that or taken down like that or Jamieson or Marbury or those guys. There's no place for that in our game, and it's just frustrating to see it happen to a kid that's -- he's everything right about college basketball, something like that to happen. I was probably more frustrated after I saw it last night. Q. What is Blake's current condition? What kind of treatment did he undergo? Will he be ready tomorrow center? COACH JEFF CAPEL: He's fine. There's not much you can do for a bruised elbow except ice and rest. He'll be ready to go tomorrow. Q. Coach, obviously so much attention gets given to Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims. Your impression of the two freshman, Novak and Douglass? COACH JEFF CAPEL: They're good. They're scrappy and tough. It's not a fake toughness. Those kids play hard. They can make shots. Most importantly, which is so important on a team, they understand who they are, and probably just as important, who they're not. They don't try to do the things that they're not good at. They focus in on what they do, and they do it at a very high level, make shots, play hard, defend, scrap, do all the little things that add up to being really big things. I think that's one of the reasons why Michigan is in the position they're in right now. Q. Coach, specifically what makes them difficult to prepare for, and in short and on the flip side, do you think you're a difficult team to prepare for on short notice because of the uniqueness of Blake? COACH JEFF CAPEL: What makes them difficult is how much movement they have in their offense. It has some of the Princeton offense similarities, but it's its own unique style. They have a lot of moving and cutting. They keep great spacing and they have five guys on the floor all the time that can shoot the basketball. So your traditional 5-man may not play a possession of post defense. They may have to be out on the perimeter the whole game. Lot of screening, lot of cutting. They do a great job of making reads. There's some things that I think are absolutes if you watch them on tape. They do a really good job ever making reads. Then playing against their multiple defenses. 1-3-1 is not a defense you see a lot in college basketball. It's something that Michigan does and Coach Beilein has done since he's been in the profession. They're playing more 2-3 zone now than I've ever seen them play. I haven't really watched them this year until a few days ago. Then playing more man-to-man at times. When you're playing against teams that are constantly switching defenses, sometimes that can knock you off balance a little bit as -- has you reacting instead of going out and just playing. For us, we just have to do what we do, and hopefully we can impose our will and make them react to us and to what we do. As far as us being difficult to prepare for, I don't know. That's something another coach would have to answer. I know that they're not many Blake Griffins around. So I know that's unique in its own standpoint of having to prepare for that. But when we have movement own offense, we're screening and doing those things, I think we are tough to guard. When we don't move and just stay and become lethargic, we're pretty easy to guard. Hopefully we'll have movement tomorrow and be tough to guard. Q. Jeff, when you're playing a team that has good -- four good shooters on the floor and one of your bigs has to go out and cover, can you talk about what you stress in terms of rebounding and making sure they get in position because they'll try to draw your bigs out on the floor? COACH JEFF CAPEL: No question. You know, one of the things with a team that shoots a lot of 3s is that a lot of times it's long rebounds. Michigan, if I'm correct -- and I looked at this this morning, maybe my math as I is a little bit off -- I think they shoot 47.7 percent of their shots are 3s. That's a lot. It's almost half of their offense. So with that, sometimes it leads to a lot of long rebounds. Our guards are going to have to rebound for us tomorrow. We're going to have to check out and rebound. It's something we didn't do well yesterday. We're going to have to make that a point of emphasis tomorrow. Q. Jeff, is it a little bit of a double whammy with Michigan as far as the preparation, the fact they're unique offensively and defensively? COACH JEFF CAPEL: Yes, it is. But, you know, again, we have to concentrate on what we do. We'll go over Michigan. We'll be as prepared for them as we possibly can. But we need to take care of us. Hopefully they're having the same kind of thoughts about us. Q. Follow up on a different topic. Looks like the Big 12 is going to go 6-0 in the first round, first time that's ever happened. What's that say about the conference? COACH JEFF CAPEL: Very good. Been underrated all year long. One of the things that happens in our league, we beat up on each other. When you get to this point, it's kind of refreshing to have an opportunity to play against someone else. Again, I don't think people understand how good this league is and how many good players we have and the really good coaches we have in our league, and hopefully this is an example to show the country, to show college basketball country, how good it really is. Q. Jeff, I know you're getting ready to hit the practice court. Is Austin okay, recovering last night? COACH JEFF CAPEL: He'll be okay. We'll probably have to limit him some today, but I think he'll be ready to go tomorrow. Q. Coach, as ugly as that was last night, can some good come out of that in the way it might even make Blake's teammates rally all the more around him together? COACH JEFF CAPEL: You know, I don't think it took that last night for that to happen, you know? He's taken some hits and falls all year. You look at him after the concussion, diving over the table at Texas Tech. He does things like that in practice. So, I don't think it takes that for our guys to rise. I think just the fact that again we have another opportunity to play, that should be enough for us to rally around each other and rally around what we're trying to do. Q. Jeff, your recent slump, everybody talked about didn't have Blake, didn't make shots. How much of that was just not playing as top level of defense as you had been earlier? COACH JEFF CAPEL: A little bit of that. It was combination of a lot of different things. Some of it had to do with the opponents we were playing. We played the toughest part of our schedule and, you know, that had something to do with it as well. But, again, that's behind us. We hadn't really talked about it since the O State loss. We talked about trying to complete every possession and getting back to playing like I know we're capable of playing. Q. Jeff, last year you guys were in this situation but you were the underdog. This year you're in the situation and you're good going in. What would the win tomorrow and advance into the Sweet 16 be in terms of a step for this program? COACH JEFF CAPEL: It would be huge. But most importantly, our guys want to continue to play, and if we really feel that way, then we have to go out there and give an effort worthy of that. Can't just be talk. Again, whether we're the underdog or favored, we have an opportunity and we have to take advantage of it tomorrow. Q. Taylor Griffin talked a little bit about he thought some of the beatings Blake takes is because of how frustrating it is to defend him. Your job is to defend him and he's doing what he's done this year. Can you speak a little of that. There must be guys in practice who get frustrated trying to stop him. What it's like for people to try and stop him? COACH JEFF CAPEL: There are guys in practice who get frustrated. It's tough. I've said this all year long. He's a tough guy to defend and officiate because you have to be physical with him because he's so strong, he's so physical. We don't mind people being physical. It's just -- it's not just with him. It's with anyone. That's just dirty stuff is not good for our game. But he is a tough guy to defend because of how physical he is and how good he is and how skilled he is. If you're out there trying your butt off, just really trying and giving everything you have and the guy is still scoring on you, guy still making it look easy, that can be frustrating. I guarded some guys like that. It was frustrating. I never flipped them over, though. Q. Jeff, you played a number of guys yesterday. Are you confident that whatever matchup you need defensively or whatever matchup you want to get, you have the personnel now with players that you feel confident will go win the game for you that you can come up in whatever you want to do? COACH JEFF CAPEL: I'm confident in our players. I believe in them. We won 28 games with this group, and hopefully we can win some more. We can win at least one more. I'm really confident in those guys. Everyone of them at different times have stepped up and made huge contributions for us this season. And so if we -- whatever we need, we feel like we can go to our bench and those guys can provide whatever we need. Q. Coach, obviously a lot is being made on Michigan matching up against Blake Griffin. The guard play is also going to be a pretty good matchup, Manny Harris and Willie Warren. How do you think Willie stacks up against Manny. Does Manny remind you of any guards from the Big 12? COACH JEFF CAPEL: Manny is really, really good. He'll be maybe the best guard we've played against this year. I have a lot of respect for him. He's a kid that you would enjoy as a basketball fan, I would enjoy watching him play as a basketball fan. He's really smooth. He's very efficient offensively and he plays hard. He plays the game the right way. There are some good matchups on the perimeter but most importantly I want our guys to play like I know we're capable of playing. To limit our turnovers and to be aggressive but be smart while being aggressive and step up and be ready to take shots in that are there. Q. I asked Coach Beilein about doubling Blake, the decision to or not to. Is there anything different that you can show Blake in terms when he sees the double out of those zone formations that you mentioned? Are there different angles, different passes he needs to see? COACH JEFF CAPEL: They double differently from anyone that we played this year. They double from the bottom, at least they have in their previous games. That is something that's different from what we've seen. One of the things that we talked to Blake about is trying to catch the ball low, catch it deep, do your work early. That can negate the double. You can still go up and finish through it. Nebraska was doing that to us in the first half when we played them, and Blake did a better job in the second half of catching it deeper. We did a better job of finding him deeper. One of the things we talked about with Blake, you know, we know he's going to get doubled is getting out in transition. Running it's hard to double in transition. We have to get stops and rebounds in order for that to happen. Then being able to trust, when that happens, when he does get doubled, to get the ball back out to the guys. That's where guys have to be ready to step up and make plays, whether it's a shot or extra pass or hit right back inside when that happens. KEVIN KLINTWORTH: Last couple of questions for Coach. Q. Jeff, you talked on Wednesday about you like to coach by giving your guys a lot of freedom, you don't want to have a quick hook or come down too hard on them for mistakes. As the season goes on deeper into the tournament, for instance, do you have less patience for that, or do you think you have the same threshold as do you in November, December and January, and if so, what kind of mistakes get you going more than others? COACH JEFF CAPEL: Depends on how the game is going. I don't go into a game thinking -- I try to coach on feel and get a feel for how the game is going. The mistakes that bother me the most are effort mistakes. I don't feel like guys are giving good effort. Guys don't hustle, guys don't get on the floor for a loose ball. Those are the ones that probably get you out of there a little bit faster than any other ones. You make a mistake trying to make a play, you're going hard and maybe you overrun something on defense or you get over and try to take a charge but you're a second too late but you're really trying to make an effort to do that, I understand that. The best guy that ever played made mistakes. But it's just effort mistakes are the ones that bother me. KEVIN KLINTWORTH: Last question? No questions? Okay. Thank you Coach. End of FastScripts |
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