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NCAA MEN'S REGIONAL SEMIFANLS & FINALS: MEMPHIS

March 29, 2009

Roy Williams

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

North Carolina Â– 70
Oklahoma - 62

THE MODERATOR: We have with us head coach Roy Williams. Student-athletes Ty Lawson, Danny Green, Tyler Hansbrough. We'll ask Coach Williams to make an opening statement, and then we'll take questions first for the student-athletes. Coach?
COACH ROY WILLIAMS: We're ecstatic to be here. There's no question about that. I congratulate the NCAA for having cookies back there today, more than yesterday. And they're good. We're making progress in every area.
This is a dream come true. I think each and every year you put yourself in a position that you can be one of those teams that has a chance to win it all, and that's my dream and my goal every year.
This team has dealt with a great deal of adversity. A great deal of expectation from other people. And they've got us going to Detroit, and we're excited about that. We have to say congratulations to a really, really, really big time Oklahoma team.
They were a load for us, there's no question. I tried to say to most of the players and to Jeff particularly to think about what they accomplished the whole year, not just think about this game.
Guys, we feel very lucky and very fortunate and very happy.
THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Danny, with what coach said about the pressure at the start of the year and the injuries you've had, how satisfying is it for you to get back to a Final Four a second time?
DANNY GREEN: Very satisfying. I know we have high expectations every year. It's nothing new to us. I mean, I think it was more this year. They were expecting us to go undefeated and all that talk. We lost a couple of games, and everybody thought the world was ending.
We knew that we could still achieve the things we wanted to achieve. We had some guys go down. Marcus was hurt. He had surgery. Zeller went out. We didn't expect him to come back so soon. I think we handled it very well. And this team is mature enough, and I guess we're more experienced than we were in the past.
We've been through enough adversity to be able to fight through games and bounce back and to get to where we are now.

Q. Ty, for you, you never seem to be too uncomfortable out there in the last two days. Do you credit that to the experience you had against LSU in the last ten minutes? You knew what to expect.
TY LAWSON: Definitely. Because in the LSU game they put pressure on us when we came out in the second half. This game, we were used to it. And just experience overall in the NCAA tournament.
You can't get uncomfortable or feel pressured or rush stuff in the NCAA tournament because that leaves turnovers and bad shots and things like that.
When times are tough, just call a play and relax everybody and just get a good shot.

Q. Specifically for you with your toe, you never seemed to be too uncomfortable out there testing it.
TY LAWSON: No. Once I get the adrenaline and just the intensity of it, I really don't feel the toe or start favoring it. Just like in the middle of the game, the pain just basically goes away.

Q. Ty, just talk about the defensive game plan on Blake. I mean, you doubled him as soon as he caught it, tried to get it out of his hands. He was still a load to handle, but just you did a nice job with the rotation.
TY LAWSON: Yeah. In practice we basically decided we were going to double him on the first pass, once he gets the ball. Every time they passed it to him, I just went down and doubled and tried to get the ball out of his hands and make another one of his teammates create something or score.
When we watched tape, normally they don't really -- a lot of players on that team don't create or anything like that. So we got it out of his hands, and once we did that, I looked to see who was the open person because we worked on rotating.
I got on that person, make sure they didn't close out and make sure they didn't drive to the basket.

Q. Ty, talk about the decision on Marcus that was made and he was going to redshirt, and I asked you about the leadership of the team, and you said it was going to be you. You're the one that's going to have the ball in your hands, and you decided at that moment you're going to become a leader. How much do you think you've developed in that process since then, and how much higher can you go?
TY LAWSON: I think I've developed real well. When I came to college, I wasn't much of a talker on the court. I just try to lead off example. But now I'm talking to players.
Like if somebody make a bad play, I pick them up. I mean, just say a lot of stuff and get people in the right areas.
I think that I got a little more -- a long way to go to be more of a leader, so I'm trying to learn it as I go.

Q. Tyler, for you, you have a reigning player of the year. Your impressions of Blake Griffin after mixing it up with him there and watching him play.
TYLER HANSBROUGH: One thing about Blake is I think he's tough down low to box out. I think one thing about him is that he's one of the best rebounders I've played against. And so that was very tough.
I think he gets a lot of stuff off offensive rebounds, and his rebounding ability was something that I think I'm not really used to seeing.

Q. Tyler, first half you didn't get to play a whole lot because of foul trouble and you still have a comfortable lead at halftime. How much of a difference did your depth make in this game, and how much of a difference has it made all season, the depth you all have?
TYLER HANSBROUGH: One thing, I think our depth's really worked. Tyler Zeller is getting it back where he can come in a couple of minutes and really help us out. I think Ed Davis also, he's about as good a shot blocker you can ask for.
And so defensively Ed really helps us. And, you know, we have some guys coming off the bench, Bobby. We didn't have him last year. He's really helping us.
We've also been plagued with some injuries from some guys, and we weren't as deep as we actually thought we were going to be this year. But some guys are actually stepping up and playing.

Q. Danny and Ty, in kind of keeping with the theme of depth, could you talk a little bit about the depth of your starting lineup in that they had trouble shooting from the perimeter and they had to rely basically on Griffin. You guys with your balanced lineup, if Tyler's not having a big game, you've got so many other weapons that can kind of take up the slack.
TY LAWSON: Yeah, I think that makes our team so dangerous because, if one person's not having a good night, other people will pick it up. Deon, me, Danny, or Tyler. Even Ellington off the bench. He'll have a good game. That's what makes us so good playing in the game.
DANNY GREEN: Definitely, I agree with Ty. If Ty is not having a good night, Wayne will step up and make some shots. Deon came up big and made some shots. It was a little frustrating for him. We're making him do something that he didn't want to do and make it uncomfortable for him. We were doubling him as soon as he got the ball and made his supporting cast try to make plays.
I thought we did a great job of rotating and getting to their shooters and putting a hand up. That's why they didn't make a lot of shots they normally make. We tried to make it tough for them and make them do something they're not comfortable doing and make it harder for them and make their percentages as low as possible.

Q. For any of the players, how will last year's Final Four experience help you this year? Will it be a different approach? A little more calm of what to expect. What do you think of last year will help you this time around?
TY LAWSON: Just experience that we've got to come out strong because last year we didn't really come out strong, and Kansas went up about 20-some points.
This year the main thing is come out strong at the beginning of games and don't wait until the second half to start playing. That's the main thing.
DANNY GREEN: Yeah. I agree with Ty. You know, it's a different team. It's a new year, a new day, a new game.
We know what our goals are. We know what our focuses are and what we have to do to win games. Last year, of course, we use every experience as a learning experience. We don't want to come out sluggish or lackadaisical and let them jump on us because we know how hard it is to dig yourself out of a hole and waste a lot of energy doing that.
It's hard to beat teams especially at this stage of the game.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Ty, Danny, Tyler. Questions for Coach Williams.

Q. Roy, expanding on what I was asking the players, could you talk about how comfortable as a coach that makes you feel to have the kind of deep and diverse lineup, if one guy's not doing it, that there's other options opinion?
COACH ROY WILLIAMS: You remember in the preseason everybody was asking me how I was going to keep everybody happy, and I said at that time I'd rather have too many players than not enough. And we have such good character kids, that they could handle it.
Now, I didn't count on all the injuries that made it a necessity to handle it, but I do believe that's the way I recruit. It's the way we try to run our program. It's what we try to have in every team I've ever coached is more than one guy as the star.
You've got to have other guys. You've got to have good balance inside, scoring outside, scoring, and I think it's more difficult to guard people that are like that. So it goes all the way back to our philosophy as a staff and the kind of ability of a person that we recruit, but also the kind of character of the person that we recruit.
Most of our guys know they're not going to get 30 shots, but most of our guys know they've got a great chance to win, and they've got a great chance in practice every day to perform at a high level to make themselves the best player they can possibly be.

Q. Roy, could you just talk about was Blake Griffin as good in person as you thought he'd be? What did you say to him after the game? You had an extended conversation there.
COACH ROY WILLIAMS: He was. He's a load. You know, please don't misunderstand -- don't make this to be a comparison.
He is LeBron James-like, and he's got such a package of strength, explosiveness, touch, power. You know, it's hard to match that.
In person when you're sitting on that bench, it even looks more awesome than it does when I'm watching it on TV. I've always really liked Jeff Capel. His dad, I always considered a friend. His brother played at North Carolina. So I've watched their team play several times this year, and I've been extremely impressed with him.
So for us, you know, we really did want to aim our defense at him. I was ecstatic in the first half, we got two 35-second shot clock violations. We've been criticized, maligned, I've pushed and begged and pleaded with our defense all year long. But I think defensively -- I'll give you an example.
Tyler Hansbrough takes four shots today, and he was a beast defensively with the things that he did in the second half. Now, in the first half, I didn't like what he did. He got two cheap fouls, and he had brain lock when he tried to dump that one ball from one top of the mountain to the other top of the mountain 14 miles away, stupid play. Other than that, he was sensational defensively.
And Blake is -- he's got to get extra attention. So that's what we tried to do is give him extra attention.

Q. Sticking with defense, they said you played good defense but they missed open shots. How would you rate your defensive performance?
COACH ROY WILLIAMS: I think in the first half I would agree with them. Excuse me. The second half I would agree with them. First half, I thought we were good defensively.
Again, we got two 35-second shot clock violations. They turned it over nine times, I think it was in the first half. We got -- I forget what it was -- a certain number of points off turnovers.
For us, in the second half, let's be honest. They missed some open shots. I always thought trying to play people and trying to play at a fast pace would hopefully take someone's legs in the second half. And also the stress of the moment sometimes bothers you as well.
I do believe defensively in the first half we were really good. Second half, Tyler was really good. We did a sorry job of boxing out, and they kept getting offensive rebounds for baskets.
We blocked the shot, and they got the rebound and put it in. They shot an air ball, they got the rebound and put it in. The ball wasn't really bouncing quite as good for us. But there's no question we were very, very lucky they missed some open shots.

Q. I believe last week you were talking about all the injuries you've had, and you said this was the most frustrating season you've had. With all the injuries, the adversity you faced, the expectations you all faced, is this a little sweeter too than maybe previous?
COACH ROY WILLIAMS: They're all sweet when you're going to play the last weekend in college basketball. There's no question about that.
This has been a tough year for me mentally, emotionally, with the adversity. There's no question about it. It's been a hard year.
Early season practice, we'd have one drill that we were going eight minutes, and after seven minutes, I think I'd better stop it right here because I haven't hurt Tyler yet.
Okay, the last three weeks we've had a drill that would go eight minutes, and after six minutes, maybe I'll just stop this right now because I've already got Tyler play two plays. And if I push him a third play, he may hurt his toe.
Those kind of little things wear on you, but it definitely is very satisfying right now.

Q. If you had been told before the game that Tyler and Wayne would be in single digits and would have been in foul trouble, what would you have thought? Does that also speak to the fact your team did so many little things out there? People talk about your offense so much, but a lot of the little things were accomplished on the floor tonight.
COACH ROY WILLIAMS: If you had given me those stats before the game, I'd have thought it was going to be a tough afternoon, no question about that.
Bobby makes a one-handed pass off a dribble through traffic and throws the stupid thing away. The only person in the building that was madder at him than me was his dad. I'll guarantee you. Then Tyler tries to dunk one, like I say, from here to that camera over there, which is dumb.
Deon turned it over twice in a row. Wayne dribbles it out of bounds. You take that away, we really played well. We really did a lot of little things in the first half. The turnovers that we got trying to jam. The rotation we got trying to get to the shooters.
We more forcibly tried to double in the post this year -- I mean, this game than any game all year. So for them to pick back up and do so well at it, I was very pleased.

Q. Coach, your impressions of the Final Four now. Two number ones, a two, and a three.
COACH ROY WILLIAMS: Well, you know, last year I think there were four number ones. So you got to congratulate the tournament committee again. They evidently got it pretty close to being right. There's so many really good teams in college basketball. That's the reason all the talk in the preseason about best team ever, going undefeated. It was all just nonsense is what it was.
To have an opportunity to go to the Final Four, I've known some really, really good basketball coaches that haven't been lucky enough to go to the Final Four. I guess this is our seventh, I think. So we're ecstatic about it.
No team ever goes to the Final Four and plays poorly and wins. If you don't play your best game, you go home. And we understand that, and it will be a big time challenge for us. You name the hottest team in the country right now and the way they played throughout the tournament, it just might be Villanova because they've just whacked everybody they've played.
So it will be interesting. I've got some -- and Tom Izzo, Jimmy Calhoun, Jay Wright, I've got three guys that are really good friends. Jimmy and I played golf together. Tommy and I enjoy each other's company. And Jay and I have gotten to know each other over the past few years.
For me the greatest day in college coaching is the open practice in the Final Four because it's coaches convention going on as well. And all your peers are in the stands. Some of them don't come to practice, but there's a lot of them up there, and they're wishing they were where you're standing.

Q. Coach, how much have you learned about Ty in the last couple of months? Since the 0-2 start, some of the scrutiny, and then the toe injury. He's really developed into a big time leader.
COACH ROY WILLIAMS: You were there, and you saw the articles and heard the talk and the whole bit after the 0-2 start and everybody complaining about Tywon wasn't as good. You go back and look, and I say, guys, it wasn't just him, number one, and it's a long season.
I can remember standing in that locker room at Wake Forest, and we're 0-2 in the league. And I told our guys, you play from here on out, and we'll be there at the end. It was not any panic with our coaching staff. The kids believed in us. Ty believed in us.
He got a lot of criticism after Tyrese Rice and Jeff Teague, but he doesn't have to take a backseat to anybody. He's tougher now mentally. He's tougher physically. He's still Dennis the Menace most times, but he's also Rambo every now and then.

Q. Coach, two things. Can you talk -- you mentioned yesterday that, if Tyler had 8 and 7 and you all won, he'd be happy. The numbers were just about like that and you all won. Talk about that and how it didn't matter. Secondly, did you all manage to go spit in the river this morning?
COACH ROY WILLIAMS: I'll tell you, I wish one time I'd do something a little more graceful and get credit for that as much attention as I get for spitting in the river. But that did start in 1982 in New Orleans. Somebody just told me -- I can't remember who -- it's good luck to go spit in the Mississippi. Most of the time, I've figured out a way to do that when we were at St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans, some places.
But I don't know how it happened, but today as we were coming to the arena, instead of going straight to the arena, the bus took a left turn, left turn, left turn. And the police, they pulled over beside the river. I said, since we're here, might as well go ahead. I don't know who planned that or anything whatsoever. So the answer is yes, that we did go this afternoon.
That young man has been an incredible, incredible human being and an incredible player. And I said that, if we win and he scores eight, he's going to be the happiest person in the gym. That's the way he is. He's interested in his team winning. He wants to do everything he can to help his team win.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach.

End of FastScripts

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