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NIT POSTSEASONApril 2, 2009Talor BattleJamelle CornleyEd DeChellisStanley PringleNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK Q. Taylor, can you talk about what it means to this group of seniors? TALOR BATTLE: It's great. I'm going to miss these guys, man. It was a great run with them, you know, for the two years I was here, for the two years I was here with them. For them to go out like this, Coach touched on it, there is not a better way they could have went out. I think they believe that, as well. These guys can never say I never did enough for them. I helped them win a championship, and this will last a lifetime. Q. What does this mean to you? JAMELLE CORNLEY: I really don't know if I have any words for that. I think Coach said it best yesterday; that we could not get three buses to go across campus, let alone the 30 buses coming to see us at Madison Square Garden. But to see the program grow, and to see where it is now, and to leave on such a great note, I think that this seals the deal for me. I can honestly say that I've given everything that I have to the program, and I think that my fellow seniors can say the same thing. Q. Is it everything you thought it was going to be when you talked about winning the Championship; now that you have done it, is it what you thought it would be? JAMELLE CORNLEY: Honestly you really don't know what it's going to be like when you go into it. Last time I cut down the net was my freshman year of high school and that was close to eight years ago, and now cutting down some more nets, that's a good feeling. I just appreciate everything that the coaching staff that overall, Penn State University, has done for me. What better way could I give back than by playing as hard as I can. Q. You got one last ding on that shoulder, the hard foul on the shoulder. Was it as bad as the other one? JAMELLE CORNLEY: Not at all. It was a hit that caught me off-guard, and again, you're playing a very physical team, and again, that's something that is not a big deal. It was a hard foul, but (Curtis) Jerrells, he apologized and everything for it. Again, I don't really mind that. It was just a good play. I really was focused on stepping up and hitting the free throws and I was able to do that. Q. Talk about your play early in the game in their zone, you had the ball in the high post and you were able to score. Talk about that a little bit. JAMELLE CORNLEY: Well, as a senior, I went into the game knowing that I wanted to set the tone, offensively or defensively, and rebounding the ball. And we really wanted to focus on getting the ball inside, again, and we were able to get the ball around the free throw line area, and I was able to make a few buckets early. Then I wanted to make sure that the guards were able to make some shots, too. So with me being aggressive in the paint area, I opened some things up for the guards. They were able to shoot a couple of shots. They did not make as many as I think they wanted to, but we still kept the team honest. And any time you can get the ball deep in the paint like that, you're some type of threat. Q. Stan, if you can describe what it was like coming in here a year and a half ago and now what it's like now. STANLEY PRINGLE: Oh, it's changed, man, just the players, the mind-set of everybody. This year, everybody wanted to step it up and put in the extra work, and it shows. It shows by this win it. Pays off. Q. What about for you personally? STANLEY PRINGLE: Personally, it feels good. Like I said earlier, this year, I'm more dedicated, practicing, and it definitely pays off. I can't really describe the feeling of winning this game. Q. I know you want to savor this moment, but what's next? TALOR BATTLE: Rest! JAMELLE CORNLEY: School. School. End of the season, we have to get caught up on schoolwork. It will be fun. (Laughing). Q. Hank said that he was getting a little watery, and so proud of you that everyone said you were undersized coming in and people said you couldn't play this position and I guess you've proven that now. JAMELLE CORNLEY: I guess. They have been saying I was undersized since I was 14 years old. To play at this level and to play consistently and to go out on this note that I'm leaving out on with the things that I think that I've accomplished personally and from a team standpoint, I think speaks for itself. No numbers can really justify what I've tried to leave here and I think the players in that locker room will be able to pick that up. Again, numbers, you can beat numbers sometimes. Records can be broken, but legacies, they live forever, and that's what I want to leave with. ED DeCHELLIS: First of all, congratulate Baylor University on an unbelievable year, and Scott (Drew) has done a great job with their team and their program and what they have been able to do. They had a hard run getting here, as well, and winning a couple of games on the road. Our team tonight, I am so proud of them. We have been through a lot. I've been here six years, and we have had some adversity that kind of came up here and there that kind of knocked us back. This team was as committed as any other team I've ever had, more committed, that they wanted to win a championship, and they want to do something special. We were disappointed a few weeks ago by not being selected to the other tournament, but our kids put that behind us right away, and our goal was to come in and win this thing. Like I told them and the seniors and the team, I don't think I can come up with a better script. You couldn't write a better book for these guys, the seniors, and the other kids on the team that put their heart and soul into this thing. I said today at the pregame meal, just don't be denied. All I ask is one thing, and just to give me everything you have. That's all I want, everything you have, and if it's good enough, it's good enough. And if it's not good enough, then, hey, we gave it our best shot. But let's just leave it out here on the floor. Q. Morrissey's play, does that typify him? ED DeCHELLIS: Yeah, sometimes as a coach, you get a gut feeling. We have some other kids who played a little more, like Chris Babb, but I just felt like in my gut tonight that Danny (Morrissey) was going to do something. I think at this point in time, your senior year, you give your seniors a crack at it. He got a big dive on that play and he got himself knocked. We've got tough kids and we are going to go compete, and that's been our trademark all year. We have been down. It looked like we couldn't win a game, and somehow we found a way to win. But that play kind of typifies what I think our team has been like all year. Q. What do you think of the atmosphere? ED DeCHELLIS: We had so many busloads from State College, our fans, I can't thank them enough. It was like a home game out there. We had tremendous support from our students, from our fans in State College, the people in the area, the alumni. It was just a great, great atmosphere for us, and I'm really thankful for them for all coming and supporting our team. Q. Talk about Jemelle's play right off the bat. ED DeCHELLIS: We are trying to get the ball inside. We knew they were going to play zone and I didn't want to start out shooting a bunch of jumpshots. So yesterday and today, we have been talking about getting it where we wanted to try to get it, and we got it in there early and they made some adjustments to it. I was worried about their length because they are long and worrying about scoring over guys. We went out and I thought he set the tone early. Q. In hindsight now, just what you guys have accomplished, being on national television four times, can you talk about that? ED DeCHELLIS: This has been good for us. This has been great for us. This is a great tournament. We are so proud to be part of this tournament. We are so proud to be able to win this tournament. We were on national TV four times which helps us tremendously. We have an opportunity for our fans to come to New York and spend a few days. You know, it couldn't have been any better for us. It's worked out perfectly. Q. Can you talk about what this entire year means for you, without talking about all of the firsts? ED DeCHELLIS: I think, you know, it was a culmination of things. I thought we were going to be a pretty good team last year and I thought we were right where we needed to be and I thought we had some unfortunate injuries and Jamelle was not right all year and Geary (Claxton) went down, because I thought we could have made a run last year and done some special things. That was another setback for us. We came in in July when the kids came back and we said, here is our goals and here is what we want to do. The kids have followed through and they have done everything I have asked them. I don't know what else I can say. They have done everything I asked. I said to them in the locker room, our first meeting, I said, you know, I'm going to be a pain in the neck to you 364 days a year, and hopefully the 365th day, you understand why and hopefully that's the day we can cut down the nets and win a championship. And they all remembered that in the locker room after. Q. Do you think the other guys will understand what Jamelle has done? Can it translate to them? ED DeCHELLIS: I hope so. He's such a competitive kid. He steps out there and I think he gives other guys confidence. Now you don't have that. I think D.J. can and Andrew Jones has come such a long way. I think they understand the toughness and how to play in this environment and to play in our league. This guy, he left a legacy that hopefully other guys will feed off of. End of FastScripts |
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