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NCAA MEN'S 1ST & 2ND ROUNDS: OKLAHOMA CITYMarch 18, 2010Jimmer FredetteMichael Loyd, Jr.Dave RoseOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY – 99 COACH ROSE: I'm really proud of our players. Thought it was a really hard-fought game. You get a double overtime win, and it makes you feel that much better, and, you know, I give lot of credit and accolades to Florida for how hard they played. And I'm just really happy for our guys because this was a long time in coming for our program and it's a big win. One of the most important goals we had to start this season was to get to this tournament and advance and we're advancing. So I'm proud of our guys. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. Questions for the student-athletes only at this time. Q. Michael, did you feel something like this coming on? And Jimmer, can you talk about the spark you brought to your team today? MICHAEL LOYD JR.: No, I felt like we had a great team. Like the Coach says, coming to us, we had a great team, something special from the beginning. We worked really hard for this. JIMMER FREDETTE: Yeah. It was a special night for us. Obviously Mike, came in and played huge off the bench, and, you know, Mike will have games like that where he comes in and feeling really good, getting that transition, making his shots. It was just a great team effort. You know, we did a good job at the end of rebounding the basketball and getting out and making big shots and in that second overtime and, you know, just a great thing for us. Q. Jimmer, you had a big second overtime obviously. Did you feel a little helpless there at the end of the first overtime after they got the steal and had the ball last. Did you feel like you had a little relief heading into the second one? JIMMER FREDETTE: Definitely. I had the ball and I was dribbling up. I just lost the handle of it right into Kenny's hands. They came down and luckily, you know, got a big stop and was able to get into the second overtime, and we had second life or third life or whatever it was, and, you know, I just wanted to go out there and try to get it done because we couldn't -- I don't know if I could have played another overtime. Q. Michael, looking at stats, you only averaged 4.4 points a game but explode for 26 in the game like this. How big is this for you, especially in only your sophomore year? MICHAEL LOYD JR.: It just feels good knowing that I can contribute like that to the team, help the team, and, you know I can make shots. Just gives you confidence going into a game, making shots, going into the season next year. Q. For Jimmer, in the second overtime when did you look very tired, what did you kind of do to get yourself rallied there and make those big shots? JIMMER FREDETTE: You're playing for your life, you know, it's one and done at this point. That second overtime, like you said, I lost that ball and we got second life after, you know, they missed that shot. So I was like it's time to go, you know, we got to play well and I'm going to try the take some big shots and luckily I was able to make them, and that was my mindset. I wasn't really feeling tired at that point because of all the adrenaline. Q. Both players, you had the 13-point lead and it went away. Did you feel the game slip away, and what did you guys think that did you at least to keep that advantage and forcing an overtime? JIMMER FREDETTE: Florida, you know, they've been down before and you know that they're going to come fighting back. They're going to make a charge at the end, and, you know, they make big shots. Chandler Parsons has hit some huge game winners this year. We knew they were going to come back. And we kept our composure and luckily was able to get two stops at the end of those regular and overtime and just keep battling. We knew they were going to come back, but we tried not to think that we were going to lose the game. We thought we were always going to win it and keep that mindset. MICHAEL LOYD JR.: We just battled. We know, you know, you maybe slip up with some mistakes but we always had our effort and hustle was there, knowing that we were still in this game, we still had this game under control. We were going to come out with a win. Q. Jimmer, I notice you went for layups a couple of big 3s down the stretch, but tell us why you were doing all the penetrating. Was it something you saw on tape or just game plan? JIMMER FREDETTE: I just wanted to be aggressive from the beginning. I was able to get to the basket, and they didn't help a whole lot just because our shooters are very good, and if they did help out get it to them, they would shoot it. They weren't helping a whole lot except for the one big man. I was able to get in the lane and be aggressive and make layups. I just continued to do that until the end where I was able to hit some big 3s there, kind of playing off me a little bit, felt like that I could get to the basket, and that's what I continued to do. Q. You were joking around with Kenny before the overtime started for a little bit. What were you talking about? JIMMER FREDETTE: Well, beginning of the game I told Chandler Parsons, I said, "No game-winning shots tonight." That's what I told him. And he came down to the end where he had a chance and just barely missed it. He was like I just barely missed it, Jimmer. I told Kenny, "I think he missed that because I told him not to make it in the beginning." It was kind of just a little joke but, you know, just friendly competition, and, you know, they're all great guys on the other team. They did a good job. Q. Michael, can you talk about scoring 10 straight by yourself in that first half and just the lift that it gave your team? MICHAEL LOYD JR.: That's the first time I heard that. The game just -- we played a game as it comes. The ball happened to be in my hands, I happened to have a lane or an open shot. Because my teammates, they made so much attention. If I'm running the lane, whoever is open, if I'm open, I take it. And like I said, just want to come and be a spark and help our team win. THE MODERATOR: Last two questions for the student athletes, please. Q. Jimmer, can you just sum up your feelings of getting over the hump of getting the monkey off your back of finally winning an NCAA Tournament game? JIMMER FREDETTE: It's a great feeling. Obviously, we haven't won a game since '93, and we were very aware of that, and we knew that at some point we were going to win it, and we felt like this could be the year that we did that. And, you know, it was our time. We were able to go out and play well and just give it all we had and come out with this win. It feels great, you know, and now we're going the play one of these two teams, either Kansas State or North Texas. We'll rest and enjoy it, but we got to get back out there and play against one of these two teams. Q. Jimmer, how do you guys come off there emotional high, 50-minute game, to go into the next game? JIMMER FREDETTE: You know, it's getting rest and, you know, lucky we have a day to rest and get a game plan in and practice a little bit and not worry all about this game anymore, you know, be moving on to the next one. So, you know, we just to start quick, I think. We have to get out and really get our adrenaline going again and know that we're still playing for our life, it's one and done, and we don't want to lose. So at this point, you know, you just got to go out and play as hard as you possibly can and not worry about the last game. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, guys. Student-athletes can head back to the locker room. We're now ready for questions for Coach Rose. Q. Michael had the big spurt in the first half. Were you surprised that he had another couple of them in the second half, because a lot of times a guy does it and doesn't do it again? COACH ROSE: Well, you know, Mike -- this team has been through a lot, and Mike has actually really benefited this year from some of the struggles that Jimmer has had. When Jimmer had mono, we started Mike at UTEP in a really big game for our team, and we won that game. Jimmer got sick again a couple weeks later in the New Mexico game, and he wasn't really ready for the UTEP. He had 18 points in the first half at Utah, and, you know, at the time as a coach you try to look for all the positive things that those challenges are bringing your team, but it got Mike really involved in our offensive scheme and there are times when people game plan for Jimmer, and you need a Michael Loyd with the skills that he has to dribble, to penetrate, to make little floaters, to hit shots, and you can use that option when they guard certain ways to stop Mike -- I mean to stop Jimmer. Coach Rice about a terrific job of making a couple little adjustments. We got Mike in there. He was, you know, unbelievable. You look at 26 points, you know, everyone is going to think that's how we won the game, but Mike was really disruptive defensively and gave us a chance to, you know, kind of hold down Walker and Boynton, two, really, really good guards but that's how things work out. He was ready and his number was called and he came through for us. Q. Coach Rose, if the seeding works out, Kansas State could be your opponent on Saturday, very physical team. After such a game, such a long game in double overtime that drains you emotionally and physically, what's the process of turning around and getting ready to play a team who crashes the boards as physically as they do? COACH ROSE: I mean, everyone in here watches basketball enough to know they will create some real problems for us on the boards. There's some things that we'll have to try and do physically to move them. Other things we'll need to do -- I don't think you can count on scoring 99 points to win. We needed all 99 of them tonight, and we'll probably have to score at a pretty good clip to stay in the game with those guys. They're big and physical, strong, and they really play on attack. I've got a lot of confidence in our guys. They've reached and stood up to a lot of challenges this year, and tonight was one of them. You could see a real resolve in -- on the face of our players, and that's how we won 30 games. THE MODERATOR: Any more questions for Coach? Q. Dave, with this team and with Jimmer, when other teams game plan for him and he goes out and scores 37, what does that say about what kind player he is? COACH ROSE: He's good. He's a good player. It doesn't take too many people to see a tape or film or game live to understand that He's really a versatile tile guy. He's hard to stop, you know, from scoring. He's good, and I think that tonight -- it's funny, because you don't ever really expect him to miss. I don't think any of our team expects him to miss, especially when he gets to the rim, and they weren't bringing second defender early in the game. And so he got really deep into the paint and he missed a lot of those little floaters, layup-type shots that he normally makes and, he was kind of frustrated about that. Those two big 3s he hit late, we've seen that all year long, and he's confident, the coaching staff has a lot of confidence in him and the players have a lot of confidence in him. That's one of the signs of a pretty good player. Q. You talk about Boynton tonight and he had to chase Jimmer around for almost the entire game and then obviously score 27 points. Just talk about the game he played tonight. COACH ROSE: He was terrific. I thought that one of those two guards would probably have a big night just because ever how we defend and both of them did and -- when Boynton picked up his first foul, a lot of that was contributed to -- attributed to the fact that he did have to chase Jimmer, and that was a big play in the game when he fouled out and they had to play down the stretch without him because he was hitting 3s, he was penetrating to the basket, making free throws, and he was a heck ever a defender, no question, long, athletic. THE MODERATOR: Anyone else for Coach? Thank you, Coach. End of FastScripts |
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