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NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOURApril 3, 2010Devin EbanksBob HugginsWellington SmithINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA Duke – 78 THE MODERATOR: We'll start with questions for the student-athletes. Q. Devin, what was the issue in trying to stop them? They were hot shooting? Talk about the defensive breakdowns. DEVIN EBANKS: They got us out of character. We usually are not like that on defense. But we allowed a lot of penetration to the middle. They was able to convert and hit open jump shots, so scoring the ball, laying it up. They had a great day and they was probably the better team today. Q. Wellington, would you talk about the defense that Duke was able to play today, particularly Kyle Singler on Da'Sean Butler, but also down low. WELLINGTON SMITH: I mean, it was hard to get him the ball just because they just kept switching and denying the ball. That's usually what we're supposed to do. We just didn't do it tonight. You know, you try to get into it with a couple drives a couple shots. But, you know, some things happened down low that weren't called. So, you know, but he just didn't get into it because he was getting denied the ball the whole time. Q. Devin, can you describe the team's frustration when you're trying to fight back and then obviously when Da'Sean goes down? Does that just cut the heart out of you? DEVIN EBANKS: It was very frustrating for us, you know, seeing the best player go down, especially when you're trying to make a run. They just converted. Usually, you know, whenever we're done, we're pretty confident we can come back. Duke just made shots today. THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, thank you very much. We'll continue with questions for Coach Huggins. Q. From where you were sitting, what were the issues you were having on defense? Why was it so hard for you to stop them today? COACH HUGGINS: They played really well. We went to the 1-3-1. We just don't do things very well on the fly, and it's my fault. I think a couple of the assistants thought we should give it a look in the first half to see how they attacked it. I should have done it after a dead ball, and I didn't do it. Then they got a real easy look. But, you know, I mean, they played really, really well. And I've watched a lot of tape. I haven't seen them play that well. And we didn't play very well. And, you know, that happens. Q. When you said that you guys don't do things very well on the fly, are you suggesting there was a different defense you might have wanted to use that you hadn't worked on much? COACH HUGGINS: No. I shouldn't have went from playing man to playing 1-3-1 without a dead ball. We were playing man. I don't know, it was probably, what, a six-point game or something like that. Maybe it wasn't even that much. And they hit two threes when we switched. I shouldn't have done it on the fly. I mean, we had to do it. We had to give it a look. But it probably wasn't the right time. Q. With Da'Sean, how bad did you think it was initially, considering the way he reacted? What did you say to him what you saw him down? COACH HUGGINS: Well, I mean, I knew it was bad because Da's a really tough guy. Da'Sean is -- and I've said this repeatedly, and I mean it, he's a really, really good player. He's a lot better person. He's a wonderful, wonderful guy. When I went out, you know, it was more he felt like he let his team down than it was about the injury. And that's Da'Sean. You know, that's the way he is. He's got such a great heart. Q. Can you sort of give a summary of your thoughts on the season. Obviously right now it's a low point, but can you talk about the things you've accomplished this year. COACH HUGGINS: We've got great guys. We thought we had a chance in the beginning of the year to be a good basketball team. We fought through a lot of things. Deniz sitting for 22 games. I think if Deniz plays the whole year, he's a totally different player. That made it difficult trying to get him involved 'cause he is a guy who can score the ball for us. You know, Joe not being able to really play for two-thirds of the year, we put him in games, but he couldn't really play. Then Truck going down. I think through all of it, our guys have done a great job of perservering and working their way through things. They're good guys. They're guys who put the team and the welfare of others before themselves. That's a great character to have. Q. Can you put into the context the career that Da'Sean Butler has had. You talked about how much you enjoyed coaching him. The spectacular season he had with the last-second game-winning shots. Extraordinary season for you. COACH HUGGINS: Well, you know, I started coaching Da'Sean when he was a sophomore. Joe Alexander had the breakout year. They told me he was very happy kind of being Joe's sidekick, you know. Everybody trying to stop Joe, enabling him to be able to do things. And then his junior year, I think the first exhibition game, he got 36 or 38, and he was in the locker room apologizing that he shot the ball too much, he didn't get his teammates involved. I was like, Come here, man, I need to talk to you. If we're going to have any chance, you're going to have to score the ball for us. You know, he's done it. I didn't think he was as assertive today as what, you know, he has been. If you can be too good a guy, he's too good a guy. He really is concerned about everybody else and getting his teammates involved. And he doesn't want to hurt the team in any way. But, I mean, when you're the third leading scorer anywhere behind Jerry West and 'Hot Rod' Huntley, you've had a heck of a career. And he's done it with class, he's done it with dignity. Monday, we didn't practice. He certainly had a lot of media obligations. He did that. When that was over with, we had a lady who had a heart attack during the second half of the Kentucky game, and she wouldn't leave her house until the game was over with. Da'Sean found out about it. I didn't know about it until he told me. But somebody told him about it. He left after doing media pretty much all day, he left, went to the hospital, spent an hour with the lady talking to her and just thanking her for how much the fans and how much their support means to him. I mean, you just don't find guys like that very often. I mean, here's a guy who is a great guy. He's a good interview. You know, he was kind of a media darling. What was more important to him was really go spend some time with a lady who kind of probably put her life at jeopardy by not going right to the hospital so she could watch the end of the game. Q. You studied Duke closely obviously before this game. They put themselves in pretty good position to take another run at a title. What is it going to take to beat them here? COACH HUGGINS: Well, what's really hard is if you try to do too many things to keep the ball out of those three guys, and those three perimeter guys are terrific. You turn the other two guys lose at the rim to rebound the ball, and I don't think you can let them offensive rebound the ball. I told our guys and told our guys and told our guys. I say that, my center is 6'6" and theirs is 7'1". And what happens is they get you so deep, and then he does a great job of putting a body on you. He constantly has a body on you. Then it becomes a reaching game. My experience has been 7'1" guys outreach 6'6" guys every time. They don't force things. They throw it back out. They get step-in threes. Mike has done a great job with them. He's done an unbelievable job with them. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach. COACH HUGGINS: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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