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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: TAMPAMarch 16, 2011Douglas DavisIan HummerSydney JohnsonKareem MaddoxDan MavraidesTAMPA, FLORIDA Q. Dan, I guess I'll start with you. There was a lot of pressure to win at Harvard and then pressure rose needing to win at Penn and win that playoff. Did you feel after Saturday like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders at all? DAN MAVRAIDES: Um, yeah, actually we did. I definitely did personally, too. You know, at least for Kareem and I, it's our last year to win the Ivy League Championship and to make it to the tournament. So the last couple weeks were very stressful, and we felt like there was a lot of weight on our shoulders. But finally getting it done and Doug's shot going in almost instantly released a lot of weight. But our season is not done. We're happy to be here, but we've come to play. Q. I'm going to start with Dan, as well. You guys have gone from the worst team at Princeton to now here at the tournament. What's it going to feel like to hang that 2011 Ivy Champs banner in Jadwin? DAN MAVRAIDES: It's going to feel great. It means a lot to us. Some Princeton players hang up four banners and some multiple banners, but for me, Kareem and Bobby, we were only able to hang up one, but it means a lot. When we came in, like you said, it was the worst team in Princeton basketball history in terms of record-wise. So to culminate with this, an Ivy League Championship our senior year, and head to the tournament as we're here now, is great. It's a great feeling. Q. Ian, if you and Kareem could just talk about your impressions of Kentucky and what you specifically have been most impressed with about them. IAN HUMMER: Well, seeing Kentucky on TV all the time, you know the rich tradition that comes with the school and the program. We know they're full of athletes, a lot of freshmen on the team, a lot of really impact guys. I think Kareem and I really think a lot of them. It's going to be a tough team. They're very physical, very big, and we'll just try to do our best. KAREEM MADDOX: We have seen that they are young and talented, very energetic and they like to run the floor. So we've been really impressed with that. I think it's going to take our best effort to stick with these guys. We're going to come out and we're playing to win, of course, but I definitely have been impressed with their youth and their energy. Q. Doug, how would you describe these past few days since Saturday, since you hit that shot? DOUGLAS DAVIS: It's been amazing actually. To hit the shot and to come out to Tampa and to be able to participate in the tournament, it's been really great, and I really can't explain the feeling that it was to make the shot and to send my team to the tournament. Q. For Kareem and Dan, I'm just wondering, the NCAA is something new, the NCAA Tournament. Is basketball basketball, or are there pitfalls in this setting that you have to be aware of? KAREEM MADDOX: We think it is just basketball. It's our next game, and we completed a couple of our goals. We won an Ivy League Championship and made it to the tournament, and our next goal is to win our first-round game. So in doing that, we kind of know what we have to do, and we've gone about it like it's any other game. You know, there are some pitfalls and we kind of make jokes about it, but the timeouts are longer, so you need to stay warm during those. We've never been here before. This is our first trip as a team, so we're excited and it's a new experience for us, but we're going to have to go out between the lines of the 94 feet and play basketball. DAN MAVRAIDES: Yeah, I would just echo what Kareem said. We've played big games in our four years here. We've had a handful of those. So we're going about Kentucky the same way we did every team on our schedule, same type of scouting report format and everything like that. You know, it's obviously on a bigger stage, and you're going to be -- maybe a more fun game, but when it comes down to it, like Kareem said, when the jump comes, it's going to be the same thing. Q. Kareem and Dan, what Coach Johnson made you stay on the bench at Harvard and watch them celebrate, is all of this a moment that you allowed yourself to think about? KAREEM MADDOX: You know, I don't think we've had time to really sit down and think about it yet because we haven't focused on it. Like I said, our next goal -- that moment I guess came to mind when we were playing in those games is it's something we didn't want to have repeated because it was a painful moment for us. But I'm sure in the spring, however far we get in this tournament, we'll have time to kind of look back and reflect. But we don't want to grow complacent already. DAN MAVRAIDES: Yeah, that was definitely, like Kareem said, a painful moment for everyone on the team, sitting there and watching the team in our league celebrate their Ivy League Championship. It was very difficult. But yeah, I think that gave us a little inner fire power, at least against Penn and Harvard the next week. It definitely fueled me personally. So that's something I think that was a little more specific to Harvard in general because we had a little rivalry, at least this season, going on with them. But it's just something that one of the many things Coach J has done this season to inspire us for our next challenge. Q. For either Kareem on Dan, much has been made about the fact that you guys aren't playing a, quote-unquote, traditional Princeton style this year. How much would you say you guys are actually using the traditional as opposed to playing different type of offense, different type of style, and how important was it for you when you came there knowing that you were going to play differently than they may have played 10 or 15 years ago? KAREEM MADDOX: That's interesting. I guess since my experience with the Princeton offense has been it's very flexible, so we have our sets and our plays that we run, but you can run them as fast or as slow as you want. I guess the point is to get the best possible shot whenever it is on the shot clock. Different coaches have different styles, so some may make you wait to take it until the end of the shot clock, but if you run your first back cut and you have a lay-up, take it, it's two points. I think us personally, our basketball style has been focused on defense, you know, what we do on the defensive end, getting stops and getting out and trying to get quick buckets, and if we don't get them, get into our stuff and take the best possible shot we can get. DAN MAVRAIDES: Exactly, pretty much what Kareem said. I think this year the coach believed we had the talent to run a little bit and get on the open floor, and that's something that has definitely helped us up to this point this season. It's a little variation from the traditional Princeton, but you'll see times and possessions throughout the game where we're grinding throughout the shot clock and getting a backdoor lay-up or an open shot with four seconds left on the shot clock. It's something I think we're -- as a team we've found a pretty good balance in terms of how much we want to push it when we're getting stops and how much we want to slow the game down and take it possession by possession like the more traditional Princeton teams and really wear the defense down. I think it's a good balance this year and the coach has allowed us to open it up a little bit and play a little more, so I think that's benefitted us. Q. Dan, does Cornell's run last year give you any kind of why not us mentality as you enter the tournament? DAN MAVRAIDES: We have a lot of confidence in ourselves. The whole season we have. As a team we've come very far, and it does -- as much as I hated Cornell during the regular season, it was nice to see them represent the Ivy League well last year, and we lost to them both times last year but played them really tough, I think it was by a point or two both games. Yeah, we can take some confidence from that, but even looking beyond that, we have a lot of confidence in our team and our guys and who we're rolling with this year. Q. Kareem, has your dad offered any words of advice on being in a tournament environment like this? IAN HUMMER: Yeah, since my dad was class of '67, in 1965 they went to the Final Four. He definitely has given me a lot of words of advice, as well as my uncle who was also in the tournament. But they said take it one game at a time and this is a moment that you'll remember forever, and just play your game, don't be nervous because it's on a bigger stage, just come out, do what you've done all season and see what happens. Q. For Kareem and Dan, I wonder if you guys would concede or acknowledge that Kentucky has more athleticism, and if so, how do you combat that? KAREEM MADDOX: They're pretty athletic. You know, we have a couple athletes on our team, too, though. I guess, you know, we're going to have to draw on our experience, and we did have a postseason run last year even though it was not in the NCAA Tournament. So I think we're going to use that and just our closeness as a team. We've been in a lot of tough situations this year. You know, I'm sure they have, also, but I think we're very good at relying on each other, and we all trust each other. It's been a great team to play on and play for. And I guess they are young. I don't know how much that's going to factor in. But I guess we're just going to try to draw on our experience as much as possible and use that. DAN MAVRAIDES: Yeah, we definitely acknowledge that they're an athletic team. That's something obviously that's highlighted in our scouting report. I can't give away any secrets about how we're going to stop that. But like Kareem said, we're a little bit of an older team. Their star players are younger, and who knows if that's going to have an effect or not. But our team, one characteristic that I've seen over the season is we've -- we're really close, and like Kareem said, we rely on each other in late game situations and we're composed. And most games of the tournament are a grind, however the result is, it's a grind. I think we're going to rely on each other in late game situations and throughout the game and just trust our experience. Q. Coach, I asked Dan about this, as well, but losing at Harvard, the pressure of winning at Penn was pretty high. Did you feel like a weight was lifted from your shoulders after Doug's shot went in? COACH JOHNSON: Hmm, you know, I think that you can term it as pressure or you can just term it as responsibility. I mean, we have a responsibility at Princeton to win games, and it's a lofty one. But I think we wouldn't have it any other way. So I came to Princeton because Gary Walters and I, we shared the same experience. We won games here at Princeton, and I wanted the same thing for our players here. So I don't know if there was pressure as much. And then I'd also say, you know, that the responsibility to help lead these guys to winning was done so that they have their own experience. It's not about me. So when Doug made that shot, especially because he's a terrific kid, I was just happy for him, and then everybody on the roster, we have 16 guys, and they've worked very hard, and I was just thrilled, absolutely thrilled for that group. And then, of course, I could smile a smile or two afterwards, as well. Q. What has it been like to balance preparation and scouting for an opponent like this against the travel and media coverage that has been ratcheted up so significantly? COACH JOHNSON: It's been overwhelming. I've done more phone interviews maybe in three days than I have an entire season. So that's been really hard. Right before they pulled me out of the locker room, I was trying to sneak in some film that we taped from practice. So I hope I'm not offending anybody, but it kind of has my head spinning a bit. But that will stop. We have a great opponent clearly that we have to be prepared for. We don't want to be sloppy out there, we want to play to win and be prepared, so I'll get my prep time in, and our guys will, too, so that we focus on the task at hand instead of the immense hype that's around all these games. Q. How does the experience -- you have obviously some very experienced basketball players, they have some young, very talented guys. How do you think that factors in? I know it's the first NCAA Tournament experience for you guys, as well. COACH JOHNSON: That's a good question. I really like this group. I was very nervous coming into the season to be honest with you. We had great leadership from the year prior. These guys have really shown how mature they are. We've just had big moments all throughout the season, and they've responded to adversity and being behind and having to fight back. We had a couple of disappointing losses here or there that we wanted badly. We had to fight back from those. And they've always come back into the gym ready to go. You know, my expectation, there's a lot of bright lights, it's a big arena, it's a fantastic opponent that we're playing, we're on CBS, but my expectation is that we're going to be very focused. I'll be very frank, I'll be very disappointed if we're caught up. It's not the kind of group we have. Now, does that mean we get out to a fast lead or anything like that? I can't tell you all of that. But it would be a strange thing for me to be watching a team that looked nervous or didn't have their composure because that's just not who we've been all season long. Q. There's been a lot said this year about how you guys are playing less of the traditional, quote-unquote, Princeton offense. Is that an overblown statement? And did you realize when you got here that you wanted to maybe open things up a little bit, or is it just because you have experienced senior players that can handle that? COACH JOHNSON: Yeah, it's not overblown. I think that we're definitely rooted in the fundamentals of the Princeton offense. I love the way I was coached by Coach Carril and Joe Scott, and Bill Carmody, Armond Hill, John Thompson III, Howie Levy. So I really appreciate how we've been taught the game. At the same time, I think that the players that we have, there's a little bit more athleticism, they're a bit more dynamic, and so we may not need three or four passes and a cut-through before they can get a shot. It might be as simple as a pick-and-roll. It might be a hard cut and just post-up at the basket and roll it into them. So with a lot of input from our assistant coaches, not just me, a lot of input, you might be surprised from Pete Carril, who spends his summers with us, and we talk a lot of shop, and sometimes the game evolves. And I think with this team it evolves in a way where we can get out in transition, we can do some more basic things and score a bit faster. Not overblown at all. At the same time five guys are always working to get the best shot, and that's a very Princeton offensive-like concept. It just, again, seems to come a little bit faster than 30 seconds or so into the shot clock. Q. I wondered if you buy into the idea that the first game can be the hardest, and if so, how do you try to make sure that your guys play basketball ultimately? COACH JOHNSON: Well, when you say first game, you mean of the tournament? Q. Yes. COACH JOHNSON: So we don't have a lot of experience with that, so we've not been in the NCAA Tournament for a few years now. We're thrilled to be here. I mean, we're absolutely thrilled to be here. You know, it's our moment against Kentucky, and we're not going to spoil it. I can't tell you if we're going to be perfect out there. I know mistakes are part of the game, but we're not going to waste this opportunity. I won't allow them to do that. We're going to play very, very hard, and I want us to play together and smart, and we'll see how it goes. Q. These two programs in recent years, Kentucky has been one and done, looking for the NBA, your program, kids go to Princeton for their futures. Does that give you guys something to prove in this tournament? COACH JOHNSON: Well, we're the underdog. I think when you're the underdog, you have to show people how good you are. When you're the favorite, people have an expectation. We were the favorites to win our league, and there was an expectation that we were going to win it. But it also meant we were pretty dang good and people recognize that. I think with Kentucky everybody realizes how good of a program they are and they're the favorites, and we take no offense to that, but now we've got to prove as the underdog that we belong, that we belong in this tournament, that we belong on that floor at 2:45 p.m. tomorrow. And that's something that I think that our guys will warm up to. I don't think we're going to make it personal between our players and theirs or our coaches and theirs. It's just the fact that they're a heavy favorite. Now we've got to show people that we belong in this tournament and that we are the best representative for the Ivy League, for our conference. Q. When you sat down on Sunday to finally watch tape what were your immediate impressions of Kentucky? COACH JOHNSON: Well, I had seen a bit of Kentucky already on ESPN and caught some of their games. I really like their point guard. He's a young kid, a freshman, but he's a fantastic shooter and runs the team well. Terrence Jones is an incomparable talent. He's an inside-out kid, very aggressive, knows how to score, plays with a bit of fire, so those are the two kids that stuck out. And then as I watched more tape, you see that they've got great role players and they're very well coached, and that should come as no surprise. They run their sets, they get out in transition but they're very good in the half court. We realize the challenge. Very, very good players, individually talented who play as a group. That's a heck of a combination. That said, we bring something to the table, and we've just got to do our best to show it. Q. I wondered if you would acknowledge that Kentucky is more athletic or more skilled, and how much of a handicap is that in trying to compensate for that? COACH JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, no, the SEC demands a certain level of talent and athleticism that is not typical in our league. I think that relative to our league, I think we present a lot of problems for people. You know, would we do that in the SEC? I don't necessarily think so. They have young players who are getting coached up and coached hard, and eventually they want to play in the NBA. So yeah, there's a level of athleticism there that's not as typical in our conference. That being said, there's certain ways to play up to that, there's certain ways to neutralize that. You've got to take care of the ball. You can't turn it over and let them capitalize on getting out in transition. We have to shoot the ball at a high clip. You know, if we do that, if there's limited possessions but we're shooting it well, all of a sudden all that athleticism gets neutralized. That's easier said than done. So I believe in our guys, don't get me wrong. I'm very proud of what we've accomplished so far. We have a huge task to carry that over to tomorrow afternoon, and we realize what's in front of us. We're going to work our tails off to get there. I mean, I just promise you that. And we have to do some of those things, that again, neutralize some of the positives and the advantages that they have going for them. Q. When Doug hit that shot against Harvard, were you concerned at all that he would get out of that mosh pit, number one? And secondly, if it came down to it, which player do you feel most comfortable taking that shot? COACH JOHNSON: So I was at the bottom of one of those piles 15 years ago when we won a playoff game and our fans rushed the court, and it's a great feeling. You're screaming and yelling and then all of a sudden you've got three or four people laying on top of you. It's a weird feeling. But I figured Doug -- I figured our fans were going to be smart enough not to hurt that kid, to pull him out of that pile and make sure he was ready for the next game. In terms of who we would draw plays for down the stretch, we had a couple of different options in that specific play, and I'll just tell you, this is not coach-speak, I really like this team. I think that we have more than one guy that we as a group are comfortable getting shots for. So what we do is we play the game, we try to be as prepared as possible, we see what the other team is doing, and then in the moment we try to capitalize on whatever advantage, and it just seemed in that play we looked at option A, it wasn't there, and Doug was option B, and we're fine with that. So it worked out nicely, and maybe there's a little bit more of that to come, we'll see. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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