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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: DENVERMarch 16, 2011Mark FewSteven GrayRobert SacreDENVER, COLORADO THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Gonzaga student-athletes. We'll open it up for questions. Q. How much has the altitude affected you guys since coming to Denver? STEVEN GRAY: You know, we had our first, like, live practice today with altitude. The first four minutes you really noticed it. But once you get through that first little barrier, get your second wind, it's not so bad. But at first initially you definitely feel it. ROBERT SACRE: We're in Spokane higher up than St. John's, so that's a bit of a difference. But, yeah, the first four minutes, you notice a lot, and then all of a sudden you get your second wind and you're fine. Q. How difficult was the start of the season for you? How fearful was it that the streak of coming to the tournament might have been over? What was that like? STEVEN GRAY: You know, at the start of the season was one where we took a lot of lumps, had to do a lot of learning and growing up, like most teams do. It's just unfortunate that we weren't able to get very many wins. A lot of our learning took place on the big stage. But, you know, this team was able to really draw a line in the sand and, you know, started winning games when we had to to get us here. It was tough realizing that this team, who's put in a lot of time, really had some growth, wasn't potentially going to get this opportunity to play in one of the greatest sporting events out there. Just to have this group of guys, our young guys, have that opportunity, you know, feels really good to be here right now. Q. Was there a defining moment in the turnaround, a meeting, anything happen, or was it just over time? ROBERT SACRE: I think after the Washington State game, we knew we could play better than we did. We came together as a team. Outside of the coaches, the players all came together, and we needed to draw the line in the sand, like Steven said. We just said, This is what we need to do to be successful. We had a test. Coaches tested us all year by giving us a tough schedule. We just needed to fight through it. It showed a lot of adversity. I think we handled it the right way, maturely, and we just came out and played basketball. STEVEN GRAY: I think, you know, the big moment that stands out in my mind is when we went to Portland for our conference game. They got to a big lead. It was 19-4 something to start the game. Just to see how the team battled back. On the road we hadn't handled those situations very well. Just to see the passion that the team had from the bench to the guys on the floor, just how we responded to that situation. I think that was when the team sort of took an identity and got our confidence going. Q. How well do you think your team matches up with St. John's? ROBERT SACRE: I think we match up just as good as any team. They're a great team. They're a feisty team. We know that because they battled in the Big East, so we have to respect them that way. I think we match up just fine and we're excited to play them. STEVEN GRAY: I think, you know, it's going to be a completely different look from anything we faced in our conference play. Athletic, force a lot of turnovers, really get out in transition. But, you know, I think we match up pretty well. We got some bigs who have really been playing well as of late. As long as we do the things that we do well - defend, get inside - I think it will be a good matchup for us. Q. They play a matchup zone that your coach said he's familiar with from having seen Mike Dunlap's work before. Do you feel like your size on the inside and your three-point shooting ability can be a lethal combination against that? ROBERT SACRE: No question. The guards look to go inside, give it to the big guys. We look to give it to our shooters. I think it's a great balance for us. I think coach has set us up to where we're a challenge for any team that sees us. I think that's the best part about our team, is that teams have to respect our shooters, and they have to respect us on the inside, as well. Q. Should length and your size be an advantage considering the lack of size that St. John's has? STEVEN GRAY: You know, as long as we don't make silly turnovers, take quick shots, because their defense is really designed to force a lot of turnovers and get you to take shots that maybe are outside of your character. So, I mean, we're going to have to slow down and not get playing at a pace where we're not comfortable, and really take shots on our terms and make decisions. That will give us an opportunity to use our length inside and on the perimeter. So it's more a matter of us slowing down and not letting them, you know, really rush us. Q. Earlier Coach Lavin described you guys as the most lethal offensive team he's going to face. What is your focus on defense to counteract that? ROBERT SACRE: As of the late, we've been holding teams to 30% shooting. We've been proud of that all throughout the year because we take great pride in our defense. I know it's cliché, but offense wins games, defense wins championships. But we take great pride in our defense. We know that's won us games in the past, and we just need to buckle down and just get stops. STEVEN GRAY: I think, you know, just with their teaming, what makes them so exciting to watch on television is their transition game. That's where they get a lot of easy baskets. I mean, they run better than most teams in the country. So that's going to be definitely one of our focuses, is just being able to slow them down and make them use clock. Then let our defense hopefully force them to take tough shots. Q. Matt Bouldin was a big part of the team for three or four years. Can you attribute any of your slow start trying to adjust to his absence? ROBERT SACRE: You know what, I don't think it's because of his absence. I think it's just because we're just young. If you look at our team, there's only three of us who have played with Pargo and Josh Heytvelt and that group of guys back then. So we're still a young group of guys. I'm just proud of our guys, that we were able to get this far. I know we're not saying that we're done yet. But we're just happy to get this far. We're resilient. We're not going to be stopped. Q. Steve Lavin has been an ESPN commentator, covered a lot of your games. How well do you know him on a personal level and do you think that gives St. John's any insight into your games? STEVEN GRAY: I haven't really dealt with him on a personal level (smiling). ROBERT SACRE: Not at all (laughter). STEVEN GRAY: As in years past, I heard he's been a big supporter of the program. You know he's going to have that team ready to play. He's going to know a lot about our program and players and what they can, cannot do. I think the biggest thing is he's not going to walk into this game thinking, you know, because they're a Big East team that they have an advantage for that reason. I mean, he's going to have his guys dialed in and ready to play. ROBERT SACRE: I think the most important thing is if he really wants to find out the inside about Gonzaga basketball, he has to go fishing with Coach Few. That's the only way he can find out the inside. Q. You have tournament experience, they don't. What advantage do you think that gives you guys? ROBERT SACRE: You know what, just the bright-light atmosphere. Everyone makes it a huge stage. You're up on the big stage and everyone's watching you. It's kind of a big deal - and it is. But you just have to take one game at a time and not get ahead of yourself. One foot forward basically, just enjoy the moment. Q. Could you take a step back as basketball purists, you have a lot of height, some depth, some very intricate and good halfcourt stuff, and St. John's has this team that wants to press, get out, run. Do you find this an intriguing matchup? STEVEN GRAY: Absolutely, you know, because it comes down to who's going to control the tempo of this game. Any other team that presses and looks to get turnovers, has one of the best transition games in the country, it makes them so exciting. Like I said, they get easy baskets that way. That's a big part of their game, versus a team that excels in the halfcourt and really wants to work on sets and get the ball inside. You know, as a team we also like to break. But, you know, we don't want to get in an up-and-down match where we're making silly turnovers, doing things out of character. It's going to be really interesting to see who can control the tempo. ROBERT SACRE: I think we're very excited to just play someone else out of the WCC, the tough guard play that we see in the WCC with the great shooters we have in that conference. I think we're really excited to see some of that athleticism, a great different style of play. I think that's the key part, is we're just ready to play someone else. I think we're fired up to see St. John's and how they play. We're going to have a fun game. THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student-athletes at this time. We're joined by Gonzaga head coach, Mark Few. Coach, if you just want to begin with some general remarks, then we'll open it up to questions. COACH FEW: Well, it's an absolute thrill to be here. This is our 13th straight trip. In lieu of the journey that we were on this season, as I told my guys earlier in the week, this is probably as proud I've been of any of the groups that I've been fortunate to be around to dig their way back to this tournament. This is the greatest event in sports. It's really, really difficult to earn your way into it. I think we feel very fortunate and very blessed and very fired up to be a part of it. THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. This has been a different kind of season for you guys. Not that you ever think it's not going to happen, but was there a point where you wondered, Can we really get all the oars in the boat going the right way? What was the point when you felt you had a shot? COACH FEW: Well, it's eventually not going to happen. You know, I mean, it hasn't happened to a lot of great programs over the years. Eventually there will come a day. Hopefully it won't be too soon. But, you know, sure, when we were kind of laboring around, not looking, playing or acting like an NCAA tournament team, the thought creeps in. But you just keep plugging along. You get your team to just, you know, try to get back to doing the things that they had been successful at, try to maximize that, minimize some of the other things. You know, I think there were different times during the season. We really got going there in early December when we were playing some good basketball and really had some nice wins over Xavier, OK State, Baylor on the road, had a good stretch there. Then we took a couple of tough losses on the road. Lost to St. Mary's at home on a buzzer-beater. Had to start building back up after that. Pretty much since that point, we've been playing pretty good. Q. You mentioned the other day your familiarity with the zone that St. John's runs because you've seen it with Dunlap before. COACH FEW: We played it against it when he was at Arizona one time, yeah. Q. How do you feel your team, with its inside ability and its three-point shooting ability, matches up to that? COACH FEW: Well, I mean, it all depends on how we execute and take care of the ball. If we step up and make shots, step up and deliver. This is a group that's capable of that. We've played against a lot of zone this year, and played pretty well against it. I think our guys are at least confident. Q. Do you like to see zone? COACH FEW: I would prefer no teams would play any defense against our guys. It doesn't matter whether it's pressure man-to-man, sagging man-to-man, zone, any of that stuff. I mean, that's the best thing when you play the schedule we play. You're 35 games into it, you've pretty much seen everything. Q. What effect do you think your team's tournament experience will have in this game? COACH FEW: That's a good question. You know, I mean, certainly we have guys that have been through it. This is Steven's fourth tournament. This is Rob's third. Elias, this is his second. Meetch has got three under his belt. I would hope they're used to this, used to this day, all that it entails, just the travel and the protocol, also playing in big arenas under the big lights. It definitely can't hurt. Q. We know you go way back with Coach Lavin. Can you describe that relationship, how close you've been over the years. COACH FEW: I mean, he's a friend. He's a friend. We came up in the profession together. We were assistants out there scrambling around, staying late in gyms, traveling all over in the month of July recruiting. There was quite a batch of us out there. Lav, myself, Dan Monson, Mark Turgeon at A&M, Ray Giacoletti, head coach at Utah, is now working for us at Gonzaga. Great group of guys, all of them, very successful. Really, really good people. You know, I think we had a lot of fun. Q. I don't know how much film you've gotten to break down on St. John's, but they have several guys in the 6'5" range that can rebound, push and finish. Do they remind you of anyone else you've seen? How much in this limited time have you tried to emphasize with your guys, Get back, get back, get back? COACH FEW: We've talked a lot about transition. They're very quick and they're very opportunistic. They relish the opportunity off a quick shot or off a turnover. We got to do a very good job of not cooperating in those areas. But they are very physical inside. The three inside kids can really bang you and seem to be playing very, very well. They offensive rebound well. They get around and challenge you in the post in a very physical manner. Q. Do they remind you of anyone? COACH FEW: Let me think on that. You know, I mean, we played some very physical front lines. Certainly Baylor. But Baylor's is a lot longer, leaner, more athletic. These guys are probably more physical. Xavier had a very physical frontline, as did Oklahoma State had a very physical frontline. THE MODERATOR: Thanks very much, coach. Good luck tomorrow. COACH FEW: Thanks. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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