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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: CHICAGO

March 17, 2011

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

GREG GREENWELL: Joining us for the 12:05 press conference are Florida State student-athletes Derwin Kitchen and Bernard James.

Q. For both of you, can you talk a little bit about your thoughts about being here, and do you know much about your opponent, or does practice go that you concentrate on what you do instead of what the opponent may bring?
DERWIN KITCHEN: First off, it's a great feeling to be here. For me, it's my third year in the NCAA Tournament. It's a pretty good feeling. As far as our opponent, I mean, we've got some things from the coaches, but we're still learning. I mean, I know we're going to get some more things tonight out of the practice.
So we're still learning about our opponent, and hopefully we can get enough things to concentrate on and be ready Friday.
BERNARD JAMES: Yeah, this is my first time here. You know, it's been pretty exciting so far. I'm enjoying it. I feel like our coaches have been giving us the information that they feel like we need to know to win. We have another session coming up pretty soon where they're going to give us even more, and we'll be ready to play at tip-off.

Q. Bernard, kind of talk about going up against David Loubeau. He's kind of A&M's biggest post presence. What have you seen out of him, and kind of -- what's the game plan going into this?
BERNARD JAMES: Our defense, we're not really changing our principles for him. I mean, he is a good player, though. I've seen, he's very versatile. He has a decent midrange game. He can put the ball on the floor. He can score around the basket, and he's physical. Tomorrow's game is really going to be about toughness more than anything. You know, who's going to take to the other team harder.

Q. For both of you guys, have you guys talked to Chris? Do you know if he'll be able to play tomorrow?
DERWIN KITCHEN: He's been practicing. He's not been doing much but that's up to coach and him to make the decision tomorrow.

Q. Derwin, this is for you. You mentioned the third time here. What needs to be different from the previous two years when you guys had an early exit?
DERWIN KITCHEN: The first year, we finally got over the hump. And it was like we were just so happy to be here for the first time in a while. Last year, we just dumped out big time against Gonzaga. We really didn't come ready to play.
This time around, we have experienced guys that has been knowing what it takes to win at this level because every team in the tournament is pretty good. We know what it takes. We've got experience and depth.

Q. What would it mean to you guys just to finally get this win? It's been a long time since Florida State's won an NCAA game.
BERNARD JAMES: It would be big for our program in general. We have bigger goals than just making it to the third round. So we're not going to get too excited over a win tonight. We're going to start preparing for the next game and the next one after that.

Q. You were asked about Chris. If he is able to play, what would that mean for this team? On the flip side, if he isn't able to play, how do you adjust?
DERWIN KITCHEN: I think it would be huge for the team just to have his presence out there for however many minutes he plays. Just his presence alone will help the team. I mean, I think we have -- we have played pretty well without him the past five, six games, and to have his presence out there on the defensive end and offensive end, it would definitely be key for this team.

GREG GREENWELL: Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton. Coach, we'll start with an opening statement.
COACH HAMILTON: This is our third trip in a row to the NCAA Tournament. It seems as though it's the most focused that our players have been. We've had very good practices. They've had a very mature workmanlike attitude as they have approached the preparation.
Our players are excited about being in the tournament. I really like the attitude and the respect they've shown for our preparation as we look at Texas A&M. More than anything else, this will probably be the first time that we've had most of our players for any consistent period of time to be in practice. So we have a little better understanding of our rotation and who we have available, with the exception of Singleton.
But for the most part, I feel that we are mentally, emotionally, and almost as physically ready as we can be going into the tournament.

Q. What is the status for tomorrow of Chris Singleton?
COACH HAMILTON: That really has not been determined yet. He's had some pretty good practices. Obviously, when you're out for a whole month without having any physical contact and a lot of repetitions in practice, you can't -- there's an adjustment period for you, and he's probably going through that a little bit.
We'll go through a limited workout today, and we'll sit down and have a discussion with him and just kind of see where we are and see how he feels with the involvement of our team physician, and then we'll make a determination.
We'll make a determination tomorrow. I don't feel one way or the other. I think there's a lot of thought that goes into this where he is, and most importantly, we're concerned about him and his rehab and exactly where we are in relation to what level of contribution he's able to make.

Q. Obviously, what does Chris bring? And if he's not able to play, how big of a factor will that be tomorrow?
COACH HAMILTON: I don't even know if I can answer that. He hasn't been playing. And how big of a factor he's going to be will be in direct proportion to how he's going to adjust to not being available for a month, not being in practice, not having any contact, not being in rhythm. The conditioning level and all those things that's involved.
He's only been in any type of contact with us now for four or five days. So to be honest with you, I think that's yet to be determined.

Q. And one final question. Obviously, everyone talks about matchups right now. How do you feel you guys match up against Texas A&M? I know both obviously very good defensive teams.
COACH HAMILTON: There's no doubt that they execute extremely well on the offensive end. Defensively, they're one of the better defensive teams in the country. I think they have a rebounding margin of something like nine. They get to the free-throw line like 24 times per game, which means they're executing and making sure they have great shot selection.
But they're a typical NCAA opponent that's very qualified, extremely well coached. And we realized that we need to be at our very best in order to be successful. That's why my opening comment was I like our focus. A lot of it, I think our focus has been as a result of the respect that we have for Texas A&M and the quality of team that they have and how well they've played over the last several years.

Q. Back to Chris one more time. Structurally, is he completely healed? And what criteria do you need to see from him to let him play?
COACH HAMILTON: When you say structurally, what do you mean?

Q. Is everything healed?
COACH HAMILTON: Well, he would not be working in practice if he wasn't at the point where the doctors have examined him, and we've sent him -- we've had second opinions. So we feel like we have a handle on where he is. But that's not all that's involved here.
Where he is in terms of the healing process and where he is in terms of the level of contribution is not as easy as one might think. You just, in your rehab process, you just don't go from not participating, and then you have three or four or five practices. You've got to give him an opportunity to see where you are, and that's what we're doing. I don't know how much plainer I can make it.

Q. Coach, I know you have some local ties to Chicago. I wonder if that can be a good thing or a distraction.
COACH HAMILTON: What she means is that my brother-in-law lives here, and if you're talking about the 14 tickets he asked me for, is that a distraction? Seriously, it's always a plus when you have a chance to at least be around with your family and friends can participate in the process.
But the fact that we've been in the business long enough that I really tune just about everything out. I'm not a very good friend or relative during these types of times, and those who know and love me will accept that as part of my personality. So I'm sure that my family will enjoy the experience and the camaraderie and the visit with friends, but I won't be included in any of those types of meetings.
They'll enjoy the opportunity to visit without Coach Ham. Maybe I'll see them after the game and maybe a little bit before the game. There's so many of them, I can't remember all of their names. So I'll be faking it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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