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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: DENVERMarch 17, 2011Festus EzeliJohn JenkinsKevin StallingsDENVER, COLORADO Richmond – 69 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Vanderbilt. Coach, if you want to provide some comments on the game. COACH STALLINGS: Well, we're obviously very disappointed to have lost the game. But we couldn't get critical stops when we needed them. They had a couple of flurries on the boards that were momentum-shifting. We missed some really critical free throws where we had a chance to either take the lead or get the game tied. These games are going to be close. Those are your margins for victory. Coming up with rebounds, getting the stop, making your free throws. We just weren't able to get those done on a consistent basis as we went down the stretch of the game. They were making big plays. They were making tough shots. They did a better job making their free throws than we did. THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for the student-athletes. Q. John, obviously three-point shot was big in this game. They were 12 for their first 20. You're used to seeing that on your end. What was it like out there? What was the difficulty in getting it stopped? JOHN JENKINS: They just got hot. We tried our best to contest shots, but they jumped up and made 'em. That's all I can think of. I know we had a couple contested shots, but they kept knocking 'em down, knocking 'em down, so... Q. Festus, can you talk about Darrius Garrett coming into the game, the difference he made in their defense. FESTUS EZELI: He's a big key. He altered a lot of shots, blocked a lot of shots. He was really good for them on defense. Q. Back to back first round against Murray State last year, now Morehead State? COACH STALLINGS: We didn't lose to Morehead State. Q. Where you're the higher seed, is it a case where you're overconfident or a case where these teams throughout this tournament have more talent than people realize? JOHN JENKINS: We fought our hearts out, I can honestly say that. We gave it our all. We just didn't come out on the positive side today. Q. John, what were you going for with that last possession? Did you want the three? JOHN JENKINS: If it was there, I was going to take it. If it wasn't, I was going to finish off with somebody else. Q. John, I think they only had three turnovers in the game. Was your inability to turn them over crucial? You like to spring open a lot of times in transition. There didn't seem to be that many opportunities out there. JOHN JENKINS: They took care of the ball. Maybe I could have done a better job of getting up in 'em, causing chaos. But they did a good job taking care of the ball. THE MODERATOR: We'll dismiss the student-athletes at this time and continue with questions for Coach Stallings. Q. You just talked about this tournament, the disappointments of the last two years, how the talent all around is more spread out than maybe people think. COACH STALLINGS: Yeah, there's a lot of parity in college basketball. You always hear that word, but it's true. I mean, those two kids for Richmond, they're as good of players as anybody has almost. It's just the nature of it. There's a lot of pressure. There's a lot of pressure on the higher seed. Whether you want to admit it or not, there's a lot of pressure when you're the higher seed. I've been on both ends. But nevertheless, it is, there's good players all over. I checked the spreads before the games today just out of curiosity. They're 2, they're 3, even in wide seeds maybe, difference in seeds. I mean, these teams are very, very close in talent and very close in ability. Q. Has been getting the last-second shot, an open look, been a trouble spot for this team this year? Why, if that's been the case? COACH STALLINGS: We didn't execute on the last possession. But I don't blame the person that broke down for that. We had trouble closing out games this year. Historically our teams I think have been pretty good at that. I think if you go back and check the records, I think the records will tell you we've been very good in close games. We've had a hard time finishing close games this year. That's my job to get that fixed and to get that done. It's something that's been going on all season long. Believe me when I tell you we spend an inordinate amount of time on it in practice. I just thought we tightened up a little bit when the game got there towards the end. As hard as we talked and as much as we talked about having a relaxed, confident attitude about us, you know, you could tell we tightened up on a couple of free throws. But it's the nature of this tournament. That's why it's exciting. There's a lot of pressure and a lot of tension. Q. Could you talk a little bit about what Kevin Anderson gives you and the difference that Garrett made in the game with his five blocked shots? COACH STALLINGS: Well, Garrett was big. We got to the foul line some with his blocks, too. But he made a difference for them around the goal. Anderson is really a dynamite player, very difficult to keep in front of you. Has great ability to make off-balance shots. He played like a really good senior should play in this tournament. But both of those guys were very key to their success. Q. How big of a threat do you see Richmond going forward? Are they a team you think can advance a couple rounds? COACH STALLINGS: Well, I think it always depends on matchups. They have a unique style. They're difficult to play against. So I guess it just comes down to whether or not they get a matchup with somebody that's a bad matchup for them, I guess is the best way to put it. They're certainly talented enough. They have very good players, a very good system. Q. You talked about pushing the tempo yesterday. Were you happy with the tempo or would you liked to have seen you get up and down the floor a little bit more? COACH STALLINGS: We wanted it to be faster. We talked at halftime we weren't pushing it enough, we weren't pushing it fast enough. But, again, I think tension slows you down. Tense muscles are slow muscles. I just thought we just weren't as relaxed as I was hoping we would be. Wasn't bad, but wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, coach. COACH STALLINGS: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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