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

March 18, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C.

MODERATOR: We're joined by student-athletes Gilbert Brown, Brad Wanamaker, and Gary McGhee. We'll open up the floor for questions for the student-athletes right away.

Q. This is for Gary McGhee. Gary, is it meaningful for you to play against an Indiana school? And I suppose you played against Matt Howard in high school. And do you know anything about their other post, Andrew Smith?
GARY McGHEE: Yeah. It's definitely meaningful to play against an Indiana school. A great tradition in the state of Indiana for basketball. So anytime when you get to play against a team, that's really good. And I played against Matt Howard. Throughout my career in high school, we were in the same conference. We battled, and there were other posts. Andrew Smith is a really good player.

Q. If I could just follow up a bit on that, Gary, could you I guess kind of recall what age or grade you were when you and Matt first came across each other and what you remember about your relative size and fitness level? Were you guys similar to now or a lot of changes since then?
GARY McGHEE: There's probably been a lot of changes probably in both our games. It was around my freshman year of high school, made conference play for high school basketball. He was a slim kid; I was kind of big, kind of chunky kid. And now we're a different players, both improved tremendously. So it's going to be different being on the court tomorrow.

Q. Did you kind of reshape yourself, I guess, under Jamie Dixon at Pitt, or was this like junior/senior year of high school?
GARY McGHEE: I was definitely under the Pitts program and certain conditioning program with Tim Beltz, a lot of running and lifting just transformed my body.

Q. Gilbert, talk about the Butler team which you are going to be facing tomorrow?
GILBERT BROWN: Butler is a very experienced team. They have four returning starters from that Final Four team, the national championship team that they had from last year, and they really, really show a lot of confidence out there with Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard. And even the young guy, Andrew Smith, I think Smith and Howard really play off of each other and it makes them a better team.
They're a very aggressive team defensively and offensively, so we really have to focus in on practicing, prepare for what they're going to go and do out there.

Q. Gilbert, this is for you. Do you feel like your best basketball for this team is still ahead of you guys?
GILBERT BROWN: Without a doubt. I think everybody's confident going into this game. I think that Brad has his best games ahead of him, as well as Gary, and everyone else on this team. And I feel that a game is just going to come up where we're going to rolling on all cylinders, and we're just going to put one of our best performances out there.
I'm very confident in everybody on this team, and I think if we can just stick together and continue to make the right sacrifices for this team, that we're going to go come out on top.

Q. Any of you guys, when you're playing Butler, do you just look at them as a No. 8 seed? Do you know their history, and do you have to respect that a little more than you would perhaps any other 8 seed given what they've done in this tournament?
GILBERT BROWN: I think when you look at Butler, you definitely have to respect them like a little bit more. Just being the national championship game last year speaks a lot of them. And having those players back from that team really means a lot to their program and where they stand as a program. They have a great coach and a lot of developed players that have been playing in college basketball for a couple years, so you have to prepare for them extensively and just really be prepared for a battle.
You seen the game against Old Dominion. They really were battling out there on the boards. It was almost like a traditional Big East game the way they were playing.
It's going to be a challenge. It definitely is. Every game from here on out is going to be a big challenge. We really have to prepare mentally and physically for these games.
BRAD WANAMAKER: Knowing the history of their school and they're basically America's team now. And it's going to be a battle, as Gil said. It's going to come down to who win the battle on the boards. As you seen last night, doubling in on the tip in with Matt Howard.

Q. You guys have probably heard over the course of last year as well about how you guys beat each other up and that that may exact a toll when the NCAA's turn around, that you don't have enough to finish. What do you think about that, do you think that it's a blessing or a curse that you guys have to go through, what you do during conference play, once tournament time starts?
GARY McGHEE: Going through the Big East schedule is definitely grueling, every night going up against teams that just get after each other throughout the whole game. It's just very tough during the season, but getting to the post-season, I think it helps us out being used to going through that and just good for us going down the stretch.
BRAD WANAMAKER: I think it's a blessing just to come up and play a team like Butler who's very physical and who gets to the floor and who get after it. They bring it to you. So it's definitely going to seem like we're playing in a Big East game.
GILBERT BROWN: It's definitely a blessing to be able to go and play against that competition day in and day out during the Big East schedule. It definitely prepares you for the tournament and the type of conditions in the game that you're going to be in.

Q. Guys, does it help at all or has Jamie talked to you about the fact that he coached Shelvin Mack? And I know Gordon Hayward is not there with him anymore, but the fact that he coached Shelvin a few years ago along with Ashton. Maybe does he know his style of play? Has he talked to you guys about that at all, that he coached him in the under 19 team?
GILBERT BROWN: He really hasn't brought up anything about Shelvin yet, him being coaching him in the USA team. I know Ashton has mentioned some things about him and how -- his style of play. So maybe when we get out there and are able to go over Butler's team plays, he may bring up some of the things that Mack does on the offensive end.

Q. This is for all you guys. Senior leadership can never be overstated. Could you all talk about that in general and, in particular, the two guys that are sitting with you, what they bring?
GILBERT BROWN: Brad is just a tough competitor. He brings that winner mentality to the game and he's just overall a great basketball player. He brings every aspect of the game, whether it be scoring or rebounding or play-making capabilities.
And G brings the toughness and the heart to the team. He has an attitude where he doesn't quit, and he's relentless when he's playing defensive and rebounding basketball.
And I think when you have those type of players on your team, it really shows a lot, especially to the younger players, how to strive for more.
BRAD WANAMAKER: Just going off what Gil said, Gary brings that no-quit to us. He's the lead out there on the defensive end especially. He gets us going.
And Gil, just being here maybe a year longer than me and Gary, gets us going. He knows a lot and he's seen a lot, so he keeps us motivated and tells us what we need to do. He's more the vocal leader.
GARY McGHEE: Chiming in on that, Brad just brings us, just on the court, just being a vocal leader and just helping us out, getting us in the right spots.
And Gil, just having the experience, helping the younger guys to get to where they need to go.

Q. For Brad, given how much depth you guys have on your team, how is it that, at least seemingly, it's got a constructive purpose, whereas on a lot of college basketball teams, it can -- you can have kids transfer or people get frustrated with playing time. It seems like in your case, Coach Dixon has taken all these talented players and gotten something good out of it instead of just a lot of frustration and people leaving.
BRAD WANAMAKER: I think it's more so the relationships off the court. When you got a good relationship with players on your team, it don't involve a lot of basketball. And we know that we stick together and everybody shows up each and every game, we could go deep in a tournament and it definitely is a key in any game your play.

Q. You guys are friends?
BRAD WANAMAKER: Yeah. We family. We call each other brothers. Anytime you're that tight on a team, the sky's the limit.

Q. Gil, this question is for you. You mentioned that you think the best basketball for this team is still lying ahead of you. What do you think some of the facets of your game that have been missing over the last few weeks or a month or so?
GILBERT BROWN: Just going back to previous games before our last game and the losses, what we really missed was ball control and just controlling the turnovers that we had in certain games. That really played a factor into some of our losses, as well as rebounding and team defense. I think those are what makes this a stable program.
When you see Pitt basketball, you expect rebounding, you expect defense. And in the game that we lost this season, we really let down ourselves and our coach when we had mistakes on the offense end turning the ball over, or whether it be being tied on a rebounding battle or even losing it.

Q. Can you guys build off that as well, Brad and Gary?
BRAD WANAMAKER: That's most definitely key, defense and rebounding and take care of the ball. But the thing we've been lacking lately is taking the tempo of the game in the first half. A lot of teams bring it to us early, and for us to be successful here on out, especially facing a team like Butler, you start with the first tempo of the game and get it going early.
GARY McGHEE: On that, I feel that we just have to come out and have a better start early off in the game, control the glass, as Gil and Brad said, and just take care of the ball and we should be fine.

Q. Brad, you used the phrase America's team, and that's probably something that everybody's already thought of. Is that something you guys would use as just something extra for tomorrow, or do you discount that as a motivation for you guys tomorrow?
BRAD WANAMAKER: No. Being an American team, ain't got nothing to do with us. We motivated. We're ready to go out and play. We've been hungry since losing the first round in the Big East. So we're ready to play, and being the American team got nothing to do with it.

Q. The rest of you guys feel the same way, that it's not going to be something you think about, that America's rooting for the other team tomorrow?
GILBERT BROWN: Not really. It may actually benefit us. I think we thrive in being in an underdog role when people don't expect us to succeed. So it plays in our heads and we want to go out there and prove everybody wrong that thinks different.

Q. Gary?
GARY McGHEE: I think everyone wants to see the upset, as you can say, the AC were the 1 seed, so that might be what America wants to see is the upset.
We just want to come out there and play our game, and we know what we have to do.

Q. You mentioned the UConn loss last week. How does that motivate you going into tomorrow and throughout the tournament, and what did you take from that loss, that you might be playing a chip on your shoulder, with something to prove? How do you use that loss to fuel you?
GILBERT BROWN: I think just going back and looking at that loss that we suffered at the Big East Tournament, it really showed a lot of what we need to improve on.
I think UConn really took it to us and they fought for it and they essentially just wanted it more. And like where they were getting the loose balls and all the offensive rebounds down the stretch that we usually come up with, and that was key, because in a game like that and in the games from here on out, they're going to be close. And whoever gets those loose balls, those offensive rebounds, those little key plays, are going to be the ones that come out victorious.
So I think we really been stressing on treating every possession like it's your last, every play like it's your last, because if you don't come out there with that intensity and the other team does, then you're going to fail.

Q. On the opposite end of Butler maybe being America's team, do you guys ever feel like you're overlooked for everything you've accomplished? You kind of operate outside of the spotlight a little bit it seems.
BRAD WANAMAKER: Yeah. You look at -- Pitt program has always been overlooked. But we take that as motivation, especially playing against a team like Butler. As we said, they're America's team. So it just motivates you more. People depend on us to lose this game, so we're very motivated and we're ready to play.
GARY McGHEE: Yeah, as he said, we just want to come out and just prove everyone wrong sometimes. People don't give us the credit that we deserve, but we just want to come out and get the win.
MODERATOR: Any other questions for the Pittsburgh student-athletes? Okay. Guys. Thank you.
Pittsburgh Head Coach Jamie Dixon joining us on the podium. Coach, quick opening statement with regards to heading into the third round tomorrow night.
COACH JAMIE DIXON: Okay. Preparation here, we'll practice a little bit later on here as we get ready for Butler. Familiar with them, able to go through their stuff and know what they do. Very physical team, a team that takes great pride in their defense and their physicality. Team defense I think the best way to put how they play and really try to keep penetration in front of you, and a physical post not letting the ball inside, at times full fronting and using their bodies to prevent that.
But obviously a very good program and been good for a lot of years. And Brad's done a great job. Brad's a good friend, and obviously Shelvin's a guy we coached at the USA basketball and know very well. And Ashton and him were able to play together, and we really have really two point guards or ones and twos for that team, so I know they're close as well.
MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Dixon.

Q. You've been through the conference when it was smaller and through expansion. Do you think it's come out stronger in the end. Is it more difficult and why might that be?
COACH JAMIE DIXON: Yeah, I think so. I think it's amazing. When it came together, I think people thought it might be the demise of the Big East and how it went to the 16 teams. I think a lot of people thought that way. And it's only strengthened itself.
I think really we've made each other better, and I think the numbers clearly show that with getting 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament. I know every conference is biased and think they have the best conference, but I don't even know if that was up for debate this year in what we did in the preseason tournaments.
When you get to the NCAA Tournament and the seeds, we get sent to different regions, different things occur. I don't know if that's the best thing that you can go by. But I think we've far surpassed in the every way basketball-wise, and I think football-wise will be the same thing. And I think as a conference, it's regained its footing in every aspect, and it's really headed in the right direction and where great things are to come.
Obviously basketball, we've set ourselves apart, I think, from everybody, but I think the same thing is going to happen for football. We're going to raise the level as well.

Q. Coach, a lot of times when college basketball teams have a lot of depth, it doesn't necessarily go to a constructive end. Some players transfer or the chemistry goes south. How have you kind of taken all of the players you have who legitimately contend for playing time and channelled that to what seems to be a constructive end and gotten the good out of that?
COACH JAMIE DIXON: I think that's a very good point because oftentimes we're asked about our team and why we've had the success we've had and how we've done it. And I think the point you make is we have been able to play a lot of guys and keep those guys and not only have them transferring.
I think it's all of the things. I think it's the type of kids we recruit. I think it's the school, the university. I think the kids like our place, our university. They like going to school there. So I know you're supposed to talk in basketball terms, but I think there's a lot of different things that go into it.
And I think they see themselves improving, they see the team improving, and they see the goals that we have. And oftentimes it's the guys you recruit, coming from the right place and coming -- recruiting the right kids who want to win first, want to win first and know how to go about doing that.
So a lot of that factors in, but I think the bottom line is that our kids like playing our program, they like going to our university, they like the City of Pittsburgh. Most of our kids are from different areas. Won't do really have any players from our area. We've only had one really in the last seven, eight years. So that's something that we really have to look into in great deal and do great research on and get a lot of questions answered before they get there.
But I think bottom line is they like the university, they like what we do.

Q. The players were up here a few minutes ago saying that they feel -- they can't find a little motivation from Butler being, as they said, America's team, but they also said that they're drawing as much motivation so far in the Tournament from losing the way they did to UConn last week. Do you see one or the other or both or neither being a big factor as you guys take the floor tomorrow?
COACH JAMIE DIXON: Well, I think we like to say different ways that we're trying to be motivated in different events or circumstances. I just think this group is -- they've really committed. From the summer, we did a summer trip last spring, all the time and effort that we've put into it, I don't know of one thing more than anything in what -- our guys all come from winning programs, high schools. They're used to winning here at Pitt, and I just can't see one motivating factor for them.
I think they just -- they've won state championships, they've won the Big East championship this year. They believe that they have the ability to play on, and I think that's really the most important thing and their most motivating factor.

Q. Coach, just a little bit of a follow-up on what David just brought up. You could not have lost the Big East in a more highly publicized way, and a lot of teams might hang their heads. These guys are just pissed off about all that. They talked a little bit about that. Can you kind of explain to me the mental makeup of these guys, and especially your seniors?
COACH JAMIE DIXON: Well, we won the Big East Conference. And as I said, when we won the conference championship, I said it will be the first time any team has won a conference with 11 NCAA Tournament teams in it, and probably be the last time too. So we accomplished great deal. Beat a lot of good people to win that championship.
You want to win every game or goal. Our next goal was to win that Big East Championship Tournament, but lost it, lost a tough game against a very good team.
But I think at the end, we knew there was more to come and the NCAA Tournament is it, but we also know you have to take business in your first -- take care of business in your first game. And we've seen in the past, what's happened beforehand has very little to do with it. And it's really, we're all starting with a clean slate, just like we went into the Big East Tournament. We had a great year to win that conference obviously, but everybody's equal at this point. And we understand that, and what we've done in the past has nothing to do with what we need to do tomorrow.

Q. You mentioned recruiting. Can you think back to your recruitment of Brad and what stood out about him?
COACH JAMIE DIXON: It wasn't like we were on him real early. When I say real early, it was his junior year. I remember in the spring first seeing him play. But really, the summer going into his senior year is -- I really followed him a lot and just one of those guys -- those are the guys that love to recruit. We watch them play a lot. And especially in the summer, we'll see them game after a game for about a two-week stretch or 20 days. And there are certain guys that you like.
Most guys you like as it drags on you like less and less that you see. The guys that you like more and more, those are the guys that are going to become players.
And he maybe not warrants so long or he wasn't ranked high early on, he wasn't a guy that everybody thought would be the level that you needed or the type of player you needed.
But as we watched him play more and more, I loved everything he did each day. It seemed to grow. And so I think of him in that regard. And when he came to Pitt, I just knew he was going to be a great player. And I've said a couple times where I was so sure he was going to be a great player, I may have been a little bit harder on him as a freshman because I had such great expectations and hopes and beliefs in him. And I guess they did come true because he could have been I guess Big East player of the year, he had to be about as close as you can get to without not getting it on the championship team.
So Chevon Troutman was another kid like that we recruited, and I saw that each day he was more -- I don't think he was getting Big East recruitment, but more and more I watched him play, you just knew he was going to be a really good player. When you watch them play 20 straight days and you like him more and more each time, those are going to be the guys that seem to work out best for us.

Q. You mentioned 11 teams from the Big East and the other game that's going to be here is sort an odd byproduct of that, two teams from the same league playing this early in the tournament. I wonder if you could talk about that as a symptom of the league's growth and just sort of an unfortunate side.
COACH JAMIE DIXON: I think this is part of what's happened with our league and that we're going to talk about the 11 teams and they'll talk about how many are left in the Final Four or the Elite Eight or the Sweet 16, and now we're playing against each other. So that's why you can't really look completely at how this thing falls out.
But the conference -- and what we did I think in the preseason as far as what we did in all the major tournaments and then how we played out all the way through the Big East Conference, I think it's -- like I said, I think we've made each other better. I think we've -- you say that, you hope that that's going to be the case, but we've strengthened each other with the quality of teams that we brought in the universities, and our university has just grown in every way because of -- at the same time. And I think being part of this conference has helped in that too as well.
So I think we're still heading in the right direction. I see teams that maybe aren't in the NCAA Tournament from our conference building because of it as well.

Q. Jaime, any sympathy or Mick or Jim, having to face a team that probably knows them very well tomorrow? And does it make it any easier or tougher when you're opponent is so familiar with you and vice-versa?
COACH JAMIE DIXON: You know you are going to play somebody good. We were -- I guess we saw it coming. I guess we saw it coming. It was going to happen with 11 teams, knew it was going to happen. I have great respect for -- Mick's a good friend. Coach Calhoun is a good friend, so you got me on a bad spot there. I can't root for anybody.
But we do root for our conference teams, and it's something that I guess had to happen. I don't know -- I didn't know it was going to happen twice and this early. But it's just something that's a byproduct of being really, really good and having 11 teams in there.
And you know what? We can't complain about it. We gotta just keep doing it and try to get as many teams as we can to the Tournament. And we just -- there was no real debate. There was 11 quality teams that deserved to be in it and are in it.

Q. Coach, Coach Stevens was up and talked about seeing Gary as a recruit and he had fallen in love with him and said, I knew he was going to a BCS school, so we gave up. Were you as enamored with, say, Gary as you were with Brad?
COACH JAMIE DIXON: Gary was a different thing, kind of a real -- the story on Gary was we were recruiting one player, and we saw -- knew the name. We didn't recruit Indianapolis or Indiana too often, but saw him play against DeJuan Blair in a game down in Orlando, and that's where we saw him. And he was a kid that -- I thought he defended DeJuan as well as anybody had that summer. And DeJuan was a little bit under the radar, and I guess Gary was too as well.
But we just liked the things -- I really liked the defensive presence. He really wanted to be at Pitt. He had a real hunger. He liked what we had done. For all the right reasons he was interested in us. He liked the development of Aaron Gray and he had become a NBA center. And that was something that he brought up to us first rather than us.
And so he knew he had to get better, he knew he had to develop. And oftentimes, that's a good place to start. Sometimes guys don't think they have to get better or develop, and he did, and he's paid the price with hard work and a great, great willingness to listen and get better.

Q. From what you've just said, I can't imagine that Matt Howard was ever on your radar as a young person, but could you share any thoughts you have on how he has developed at Butler and his value to the Butler team at this moment?
COACH JAMIE DIXON: I'm not sure of his whole career, I don't know how it all -- I think he pretty much came in there pretty productive from the beginning, as we know. But he's a guy that does a lot of things for them. And defensively, he's very physical. I know they need him on floor. I see the times he's been in foul trouble, and it seems they do a lot of things to try to keep him out of foul trouble.
But he's a key defensively and offensively for what they do. He's unique in that he can play inside and outside and I think he's a very experienced guy that gives them -- I think he gives them a lot of confidence with how he plays. But he's physical, he's tough, and he's just very experienced.

Q. The mid-major has really made a run obviously with Butler going to the national championship last year and then George Mason going to the Final Four, and they've just been competitive in the tournaments recently. Why do you think that is, and do you think that the one and done or players leaving early is the biggest reason for it?
COACH JAMIE DIXON: A couple things I think, that's obviously not even one and done, but just guys going early. Guys around here are seniors. We're talking about seniors. I think there's more good players out there. Used to be 15 scholarships. Now it's 13 scholarships. I think all those things coming together over time is going to bring about different teams going to the tournament.
But I think as anybody knows, if you get in now, I think as we've seen, there's so many close games that you saw yesterday. I don't think anything can be a surprise anymore. There are certain programs that maybe they play in a mid-major so-called conference, but they've been doing it long enough that they aren't really a mid-major team and they have everything that goes with -- hate to put those terms on teams, but, you know, certain programs at certain leagues have done it for long enough that they have resources, they have the players, they have their tradition to play with anybody in the country.

Q. I know you answered the question with the Big East teams beating each other up in regular season play probably a million times just this year. But how much validity do you think there is to that? Do you think that maybe it's just because of all the teams that lost early last year? Is there a possibility that that could be a factor during the NCAA Tournament?
COACH JAMIE DIXON: You know, I haven't quite gone with that one. People have asked it. There's a couple things to factor in. First of all, we got two teams playing against each other today -- or tomorrow. That has something to do with it. I think we're always put in different regions because we have so many of them so we've been spread out. We've been put out west more than we've been put out anywhere else.
So we're playing in different sites. Oftentimes our seeds are adjusted because we have so many in our pod or so many in our region. So a lot of things factor into it as well.
But I just don't see how what we did two weeks ago factors into what goes on today or next week or anytime during the NCAA Tournament, whether it be yesterday or today. I just have a hard time doing that.
These teams are all playing good people. I was watching Butler against Cleveland State today. So everybody's playing against good people. I think ours may be a little bit deeper conference. But I just think there's more things, like I mentioned earlier, that may have a factor in it as well.
And at times we beat each other. No other conference has had to play against somebody else in their conference and been knocked out. I think that eventually those add up.
MODERATOR: Okay, Coach, thank you.

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