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NCAA MEN'S REGIONALS SEMIFINALS & FINALS: NEW ORLEANSMarch 26, 2011Matt HowardShelvin MackRonald NoredBrad StevensShawn VanzantNEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA Butler – 74 COACH STEVENS: Well, I don't really know where to start. I'm obviously thrilled we're still playing. I was asked earlier do you talk about going to the Final Four, do you talk about trying to win the national championship game? The answer is no. We talked about how to guard a cross screen, which we didn't do very well. We talked about how you guard on balls, which we didn't do very well at the start. But we kind of stayed together, stayed the course, figured it out, and just played resiliently and played -- the fun part of a coach at this time of the year is you know all that went into it. Like you know what you did in September in our limited amount of time that we can work out. You know what you did on October 15th and what your focus and intent was. You know what it was like after we got beat by Youngstown State and nobody on our bus really ducked their head or shied away from what appeared at the time to be a tough sledding, and our guys just kind of stayed the course. I'm incredibly proud of these guys. They carried their coach today in a big way. I was saying I got out-coached big time. But our assistants did a great job and our players did a great job, and just a special group. We're really lucky that they're Butler Bulldogs. Q. Shelvin, how were you guys able to defend so well against the three-point shot from Florida and keep them from making -- they made 3 of 14. How were you able to do that? SHELVIN MACK: I think it was an overall team effort. The guards were able to knock down shots. Then we did a great job of trying to run them off the line and just trying to contest every shot. You know it's going to be a hard fought game. The guards are tough, Parsons is real tough, and just tried to contest every shot and was able to do that tonight. Q. Billy Donovan was in here and he thought the key to the game was nine minutes left, you guys are down 11, and at that point on you got every loose ball. Matt, I thought you in particular, it seemed like, just turned up this do or die type gear, not worried about foul trouble anymore. Could you just talk about what the sense was with your team when you're down 11, nine minutes, and how you guys picked it up from there? MATT HOWARD: Yeah, it wasn't just me, though, it was a group effort. I think everyone -- you know, we talked about not having any regrets. You know, at that point there was some things we could be doing a lot better, and just being aggressive. If you're talking about the offensive rebounding or something like that, don't have any regrets of not going. I thought we had some great effort plays from our freshmen, as well. They came in and played really well. You know, our bench was good for us today. Q. Matt, talking about loose balls, the tied up ball with about 19 seconds left with the possession arrow pointing your way, could you describe that way and did you look up and look toward the arrow immediately and just what was going on in your mind when you saw it was your ball? MATT HOWARD: You know, very happy because obviously you don't have to guard them again right underneath their basket, and we have a chance to get to the line and expand the lead. But you know, it was a battle today for every rebound, and you know, it was -- I guess I was fortunate to be in the right spot enough to get enough of the ball to tie it up and get us another possession. Q. Coach, do you have to work on your chest bump any? It looked like you almost fell over there. COACH STEVENS: Yeah, I almost did it. You know, last week Emerson wasn't as strong as he is. He got in the weight room all week for that moment. He knocked my glasses off, which isn't fair, either, and which I never had to deal with before. I've got to work on my -- I thought the elevation was good, but I've got to work on some of the -- I've got to work on my landing, that's for sure. I need to get out some old gymnastic tapes and study them a little bit better. Q. Shelvin, after Walker put them up I believe one, 70-69, could you take us through that possession? At what point did you decide you were going to shoot? SHELVIN MACK: You know, we came down -- just coming down the court, we got in a great situation. Matt set a pick and we was able to switch it. The previous possessions I was able to get to the rim and get fouled, and I realized he was backing up a little bit, and I was able to just knock down a shot. Q. For Shawn and for Ron, can you just describe what was the hardest part about getting back to this point this season for you guys? RONALD NORED: Well, I think you come into the season, and with the success that we had last year, you do your best to strive for that again. And there were some shortcomings early. Then we played well in December, and then there were some shortcomings again in January. I think our team did a great job of just staying together through everything. Shel and I talked a lot about just how sad you are -- none of us have lost three games before in a row, but our team did a heck of a job just staying together. Getting to this point isn't easy and staying together isn't easy when everything is going wrong. And that was the thing that I think has gotten us to this point. SHAWN VANZANT: To go along with that, losing the senior class and going ahead with last year, I think some people had to figure their roles out, and I think coach did a great job of putting people in a position to be successful. Q. First of all, Shelvin, did you call the bank on that first three? SHELVIN MACK: No, I did not call that. No, I've been working the past few days to get some arch in my shot, and it just worked out. Q. The other thing that seemed like it was key in the last nine minutes, you were carrying the offense most of the night, but you needed someone to kind of pick it up. Could any of you guys talk about the freshmen started picking it up and scoring, No. 20 hit a big three? SHELVIN MACK: Chrishawn did a great job staying ready and focused. He hasn't played a lot this year, which is kind of hard to do when you're a senior, especially as good as him. You always have the edge like I should have out there playing. He stayed positive and I was able to get in the lane and just find him to make a great play. He was able to knock down that jump shot, and then also on the offensive rebound he made a terrific pass to Matt. But through the nine minutes, I just wanted to stay aggressive the whole time and create opportunities for my teammates for them to be able to knock down some shots. Q. Ronald, you were 4 of 4 from the free-throw line there in the second half and the bench out scored Florida 23 to 2. Can you talk about the pressure that's on you coming to the line like that and the job that the bench did today? RONALD NORED: There is no pressure. I mean, I've been in this situation before, and I've messed up in this situation before. But coach has confidence in me. My teammates have confidence in me, and I think if that's the recipe then there is no pressure. It was just my job to go up and knock them down. And then off the bench, Chrishawn, Zach in the first half making big shots, Khyle grabbing seven offensive rebounds, our bench came to play together, and that's what we've been trying to get the bench to do the whole year, and I think we've done a solid job of it. But that's a big part of our team. We talk about the next man up and everyone doing their job, and the bench's job is to come off the bench and bring energy, and I think everyone that came off the bench and played today brought great energy, and we helped the starters out as much as we could. Q. That was kind of my question. But Ron, I don't mean to bring you down here, but I was looking at your free throw percentage -- RONALD NORED: Y'all do this to me every year. This is the second year in a row someone has pointed out my free throw percentage. I know it's bad. (Laughter). Q. So when was the last time you sank four in a row, because I think you did that at the end of the game here, didn't you? RONALD NORED: Wow, you might be going way back. Oh, I can tell you, though. Utah in Hawaii, made a career-high nine free throws. I won't forget it because I don't usually do it that often. Q. This is for Shelvin. Seems like Florida was 2 for 2 and having their opponents high score, have to wear a Band-Aid during the game. I wonder if you could tell me a little bit about what happened with that. I think you also rolled an ankle early in the game, right? So you're playing a little beat up today and still were able to shine in the face of what was probably a pretty physical approach? SHELVIN MACK: Yeah, it was a really physical game. I really don't know what happened with my forehead. I just walked back and I was bleeding. But early in the game I twisted my ankle on a play trying to get to the rim. Yeah, it's a physical game. That's what the NCAA Tournament is about. You wouldn't want it any other way. I think the refs did a great job of letting us play each and every play. All the guys second it to be a hard-fought, physical game. Q. Ronald, rumor has it Gordon Hayward follows you pretty closely on Twitter. Have you updated him yet? RONALD NORED: On the win? No, I haven't even turned on my phone. That's going to be an adventure. Q. Shawn, you and freshman Khyle Marshall are both from the state of Florida. You're from Tampa, actually, huge rebounding performance with 7 this afternoon. Does it make it extra special that this win was against Florida? SHAWN VANZANT: I mean, not really. Beating anybody to go to the Final Four feels special. But no, I wasn't really heavily recruited in high school. But I'm glad Butler gave me a shot, and I'm going to the Final Four. Q. Two questions: Were you really surprised that at the end of regulation that the game was tied and Florida basically went for a three-point shot, didn't try to drive in and draw a foul? Secondly, that Vernon Macklin was not in the last two or three minutes of the game when he had shot so well, like 11 for 14 from the field? COACH STEVENS: No, I don't try to coach anybody else's team. I mean, he's going to be a Hall of Famer whenever he decides to retire, so I'll let them do that. I understand what they were doing at the end of regulation. You don't want to give us the ball at all, and the reason he didn't get any penetration was because we trapped the ball screen and stayed up with him. He got a pretty good look for a pretty good player. And so I don't think it was anything -- if I'm sitting there, I know this, I was scared when the shot went up, and I wasn't scared when Boynton's last shot that he heaved from about 80 feet went up. I think the last thing that I'm going to do is question them because, again, I got out-coached pretty thoroughly today. So we were just lucky that our guys are good players. Q. You looked extremely angry and vocal in a couple situations in the first half with your players, I think especially about the defense in the post. Can you review what was the issue there? COACH STEVENS: Yeah, it was defense in the post, but it was more the other four guys around him. I just didn't think that we were active, and I think we may have -- we had talked about they're probably going to try to force it in there, and one of the reasons why they shot it 3 for 14 is they were going to throw it in the post. It was very successful for them. We weren't active off of those guys that were around the post. If Macklin took three dribbles, nobody ever made him pick it up. Or if he spun baseline, nobody was there to take a charge or to take the ball away or anything. We were really more stand-still than we usually are, than we want to be. So that's what I was mad about. And again, you know, fatigue can play a role in that, being scared of leaving shooters can play a role in that, being scared of leaving Tyus because if you leave him he's going to back cut and try to tip dunk it if he does shoot it. So there's a lot of things that play a real role in that. Q. Khyle Marshall had an exceptional game today. He had seven offensive rebounds. Is that something he's done all year, or did he just step up today, as did the entire bench? COACH STEVENS: Well, he's done it the whole NCAA Tournament. Pittsburgh he was outstanding, Thursday night against Wisconsin he was outstanding, and today he's been outstanding. So he has had his moments during the year, but like most freshmen, those moments are here and there. But the cool part about the last three games is there's been a real consistency and approach and production to be quite honest. The one he got where he tipped it to himself and got a three-point play late was remarkable. It was a high, high level basketball play. Very few guys can do it. He was so quick off the floor and he was so high. But I think he was really excited to play this game. He and Hop are both -- they're such great kids that if they don't play but eight minutes in a game or Hop doesn't play for a month, they're just trying to be a part of a team, and they're excited to win. This is something that's really special to them. Q. You've mentioned a couple times during this presser that you got out-coached. Could you be a little more specific? And then secondly, Coach Donovan complimented you guys on your internal will and that you had had a conversation about that earlier. Would you talk about your team's internal will, as well? COACH STEVENS: Well, the nice part is, and part of our conversation was, yeah, you both have a chance to go a long way or at least try to achieve or try to turn it around because you have that will. I don't know that you create that will mid-season. I think you recruit it. I think it's something that is there that you can feed and grow. But you know, somebody that's not motivated, somebody that's not ambitious isn't getting here. You know, as far as just being out-coached, I just thought they did a great job. I just thought they did a great job, and I have a lot of respect for the way those guys rebounded, they mixed up defenses on us. We didn't start attacking off the bounce until about ten minutes left in the game, which was the key to kind of attacking that zone, I thought. But you know, I just think very highly of them. Q. I asked about Shelvin's shot there that put you guys up late. How did this confidence evolve during the course of his career at Butler? COACH STEVENS: Yeah, you know, that's an interesting question. I think a lot of experiences have added to that. But there's no experience like having been there and done that before. You know, he did it last week against Pittsburgh. McGhee switched onto him, he backed it up and shot it in. Same thing with that one with I think Young was on and maybe at that time. I'm not really sure. But he played great, and again, we weren't good attacking that zone, and they were in man in that possession. But they weren't good attacking that zone until he really started attacking, and we also weren't good at attacking their pressure up the floor until we said, you know what, we're going to attack, and if we get stripped from behind, so be it; just play. And to have ten turnovers in that game, it seemed like 30, but I guess it was only ten. Q. Is it too much to -- it seems like Matt kind of epitomizes Butler for a couple reasons. One, no one is tougher or more physical and you guys are a tough, physical team, but also because his style of play isn't always maybe pretty or people don't say he's -- looks like he'll be an NBA player, but they don't -- in other words, he's better than the way he looks sometimes. COACH STEVENS: I understand what you're saying. Matt Howard will be an NBA player and his team would be winning wherever he went to school. That's who he is. He makes teams better. He is a winner. Whenever I have to answer questions about what's his real height, how long is he, he wins. He just wins. He's smart, he's tough, he's physical, he's -- he just understands the game. He understands how to -- he's just a good person, too, and I could go on and on. But I don't want to say that -- Matt Howard certainly is an unbelievable representative of Butler, but so is Ron and his story and Shawn Vanzant's story is remarkable and Shelvin Mack and all those guys. It's all those individual stories that come together, and certainly Matt Howard is a big leader and a big part of that. But each one of them play a huge role in why we're where we are. Q. Can you describe the atmosphere at crunch time in your team huddles and how calm it is, and is that something you can recruit? Is that part of the -- COACH STEVENS: Yeah, I don't know. When we were down nine, there was a media time-out, and we just said, score, stop, score, and the game will get a lot tighter. And we did score. Hopkins made the pass to Howard, we scored, we went down and got a stop, Mack made the pass to Hopkins, we hit a three. Now all of a sudden it went from nine to four. Now all of a sudden you've got a ball game and momentum late, and that's a really good thing. Q. Question about Shelvin again. If you could reflect again on his kind of warrior mentality in this game, rolling his ankle early, that must have worried you, the impact he had in this game. And then also, he made that maybe mental mistake at the end of the Pittsburgh game and you guys survived that and just how things kind of work out in the long run? COACH STEVENS: Yeah, I mean, we were lucky to advance. We were lucky to beat Old Dominion. They could be sitting here, Pittsburgh could be sitting here, there's no doubt, great teams. That's the tournament. It doesn't matter how you win, you just try to play the next one. And if you get a chance to play the next one, that's your only hope. Shelvin is never going to make that foul again. That was simply a -- that was such an anomaly because I've said this before, he fouled because he didn't want to foul. He had a moment of indecision as a ball was thrown ahead. In that moment of indecision, he decided to go for the ball, but he didn't go for the ball to start because he didn't want to foul. And so that's why he fouled. And the irony is, just play. Just play. That's the part about Shelvin. He's such a smart, tough kid that -- and all our guys are. Again, if we wouldn't have won that game, that's part of it. You know, he's won a lot of games because of his savvy. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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