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PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 8, 2012Kyle FoggSolomon HillSean MillerJesse PerryLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Arizona – 66 THE MODERATOR: Coach, a few opening remarks, please? COACH MILLER: Well, first of all, credit UCLA. Just a real hard‑fought game. I really believe it could have gone either way. We played those guys three games this year, and really think all three games had some similarities. Two defensive teams. It's not pretty if you love high‑scoring, easy baskets. But I think a part of what I'm really proud of our team of here this afternoon is that we really were a very tough‑minded team. We were very good on defense. That's been the identity of our team all season long. As often is the case in March, you ride the coattails of the players, individual players playing better than they've played before, playing at high level. I think you look at these three guys, and the only thing you have to do is look at the stat sheet; and the meaning of Jesse, Solomon, and Kyle is immense. They played great basketball, big plays. These three guys are the heart and soul of our team. I don't know if any of us or any coach could ask for more from these types of guys, players, than we've asked for of Kyle, Solomon and Jesse. They played hard, and they really have put our team on their back. I think they would agree with this: That we hope that we have a chance tomorrow night to be here as a winner again. We have a tough Oregon State team in front of us, but the objective in March is to just keep winning, and don't stop. Hopefully tonight is the first of a couple more. Q. With about 13 minutes to go in the second half, UCLA started getting a lot of really open looks on the right side of the floor mid‑range and in. Then in the final five minutes maybe outside of the last 40 seconds, you guys took that offense away. Can you talk about some of the defensive adjustments, specifically after the last TV timeout? COACH MILLER: Yeah, I think these guys would tell you that we never make adjustments. It's more about doing what we do better. That's really what we talked about at the timeouts, and that's we played some excellent defense. It's hard to be the same for 40 minutes. You could be playing at the highest level of defense, but there's always those pockets. Sometimes it has a lot to do with our opponent. They're executing and making tough shots. UCLA made a great run at us. Made some tough shots, we broke down a few times. But we quickly got back to who we were, and that is just doing the things that have made us a very good defensive team. None of us four felt very good on Sunday night. Losing a game that meant so much to our season and our program, especially the way we lost. We didn't lose in a 53‑51 defensive struggle. We gave up 87 points. I was really pleased, and I told these guys at halftime, win or lose, it's about doing the same thing in the second half defensively. That's what's going to give us the best chance to advance, and we did that, and you're right. I thought down the stretch our defense was very similar to how it was almost the entire first half. Q. Do you think Perry gets the credit he deserves for being hung on by all these bigger guys all year long? Especially with UCLA and the front line they have? COACH MILLER: He gets credit from the people who know the game. That's for sure. I'm sure it was very difficult to leave him off the all‑conference team. But Kyle and Solomon ended up getting the nod, but that could have easily been Jesse with those two. We probably needed to win a couple more for him to get that all‑conference nod. The thing that's hard for people to realize, it's like an offensive or defensive lineman who is undersized. You can do it for a while, but whether it's in the fourth quarter of a game or on the tenth game of the season, there is a reason why those guys are as big on the offensive or defensive line as they are. Basketball inside is the same. One of the things that we all give Jesse a lot of credit for is he's really not worn down. He's competed against every team's biggest player now for about four or five months. He's learned the tricks of the trade, so to speak. Then on offense, he's really learned to negate their size and make that an advantage. You look at him today, that's what did he. He gave us an advantage when we had the ball, and he did the best he could defensively. That's what he's done really all season. That's what you want from a senior like him. Q. Were you able to hang in there with four fouls at the end? Was there any advice you had for him outside of not committing a foul? COACH MILLER: Yeah, don't foul. At the end of a tournament I'm not going to let anyone decide the game. These guys deserve to decide the outcome of the game, and we're going to play them with fouls. I think a lot of coaches do that in postseason. It's up to them to be smart. They know right from wrong. But we're going to ride them. I think Solomon was mad we took him out for 15 seconds today. But that's what this is about. They have made this their team. Tomorrow at the end of the game we either win by our performance and their performance or we won't. But these three guys are, like I said, the heart and soul of what we do. Q. You guys really didn't shoot the ball well all game, but you lived on the foul line in the second half. Can you talk about the importance of that? COACH MILLER: Yep. We played 18 regular season games in our conference. I believe we shot the most free throws per game. If we didn't, the team we play tomorrow is the other team, Oregon State, that gets to the line a lot. We don't do it by post‑ups. We do it by driving and trying to once again negate size versus quickness. But that was a big factor in the game, but I thought it was well‑officiated. To me, we attacked the basket, these guys attacked the basket the right way. Q. When you look at the stat sheet, these three guys right here, their numbers are going to jump out. But can you talk about what Nick was able to do? He seemed to be determined on some of those hustle plays and making great stops. COACH MILLER: These guys will tell you, Nick is very talented. Like a lot of young players, he's learning thousand use that talent in a game. One of the thing that's we talked a lot to Nick about after our last game against Arizona State is really not letting a missed shot or bad play or turnover affect the next play or the next moment of the game. Kyle used to kind of be like that when he was younger. He's really gotten to the point now where nothing really bothers him. He moves on easily, but he's a senior. What Nick did a great job of today is just that. He didn't let any negative play affect the next play. All of a sudden you start seeing him jump and make big plays to help us win. That's what he is, a play maker. He does a lot of things to help our team. He doesn't get enough credit for playing point guard in the second position as a freshman. I think these guys will tell you it's hard to play two positions in your first year. In a number of different instances when we've called on him, he's been through. He's been on the all‑freshman team of our conference. The better he plays, the better our team will be down the stretch. But you're right, I thought he made some real key plays to us winning. Q. Solomon, Jesse, what was the mindset coming in today knowing it's the third time you're going up against UCLA, and their size has been a factor in the previous two games. But today you guys owned the inside of the paint. Talk about the mindset coming in, or as the game unfolded, what did you see as players that allowed you to take advantage of them inside? SOLOMON HILL: Just watching film. Me and him had a talk that we need to watch his back. Those guys are physically bigger than us height‑wise, but always having his back. Being on the weak side help if it's a pick‑and‑roll play. Really just buy into the decoys that they try to throw the at us. Maybe having a guy run up, setting a screen so they can throw it in. Really just buying in and watching film to work with him. Maybe a switch or two. But when the ball goes up, rebounding, blocking out, making sure our guy don't get it. But some of the guards go get it. Fogg's been doing that, going in there and getting rebounds. But being vocal on the court led to what we did today. JESSE PERRY: Yeah, that's the main thing. Rebounding, staying together, and having an attack mentality. Always when you get a little bit of opening, attacking. Attacking the glass, attacking the defensive glass and the offense just attacking period. It's opened up a lot of shots for us and our teammate. So that's really what we do. Q. Oregon State, did you get a favor by knocking off Washington? We have seen teams like them before, just getting momentum. Is there anything you you've seen from them in the past that can make them a major threat for tomorrow? COACH MILLER: Well, I don't think they did us a favor by beating Washington. I know what you mean, because Washington was the favorite. But when you win in March, it's not always the best team. It's the team that plays the best, or in particular, the team that plays the best today in this game. Oregon State is very talented. We've only played them once this year, but I know these guys feel the same way from a respect perspective. Their individual players, Jared Cunningham, who could have been the "Player of the Year" in our conference. They have great length at the forward spots. They've played a 1‑3‑1 zone and they've changed in the past. So it's tough to get ready for that in one day, although we'll be ready. We feel like playing tomorrow is going to be a great game. It's going to be a war. If we had played Washington, the same thing. But there's no like, I'm so glad we're playing this team here. We know that Oregon State is capable. I think they've now won three or four in a row. I think four in a row. Their last home stand they played very good basketball. So it's going to be a terrific game. I'm just, like these guys, excited that we're in the semifinals. KYLE FOGG: Yeah, just to build on what Coach said, either if we were playing Washington or Oregon State, it's going to be a hard game. Both of those teams came here to win this tournament as well as us. I expect it to be a tough game tomorrow night. SOLOMON HILL: Doesn't matter who you play. You've got to go out there and really execute what you want to do and play defensively. I think those guys did a good job of distributing equally and scoring the ball. There wasn't really a go‑to guy, and that can be dangerous. Five guys getting in double digits over ten. And the way they rebound is a big thing. I think they rebound more effectively than UCLA. And those guys are long. You've got to go out there and shot fake a couple times, get them in the air and try to get them in foul trouble as much as we can. JESSE PERRY: Yeah, all of us have been in tournament play really heavy last year. We all know what it comes down to because we were in the same position. Whatever team comes ready to play that night, that is the team that's going to win, no matter what your record is. Q. Josiah Turner didn't make the trip. How disappointed are you that you made the move to suspend him? And talk about the rules that had the switch with his suspension? COACH MILLER: Well, I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed for Josiah, and hopefully this latest incident or lesson will really serve him well moving forward. But he's one of us. He's part of our program. Everybody here likes him an awful lot. Good people sometimes can make a bad decision or bad decisions, and we're hoping that this is a lesson learned on his behalf. In terms of our team, I feel like we've been very resilient. Kevin Parrom got shot before we ever dribbled one basketball this year. Right when he started to hit his stride, he broke his foot. Jordin Mayes broke his foot. It's not as if we've played a season full of non‑issues. We've had different players suspended, including Josiah. But these guys have stayed together. And the three up here on the podium have never diverted from what we've asked them to do. They've practiced hard. They've believed in what we've done. I think Jesse alluded to it a second ago, keep in mind all three of these guys were on the court when we almost went to the Final Four last year. It wasn't as if they were sitting on the bench. They have a lot of pride. We have a lot of pride. We know we blew a golden opportunity at Arizona State, and I know everybody's disappointed in us, fans, and they should be. But Arizona State played one heck of a game. But our response today says a lot about our team and these guys. What I hope is we can be talking positive tomorrow. That we play another day and have a chance to compete for the conference tournament championship. Q. Kyle, the last couple games specifically defenses have worked hard to chase you off the three‑point line. Can you talk about some of the adjustments in your game in reacting to that kind of pressure? KYLE FOGG: Yeah, I think just really playing my best toward the end of the season, and I think teams are keying in on me. But that's on me to kind of set more screens. Coach has been telling me to stay active. These guys, especially these two and the rest of my team do a great job getting me open. Back screens, flair screens. I can think of every play down the court one of these guys is doing their best to try to get me open. But just trying to get past that. I've got to set screens and move, like I said earlier, and I think that will try to open me up. Q. Wondered what the last few days were like for you after the ASU game? SOLOMON HILL: One thing we understood defensively is we have to come every night. Can't just show up sometimes. This is a case where we came out and played hard on the defensive end. I think Arizona State hadn't scored 87, I don't even know if they did it this year. But guys have to buy into coming out every night and really competing. Nick, like Coach said, really came in, and mentally he was a big help for us. He got a couple blocks. He didn't get out of it mentally just because he missed a couple shots. And we need him more than ever, especially with Josiah not being with us. And playing the one and the two is going to be a big responsibility. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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