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BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 9, 2012Andre HollinsTubby SmithRodney WilliamsINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA Michigan – 73 MODERATOR: We'll ask Coach Smith to make an opening statement and then go to questions for Andre and Rodney. Coach? COACH SMITH: Well, I thought we played extremely hard. We narrowed our bench. I thought‑‑ obviously Michigan made the baskets at the end of the game to get the tie. Their last three baskets were 3‑point shots, and the 3‑point shot was there to send it into overtime. But I thought our kids played with a lot of heart and with a lot of courage. I'm really proud of them. MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes, please. Q. This question is for Andre. Can you just talk about the experience of the Big Ten tournament? Obviously the first game, being able to carry the team to a win, and it got close in this last one, but what are you going to take away from it? ANDRE HOLLINS: This is a great experience for all of us. I think it's a testament to what we can do as a team. Unfortunately, we didn't execute at the end. It's just the little things that count. And we let them get some second‑chance shots and they‑‑ you gotta give Michigan credit. They hit every one they needed, and we kind of let the game slip out of our hands. MODERATOR: Additional questions, please. Q. Rodney, I saw you shaking your head like right until the end there. Were you upset particularly about the free throws or was it just the way of the game? RODNEY WILLIAMS: Yeah, I was definitely upset with myself about the free throws. Looking at stat sheet, I was the only one that missed free throws out there tonight. So that was something that definitely upset me at the end of the game. MODERATOR: Any further questions? Q. Rodney, you positives that you can take out of tonight and the last three games that you guys have played? RODNEY WILLIAMS: Tonight we definitely played hard for all 45 minutes out there. If we go into the post‑season tournament, we can definitely build from that because we played the No. 13 team in the nation, no doubt, to the very end. So we can definitely build off that. And if we don't play again, we've definitely got a really, really good team coming back next year.  We're just losing Ralph, and we may get Trev back. So going into next year, we definitely can contend to get another shot at the Big Ten title. Q. You guys had the momentum for most of the game and then in overtime Michigan got it. Was there something different that they did, or did you guys make an adjustment that didn't pan out or‑‑ like what would you pinpoint as the change? MODERATOR: Andre, will you take that, please? ANDRE HOLLINS: Like I said before earlier, I think their last four‑‑ well, one of the last three possessions in regulation were 3s, and they were all second shots. They got the offensive rebound, and that's one of the toughest things to guard in basketball is the second shot where everyone is scattering. They kind of‑‑ Stu Douglass hit a big 3 from a offensive rebound, and that just kind of put us in a hole. And then Trey Burke hit a 3 off of a pick‑and‑roll, and the 3s killed us tonight. That's one of the things. MODERATOR: Any final questions? Thanks, fellas. You may go back to the locker room. Questions for Coach Smith? Q. Coach, second year in a row there's a possibility that you might not play in the NIT. What were you able to tell your team about to prepare for this weekend? And are they going to get together and watch any selection shows or anything like that? COACH SMITH: No, we really didn't talk about that. I just kind of toldthem ‑‑ I said, hey, let's hold out. Let's keep hope alive that we will get an opportunity to play. But fate was in our hand and we didn't really‑‑ we just didn't get it done. We'll just have to wait to see what happens. But we won't be doing anything special. Q. Is it a good time for you to see a guy like Andre Hollins thrive in a big pressure situation like these last two nights for the future of this program? COACH SMITH: Yeah, I'm very proud and encouraged by the way he played. Andre's got a lot of heart. He's a very skilled basketball player. You can see just by‑‑ he makes shots. He really played great. He has stamina. He has good endurance. Tonight, 44 minutes. And chasing Trey Burke around is a tough job. But I think we're well positioned with him at the point as our future point guard, and he's just going to get better throughout the year. He had some ups and downs this year, but he had more ups than he had downs, and especially finishing the right way with these two games in the tournament to show just what he's capable of doing. Q. Tubby, does this feel similar to‑‑ you guys obviously had a lot of really close losses this year, or did you see anything different from your guys tonight? COACH SMITH: Well, we made some mistakes. As you mentioned, we gave up those 3s and we didn't really‑‑ we just got lost with some‑‑ you have to make those plays in the games and you have to make the stops. So that's sort of what we had issues with all year long. But, again, we won the one last night, and this again tonight was very similar. I thought we had‑‑ you know, we felt comfortable in what we were doing and the way we were executing, but you can't‑‑ we can't afford to turn the ball over the way we did. And we do the job on the boards, but that's sort of what we've been doing is we've got to find a way to win and find a way to finish off people, and we didn't do it once again tonight. But I think we're learning from these experiences. Certainly putting the ball in Andre's hands has been good for us. MODERATOR: Any further questions? Q. Rodney mentioned Trevor, hoping that he comes back. When do you think you'll find out about that, and how do you think it looks with him? COACH SMITH: You know, I think it looks good. We'd love to have him back. I think he's done all the things we've‑‑ it's in the process now. It's just going to take time for the NCAA to make some decisions‑‑ to make the decision whether he comes back or whether‑‑ but he's a young man that deserves an opportunity, all the things he's going through, a lot of it that he didn't have much control over. And I know the NCAA is working hard to justify, and they're student friendly, and that's biggest push now is just trying to protect the student‑athletes. And this is another eligibility issue, and I think he'll‑‑ I think he'll have another year. He's doing fine, I think, with his rehab. It's going well. Q. It seems like the guys have had more energy and more intensity in these last three games than maybe all season, at least consecutively. Do you feel like‑‑ I mean, do you think that's true? And do you look at that and say, you know, things could have been different if you'd had that maybe earlier in the season? COACH SMITH: I think it was just one game we really didn't have much firepower to us. But I thought all year along we had a good effort. We've been missing a lot of people over a lot of‑‑ off and on throughout the season, and that's hard to get that type of continuity, not just in games but in practice. So I was impressed with our guys' energy the last three games. But I think our guys have played hard all season long. I can pinpoint maybe one or two games that I thought‑‑ a lot of it has to do with going through a losing streak. It's hard to maintain your intensity because you keep losing close games, and it can take a lot out of you. So that's what I attribute it to, and being a very young team, and that hurt also. MODERATOR: Any final questions? Thank you, Coach. COACH SMITH: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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