|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 10, 2012Nick JohnsonSean MillerJesse PerryLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Colorado – 53 THE MODERATOR: Coach, a few opening comments, please. COACH MILLER: Well, had the same feeling this year as we did last year. I'm really proud of our team and program for being in the championship game of this tournament in back‑to‑back years. It's not easy to get here. Today was much different because it meant the NCAA Tournament versus no on that, and it's a difficult loss for all of us. First, I want to say the job that Tad Boyle has done at Colorado, and what Colorado represents to the future of the Pac‑12, I can make the argument that there's been no greater gift to college basketball in the Pac‑12 than adding Colorado. They are well‑coached, play extremely hard, very good on defense. They have talented players now. I feel like they have some really talented players coming in. I wish them the very best in the NCAA Tournament. Whoever draws them is running into a hungry, well‑coached, disciplined team. I really believe that's the story of today. They beat us. They were the better team. Being down 2 at the half, I thought it was a very even game. We have to make free throws when we get there. We knew that if we didn't turn that around, we're playing with danger. You know, we've really been making free throws. Today we didn't, and we picked the wrong time to miss. I thought that hurt us. But the first 10 minutes of the second half, we had no answer for them. I think we committed almost seven personal fouls in the first ten minutes. They got uncharacteristic easy shots, and I really felt like it was the will of our team, maybe the fact that they were wearing down, four games in four days. But the last ten minutes of the second half, we had a lot of fight in us. We had a shot to win the game. It wasn't a good one, but it's amazing that we had that when you consider the hole that we were in. Jesse Perry, he's up here, a senior. Nick is a freshman. They're at two different points in their career. I don't know if there's been a 6'7", 215 pound player that played college basketball this season that's given his school or program or team anymore Jesse. I wouldn't trade this guy for anybody. I know we have at least another game left here. But just as his Pac‑12 career has ended in two years, he's done a lot of stuff for us. He needs to be recognized for that. Nick, obviously, the future is bright for him, and this is a great experience to play in this type of game for any young player. Q. Coach, you seem pretty definitive on saying, in fact, no, you don't think you're going to get in. But what you've been able to do through the week and going down to the buzzer in the championship game, do you think there's any possibility of entertaining the fact that you might still be able to sneak in? COACH MILLER: No. No, the loss at Arizona State was very damaging to us late in the season. I'm not saying that we're not close. We're not games away. We're probably about four plays away, which includes today's game. Those of you who have followed us, there are very few games that were decided until the final outcome. I think that says a lot about our team's resiliency. But we look forward to playing. If we're not in the NCAA Tournament, the NIT has changed. I don't think everybody's up to date with it. There are 32 teams in that tournament. You don't get in that tournament because you have sellouts. You get into that tournament because you earn it. If we're fortunate enough to be in that tournament and draw a home game, you know, I want to fight and get these guys as far as we can. If that's New York City in the Final Four of the NIT, great. But it has everything to do with trying to have a magical season to win as many games and compete for championships. I think we all know our next loss will be our last. Q. Both teams played with a lot of energy on defense today, but you guys on the offensive end, what was the struggle out there? What challenges did you guys see with Colorado's defense today? JESSE PERRY: Well, we got a lot of one‑on‑one plays and it took us a while to get it together. Once we did, it was pretty much too late. It came down to the last shot, so, that's really what happened. Q.  Coach, can you talk us through those last few seconds where Colorado went to the free‑throw line. Missed the free throws, and you guys still had an opportunity to kind of tie it? COACH MILLER: You know, 14 seconds on the clock is a lot of time. Not knowing what happens on the first free throw. We called a play that would allow us to come off a ball screen, and that's what it becomes: Make a play, get to the rim or kick.       But once he obviously missed the second free throw, it was about a two or a three. It was defended well. Those plays are always hard. I mean, it could be a pass. At Colorado we probably had a shot we turned down to make a pass, and ended up getting the desperation three. Maybe we had a pass open. We didn't make the pass, and ended up being a challenge shot. That's the tough part about a last second shot unless you're at the basket. But to have the ball in Kyle's hands is something that's been good for our team. The last play didn't win or lose the game. There were so many plays throughout the course of the game that hurt us. One of the things that I thought gave us a chance is we only had seven turnovers. That's been a problem for us at times when we've lost. The fact we played in a game like this with seven turnovers gave us a chance. But it's really offset when we're 10 for 18 from the line. We're not big enough to go 10 for 18 from the line. We missed at least two front ends of the one and one. So you look and say you guys only scored 51 points. We're going to score more points if we convert free throws. If we didn't shoot the ball well from the foul line against UCLA, we would have never made it to the last round. Part of the identity of what you do in championship games has to be in place. Missing free throws hurt us, no question about it. Q. Did you have an anticipation that they might start to run out of gas their fourth game in four days? COACH MILLER: Yeah, I was a coach at Xavier. We won four games in four days. I was an assistant coach at Xavier. We won four games in four days. The thing about a 12‑team league, it's not as difficult as it once was. It just isn't. There are a lot of different teams. There is more parity. The league record can sometimes reflect the fact that a team didn't play two really difficult games. We were neck and neck with Colorado all the way to the last weekend. It's just they had a tough Oregon trip, or else they could have gotten the bye. If we didn't, we could have easily been in this same game. But they're an older group with Brown and Dufault and Tomlinson and those guys. They deserve a lot of credit. They played well all season long. They're an excellent defensive team. Sometimes it's easy to point fingers at yourself, and there were some things that I really thought we didn't play well or do things well. But you have to give Colorado a lot of credit. That first ten minutes of the second half, they were so much better of a team that we dug ourselves that hole; and in a sense, that was the difference in the game. Q. Nick, as Coach said, you are part of Arizona's future. The season's not over, but to this point in your career, what can you take away from all the experiences coming down the stretch in the season and in this tournament? NICK JOHNSON: It's been fun. Getting to know a whole new group of guys. I think we've really grown throughout the year. I mean, just getting comfortable with Coach, and how he coaches and stuff like that. Just knowing that it's not over yet. Fortunate enough to play in the NIT, and we definitely want to do that and keep on progressing. Q. What are the plans for this upcoming week as you either prepare for maybe the NCAA or NIT tournament? What is the schedule going to be like and stuff like that? COACH MILLER: Well, today's Saturday. Obviously, tomorrow is a day off. We've played three games in three days. Then I think we'll find out our fate tomorrow night, sometime, of who, or where or what we play in. Then we'll go from there. But not just‑‑ I really feel like our team has basketball left in us. I don't think that whoever we play or the next game we play, we may not play well, but our intent is going to be to play the right way and play hard. A very disappointing loss today.       It's one thing to lose a conference tournament championship game. It's a whole other thing when the NCAA Tournament's at stake. Just certain plays and the way the game went, it's disappointing. I think that's a disappointment that we should feel because we've worked very hard, and we've climbed that mountain. These guys know. I wrote on the lower end of our locker room, Seattle Pacific. That was our starting point. I don't know of too many teams that had a lower starting point. We've dealt with a lot of adversity, injuries, and off‑the‑court things that have hurt us. But we found our way to today and we've won 23 games, and we're really proud of it. But when you come so close, it really hits you. But like I said, I'm excited. Once this trip ends and we get home and settled in, I'd like to win a couple more games. I hope Jesse can play as many games at Arizona as he possibly can. Q. Can you elaborate on the Seattle Pacific thing? Where did you write it and when did you write it? COACH MILLER: I wrote it in the lowest left‑hand corner of our locker room. It's about a centimeter from the carpet. Then we had the NCAA Tournament in the far upper right‑hand corner of the locker room. It's always been about climbing that mountain and staying with it. These guys have done it. We were here today, and it just didn't work. Q. When did you write that? COACH MILLER: Long time ago. Maybe the next day. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|