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ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 11, 2012Kenny FreaseChris MackAndre WalkerATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY St. Bonaventure – 67 THE MODERATOR: Coach Mack, opening statement. COACH MACK: It's a difficult moment. We came here as a group that wanted to win our first Tournament Championship since 2006 and we fell short. I give St. Bonaventure a lot of credit, they really hurt us on the offensive glass. Even when I felt like we were getting stops defensively, especially early in the second half, they had what would seem like a minute and a half possessions, because we could not get a defensive rebound and it's deflating and I give those guys a lot of credit. They were men on the boards this afternoon. We had done a good job leading up to the finals of blocking out and not giving up second shots, to me that was the difference of the game. Their ability to make free‑throws sealed it. I am proud of how this group came together. It's been a difficult year, a lot of up's and down's, but this group of guys, the way we were able to come together at the end of the year, get to the point where we played in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship, as I told them in the locker room I loved coaching this group this weekend. We have more basketball to play, it's a tough pill to swallow, but at the same time for me personally it's very, very bitter sweet, because one of my best friends, if not my best friend in the business, is the guy coaching the Bonnie's. I know where he brought that team from, the depths they were in when he took over, so as tough of a moment as this is for my team, our program, myself, I could not be happier for Mark Schmidt and what he has accomplished, and I wish him and those guys the best as they play next weekend. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the players, Kenny Frease and André Walker. Q. André, can you talk about your strategy coming into the game on Nicholson and if it was different from when you played them in the regular? ANDRÉ WALKER: No, it was pretty much the same, get him out of the area where he was most comfortable. Q. Was it too much of a deficit to come back from, was it too much of a hole to climb out of? KENNY FREASE: We have been able to climb out of deficits like that all seen. We sort of made it a habit of getting down in games, but I don't think when we were down 17 we were‑‑ even 10 or 11 with 10 minutes to go we never counted ourselves out of the game. I personally wanted to make plays down the stretch for my team and like Coach said, we weren't able to rebound and get possession and that's what ended up helping them win the game. Q. Kenny, what kind of challenges did Andrew present today on both ends of the court for you guys? KENNY FREASE: Obviously offensively is he was able to withstand our defense with his shooting abilities and offensive rebounds. Defensively, tough to shoot over because he makes sure he keeps away from your body so it hard to get shots over him. I personally didn't feel I met the challenge today and I take personal responsibility with that. Q. Kenny can you talk about the first half and your shoot and go what they were doing to you guys? KENNY FREASE: Everybody has off shooting nights. I don't know if it was anything that they were particularly doing, a lot of the shots that we were taking we usually make. I don't think it's anybody's individual fault, or anything like that, I think we were just missing shots. THE MODERATOR: Anything else for the players? Okay, you guys can go. Questions for Coach Mack? Q. Can you speak to that? Did you think it was a cold shooting start? COACH MACK: Well, their size had a lot to do with it. They're a very physical, strong team. We hurt 'em in the first game and, un, really came out and shot the ball well, we were out in transition and today you know when you play your third game in three days it's a little bit tough on the legs to push the basketball and get as many transition looks but we needed to do that. But they're long around the basket, and we just had a tough time gettin' open looks. I thought we did a better job in the second half but we were impatient in the first half and their size had a lot to do with that. Q. Coach, can you talk about the play of Charlon Kloof on the defensive end? COACH MACK: He's a muscular, strong, physical guard. He does a great job when he's defending a ball screen. He doesn't even make his post partners work. They don't have to because he does a great job of blowing it up, he's physical, he gets into the ball handler and it's as though there is no ball screen. He's got quick hands, he's tenacious, he took it to our perimeter players. He's a good defensive player, he really is. Q. Coach, can you talk about Nicholson's performance? Have you seen a performance like that this year? COACH MACK: Maybe I've seen it on television, not on the sidelines, he is an NBA player, he is a pro. Man is he good. 26 points, 14 rebounds, he doesn't meet the free‑throws, 6‑9, shoots the ball from the free, blocks eight shots. We had a good plan that we were able to execute in game one and really crowd him and make it difficult. He did a better job, he outexecuted our plan. He's unselfish, he gives it to you any way you want it. He's a poor man's Tim Duncan, by far the best player in our league and an NBA team needs to take him in the first round, period. Glad he's gone, great kid, though. Q. Coach, what are your plans after this, where you're going to be watching the show? COACH MACK: Back at the hotel, we won't have enough time to get back to Cincinnati, so we're going back to the hotel, eat, and huddle around and watch the selection show. THE MODERATOR: Anything else? Okay, thanks, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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