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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: NASHVILLEMarch 15, 2012Charlon KloofAndrew NicholsonMark SchmidtMatthew WrightNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE THE MODERATOR: Will get started with the St. Bonaventure press conference with the student athletes, Charlon Kloof, Matthew Wright, and Andrew Nicholson. We'll begin with the questions for the student athletes. Q. For Matt, can you kind of talk about the run that Andrew had and he kind of put the team on his back and talk about his game and what he did down the stretch? MATTHEW WRIGHT: Well, Andrew is a player of the year, so he does what player of the years do, and that's put the team on their back and kind of sail the ship. Q. Andrew, I'm curious what you see in Florida State's defense and the way they defend in the low post. ANDREW NICHOLSON: They're big, long, physical, athletic. Got to outwork them. The one that plays the hardest will do it. Q. For all three of you, how much confidence do y'all have right now coming in here, winning 8 of the last 10 or so. Do you feel like you're playing your best ball of the season right now? CHARLON KLOOF: Yeah. I think we're definitely peeking at the right point and our confidence and chemistry is at top level and we'll just try to carry it over. ANDREW NICHOLSON: Yes. We have a lot of momentum with us right now coming off the Atlantic 10 tournament. We've just got to keep rolling forward. MATTHEW WRIGHT: Elaborate on what these two said. We've been peaking at the right time. Our team chemistry is finally down path. I think the main thing is that we have nothing to lose, so we're playing a lot more relaxed than we have been in previous games, but they hit it on the nail. We're peaking at the right time. Q. Andrew, how have you improved your game as far as working against double teams and do you expect double teams against Florida State? ANDREW NICHOLSON: I think it's been more of a team thing. When I get double teamed, everyone else, they find the open spot so I can pass it to them, so I mean previously we weren't so good at that, but we got much better at that throughout the year. Q. You guys had a lot of community support at home and a big send-off. How does that help you when you come here to the tournament? MATTHEW WRIGHT: I mean, we've always had a big fan base, very supportive fans even though we haven't been the most successful team in the last decade, but just to see all the fans come out from kindergarten kids to senior citizens, it really gave us something extra to play for. ANDREW NICHOLSON: It's good to know we have support back home and that they'll be watching and cheering for us. CHARLON KLOOF: Especially for me, as a foreign player, it's really humbling and gives you a feeling that you might not be at home but you still have people that support you, and that's a good feeling. Q. Matthew, clearly you knew Andrew, you both growing up in Canada. You knew he was at St. Bonaventure. How much of his presence at St. Bonaventure did that make it attractive to you to go to school there as well? MATTHEW WRIGHT: I mean, yeah, along with the proximity from how far it is from back home, it wasn't really the fact that he was Canadian, more of the type of player he was, and as a guard, you want to affiliate yourself with a good, big man, and me knowing that he's getting a lot of looks by NBA teams, he draws the NBA scouts to practice, and if you practice well, they also see you, so everything just worked out. Q. Charlon, would you talk about Michael Snaer from Florida State. I don't know if he stood out to you on film. He seems to be the kind of engine that drives that team. CHARLON KLOOF: He's athletic. Also a good on-ball defender and can do pretty much everything a little bit on offense, but our game plan doesn't really change because we just got to play our game. We got to play our defense. We try to establish ourself as a good defensive team, so we're just going to make it a team effort and not -- don't try to let it be a one-on-one team but just five against the ball. Q. Matthew, I wanted to ask you, what did you see from Florida State on tape? They seem to be peaking as you guys are. What sticks out when you watch them on film? MATTHEW WRIGHT: Their size. Their point guard is six-five. They're an ACC team. Size, length, athletic, they stood out. They have good shooters. They've experienced big men, but at the end of the day, they have to guard us, too. Q. Matthew, I know this question was kind of asked earlier. If you can help me understand what the team does to try to stop Andrew. What have you seen other teams try to do to him this year? MATTHEW WRIGHT: We've seen basically everything. We've seen double teams, triple teams. Like Drew said, at the beginning of the year, we were having trouble finding our spots and getting open, but I think this year we found -- we finally found our spot when Drew catches the ball in the post and when they double, Drew has gotten a lot better of a pass serve and became a lot smarter, hitting the right person. But, we basically seen every kind of defense that they've thrown at him. He's doing a really good job. THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? Q. Andrew, can you talk about maybe having the patience as teams have tried to scheme against you so much and that process what you've learned this year? ANDREW NICHOLSON: I've just learned to find the right guy when he's open. Q. Andrew, this is a question for Matthew as well. Do you guys -- there's a lot of good senior big men in this tournament. Do you see common personality traits with a lot of them, like a lot of guys that are studious, may be quiet, but guys that are kind of students of the game, willing to kind of put in the work to develop their skills over four years? ANDREW NICHOLSON: On other teams? Q. Do you see similarities with some other big men. Are you -- or you got similar people from what you know? ANDREW NICHOLSON: I don't know them, so I don't know. MATTHEW WRIGHT: I don't even know them. Q. Could you describe Andrew's personality and the way he like studies the game and prepares and trains? MATTHEW WRIGHT: Yeah. He's a student of the game. He naturally has a high IQ. He's a physics major. We watch tape. Coaches do a good job of giving us individual tapes and DVDs to see what the other team's tendencies are and Drew watches those, studies the tendencies, but more than anything, he's confident in his abilities, which is basically what got him to this point. Q. For any of the guys, how much do you look forward to this game? Obviously it's NCAA Tournament, but getting a chance at the ACC tournament champ, Florida State, big state school, how much do you look at that, having a chance to maybe make it a little bit more of a statement than usual? MATTHEW WRIGHT: I think winning the Atlantic 10 and, you know, the magic of making it to March Madness, I think that's passed now. We're trying to  move on.  We can't dwell on the victories that happened three, four days ago. We're trying to prolong this as long as possible. We know we can be considered a Cinderella team, but we can't really think about it like that. We have to continue to do what we've been doing and, you know, just keep this run. ANDREW NICHOLSON: It's a tremendous opportunity to be here. Like Matthew said, we can't really dwell on the past. We got another game tomorrow to focus on and win. CHARLON KLOOF: Yeah. For us, it wasn't that much of a surprise to win the A-10. We wanted to surprise the world. For us it's okay, we reached one of our goals, let's try to see what we can do in the NCAA Tournament, so you just try to take it one day at a time, one day at a time. Q. This is for Andrew. I know it's been awhile since Bon has been to the tournament, they had some off Court problems several years ago. What has it meant to you to kind of be able to cap your career getting this program back to the tournament and getting some positive publicity for the program? What has it meant for you? ANDREW NICHOLSON: It's meant a lot. It's exactly why I came here. I wanted to be part of a program that was getting back on its feet, and I'm glad to know that I'm on a team where we've brought respectability back to the program. Q. Andrew, when you talk about learning how to, you know, to find the open man off the double teams, can you elaborate a little more on that? Is that something that was painstakingly broken down in practice? How did that come about? Take me through the learning process. ANDREW NICHOLSON: I get doubled, someone is open. I just got to find them. THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? Q. Charlon, Matthew earlier talked about the NBA scouts coming to practice because of Andrew. Can you talk about what that was like just to experience that this year and how you felt about it? CHARLON KLOOF: I was very excited. I remember the first practice coach told us that some NBA scouts were coming, and for me, it was one of the greatest moments and then to practice. At first you're nervous, but then that's why I like my seniors that much and my coaches, they know you're nervous, so they'll walk you through it. Once you're comfortable, then it's over it but it is a great experience. Q. The NBA scouts, I've seen stuff, maybe you're a second round pick, maybe you're a first round pick, obviously a chance to go up against a front with this much size. How much of an opportunity do you think this is for you to kind of increase your stuff going into the draft? ANDREW NICHOLSON: It's a good opportunity. I mean, we as a team, I'm still focused on winning. That's my number one goal, but if we win, I guess good things will happen. THE MODERATOR: Anyone else? All right, thank you, guys. We have Coach Mark Schmidt here for St. Bonaventure. Take an opening comment from coach, and then we'll take questions. COACH SCHMIDT: We're excited to be here. It's been a long road to get here. A week ago we were talking about going to the CBI Tournament, and now we're sitting here getting ready to play Florida, State. Really proud of our guys, excited for them, looking forward to playing well tomorrow, and hopefully we can play well enough to win. Q. How anxious are these guys to get out there and play tomorrow? COACH SCHMIDT: They're excited. You know, I've said it from the very beginning, we're playing with house money. We shouldn't be here. A miracle happened in Atlantic City, so we just kind of come like we did in Atlantic City. We went and played Bonaventure basketball. We played loose and aggressive. We took care of the basketball. We have nothing to lose. The guys are really excited. As a kid you grow up dreaming about playing in the NCAA Tournament, and a week ago that dream wasn't going to become reality, and somehow, some way it became and our guys can't wait to play. They're excited looking forward to the challenge. Q. Just first what catches your attention about Florida State's size, their depth in the front court? Have you faced anybody that can kind of compare to that? COACH SCHMIDT: They're really good. You don't win the ACC Tournament with bad players and bad coaches. Great length, great athleticism. Great quickness. I would say that if there was a team in our league, it would be U Mass, long, athletic, but beating Duke and Carolina, that's all you need to know about how good they are. We know we have a great challenge ahead of us. They're a great defensive team, fifth in the country. They're the fifth longest, biggest team in the country. We have a lot to work against. But, at the same time, we're going to go out and play, and hopefully what we can do is give them a little bit of trouble, but they're talented, athletic, and deserving of the third seed. Q. How much does Andrew and Matthew and Charlon give you a chance, the chemistry that they've shown over the last few games give you a chance to combat FSU's length and the athleticism? COACH SCHMIDT: Andrew has been everything to us since he arrived at a freshman. He's our go-to guy but Charlon has been playing really, really well. The point guard position is really different to play, that's quarterback. He needs to know everybody's positions and his own. We've run a lot of stuff. As the season went along, he's really made great strides and one of the reasons why we're here today. Matthew, he struggled early. I put him to the bench, he really came out of his shell. Hit a big shot against Xavier. When your best player is playing his best, we've got a great shot, but it's also the role guys. One of our strengths of our team as we've gone forward in our season has been our bench, and hopefully that's going to help us tomorrow, because it can't just be Andrew. He had a great game against Xavier. We scored 67 points. He scored 26. We had other guys that scored some baskets, and they're going to need to score some baskets tomorrow. Q. On the subject of Andrew, a lot of us haven't gotten to see him play much, if at all. Can you describe what makes him so good? COACH SCHMIDT: He can play inside out. He's got a seven-three wing span. He's got great feet. He can score, hopefully he can do it tomorrow, but -- he's great at scoring against anybody one an one. Always demands a double team. He does -- he's getting better in kicking the ball out, but he's a hard guard because he can play both inside and outside. Sometimes we like to isolate him, get him in pick and rolls, but you can shoot the ball and forces the big guys to come out and play away from the basket, which they're not used to. Q. Just Florida State's Michael Snaer, have you seen on film? COACH SCHMIDT: Not only can he shoot the ball, he can take you off the bounce. Lot of guys are one dimensional and you can guard those guys. If a guy can just shoot, you jam him. Snaer can do both. When he's shooting the ball from the perimeter, he's really a hard guard. Q. We're asking a lot questions about Florida State. Have you gone against a team that may try to defend you the way that Florida State will, particularly in the low post? COACH SCHMIDT: Yeah. They're going to front us. They're looking to load up the backside, and teams have done that against us. They're going to be really physical, and teams have done that against us. Now, their length is a big concern, you know, fronting the post and having the length on the backside. So it's going to be a great challenge, believe me. They're a great defensive team and they played better teams than Bonaventure and have stopped them. Have been successful. We got our work cut out for us. We're going to try to do what we can do, and hopefully it's good enough. Q. Can you talk about the send-off you guys got yesterday. It was probably more than you expected. What that meant to you and what it was like to see all those people in the streets? COACH SCHMIDT: Bonaventure basketball that the people don't know. We've got 2,000 students in our school. We're in a community of Allegheny only which probably has a total of 20,000 people in the community, and it seemed like we had about 15,000 people that just lined the roads. They let all the kids out of school, and we had our bus went through all the little towns, by all the elementary schools, all the businesses, and it was special. It was almost like we had won the national championships. It brought a tear to my eye how important basketball is to Bonaventure, to the community. It was special. I knew they were going to do it. I didn't know it was going to be that extent, and just the look on some of their faces and adults jumping up and down, like I did when the both Boston Red Sox won the first World Series. It was phenomenal. It was exciting. It was satisfying. Q. Coach, is it almost liberating being in a tournament like you talked about playing with house money, and is that important for the kids to feel? COACH SCHMIDT: We got no pressure on us. Florida State is supposed to win. They got the pressure on them. You know, going into the Atlantic 10 tournament, we weren't supposed to win that. I think when you go out there and play like it's a pickup game, you have a better chance, you don't have that monkey on your back. We've got some good players that play well together, but when you play loose, you have a better chance. That's not going to stay we're going to win, but no one has expected us to be here. No one is expecting us to give Florida State a game and we're going to go out there and try. We're competitive guys, and we're going to give it our best shot, and hopefully it's good enough. Q. I was wondering what Andrew's recruitment was like. How were you able to get him to Bonaventure? COACH SCHMIDT: He got hurt -- the day that he was leaving for the AAU circuit in July, he fell down some steps and turned his ankle and couldn't go out for a month of July. My assistant, Jeff Massey, has Toronto, because Toronto is the biggest metropolitan area aside from New York. We have three Canadians on our team. So he went up there in the fall to a little Catholic school and he called me up, "Coach, you got to get up here. There's a big guy up here who is terrific." "Who does he remind you?" He said, "Greg Oden." So I went up there week later, and he walks out of the locker room and gangly guy, 190 pounds, and walks duck-footed. And I'm like, this is your Greg Oden? So he started playing, and it was like I got goosebumps. It was like, oh, my goodness. So he brought him down, and he's a physics major. He was a chemistry major, now he's a -- he has three more classes to graduate with a physics degree so he can be I physicist whatever that does. We built a new science building on campus. That's one of the main reasons why he came to Bonaventure, because of the science building. It's an amazing story. Never took an official visit. He came, and we didn't have to beat out any high major teams. Everything that we had, that we sell at Bonaventure, the small school, the personal attention, you know, the basketball part of it, he wanted. It was just a perfect match, and I told him he could be really special. And he trusted us, and he's really been everything that we've needed him to be to resurrect our program. Q. Coach, your players came out and talked a lot about chemistry, and I know it's something that you've said a lot throughout your career. How much has chemistry with this group of guys played a role in this run and how much will it play tomorrow? COACH SCHMIDT: It's everything. You know, we don't have top hundred players. In order for us to be successful, we have to play well together. We really recruit guys that are hard workers, that are overachievers, that are gym rats, good character guys, and we got a bunch of character guys that play for each other. And you look at Andrew Nicholson, he's got all these accolades. He's the most laid back, humble guy that you'll ever meet, and he's a huge part of it, because if he got big-headed and give me the ball, this and that, then we wouldn't nearly be as good. There would be hostilities, jealousies, but we don't have that. We have guys that understand what it takes to win. They're going to play together. They enjoy each other on and off the court. That's one of the reasons that we're here. Andrew has been a huge part of it, but that chemistry, that togetherness, that love for each other. Sometimes it's overstated, but in this case, it isn't. We're here because we don't have the greatest talent but we got a good team. Q. Given Drew's intelligence and his skill level, has it been kind of fun molding him and teaching him the game, and can you kind of talk about that process to get to where he is today? COACH SCHMIDT: It's been a pleasure. Dave Moore is a big man coach who works with him on a daily basis. But he's a sponge. When he came in -- especially a kid coming from Canada, you never know the adjustment. It's an adjustment to the American game. It's an adjustment socially. How is he going to pick up the system? From day one, you know, lot of guys that are smart in the classroom, sometimes doesn't correlate to being smart on the basketball court, but for him it does. We run a lot of stuff, and he's right on top of stuff and it's been a pleasure. He's always working to get better. You always challenge him. His freshman year, he was freshman of the year. He led the nation in blocked shots and field goal percentage. He came in, no one knew who were you and now you're going to have the target on your chest. You got to make sure you elevate your team. He came back his sophomore year, he was second team all league player, and then his junior year, he was a first team all league player, and this year he's player of the year. He's really stepped up to every challenge. That's what you want in a player, someone that's going to really work at it, that's not going to get lazy, complacent, and he's been a joy. Big smile. He's really green. As you listen to him talk, just a guy that just, you know, being after the game, hey, we win, we lose. He's just -- he's everything. He's a special kid and someone that's been a joy to coach for four years. We wish we had him for another four years. Q. Coach, how important do you think it is to have a senior big man? Florida State has got Bernard James, Temple has a senior big. You see teams that are making this far with that. Is that a key, do you think? COACH SCHMIDT: It's a huge key. Especially for us being a mid-major. To have a big guy that you can rely on that is a go-to guy that you need a bucket you can throw to. Having a big guy that demands double teams. So it kind of creates some shots for your other guys. Whenever you have a good big guy -- everybody has good guards. Most of the teams. It's that big guy, having a good big guy. That differentiates you from a lot of teams, and having a guy as talented as Andrew helps us immensely. Like I said, we wouldn't be here, we wouldn't have won 20 games, we wouldn't have improved our program year-in, year-out since we've been here without his presence. So it's everything. THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? Thank you coach. COACH SCHMIDT: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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