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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: ALBUQUERQUEMarch 15, 2012Tommy AmakerOliver McNallyKeith WrightALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO Vanderbilt – 79 THE MODERATOR: Coach, an opening statement, please. COACH AMAKER: Well, certainly they're an outstanding basketball team, and we congratulate them on this victory. I think they have all the pieces to the puzzle for an outstanding team, as we've seen, and certainly to make a deep run here in this tournament. I thought the end of the first half, the run that they closed on was a big plus for them. But I was really impressed with the effort that our kids gave to make the game interesting toward the end. I can't say enough about the fight that we had and the effort that we put forth to stay relevant in this particular basketball game. Their ability to hit threes, did an outstanding job of getting to the foul line and making the free throws, and certainly their size and strength and athleticism is something to be reckoned with. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Oliver, if you think back to when it was 20‑17 and they closed very strongly. What do you remember about what you guys were or weren't doing? OLIVER McNALLY: It's tough to look back. I've heard this from people who played in the tournaments, it happens so fast, so it's tough to look back. I think we got sloppy with the ball offensively. We got a couple‑‑ you can't give a shooter or a player like John Jenkins lay‑ups like that and easy buckets. I think we put him on the line a couple times with a couple of stupid fouls to get guys going. Also, I don't think we're doing a good job rebounding the ball defensively. It's tough because our big guys had to square up some monsters down there. It was really as a five‑person unit that we didn't focus enough on really helping out.  If you didn't have anybody to box out, go pick up some loose balls. And they won a couple of 50‑50s and got up and down the court. Then we lost Tinsley in transition, and we let him get off for another one at the end of the buzzer. So I guess I do remember. Q. Oliver and Keith, there's been so much talk of Harvard getting into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1946. Didn't get in last year. Finally get in this year. What was it like? KEITH WRIGHT: It's just a dream come true. We've worked so hard, especially Oliver and myself and Andrew Van Nest, another senior on the team. We've put a lot of time, blood, sweat and tears into this basketball program. This is one of the goals was to make it to the tournament. Unfortunately, we didn't come out with a victory, but this is something that we're going to carry with us for the rest of our lives. It's a stage where not many players get to play, and we are definitely grateful for that. OLIVER McNALLY: Keith's a lot more positive guy than I am sometimes. I think down the line it's such an honor to be a part of a tournament like this. Just like everybody else on the team, you get blown up with text messages and Facebook messages and all that stuff. One thing that sticks with me is a kid who played high school basketball with me and said you're living out a lot of people's dreams right now. Make sure you enjoy it, and make sure you do a good job. That's probably the one that stuck with me the most. That's totally true, but right now it's a lot of disappointment. Cliche is we came here to win, but we were expecting to win. We came here to win, and we didn't do enough things to do that. Q. From the perspective, how much do you appreciate what this meant to Harvard? KEITH WRIGHT: This is a huge step for our program. To be able to be part of the team that laid the foundation down, being Coach Amaker's first recruiting class, and really taking the risk, you know, we're leaving our mark here on the university and the basketball program itself. It just means a lot to me that I've had an effect on such a prestigious institution as Harvard. OLIVER McNALLY: It's just really special. I'm just really glad to be a part of it. I'm going to cherish the relationships I've made, not only through the basketball program, but also at my time spent at Harvard. It's something that I don't think happens very often. You're getting recruited by all kinds of coaches. They sell you all kinds of dreams, and Coach Amaker laid a plan out, and this is the plan that we've followed through as players, as a coaching staff, getting in good kids. Not only good players, but just really good people. We made the tournament. We wanted to advance. That was obviously the ultimate goal. But for players coming in is a big deal and we get a lot of credit. But I think Coach setting the foundation, laying out the plan for us. We weren't coming in and winning 30 games freshman year. We were coming in to build a program from the ground up, and that's exactly what we did. Q. Oliver, can you just talk about how Laurent stepped up and what the feeling was during that run? Did you feel you were going to be able to pull it off? OLIVER McNALLY: Yeah, I was ready to go. I thought we were going to come back. Vandy's lost‑‑ it's well publicized that Vandy's lost in the first round the last three out of four years. So we knew if we were hanging around, we'd put that thought in their head and see what happened. And I thought we were doing that. Credit to them for coming out really strong after that and being strong with the ball and making free throws. But we made a great run. For Laurent, everybody talked about it. Laurent hasn't been practiced a lot. He's hurt his ankle and for him to come up on a day or two of practice, and to hit those big shots when some of the older guys on the team weren't doing that, me included, it was huge for our team. It also speaks to what kind of team we are. We have two guys in double figures and they're at like 10.2 points. You never know who you're going to get it from. I think we played that way today. We just didn't do some of the other things we needed to do well. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Amaker. Q. Can you just talk about the last five minutes?  I think you held Vandy for no field goals during that run that you had at the end of the game there? COACH AMAKER: Well, I'd like to think that we did something differently. We tried hard not to bail them out. I thought that was one of the keys for us that at times we weren't doing a good job of blocking out and giving them extra opportunities to score the basketball and also fouling them. It was important for us to see if we could do those two things. It makes it a lot easier to push up your pressure and dig in a little deeper when you start to make a few shots on the offensive end. Certainly we were able to knock a few down. It gave us some confidence and some energy to see if we could kind of get back in the game. They're an experienced team. They handled the ball well. They inbounded it where they needed to get to. They made their foul shots. They're an outstanding basketball club, and as I said, I think a team that's built to make a strong, deep run in this tournament. Q. I know you talked about it a lot, but now that the final game has happened, can you talk about what the seniors meant to the program? COACH AMAKER: Yeah, it was mentioned in the locker room how special they are and how grateful we all are for their belief and certainly their performance on and off the court for us. They've been sensational to work with, to coach, and to teach. I think the example they've set for this program is an enormous footprint right now. I mentioned to our kids that we owe them a great deal of gratitude, but also the fact that I was proud of our entire team for the effort we put forth to kind of grind and scrap our way back into this game. But certainly our older guys are the one that's lead the way when it comes to those kind of things. Q. Oliver alluded to the monsters that they had down low. Can you talk about the difference that Festus Ezeli made? Especially he had three offensive rebounds on one play. COACH AMAKER: Well, he's an outstanding player. I can't imagine he won't be playing in the NBA if that's what he chooses to do. I don't know what his aspirations are. But certainly with his ability and his size and his strength and athleticism, it's very difficult for us to do anything with him when he spreads out and posts that deep. Can't get around him. He's not the only one that has that kind of size and athleticism. I think you had mentioned in our press conference the other day, yesterday, about their size. You could just see the difference of the size and athleticism they can put on the floor at every spot, every position. It's made it very difficult for us. So to keep them off the backboard or do anything tricky or differently than we ordinarily would do to try to offset some of those things. It was very, very difficult for us to go against those big guys across the front line. Q. Jenkins, I'll let it go with that. Whatever you need to say about Jenkins. COACH AMAKER: Yeah, he's the leading scorer the last two years in the SEC. He's a marksman, there is no question about it. The way that they get him open and how quickly he can get into his shot is amazing. I know there's been a lot of talk about his quick release, but I think he's really incredibly ball quick on the catch. To get to his shooting position is amazing. The other thing is sometimes you don't take into account, he's 6'4". He has really good size. Sometimes you may overlook that. He's a legit 6'4" or maybe a little more than that, and good size to go get a shot. He gets in the air quickly. He's an outstanding player. Moves well without the ball. You can look at his line. He's incredibly efficient. Certainly I'm sure he was surprised he missed as three free throws. He's ordinarily an automatic free‑throw shooter. But nothing but outstanding things to say as I said to him in line when we shook their hands. He's an outstanding player, terrific, terrific player. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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