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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: NASHVILLEMarch 17, 2012Mick CroninDion DixonYancy GatesSean KilpatrickCashmere WrightNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student athletes. Just raise your hand. Q. Yancy, could you talk about Florida State's size. I don't know how much you have gotten to see them play. Have you faced a team that kind brings that much size on defense? YANCY GATES: We actually kind of compared them to playing South Florida. You know, South Florida has pretty much the same, you know, kind of lineup. They play -- they play a bigger point guard, but even Syracuse, they have a lot of size, you know, on the front side. So, it's nothing we haven't seen before, you know, so we just getting prepared to kind of the same way when we played those type of teams, big team, athletic. Q. On top of that, when you guys are running the three guard sets, how did you try to counteract a lot of size when you see it? DION DIXON: You know, they're big, so we figure we can get out and get some easy buckets. Play a transition game. That will be major for us in this game compared to their size, they're a big team. Q. For Yancy, is there a big man you've faced that compares with Bernard James a little bit, maybe Jae Crowder or Fab Melo or someone like that? YANCY GATES: He's long. Kind of -- I think the way he moves and gets up the court is kind like the way Henry Sims does it but, you know, the style of play, he plays is more Fab Melo, you know, try to get deep position, you know, rebound and run the floor. So, I mean, playing in the big effort, you play against all types of guys, so we face, you know, guys as big and athletic as him a lot this season. Q. Sean, could you just talk about the confidence you guys are playing with right now? SEAN KILPATRICK: I mean, I think we're playing with a high confidence with the fact that we know what to expect coming into this tournament. I mean, we was kind like the underdogs coming into this tournament. I think we play best when we're like that. Everyone on the team knows what we're up against, and it's a good thing. I mean, because, like I said, we play at our best when we're like that. Q. Cashmere, any of you guys, could you talk about the start time. Have you guys played a game quite that late, and does that -- what do you expect tomorrow to be like waiting that long to play? CASHMERE WRIGHT: I mean, like usually the later we play, the better we are. Usually we didn't want to play earlier games, so now we got a late game. I think it should be better. We should be well rested and know what we're going to do, stick to the game plan. Q. Dion, you did a great job against J'Covan Brown yesterday. How much does that give you confidence against FSU's guards tomorrow? DION DIXON: I mean, I'm a great defensive player, you know, so coaches do their job in the scouting report. I just try to follow it. Play hard out there, give it all to the defense. I'm going against a great guy, Snaer, he's a great player, so I got to prepare for him well. Q. Sean, what was the key to yesterday's game? How were you able to kind of survive the comeback against Texas and come out with the win? SEAN KILPATRICK: We're a team that we're best in the stretch. When we need a bucket or when we do need to rebound or anything like that, either Yancy or the three guys up here besides myself, they get the bucket and I think yesterday the type of poise and type of confidence we were playing down the stretch helped us. Q. For Dion again, what makes Snare so versatile and so tough to go up against? DION DIXON: Right now he's playing with a great deal of confidence, you know. He can drive and he can make shots. A guy like that -- he gets started, he can win a game by hisself, basically. Try to slow him down a little bit tomorrow. Q. Yancy, looked like yesterday you guys, a team were a little more physical than Texas and Florida State is known for being physical. Do you look forward to a game like that where there's going to be a lot of banking, guards are physical. Do you guys look forward to that kind of game? YANCY GATES: Yeah. We're used to that night in and night out in the Big East, every game is physical, whether if you're playing Syracuse, finish on the top, or if you're playing Providence or DePaul team. Every night in the Big East, even in practice, you know, it's going to be physical so, you know, we feel we're best prepared for games like that. Q. Cashmere, is it kind of strange to have two teams from Ohio and two teams from Florida in this round in Nashville, and do you think y'all kind of establishing itself, your state or getting attention as a basketball state around the country? CASHMERE WRIGHT: I never even thought about that. You're the first person that brought that up. I don't know. I guess. We can think about it, Cincinnati, we could care less about the other teams, personally so -- I don't know. THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? Q. For any of the guys, the Big East and the ACC obviously have great reputations as basketball schools. How do you look at each conference as far as strengths and you know what kind of brand of basketball both brings? YANCY GATES: I know I think for the Big East, we got 16 teams. You pretty much face, you know, every type of style of basketball, you know, whether it's a Notre Dame who spreads and shoot the ball well, Syracuse who plays zone night in, night out. Honest, for me, when I watch the ACC, I see a lot of scoring except for Florida State. To me, they was the best defensive team in the conference, which is why they were so successful this year. So, I think, you know, out of all those schools, Florida State would best fit in with the Big East by the way they play. So, you know, we just get prepared for this game as if we were getting prepared for this conference. Q. On that topic, just curious, did you guys watch USF much and do you pull for other teams in your conference when they're in this environment, or do you not pull for them because you play against them all year? YANCY GATES: No. Definitely -- even when we beat each other, we tell each other good luck in the tournament. Big East takes pride in getting the most teams every year. So, you know, we cheer for each other. We know a lot of people on the other team, you know, build friendships over the years. So, you know, we do cheer for each other. It's not just, you know, a hate thing going on. Just that way during the season. THE MODERATOR: Any others? All right. Thank you, guys. We will begin with Coach Mick Cronin. Q. Mick, it seem like both these teams down the stretch have really been able to execute in late game situations, win some tight games. When you have teams like that, is it the veteran part of it, is it luck, is it -- what gives teams the ability to do that? COACH CRONIN: I think when you get two kind players, trained and untrained, you know, and you have two teams that played in their championship game and in probably the best two conferences in the country, they didn't get there with luck. You know, both our teams got there with discipline. They've been trained. The players have bought into the system that they're playing in, and they understand that that's what wins games, discipline and toughness, playing together, execution and then talent. You know, both teams got good players. Guys capable of making big plays. Obviously Snaer leads the country in game winning slots this year and we've had some guys make some very big plays late in games for us as well. But, you know, I think that veteran players on both teams that have been in many, many big games throughout their career that have learned from it. Q. Coach, could you talk about the -- obviously on paper it looks like these are two little bit different built teams from a physical standpoint. What usually determines -- you hear coaches say we had to go small to match up or we had to go big to match up. How does that kind of play out during the game? How did you decide what you have to do to match up with an opponent? COACH CRONIN: Each game takes on a life of its own. Coaches make adjustments throughout the game. But I don't think either team is changing at this point. We both seen different styles throughout the year. Florida State is as well coached a team as we'll play against all year, and I really think that, you know, Coach Hamilton has never gotten the credit he deserves for what he did at Miami and what he's now done at Florida State. He's always been known as a great recruiter, but from talking to people in preparation for Florida State, I think -- it's just not my opinion, every coach I've talked to try to get some assistance says the same thing. You know, they play with unbelievable discipline and toughness. That's a credit to their coach and their coaching staff. So, I don't think they're going to change. They're one of the top five teams in America every year in field goal percentage defense. It's going to be hard to get a basket against them. We got the make sure we return the favor, you know. Two things will be key, what players step up and have big games, that's going to be a huge key, and then I think rebounding, loose balls, intangibles, those types of things. Q. You touched on this a little bit. What impresses you about the way they play defense and in particular the way they handled Andrew Nicholson in the game he played yesterday? COACH CRONIN: The way they play defense is with 100 percent effort at all times, and the way they -- the physicality of the way they do it and then the fundamental teaching aspect of it. You know, they have five guys always playing as one, as a unit. Nobody is ever on an island. That's a credit -- that's because they're trained. That's a credit to Coach Hamilton and his staff. As far as whether it's Nicholson or Tyler Zeller or any low post guy, because of the way they play half court defense with the quickness of Bernard James and his toughness and their help defense in the way they get -- they deny low post entries, whether it's Nicholson or Yancy Gates, it's tough to get them the ball. St. Bonnie's was trying to get him the ball. Florida State knew it. They smelled it out. They got veteran players. You may run something and it works, and the next time James smells it out or one of their guards smells it out and helps and then recovers. You're not going to be able to live off your set plays against Florida State. You might get them here or there, but their players are going to make adjustments on their own because they're so trained, they're so well coached, and so locked in on the defensive end. It didn't surprise me. They tried everything they could to get Nicholson the ball. Florida State wouldn't let it happen. Q. Whether it's Stan at South Florida or your kids, talked a lot about playing the Big East and how that's prepared them and with defensive stops and half court being magnified this time of year, could you expound on that, just how it does prepare you playing in that league this time of year? COACH CRONIN: There's no doubt about -- it's just a fact for us, because there's so many, so many different styles in a 16-team league, going to find out in the ACC, but it's coming soon, that it's so competitive to just be in the top half of the conference. Everybody is always hiring a new coach. The players are scratching and clawing for every win. Every game is just such a dog fight, it's hard to describe. So your kids get used to that after awhile, and you have to have veterans in our league. Doesn't matter how much talent you have. If you don't have some veterans, you're just not going to win. It's too hard to go through the grind, day in and day out. We've been in a ton of close games this year, and I think that, you know, it's probably helped us a lot down the stretch. Once we got to February -- when you start winning those games, it helps you. Your kids get confidence that you're able to execute late in the game. There's no panic, because it's just commonplace for you. You expect every game to be close. So we don't start -- we don't start arguing when the game is close. We know that Florida State is going to give us all we want tomorrow and we're used to that. That's a nightly thing for us in the Big East. Q. When we talk about teams that play physical, it seems like we always focus on the interior, but your guards seem to play pretty physical as well. Can you talk about how -- what that does to opposing teams and how you kind of coach that and incorporate that into your system? COACH CRONIN: Well, you know, I think just like Florida State, we work really hard on the defensive end and try to exploit your weaknesses. We try to use our quickness as much as possible, create deflections, create easy baskets. I thought we did a great job of that early in the game. We got complacent late in the game and we weren't as aggressive with our defense on the exterior out in front against Texas. Florida State, they do the same thing. I say that with all respect. It's the difference between -- those are intangibles. That's the difference between who is at the top of the elite league in the country. You got the train your guys to play with tremendous toughness. If you let some of these teams run their offense, they're so good, the coaching is so good, the skill level is so high, you're going to give us baskets. You got to be able to take people out of what they're trying to do, try to create some easy baskets for your team, because it's so hard to score on the other end. So obviously, just like Florida State, we work really hard on that every day. Q. Coach, how much similarity is there because of their length and toughness and half court defense between Florida State and South Florida, and how much can you maybe take from that South Florida game in late February? COACH CRONIN: Well, hope we score more points than we did against South Florida. South Florida has got a great defensive team, very similar to Florida State. They do it differently, the way they defend, but their size is the same. It's tough to score around the rim. Florida state, just like South Florida, tough to get a 2point basket in the half court against them. They just don't give them away. So, you know, it's probably a helpful game that we played that game, but you got to hope we make a few shots. You're going to have to make some shots to win tomorrow. May not have to make ten 3's, but we're going to have to make open shots. That's what it's going to come down to, which team actually knocks some shots in when they get an opportunity. Q. We've got two teams in town from the state of Ohio, two teams from the state of Florida, kind of unique. But what does that say to you about the state of college basketball from those two states? There's other teams around from those states as well, fighting for 16 spots. COACH CRONIN: We have 13 Division I's in Ohio. I don't know how many of us are alive. I know four for sure are alive. Division I basketball, it's very, very competitive in Ohio, especially from a recruiting standpoint because there's so many teams. We got two players on our team from Florida. We have more players on our team from Florida than we do from Ohio. But college basketball in our area, it's off the charts. You take a two-hour radius around Cincinnati, you're dealing with Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio State, Louisville, Cincinnati, lot of great programs. But I think what, you know, Coach Hamilton has done at Florida State in elevating their basketball in the conference they play in, you know -- you know, obviously Florida has a great program and what Stan has done in South Florida, they've -- they're starting to make people forget about spring football for a few weeks, at least. Q. Coach, you guys have shut down a number of elite teams in the last five, six games. What is it that your zone has been doing so effectively? COACH CRONIN: Well, we change, you know. We try to try not to be hard-headed and it's good to have two defenses if one is not working. You know, if anything with the what zone does at times, it just eliminates your points in the paint and maybe let's Yancy Gates rest a little bit. But we've been able to rebound out of the zone, which is usually a weakness for zone teams, but it's a concern of mine tomorrow against Florida State. But, you know, you try to pick your poison, how you're going to let the game be played out sometimes as a coach, what you're going to live with, what you're not going to die with. And sometimes teams are very, very comfortable in their man-to-man offense and you got to make a change before it's too late. Instead of trying to play better, just go ahead and change and try to make them do something differently. THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? Q. Could you talk about, we haven't covered you before, just talking about some of the coaches' influences, I know you worked for some really successful coaches, and what you learned from some of those guys? COACH CRONIN: Oh, wow. Well, my father was a Hall of Fame high school coach. I learned basketball from him. Coach Huggins, it's been a long time to try the add up years. It's been ten years at least since I've been with him, maybe 11. I learned so much from him, I was so young at the time. He taught me what college basketball was all about, but work ethic, A, and how to win, B, because he always wins, just refused to lose. Coach Pitino, he's such a master motivator and such an innovator. He taught me a lot about how to be a boss, how to run a program, how to be an executive, how to try to evaluate your personnel at all times, your staff as well as your players, and be hardest on yourself, try to always make sure you're evaluating what you're doing. The answer isn't to get mad, it's to be analytical and make the proper changes and stay focused on things. So, he's truly an executive. I've been very blessed to have the pedigree that I have. I can't do anything else but coach, though. It's the way I was raised. I'm a product of my environment. Fortunately, I got a coaching job. I don't know what else I could do. Q. I asked you the other day about taking your team, having them look at the banners hanging from the ceiling, the two national championship banners. So far to now, do you like the demeanor you've seen in this team on this trip as far as sticking to business? Talk about that a little bit. COACH CRONIN: I try -- we have fun. You got the make sure your team is enjoying the whole experience, what are they doing this for. But at the same time, you know, the guys understand we're here to win. You know, big thing that I teach my players all the time is don't let other people define us outside of our locker room, what we're capable of and who we are. We'll set our own goals for ourselves. And I think it's important to young people, we got to believe that they can accomplish what they want to accomplish and not to let other people tell them what they can and cannot do. No different with our team. But I think it's harder -- it's easier said than done. I worry a lot. That's why I did that. Too many people, whether it's your players, your fans -- I don't listen to any of those guys. If I do, I laugh at most of the things that they say because they talk in absolutes, the experts, about who's going to win these games, and then when they're all wrong, nobody tells them. They're always wrong. They got all the answers. Who picked Lehigh and Norfolk State? You got to make sure you kids don't believe in that. They got to realize that what they decide is what matters. That's all that matters, what your team cares about, what your team is focused on, and what they think they're capable of. I would say it's important in my group. These guys know I believe in them. We don't want our season to end. We know Florida State has got a great team, so we understand what we're up against. THE MODERATOR: Time for a few more if there are any. Anyone else? COACH CRONIN: You guys tell Coach Hamilton I know some guys that know him from Tennessee Martin, from his days, my days at Murray. He was a lot younger then. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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