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BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 14, 2013Scott DrewRico GathersPierre JacksonKANSAS CITY, MISSOURI Oklahoma State – 74 THE MODERATOR: We're joined by the Baylor Bears, Coach Scott Drew, student‑athletes Rico Gathers, Cory Jefferson, and Pierre Jackson. Coach, your thoughts. COACH DREW: Well, I thought everyone that stayed saw a heck of a game. You saw a tale of two halves. First half Oklahoma State played great; we didn't play well. I thought probably in essence in the last three weeks you've been first four out, last four in, on the bubble. All the pressure, stress probably showed tonight when we were 0‑for‑13 and just out of sync and couldn't get anything going and started pressing. And then second half we couldn't have been any more proud of how our team responded and played. I thought the upperclassmen did an unbelievable job leading. And to come back from 18points down versus a team like Oklahoma State showed a lot of heart and a lot of courage and toughness, and I know our staff was extremely proud of how they came back. THE MODERATOR: Questions for student‑athletes. Q. Pierre, how difficult was it not to get down when you're down like 20 there in the first half? How difficult was it to not get down on yourself and give in when you're down 20 in the first half? PIERRE JACKSON: I mean, we've been in that spot before. We were down 14 at their place with seven minutes to go. So we knew what the situation was. We just tried to stay positive as always, execute on defense and offense, and we were able to get back in the game. Q. How did you all change it around so much in the second half? What did you all do? PIERRE JACKSON: We played Baylor basketball. We played as a team. Shots weren't falling for a couple of us. We just kept getting to the paint. Coach emphasizes paint, and we did a good job at that. We stayed solid on defense. So that's the way we play. Q. Pierre, take us through the last play. What did you see on the‑‑ when you got to the 3‑point line, did it feel like a good look for you? PIERRE JACKSON: The last shot? Yeah, I definitely thought it went in. But Coach did a good job calling the play. We executed well and we were able to get a shot up at the last second. Unfortunately, it didn't fall. Q. Pierre, you kind of laid on the floor for a few seconds after. Just talk about the emotion of being a senior and your last game, last shot to get there. PIERRE JACKSON: It really hasn't hit me yet. But at the same time just kind of the moment you live for, being able to take that last shot and helping your team out. And I wasn't able to knock it down for my team. I feel like I let them down a little bit, but at the same time I'm proud of our team for how we fought back. Q. Rico, how disappointing was this after making such a great comeback? RICO GATHERS: I mean, of course you'd be disappointed because of the loss. But, I mean, I was so proud of my teammates and how we were able to rally back. And that was the most exciting part of this game, being able to play with Pierre and A.J., and I got Jake on the sideline, we're giving it our all, 110 percent. And just coming up short, you know what I'm saying? You can't really dwell on it, you know what I'm saying?  You just gotta look at the positives out of the situation. I mean, have to spend the last game of my season with some great teammates, and that's what means the most to me. Q. Pierre, obviously you guys show a lot of moxie and heart the last two or three games. How disappointing is it going to be for you when those Selection Sundays come along if you guys don't get picked in the tournament? PIERRE JACKSON: Of course, it's going to be very disappointing. Can't do nothing about it. All I want is my teammates to play hard for me and I just wanted to play hard for my teammates at the end of the day. You can't really complain about that. That's how the cards are dealt, and we can't complain about it. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. Did you get a look at the last play with Forte and the foul in the lane, and what did you think? COACH DREW: The great thing about film is you get it right away. Great thing about computers, you can go frame by frame, clip by clip. I saw it. I have an obvious opinion, real easy opinion. But I'll pose the question back to you: If for three weeks you've been struggling on the bubble trying to make this tournament and everybody says you win you're definitely in, you lose, you don't know, would you want the game to come down to that play? Period. And that's the question I'll throw back to you guys. Shouldn't have gotten down, but Oklahoma State's a top 15 team in the nation. And they're a good team and they caused us to get down. That's how I'll answer that. Q. Travis mentioned that you guys should be in based on the eye test. And knowing where you're at right now, are you‑‑ is it your feeling that it's going to come down to an eye test for you guys, or do you feel like numbers should still get you in? COACH DREW: Joe Lunardi, we'll see what his final bracket says, because he's usually pretty good. But I think with the committee‑‑ I think a perfect example is VCU a couple of years ago, whenever it was, they went to the Final Four, and people were like, Why did they get in? Well, the committee knew they were a Final Four‑type team. Who recently has beaten Kentucky in Rupp and beaten Kansas? I think we can beat anybody in the country. That means we can play in the Final Four. At the same time I know everyone in the country has games like why didn't you win? But I think we can compete with anybody in the country. So if the committee sees us worthy, we would definitely be excited. That's an understatement. Q. Were you almost surprised that that last shot was as open as it was? Was that what you drew up to get him loose down the sideline like that? COACH DREW: For a second I didn't know if there was contact or not. I look forward to looking at that play, too, because I thought it was a great look. I thought it was a great job by Pierre. Q. Isaiah had a tough night tonight. Was it just Oklahoma State's defense? He never was able to seem like he found a rhythm. What was up with Isaiah tonight? COACH DREW: Tough thing about 18‑, 19‑year‑olds. And I think Isaiah's been great most of the year and tonight just wasn't. He didn't have it working. And thank goodness Rico came in, gave us a really great lift and gave us great energy. Isaiah will be back. Good players don't have back‑to‑back bad games. So we know he'll come back. Q. In the lineup, the comeback, did you have second thoughts about maybe getting bigger down the stretch because of what Nash was able to do? COACH DREW: That's where you have to give Nash some credit, because I think one of those shots for sure was really a tough shot. You've got to give your hats off to him. I think the ball hit every part of the rim and went in, and I don't know who was guarding or if it would have mattered at that point. So he made some big plays down the stretch. That was something we had talked about, but we had momentum coming back and we were hoping to ride that through. And earlier in the game Nash had scored on some other people, too. So I think it was just a great player making plays down the stretch then. Q. Down the stretch, Nash was posted up three times and you had Gary on him once, Deuce the second time, and then Cory. What matchup were you looking for and what would you have liked to have seen? COACH DREW: We were trying to not let him get the ball. To his credit and the passer's credit, they were able to get him the ball, number one. Number two, we were trying to draw a charge on him. Tried to use our quickness, beat him to a spot, get a charge. We've seen that on film. Some people have been able to do that earlier in the year. So that was something because he's so effective down there, if you let him get to the rim. So obviously none of them worked. So credit Nash for making great plays. He's a great player. Q. Scott, did you all just take them out of their game in the second half, just hurry what they did? Or what happened? COACH DREW: I think they took us out of our game first half. We took them out of their game. I think the big thing is they only made six field goals the second half. That's pretty good defense. We only made eight first half. That was pretty good defense by them. So it's amazing. Momentum changes with shots going in, too. They had some open ones they missed. We had some open ones we missed, and that definitely affects the game. Q. Scott, the contributions from A.J. and then the shot by Gary there at the end to get you the four‑point play, how big were both of those, I guess? COACH DREW: I mean, A.J.'s in the locker room cramping, hyperventilating, whatever. He left it all out there. He's a senior trying to get to the NCAA Tournament. It was huge what he did second half. And Gary really gave us a good lift. And the big thing is the free throw he made. I mean, it's one thing knocking down the 3, and saw that on film. It was a good. I mean, it's great that he made that. And then he went to the line to make it. So just proud of him. Q. Say things don't go the way you're hoping on Selection Sunday. What will you look back at the season and say we needed to do that better in order to not put ourselves in this position? COACH DREW: I think every team in America can look back and have a number of games. I don't think college basketball has had a season like this in a long time. And that's what makes it so exciting if you're just a basketball purist and you're not getting your heart broken every night. But at the same time it's just‑‑ I mean, any night you never know what's going to happen. Obviously you look at Oklahoma State, take them by themselves. We have a chance to win it and a chance to win it at their place. We're down 14 with seven to go. We come back. Force overtime. Lose at the buzzer on a great play by them. And then tonight. So, again, I know we can compete with anybody in the country. And just we needed to‑‑ if we don't get invited, we need to do it‑‑ win a couple of those close games. And tough thing is the common denominator in the close games, 50‑some percent from the free‑throw line, and on games we win, 70‑some percent. It's kind of like the field goal kickers; you don't miss until a close game. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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