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PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 14, 2013Jarred DuBoisLarry KrystkowiakJordan LoveridgeLAS VEGAS, NEVADA Utah – 79 THE MODERATOR: Coach, an opening statement, please. COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Well, I thought it was a fantastic college basketball game. Obviously, the result made it a little bit more appealing. But we had a high‑powered California team, scores a lot of points, really good defensively and our kids got to the point, I thought, in the second half where maybe we could have folded it up, got down. They hit some shots. We were missing some really good shots, and it was just we stayed solid and made sure that we didn't take a lack of energy at the other end because the baskets weren't going in. Kids kept with it, the rim opened up for us, and we made plays when we needed to. I thought our defense in the second part of the second half was as good as we've played all year on a really good Cal team. That's about it for me. Q. What does this say about the maturation process for Jordan that he was comfortable not only making, but actually taking the shots that really matter down the stretch? He had to run from three in regulation, and he makes the big shot to give you some separation in overtime? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Well, I think Jordan's one of the guys that's made tremendous progress as the season has gone on. He's been a catalyst for us. I think I've talked to our team about it. It was a little bit of a coach's dream when the all‑conference awards came out. For a young man to be fourth in scoring as a freshman and second in rebounding as a freshman, I realize we didn't win a lot of games. But I really thought he was deserving maybe not of a first‑team situation, but he needed three votes to be honorable mention. I know Jordan really well from the recruiting process, and I know he plays really well with a chip on his shoulder, and I think that's kind of what we're seeing right now is trying to prove some people wrong. I trust that these guys aren't going to get satisfied. They're going to continue to improve. It's really nice. I think not just Jordan, but there were some moments at the game, actually in the middle of live action, that I looked out there and we had four freshmen on the court. So the kids are continuing to get better as this year's gone along. Q. Jarred, Cal handled you guys pretty well at their place late in February. What changed with your team from that point to now? JARRED DuBOIS: What changed as far as how we approached the game? Q. What changed with your team from when you lost at Cal pretty handily to tonight? JARRED DuBOIS: I think we're doing a better job of team defense. Our rotations are better. We're paying attention to the scouting and who we need to stunt on and individual assignments.  Also, I think we're doing a better job as guards and rebounding and trying to help our bigs out. So as far as team defense and rebounding, that is a big part of what's improved since that game. Q. Talk about overtime and just what you guys were able to do to be able to seize the game in overtime, for both Jordan and J.D.? JORDAN LOVERIDGE: I think in overtime once I saw J.D. hit that shot, I felt like I had to back him up. I felt like we just needed to turn it on right there. Why not go out and get it? So I felt like as a team we huddled up and decided we're here already, we might as well go get it. JARRED DuBOIS: The point when I knew I was going to win the game is when Coach brought me and Jordan aside and said let's finish the game, and I want to see you two in this room where we are right now afterwards. So let's get the win. I knew from that point on that your coach has the confidence in you and a teammate to make plays down the stretch, you know things are going to happen, and it did. We're sitting here right now. Q. I know the dream of the NCAA Tournament is still alive, but still just getting this win and making this run even this far, what's that mean for your program, considering just a year and a half ago you were dealing with eight players leaving the program and all of that? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Well, we're pleased with where we are, obviously. It's been rough. We started out late this year losing our first three games by a total of eight points, two of them on the road at Arizona State and Arizona. We had a couple of rough stretches in our preseason and gave up 20‑point leads. It was really hard. I think the credit needs to go to our team. A lot of times it's coach talk about how a team sticks together. But it was unbelievable to be able to withstand some of those losses early. Then we get all geared up for league, which is our second season. We talked so much about going to Arizona State and losing in overtime, go to Arizona and lose by three. We're so close. It was a different kind of challenge for us. It was really a strain on all of our psyches to stay with it. I can't tell you how many times as a coach you come into a practice setting maybe after the Arizona State game or after our Cal loss a couple weeks ago before we went to Stanford. Your concern is you've got to keep the guys up. You've got to keep them up. We're driving in the bus from Berkeley to Palo Alto, and I'm thinking it's going to be a challenge. Practice was literally about 16 hours after we got beat. When you get a group of guys that care as much as you do as a coach or you have enough players that care as much as you do as a coach, you've got a special group. They were so resilient. There were two practices in the Bay Area where I got off the bus and I was ready to give my rah‑rah speech, and I looked out on the court and our guys were leading. They actually gave me a boost because they were ready to go. And that's been the way it's been all year long. You try to get better. You figure out what you're not doing well. Stick with it. And we've continued to make improvements. Back to your question about the previous Cal game, we're up five with four minutes to go in the first half, and things were going pretty well. Then all of a sudden it's a 15‑0 run that Cal put on us and we were going into halftime at 10. So I think deep down inside we knew we weren't that far away. But that game was fueled by turnovers. We've had other games fuelled by the lack of getting a defensive rebound. At this point in the season, our guys have learned all the lessons that you can learn, and we're putting some things together where we're not overly deficient in any one area, and that's given us a chance to compete. Q. What's going through your head when you shoot that shot? JARRED DuBOIS: That it's going in. Q. It looked like it barely‑‑ was it tipped or touched? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: No, it was pure. Q. How do you get the confidence to shoot that when your team needed you? JARRED DuBOIS: I had almost a mirror image of the shot at Arizona. And I felt like I didn't follow through on that shot. I kind of short armed it. I said if I get in that situation again, I'll do my best to make it, and fortunately it went in. COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: I'd like to interject. I'll tell you what, there is not a kid‑‑ if there's a kid in college basketball that puts more time in off the court or, I'm sorry, away from practice in terms of shooting, repetition, I'm talking like hundreds and hundreds of shots a day. So when you get yourself in an environment like this, I'm a firm believer in the basketball Gods. The last few weeks when he's releasing shots, all I'm thinking about is, man, all that hard work is paying off. So whether it got deflected, knuckleball, whatever it is, I think you end up getting what you work for, and it's pretty special knowing the kind of hours he puts in. Q. When you're on a winning streak like you are right now, won two in a row heading into tomorrow night against whoever you play‑‑ COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Four in a row. Q. I meant two in a row. COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: No, four in a row total. Don't cut us short here. Q. Well, what is the feeling like when you get on a streak like this within the team? Do you feel like you can just keep rolling, and it doesn't matter who you play tomorrow? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: No, I don't think there is any sense of overconfidence. I think what's happened is some of what we've been talking about all year is kind of coming to fruition.  It's validating if we don't turn the ball over, if we take Utah shots and not be individual in our offense and if we can rebound and defend, it puts you in a chance to win. That's basically what's happened from our last conference home stand with Oregon, Oregon State, and leading into this tournament. So it's right there in front of us in terms of what we have to do. Our kids play extremely hard, and really, really hard. A lot of times if you watch basketball at all levels, the team that plays the hardest usually wins. So I think that's what we're doing right now. We're playing with some confidence. We've got some guys that are stepping up. When we have three or four guys in double figures on a given night, then we have a chance. That is an indication that we've put it together a little bit. But we're not satisfied. Q. You guys don't look‑‑ you look very determined. You look like you have some unfinished business. How are you approaching these last two games do you take it one game at a time? Can you afford to look ahead at the big prize? COACH KRYSTKOWIAK: Who is that for? JORDAN LOVERIDGE: I think we're just looking at it one game at a time. We can't look ahead or get ahead of ourselves. We're just trying to play every game as hard as we can and try to see how far we can make it. Q. You're halfway there though, hard not to look ahead? JARRED DuBOIS: I don't think we're halfway there. It's a one‑game season. You win one night, you play the next. Plain and simple. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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