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NCAA MEN'S 1ST ROUND: DAYTONMarch 20, 2013Anthony DrmicDerrick MarksLeon RiceDAYTON, OHIO La Salle – 80 THE MODERATOR: We're now being joined by the head coach of Boise State, Leon Rice, and also Anthony Drmic and Derrick Marks. We'll start with an opening statement by Coach Rice before opening the floor for questions to our student‑athletes. COACH RICE: When La Salle popped us for us to play them, we knew it was going to be a huge challenge. We've played small all year and probably had an advantage because of that. But with their guards and their quickness, they play small too, and they were quicker than us. When they started making all those 3s, they became even quicker because you got to close them out hard, and then they have the ability to go by. Garland's the quickest player we've probably faced, I think, this year. They just created so many problems because, when they're shooting the ball like that, they can drive a hard bargain at anybody. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Anthony, disappointed with the defensive effort, or was it maybe more so because La Salle couldn't seem to miss much at all? ANTHONY DRMIC: I mean, you look at the stats, and offensively, we didn't shoot the ball that bad. They had a hell of a night, credit to La Salle, but defense is where it starts. I've always said that all year, and we didn't come to play tonight defensively, I think. We just couldn't stop them driving and just weren't getting at the shooters. So, yeah, not very happy with that effort today. Q. On the same token, Anthony, it did seem like one of your maybe better games, at least offensively. In the second half, do you feel like maybe put a little bit on your shoulders to try to get your team back into it? ANTHONY DRMIC: It doesn't matter when you don't play defense. If you're scoring on one end and can't get stops on the other, it doesn't matter. I mean, I tried. We all tried. We just couldn't get it together defensively, I feel. Q. Derrick, obviously, kind of a rough start for you. Just talk a little bit about kind of what happened out there. Did seem like you were able to finally put it together kind of late in the game. DERRICK MARKS: First half, we were just getting sped up, and then‑‑ and myself, I fell into that as well. Then the second half I finally figured it out, I've got to slow down a little bit, and I started to score a little bit more. So that's it. Q. Anthony, it seems like if you guys could just get to the locker room the first half, you figured they'd have to cool down, but they just kind of kept bringing it. Then you guys still found yourself at the free‑throw line in a 6‑point game. It's kind of what happened last game, the games don't necessarily go your way most of the game, but you guys still hang in there. What is it about this team that allows you to do that? ANTHONY DRMIC: I mean, we just play hard and never give up. Like you said, they shot incredible tonight. All credit to them. But, yeah, we always fight and play hard till the very end no matter what. That's the trait of this team. Q. Maybe you shouldn't be surprised considering that, but were you maybe a little surprised that you were looking at the scoreboard, and you guys are down 6 and at the free‑throw line, to be in that situation despite what they were doing on the other end? ANTHONY DRMIC: No, I wasn't surprised. I knew we were going to come back at the end because that's just what we do. We always play hard until the very end. Unfortunately, we couldn't get enough key stops and enough shots to drop at the end for us to come out with the win. We play hard. We play hard always. So credit to the boys. Q. Can you guys just sum up this season and what it's been like for you guys. Ten underclassmen on this team, maybe some of us thought you were a year ahead of schedule almost, but you still made the NCAA Tournament. You guys don't really seem like sophomores anymore. ANTHONY DRMIC: Definitely. You can't use inexperience as an excuse. That only goes so far. This year a lot of players have stepped up. We've been playing well as a team and improving and getting all that experience that we need to continue forward. We're going to lose a hell of a senior in Kenny Buckner, but we're just going to keep fighting, keep improving, and next season bring it even harder. Q. Derrick, I'll kind of pose the same question to you. Obviously, as the season continued to go on, it seemed like kind of more and more was put on your shoulders as leaders, as scorers, as a distributor. How much do you feel like you grew this season? DERRICK MARKS: Like Drmic said, we're not sophomores no more. We've just got to come ready to play, and it's been a good season, and all we can do is work hard this off‑season, and we're just going to come back here next year. THE MODERATOR: Anthony and Derrick, thank you for your time. Congratulations on your season. Now we'll open the floor for questions for Coach Rice. Q. Coach, I know I posed this to Anthony a little bit, but your thoughts on how you played defense tonight. I know it's tough to win when a team is able to shoot as well as they were. COACH RICE: Like I said, when they started knocking those shots down and they kind of gained their confidence. And then some possessions we even had some pretty good‑‑ what I thought were good defensive possessions, and they hit contested ones. They kind of just got on a roll, and it put way too much pressure on our offense. No matter how good our offense was going to be, and it wasn't great, but at times it was pretty decent, it just put way too much pressure on our offense. Their quickness, like I said, when they get it going from 3 like that, their quickness is really hard to guard. We don't really have a shot blocker in there too to clean up the paint. So we have to come help and try to get charge attempts, and those guys did a great job of finding the open guy, and then they made their shots. A lot of credit goes to La Salle. Those guards in this tournament, like I said before this game, the team that can get hot can really cause some people some problems. If they play like that with their guards and the way they can spread you, then if they're shooting it like that, boy, they're going to give some people some trouble. Q. Coach, what you've seen of this team, of La Salle earlier this year, did they shoot that well? Have you seen a team that shot that well? COACH RICE: Their numbers are good, and we knew they could shoot. They really got it going. And then they just had that look of they were confident in their shots. We didn't keep it close enough. It's easier to shoot when you've got a team at arm's length, like they had us. If you could have tightened it down, maybe those shots become a little harder to make. We just couldn't put enough pressure on them to make it harder to make. We tried zoning them. We tried trapping them. We tried pressing them. They did a nice job of just keeping their poise, and they kind of had an answer for everything we did. Q. We've been talking about Galloway and Duren all week long, but the guys that got it going early were ones you wouldn't really expect, in Mills and Peterson got up there early too. How much more difficult does it make when those guys get going as well? COACH RICE: When there's four of them out there‑‑ and, again, that's when we're difficult to guard is when we're like that too. So I know their coach said it a lot of times, how we're looking in the mirror a little bit. So whichever team could get it really rolling was the one that was going to move on, and they did that. They had us a little bit flustered defensively. We couldn't get a stop. But our guys kept battling, and that's what's great about them because you look up, and you're right. You're at the free‑throw line down 6 after all of that. So I was proud of them. We just couldn't make enough shots, couldn't make enough free throws, and definitely did not get enough stops. Q. Coach, can you evaluate the season as a whole and what kind of stepping stone it can be for this program. COACH RICE: That's a perfect question because really proud. I told the guys in there, I'm really, really proud of them. The NCAA Tournament, one team can stand on a win, and we know that. So it's always hard, and you're always going to play a good team. We did tonight, no question. Well coached, really good players, really hard to guard. So I told our guys this was a huge year for Boise State basketball. We were really young, and they grew up in a hurry, and we competed in a great league, finished fourth, tied for fourth with San Diego State, and accomplished so many things, had so many great home wins, great road wins, did some amazing things. So it's the start of our program. It's not‑‑ we lose the game tonight, it's the not the end. We plan on doing everything we can to be back here. And these experiences help you for the next time you're back here. So it's a huge stepping stone for us, and we know we've got to get better. We've always known we're going to get better defensively. And that's a big focus for us for next year. At times we've been really, really good offensively, but we have to keep continuing to grow as a team, and where we can grow is our defense. And the beauty of it is this will give these guys‑‑ they're competitors. They'll take this in the off‑season, and they'll grow as players, they'll grow as individuals, and as a team. Q. Coach, could you talk just about the game that Anthony had. I know obviously he was overshadowed a bit, but it did seem like he kind of took it on himself to get you guys back in the game. I think 28 points. COACH RICE: You hit 28 points in an NCAA Tournament game, that's a great effort. And 28 points on 17 shots, so that terrific. Like I said, he's one of the best competitors I've been around. He adjusted. They were getting up into us, and he started taking it to the hole and getting some and‑ones and getting to the free‑throw line, making some laps, and that goes along with his five 3s that he made. So that's the thing you can hang your hat on, that Anthony Drmic is going to compete for 40 minutes. Q. Coach, maybe just kind of a question that we withheld until we found out how far this ride would go. Talking with you earlier in the season, you talked about building a program here. How much of a springboard can this whole entire experience be? Maybe getting here a year earlier than we might have thought. COACH RICE: I think it's huge. Like I said, I'm so proud of our guys.  The season as a whole, what they had. It ends on a sour note a little bit. But nobody's ever happy when they end the NCAA Tournament, no matter when it is. So over the course of the season, it was terrific. They were fun to watch. They were great to coach. They were great to be around. They love each other. And they're going to get better. I promise you that. They're going to continue to get better. So it is. It's a huge springboard. We've got Taco Bell Arena is getting packed now, great atmosphere. We know we're building a program. That's why we came here, and that's why these kids came here, and they're really proud of it. THE MODERATOR: Coach Rice, thank you for your time. Congratulations on your season. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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