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NCAA MEN'S 2ND & 3RD ROUNDS: SAN JOSEMarch 21, 2013Marvin MenziesDaniel MullingsBandja SySAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA Saint Louis – 64 THE MODERATOR: We are joined now by head coach Marvin Menzies and student‑athletes Bandja Sy and Daniel Mullings. COACH MENZIES: Well, I was pleased with a few things. I thought we did a really good job of rebounding the ball. We set out about four keys that we thought would be necessary to win the game. We had to know their personnel. We had to challenge the three. And do a good job defending the three from their specific shooters that shoot it well. We had to rebound, like I said, and then take care of the ball. And I thought we did a good job in a couple of those areas, but at the end of the day we turned the ball over 16 times, which you're not going to win a NCAA tournament doing that unless you're turning the other team over 16 times as well. So that was real frustrating. But you have to give Saint Louis credit. They did a very good job of just playing ‑‑ being themselves and doing what they do. They're really, really active with their hands. Their rotations are fantastic. They can do a good job of defending you without fouling. And they did a really good job. A much better team in person than they were on film. I thought going into the game I thought we had a chance to win it had we done those things. But I said before, they're a 4th ranked team in this bracket for a reason. And you have to give them credit. I wasn't close with Rick, but I knew him well enough to call him. And I'm happy for those guys in the other locker room. They're keeping their dream alive and I feel good for them. I will say that my only disappointment is that we didn't get a chance to show who we really are. We didn't get a chance to play like the real WAC champions, and that's disappointing because it's such a special platform and a special stage to be on. And to not have the type of production that we would normally get from our guys is just frustrating. We shot 27 percent from the field. We averaged 44, 45 percent on the year. And we took 15 threes, and that's not who we are, we want to take ten or less. The game was a little out of hand, so we had to try to attempt a few more. So we only made two. We didn't do things that we've done as of late, winning 18 out of our last 21 games, we're obviously a much better team than we showed tonight. Saint Louis did a fantastic job. And I'm proud of my guys and their efforts and the way they stuck together. The feelings in the locker room are down right now, but I think when they look back and see the accomplishments of the season, especially after losing three seniors that were record setters at New Mexico State and be able to come back and participate in such a fantastic glorious event as March Madness, and the Big Dance is a tribute to the character of the players that I have. Q. Could you guys, the players, talk about just the run that you guys made in the second half to get back into it? It seemed like you finally got to force some turnovers and kind of do what got you guys here and got you back in the game. BANDJA SY: I think it was going back to what we do, playing great defense, getting stops and getting the shots we wanted to get. So that's all I have to say. DANIEL MULLINGS: Yeah, like Bandja just said, when we went on that run I think we just went back to basics and just what we're accustomed to doing, and we put on a little press and everybody was engaged in defense and we had a hundred percent pressure on the ball, and everybody on the wings and we were able to make a good run. Q. Guys, what surprised you about the Saint Louis team today? BANDJA SY: They played great defense. They have great individual defenders, and they play good defense as a team, too. We were aware of this. But nothing really surprised me personally by them. They're a great team, you've got to give them credit for what they do, but I wasn't surprised. Q. You guys have made the tournament the last couple of years, but haven't been able to get a win. How will you look back on this year and these last couple of runs? DANIEL MULLINGS: You know, we're going to look back at this year and we're going to ‑‑ we're going to be able to pick out a lot of accomplishments and goals that we accomplished that we had at the beginning of the year. Especially after this game, we're just going to look at some of the mistakes that we made and try to take care of that going forward. Q. Talk about the ten turnovers in the second half, were they doing anything that you guys weren't ready for or was that kind of a key to get you guys down in a big hole in the first half? DANIEL MULLINGS: I mean, part of it was on us. The game got kind of scrappy and we kind of got out of sync for a little bit. But you've got to commend Saint Louis as well, because they've got great pressure defense. Their guards like to get into us and you've just got to give them credit. Partially it was on us, as well. Q. Coach, you said one of your goals going into the game was rebounding. And you've dominated the boards at times, in fact, I think in the first half you had 13 offensive rebounds and yet only had 16 points and shot very poorly. Was that something you feel kind of got away from you, you lost your advantage there? COACH MENZIES: Well, yeah, when you're reaching one of your goals and you're telling the kids this is a goal and you're doing it and they're doing it and they're not seeing the fruits of their labor, you've got to move to the next issue of why. And that's what we did at halftime. And I thought they came out with a lot of energy and focused and tried to execute the game plan. But we just got beat by a better team. They're a better team and more experienced, and played that way tonight. Again, I'll reiterate that even with the rebounding the way it went, we'd rebound and go up and we couldn't make shots that we always make. It was little bunnies right at the rim. I can't even tell you how many layups there were that we missed. And it just wasn't meant to be. It was like Rick was up on top of the backboard slapping the ball out. It was amazing, you know. So it just wasn't meant to be today. Q. Coach, what are they doing to take away the pain? It seems like Sim couldn't get the ball, they protected the paint, they made you guys try to shoot jump shots. COACH MENZIES: Well, I thought we could have been a little more patient and forced a little more movement earlier in the possession to get Sim touches. And that was partially because of how they were guarding him. But it was also because I didn't think we handled the guard position well in terms of being able to make the passes and doing some fundamental things that would have allowed us to do it. I've got two sophomore point guards that didn't play last year for all intents and purposes. So they'll be much better going forward. It's frustrating, but I love these kids and I told them that as the days go by the pain will subside a little bit and they'll be able to lift their heads up a little bit higher and know that they're the WAC champions. It will be okay. Q. Can you talk a little bit about Bhullar, his season, his development, what you expected coming in and how he's progressed this year? COACH MENZIES: Sure. Sim was, when he came in in October, he was there for a little bit in the summer, but we didn't anticipate using him as such a large role this year. We thought that would come a little bit further down the line. But when he got thrust into the starting role when we lost our starting center Tshilidzi Nephawe, who was on the bench with us tonight, he had to step up and he did in a big way. We don't win as many games as we do without him. To his credit, he really was a sponge and learned and got better and got his conditioning improved and his development was just a matter of him wanting to develop. A lot of guys you can make them get to the gym, but if they're not really recipients of the coaching, then it's not going ‑‑ it's going to fall on deaf ears. But he wants to get better and he's got a great desire to improve. His family is ‑‑ he comes from good stock, as my mom says. And his family is incredible. And they do a good job of supporting him and they raised a high character young man. His whole development goes back to how he was raised and he is going to continue to be a force for us going forward. It's unfortunate he didn't get to play to his abilities and get as many touches as we would like to have gotten him as we have in recent games. We'll get him there and keep moving forward. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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