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NCAA MEN'S DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP GAME


April 5, 2013


Ken DeWeese

Cory Meals

Thomas Orr

Brian Todd


ATLANTA, GEORGIA

THE MODERATOR:  We're now joined by student‑athletes from University of Mary Hardin‑Baylor and Coach Ken DeWeese.
Welcome, gentlemen.  We'll ask Coach DeWeese to give an opening statement, then we'll take questions from the student‑athletes.
COACH DEWEESE:  The University of Mary Hardin‑Baylor basketball team is privileged to be here, and we appreciate all the things that people in Atlanta and NCAA and all the people around that and the committee members have done.  I think at this point we've been treated very well.
THE MODERATOR:  At this time we're looking for questions for our student‑athletes.

Q.  How odd does this setting feel or how hard is it to get used to this set?
COACH DEWEESE:  Good to see you and all your friends with you.  It's fun.  It's enjoyable.  Long season, and this is a culmination of what we work for.  It's been enjoyable.
THE MODERATOR:  Questions for the student‑athletes for this part of the interview period.

Q.  Has the experience been anything like you thought?  All set coming in?  You didn't have any idea what to expect.
CORY MEALS:  I'm saying this experience has been a lot more than I could have asked for.  It's been amazing.  Last night at Bracket Town, it was pretty awesome.  And everything that we're looking forward to here is supposed to be pretty awesome.
THOMAS ORR:  I didn't know what to think, and I'm still trying to grasp everything.  It's a surreal feeling, so I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all.
BRIAN TODD:  Like everyone else, I never thought it would be like this.  And it's a wonderful feeling to be here, and the experience is great.  And Bracket Town was amazing.  And also all the other events we've been doing like practicing and then doing Special Olympics, that's also been great.

Q.  Cory, can you tell me:  It's been two weeks since you guys had a game, two weeks since Salem.  What have you done to stay fresh, get ready for the game coming up here on Sunday?
CORY MEALS:  We've been lifting a lot, just to kind of build our strength back.  We got a little run down over that weekend.  We've been getting shots up, working on fundamentals, and really making sure that we're prepared for this weekend.

Q.  Coming in here, being able to come down here to Atlanta for this game, what does it mean for you coming into what I assume is your senior year, correct?  What does it mean for you to be able to have this experience, not only a national championship for your program, but for this team and also just for you being able to be at this sort of setting?
THOMAS ORR:  As a team, it feels great because we set the bar as a fan, me, Cory, and Brian, to set the bar and have great expectations for the team.
For myself, I just think it's a great way to tell my story, to end up with we played in a national championship on national television at the same time as the DI championship.
So it's just something that I can look forward to and a great memory I can share for the rest of my life.

Q.  A lot of real big guys, anybody you can all practice against?  What have you all done to try to prepare for that?
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT‑ATHLETE:  I mean, some of our guys are big as well.  We've been focusing on what we need to against them rather than practicing on their side.  We focus on what we have to do in order to win the game.

Q.  Can you compare Amherst to anyone?
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT‑ATHLETE:  I think they're like St. Thomas and Wentworth, trying to pound the ball inside and kick out to open shooters.  I think that's what they're looking to do.

Q.  Thomas, you said a second ago that you wanted to share your story.  What is this?
THOMAS ORR:  Just the fact that I'll be able to come through so much to get here, bouncing around schools, just trying to find a home, and being accepted by Coach DeWeese and coaching staff and given a chance to play and meet some of the best people in my life here.
The way I got here, it's quite a long story.  I don't have enough time to tell it.  I'm just thankful that I got to end it with this group of guys right here.

Q.  Have you played in the NBA facility before?  Have you got a chance to practice there yet?
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT‑ATHLETE:  No, we'll have a chance to practice there tomorrow.  We've never played in an NBA arena before, but I'm looking forward to it.
CORY MEALS:  I played it on a video game.  I think I got it.  I'm a little familiar with the gym.  But, no, I haven't played in one of the gyms before like that.  I'm looking forward to it a lot.
BRIAN TODD:  The same with Cory.  We get to practice there tomorrow.  But I've never played in an NBA arena before, so it's something to look forward to.

Q.  Obviously two weeks off, you're used to that.  But Salem was the ultimate goal for everything.  Now you have a much different goal getting here to Atlanta.  What's been the focus from the beginning of the tournament with Atlanta in mind instead of Salem?
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT‑ATHLETE:  I'd say our focus is to go out, give our best effort we can, and try and win the game.  That's what we're here for.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT‑ATHLETE:  For me I think we got one more task at hand.  And I know that this being our last game, I just want to be able to go out and say that I gave everything that I could for my university and my team.
BRIAN TODD:  We're taking it game by game in the task so far.  But we have one more, and I feel like all of our players will go out and give it their all this last game.

Q.  You're like the cardiac kids of this tournament.  You have the first week off and took on Texas, wasn't much of a game, but rallied against Whitworth and rallied against Saint Mary's and the No. 1 team, St. Thomas, to win that game as well.  Does that give you the confidence that no matter what happens in Sunday's game against Amherst you have the capabilities of rallying and getting back into a game, or does this change it?  Do you guys have to get up on top first?
THE MODERATOR:  Coach?
COACH DEWEESE:  I don't think it weighs on this game.  I think those three games stand individually.  They were very similar, you're quite correct, simply the fact we got behind and came back.
But seemed like it was so long ago.  I think this game is new and two weeks later everything is fresh.  So I think this is a brand‑new game and I really don't think those three games, the way they went, will have a bearing on this one, personally.
These guys may feel differently.  And I'm looking forward to hearing what they say.
CORY MEALS:  I think it's definitely given us confidence knowing that we can come back like that and that we have.  It gives me confidence knowing that my team, when we get down, we're not just going to give up and just quit, but they're going to keep fighting until the end, which is what we did in all those wins.
And that's what we're going to do on Sunday, is keep fighting until the end.
THOMAS ORR:  For me being down so much, just looking into the other teammates', players' eyes, looking into our coaches' eyes, you don't see a quitter out of anybody.  So you do that, you just have all the confidence in the world, and you just know that no matter what, if nobody else has quitting in their eyes, you just need to keep continuing to fight for each other.
BRIAN TODD:  It's a good feeling knowing that we have a good group of guys that will never give up no matter how much we're down or what we have to do.  So, I mean, that's a great feeling.  It would be nice not to have to get into that position, but, I mean, we can get out of it.  So that's a good feeling.

Q.  Thomas and Brian, you guys have evidently been friends for quite a while; is that correct?  Tell me about that relationship and how that's brought you here and what it means to be here together.
BRIAN TODD:  I mean, it's a good relationship.  It started in seventh grade, eighth grade, when I took a spot on the basketball team, pushing down the B team.  So we've been in contact in high school and junior colleges.  And we came back in summer, got together and worked out in open gyms.  And so it's been good to play with him since we were younger.
THOMAS ORR:  I want to say he didn't take my spot; he took my jersey number.  I wanted that jersey number.  But the relationship has been great.  Like he said, we talked all the time because it started off young and a friendship like that and it hasn't died yet.
Just means a lot to me.  So he did help me get here.  He put in a good word for me.  At least I think he did.  But him being here really helped me decide to come here.
And on top of the fact that it's such a good regional well‑known school.  And hopefully we can just make it nationally known now.  I just want to thank Brian and all the coaches as well to give me a chance to play here.
THE MODERATOR:  Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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