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NCAA MEN'S LACROSSE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPMay 26, 2013John DeskoDerek MaltzJojo MarascoBrian MegillPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA JOHN DESKO: We congratulate Duke and John Danowski. I think they've done a great job, especially going down the stretch. They just have one loss, I think, to North Carolina in their conference tournament. Other than that they haven't lost a game in quite a long time. A very athletic and talented group who I think is playing right at the right time of year, well at the right time of year, and we look forward to the match‑up. We're obviously excited to be there. Our group has worked very hard and gotten better every game this year, and these seniors are really on a quest not only to get to this game but to win it all. Again, we look forward to tomorrow at 1:00. Q. At the X Kyle and Chris's numbers weren't too great but they got the job done enough. How would you assess his numbers yesterday and how does he match up against Brendan Fowler for tomorrow? JOHN DESKO: We're going to give it a go. It's been a battle for us all year long, and I keep wondering when we're going to see somebody that isn't better than 50 percent. Everybody we play is like 60 percent or 58 percent. Somebody has got to be less than 50 percent out there. But we'll battle, we'll make some change‑ups. I thought Cal Paduda did a nice job yesterday when he got some opportunities, tying it up and stopping the fast break and our wings really played well especially going down the stretch. We created some turnovers and were able to get the ball back at the end of the game. So we're just going to get ready to go out and compete. Q. JoJo and Brian, no matter what happens tomorrow this is your final game wearing orange. What are the emotions like going through your heads, and also does losing to Duke last year in the tournament have any bearing on it? JOJO MARASCO: Yeah, it's pretty exciting. We're here playing in the National Championship and we're playing a great Duke team, and it's been since last year every day you go out there and practice you hope you have another chance to play against Duke. When they took our season away last year we look forward to having the opportunity to play them in the National Championship game tomorrow at 1:00, last game for Syracuse, wouldn't want it any other way and looking forward to tomorrow. BRIAN MEGILL: Yeah, it's a dream come true. You dream to playing in these types of situations. It's a rematch for Duke after beating us twice last year. It's just more fuel to the fire. But being a senior, last game, playing for a National Championship for one of the most prestigious programs in lacrosse history, it seems like the stars are aligning. We've just got to come out and play our game. Q. Brian and JoJo, some of their seniors for Duke were just in here saying they're jealous they don't get to start this rivalry for next year. Do you feel this could be a start of an ACC rivalry for next year? BRIAN MEGILL: Yeah, it's funny I was joking around with the coaches early in the year I was thinking about red shirting so I could play in the ACC next year. It's going to be cool for these younger guys to get into a new conference. The ACC is just going to be a powerhouse of teams, but it's a tremendous opportunity to start something new. We've had so many rivalries in the past that are‑‑ have come to the dome or we've gone to their place and it's just such a hostile environment, and to be able to play in the ACC against those teams and get the road trips, the plane trips, it'll be a really cool experience for those guys. JOJO MARASCO: I think it's a great start, National Championship stage is set right here and these guys are very luck to have the opportunity to play in the ACC next year, and I second what Brian said. I would have loved to have got that opportunity, and hopefully we can come out on top tomorrow and have a big win and start off right for the Syracuse Orange in the ACC. Q. JoJo, you said last night that you guys maybe don't really enjoy these one‑goal type games, but I've got a hunch you might be in for another one tomorrow. Do you guys feel like all these have kind of gotten you ready for another tight affair with a good Duke team? JOJO MARASCO: Yeah, we're playing a good Duke team that's very well coached with Coach Danowski. It's nice we've pulled out all these great games against nationally‑ranked teams. We're playing another top team in Duke. I can see it being a very close game because they're a they're good team on offense and defense, and we'll be ready for whatever shows up tomorrow. I can't wait, and we'll be prepared. Q. JoJo and Brian, you've said many times that you came to Syracuse to win a national title. How important is this game for you personally tomorrow? JOJO MARASCO: Yeah, definitely when you speak to the media it's easy to say you come here to win a National Championship, but they don't see all the hard work you put in. To be a senior and finally make it here is a huge thing for our entire team, and I'm so proud of these guys. We're definitely going to try to go out with a bang tomorrow, and we can't wait to get out there and just prove people wrong and show them how talented this team is. Being a senior, every day you practice to be in this game, and you dream about it since you were a little kid, and to finally be here, emotions are running high, and I can't say enough about the team again and the coaches, and hopefully we show up and play tomorrow. Q. Derek, was there a moment maybe yesterday, maybe earlier in the season where you've had a chance to look back and see how far you've come from that opening loss to Albany and make it all the way to this moment? DEREK MALTZ: Yeah. You know, it's definitely‑‑ we were really bummed, obviously it's not the way you want to start a season losing to Albany. But we came back to work that following week, and we've worked every day in practice since. We just want to work each and every day in practice to get better and focus on our next opponent. The coaches and I know the seniors, they've done a tremendous job all year of really putting us into spots where we can be successful. You've got to credit those guys, obviously to be here, to give these seniors a shot at a national title and to give the coaches, everyone who's affiliated with the program, it's just a tremendous honor, and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. Q. JoJo, Bryant was No.1 in the country in face‑off percentage won, Duke is 3. How worried are you that you face some kind of bizarre split like you did in that Bryant game? JOJO MARASCO: Yeah, not really much worried because our wing play has been incredible with guys like Matt Pratt and Steve Ianzito and Matt Harris and Pete McCartney. They step up and make some huge checks for us on the wings and really fight for that ball and give us a chance to have the ball on offense. I have trust all year, even though they might not have had the winning percentage that they wanted, but we really trust our face‑off guys, and Cal really stepped up big where he held Chase Carraro and we've gone against some of the top face‑off guys throughout the playoffs and it's just going to be another one going out there and put the trust in our wings, and we'll definitely change it up. Our coaches have been great with that, and we'll be ready for them. Q. John and Brian, what's the challenge of facing a team that is so balanced you can't really key on one or two guys the way this Duke team is, and do you feel there's any certain key? Is it to keep the ball out of Jordan Wolf's stick? What do you see? JOHN DESKO: Well, it's a very talented offense. I think Lawson and Tripucka up top, one being a great lefty outside shooter and another being a righty outside shooter are difficult to cover. I think that's why you saw Cornell pull up yesterday, and Wolf is very dangerous. You really have to know where he is all the time. He almost takes his man out of the slide package because if you do get involved in the slide they dump it to him and he's quick to sprint up the backside, and you probably saw that three or four times yesterday. So we're going to try to eliminate that as much as we can. Obviously our defense is going to have to play good team defense, and our goalie is going to have to play well. Our offense is going to have to be ready to go. They press out quite a bit, they play with a lot of pressure, and you've got to kind of go out there with a mindset you've got to be able to run by your man if we're going to be able to score goals on offense. BRIAN MEGILL: As a defensive unit we have the utmost confidence in Dom. Dom has been playing lights out, and our job, what we've been saying all year is give Dom that first shot from far out, let him start seeing the ball early, and that's going to be our goal come game time is pack it in a little bit tighter than usual and let Dom make the easy saves. They have a great inside finisher in No.8, and we've just got to keep communicating, play sound defense and let Dom see the ball. That's the biggest goal. Q. Brian and John, just what's the evolution of JoJo's game been over the four years that you guys have seen? JOHN DESKO: I think JoJo has been doing a great job. I think to see him really make such a big jump this year as far as his maturity and his decision‑making process, he's eliminated a lot of turnovers that he had before. He's been very efficient with the ball. He's been able to find the open man. You can tell by his assists he's been able to do that, and to be able to score goals like he's been doing yesterday, some big goals, especially the man up that got us back into the game, and he didn't hesitate on that shot. I think his leadership, he's a two‑year captain, and he's definitely playing his best lacrosse right now. Q. Duke has been to seven straight Final Fours. You talked a lot about the parity in college lacrosse. Do you think this is as close to a dynasty as we're going to see in college lacrosse these days? JOHN DESKO: Well, I think it's almost overlooked, but for them to be here in the Final Four again and for them to be in this year's National Championship game, I think John and his staff are doing a great job, and he's changed his staff a little bit with the guys going to Providence. So to have the new staff come in and still have the same success, it's a feather in their cap, too. I've always enjoyed watching John coach. He doesn't get too rattled. I think he's very positive with his players. He makes good adjustments. I like the style of lacrosse that Duke plays. They're aggressive defensively. They like to push the ball offensively like Syracuse teams, so it should be a great game for college lacrosse tomorrow. Q. Derek, everyone has been asking the seniors what it means to come in here and have a chance for a national title, but what does it mean for you after these guys have meant so much to this team, especially the two guys sitting next to you, to have the chance to send them off and have a part in getting them that final goal? DEREK MALTZ: Yeah, the way these two in particular, the rest of the seniors have been able to really influence and get the younger guys on this team to really buy into the system and buy into everything that coach has been saying, buy into really what the Syracuse program means is so special. Credit JoJo and Brian for all the success they have had in their four years here. To send these guys out with a National Championship would mean the world. We're all really looking forward to it. Brian has said it since day one, that he wasn't leaving Syracuse University without a National Championship, and to make it this far is just so special, and we're all really looking forward to the opportunity that we have tomorrow, and we really want to take advantage of it. Q. For JoJo, Derek has kind of quietly bagged 30 goals this season. Can you talk about his importance, especially going into tomorrow after having‑‑ JOJO MARASCO: Yeah, even a couple games they've shut him off or put a short stick on him and made it difficult for him to get the ball. He's very smooth inside, and he can actually shoot outside, too, pretty well. Granted, he's such a smart player out there. He knows where to go. He basically quietly runs the offense, too. We speak very well when we're out there, and he's kind of telling us where to go and what we have to do, and I think he's just‑‑ all around he's fun to play with. He's been playing for two years, he's been playing outstanding for the past two years and knows how to put the ball in the back of the net for us. Q. I saw John Galloway on the sideline yesterday. Has he talked or does he plan to talk to these guys about that championship game at all or any other alumni? JOHN DESKO: We haven't talked about that. I saw John just briefly on the sidelines, and we haven't discussed that at all. Q. John, how much does this Duke team sort of remind you guys of yourselves with all the weapons they have offensively? JOHN DESKO: Well, I think their attack is very dangerous with Wolf. I think they really understand their offense. They know where people are going to be, and they understand when the other team slides from a certain person or a certain spot on the field what their looks are, whether to throw down or back up or look to the inside, and again with those two middies, especially the two middies up top, I think they really can stretch your defense because of their ability to shoot from the outside. Your worst fear is that their second midfield get going with guys like Jones and Offit, very athletic players, and Walsh was a starter on attack last year, and he's up top now, so it just speaks to take one of their starters, to put him up top, give them some more depth in the midfield. It's going to make sure that you know that their attack is pretty strong, too, if they're going to bump guys like that up top. Q. Earlier in the season you had that rough stretch with Rutgers, Cornell, ended with Hobart. How difficult is it to prepare for a team with one day's preparation? JOHN DESKO: Well, it is. It's probably tougher on the coaches than it is on the players because the players just want to go out and play. But I think this lacrosse IQ of this group has been pretty good. They've been able to pick things up fairly quickly, and as you can see in the huddles at the end of games they stay pretty focused and are able to adjust and listen. I think our lacrosse mentality is going to help us in a situation like this where guys can adjust pretty quickly. So we'll get them a lot of information here in the next 24 hours. Q. I know you touched on it a little bit earlier, but for the last decade no team has won a national title with a face‑off percentage with worse than 49 percent. How big a deal or small a deal is that? JOHN DESKO: We've been living with that for the last couple years. We've lived with that all year long. Like I said earlier, I think some of the things that we make up for it are with our efficiency on offense. You look at the number of turnovers we were able to cause yesterday, kind of made up for that gap for the number of face‑offs that we lost. I think we got some big ones when it counted. We got that big one at the end that gave us a big possession and we were able to score, so we play how we've been playing. It's nothing new to us. Q. JoJo and Derek, an uncharacteristic type year for Syracuse last year and then the loss to open the season. How much does that make you appreciate the opportunity you have in front of you now. JOJO MARASCO: Yeah, we have to bear down and you come to Syracuse to win a lot of lacrosse games. We knew we were going to have a great year this year. We had a lot of guys coming back, a very talented offense and defense, and we kind of started from day one in the fall, and Brian spoke to the guys and he's been a very emotional leader all year for us. Can't say enough what he's done for this team, and just got us going from day one, and these guys really bought into the system with the coaches. They put a lot of trust into us throughout this season and it's given us an opportunity to make some big plays down the stretch. I think it's just all around this team has really come together as a group. Q. JoJo and Brian, you guys could, if you win tomorrow, set the Syracuse single‑season record for wins in a season. With the way your careers have gone finally getting to this point how much would that mean to have that record? BRIAN MEGILL: You know, you try not to think about things like that. Right now we're just trying to keep the guys focused on it's just another game. All the extra stuff that comes with it is just a bonus, incentive. We're trying not to look at records and things like that. We've just got to keep going out and play every game like it's a National Championship game because really this one is. That's been our mentality all year, despite last year's season, the records, people breaking records throughout the year and things like that, just go out, play our game, we've been playing very unselfish and playing as one whole unit all year, and we've just got to keep it up. JOJO MARASCO: Yeah, you know, Brian hit it on the nail, but we've got to go out there and play relaxed like we've done all season. We get the ball on offense, get the ball a couple times and take great shots, and I think if we do that and stay away from a lot of turnovers which we've done all year, I think we can really give Duke a tough game and just all around play the way we've done all year, and I think it's going to be huge for us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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