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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 12, 2014Jabari BrownJordan ClarksonFrank HaithErnest RossATLANTA, GEORGIA THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with an opening statement from coach and then take questions for the student‑athletes. COACH HAITH: Obviously we're excited about being here. Post season time is exciting for folks. You look at a chance to improve yourselves, and have a chance to play in post season and we're excited about that. We play a Texas A&M team I have a lot of respect for. A team that is well coached. We know what kind of game it's going to be, we just played them. I think that it should be an exciting game for our guys in terms of just going out and competing against a team we have a lot of respect for. THE MODERATOR: We'll take your questions at this time just for any of the three student‑athletes. Q. Jabari, I think you were 1‑for‑10 shooting in the last game. What was going on there and what if any significance does that have? JABARI BROWN: It was just an off game. I don't feel like it has no significance. I'm on to the next game. Q. For any of you guys, what was it like shooting in the Dome? How different did it seem? JABARI BROWN: It was a little bit different with from behind the basket when you are shooting straight on. The rim's a little bit stiff, but I think we are getting used to it. I think we'll be all right. JORDAN CLARKSON: I think, yeah, what he was saying, behind the basket, straight on, but we'll get used to it when we get in here and warm up before the game. I think we won't have no problem. ERNEST ROSS: The rims were just a little hard shooting from deep. So it's going to be a lot of long rebounds. Other than that, we just have to go out there and play and that's what we're going to do. Q. Jabari, how challenging is it to focus on one game at a time when you know you probably have to go on a little bit of a run here? Is that easy to do or can you just lock in on that first game? JABARI BROWN: I don't think it's hard, because if we lose the first one, then we don't get a chance to go anywhere. So we got to beat a good team tomorrow. So I feel like we're focused on that. JORDAN CLARKSON: Yeah, like Jabari said, we can't be focused on the rim, we just got to take one game at a time. We got to play a good team tomorrow, Texas A&M, and just come out here and compete and try to get the win. ERNEST ROSS: Same thing as everybody else has said. I think we just have to be able to take it one game at a time, just be focused on what the coaches are telling us to do and just executing not only our offense, but on our defense, and just be able to show poise towards the end of the game to pull it out. Q. Jordan, how do you view how the season went for Missouri? How do you feel about it, what you accomplished as a team, what you didn't accomplish? JORDAN CLARKSON: I think we have grown as a team. Together we seen our front court guys really expand their game and come along through this late season. I think we are kind of coming together at the right time coming into this post season. I think that if we play together and we play hard and compete, I think that we could go on a run. Like we have been saying, just take it one game at a time and just competing every time we get on the court. THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll excuse you guys, you can return to the locker room and we'll take questions for coach. Q. If Keanau can give you extended minutes like he has shown in bursts lately, what can that do for this team? COACH HAITH: I think that it really would help. There's no question that he has really become more assertive here the latter part of the season. If he's able to give us some production, consistently, scoring the ball, and being a presence. I think he gives us more presence than any of our other post guys on the defensive end because of his size and his length and way he moves his feet. If he's able to continue to grow and do that, and I think he's going to play expanded minutes tomorrow, we're hopeful that he will, I think it will really help our team. Q. The players talked about the need to kind of go on a run, but focus on one game at a time. In a setting like this with the possibility of games each day for the next couple of days, do you have to do anything different as a coach to keep them loose, keep them focused? COACH HAITH: I think we're going to try to be as we always are in terms of our preparation, and we'll spend a little bit more time away from here today and on the court and getting ourselves prepared. I don't know that we will do anything any different than we have always done. We have had some early season, preseason tournament type of things that we talked about preparing us for a tournament setting like this. We went out to Vegas and had games back to back. We played two games in three days. Hopefully going through that would help us understand what we got to go through here. Q. What goes through your mind when you hear your guys talking about stiff rims and long rebounds? REPLACENAME: Yeah, well, let's come up with those long rebounds then if they're going to miss them. So you know, dome setting is always unique in terms of playing in a dome. I've been in here a couple times with a couple different teams and you just got to go play the game. It's going to be that way for both teams. So I think that we got to play the way we're capable of playing and do the things we're capable of doing and worry about what we can control. I don't want our guys worrying about missing shots because of the rims. THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you very much. COACH HAITH: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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