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ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 13, 2014Charlon KloofMark SchmidtMarquise SimmonsBROOKLYN, NEW YORK ST. BONAVENTURE – 82 COACH SCHMIDT: I thought it was a great opening game today, really competitive. Going into the game, everybody knows it was one‑to‑one, this was, quote, the grudge match. Game one we played well, game two, we didn't. Give La Salle all the credit in the world, they shot the heck out of the basketball. Going into the game we thought if we didn't defend and rebound like game one, it would be the same result as game two and we would lose. I thought that we came out strong. I told the guys, you know, in the locker room before, you can't play this game not to lose. You've got to play to win, and I thought they had that right mentality. You know, so we got off to a great start. I thought Youssou was tremendous in the first half. In the second half, the third foul and the technical foul and La Salle made a run at us. In the past in the season we've lost a lot of close games and not being able to finish, not being able to make that big play to stop that momentum ‑‑ and today we did. It was 53‑52 and we had a time‑out and we talked about it and our guys responded. I thought Marquise played tremendously, put‑backs, strong inside, especially when Youssou was out, playing a kid like Wright who is big and strong. But we made plays and we finished‑‑ we found a way to win and it was a good victory for us, especially coming off of four losses. As I said all along, momentum is fleeting. You can't worry about the four losses. It's when the ball goes up, you have to make your own momentum and I thought we did that. Q. Charlon this seems to be one of your guys best games in the halfcourt offensively all year. What kind of allowed you guys to play as well as you did on that end? CHARLON KLOOF: I think teamwork. Everybody was committed to just winning and not getting their own or forcing the issue. So everybody was just committed to getting a basket, so there was ball movement, player movement, and I think that really opened things up for our guys. Q. (No mic). CHARLON KLOOF: He was working really hard‑‑ (Inaudible).‑‑ I just let him know that when he comes back in the game, we need the same effort, because it was his fourth foul. So when he came back, he could have got his fifth foul but he stayed calm, he stayed focused and he got a big block at the end. He got two big rebounds. So I just wanted to make sure that he's still focused and into the game. Q. Marquise, talk about the resolve of the team after Youssou picked up the technical foul. They made a run at you but you guys were able to hold them off. MARQUISE SIMMONS: We just wanted to remain calm. We knew that they made a run, it's part of the game. We just all had to stay together and fight back. So when Youssou picked up the technical fall, I just tried to get all the guys and let them know that we got to snap out of it and, you know, everybody relax and calm down, because I felt like we were playing a little bit split up at the time. So we just had to get back into our groove. Q. Being basically a fifth‑year senior, this might have been your best game of the year. How much did that maybe play into this game, thinking about your last game after your career here? MARQUISE SIMMONS: Could you repeat your question? Q. Did being a fifth‑year senior play into our mind at all before the game? How much had you thought about the fact that this might be possibly your last game, from a box score standpoint, did you think about that during the game at all? MARQUISE SIMMONS: No, not really. Like Coach said before the game, he told us we can't play not to lose. So I just went out and helped my team win, did everything I could do to put us in the best situation and win. Really wasn't thinking about it being the last game, and we played hard enough to winso it's not, to live to fight another day. Q. On the steal with fast break with a couple minutes left, was that a case of over‑playing? Did you think you might have a passing lane there? CHARLON KLOOF: Not really, but the coaches did a really good scouting job, and they emphasize that their offense runs to Duren. So whenever somebody is stuck, they are going to look for Duren and we anticipated that. Q. This question goes along with his, but two years ago, obviously you missed the A10 Tournament that you guys won with the injury and now you're kind of getting an opportunity to be a part of it this year. What does this mean to you to have that chance now to maybe help your team try to go on a little bit of a run and to have the kind of game you did today with 15 points and seven rebounds? MARQUISE SIMMONS: It means everything. You know, like you said, two years ago, I tore my Achilles and I wasn't able to play, so I was just here to support. We missed the tournament last year and this is my last chance to go at it. So every game that we have from here on out, I'm just going to try to leave it all out there and do everything I can to help us win. I won't get another chance to play here, so trying to do everything I can to help us move on. Q. Duren, 0‑for‑7, how much was shutting him out a part of your plan? COACH SCHMIDT: You know, when they are good, he scores. He's in that‑‑ next guy. We thought that, believe me, we didn't think we were going to shut him out but since we shut him out, that was a big reason that we won. But he's a heck of a player, and like I said, when they are playing well, he's that next scorer that can really‑‑ and in game two, he did a great job of getting into the paint. We tried to make him a jump shooter as much as we could. He's a really talented kid and believe me, he had some open looks; he just missed, and thank goodness. Q. When the big kid picks up the third and the fourth‑‑ you said you talked to them. Keeping in mind that most of us work for family publications, was it in their heador was it‑‑ COACH SCHMIDT: Yeah, I think at that time, I knew it was a big call. Youssou didn't doing in that we wanted him to do, and he's playing really, really well. We were going inside and getting some easy stuff. But when we went out, you could see in the kids' eyes, here we go again. I just reassured them that we've got the talent on the team to be able to cover Youssou. He made a mistake, and good teammates pick him up and I thought that's what our guys did. Youssou knew he lost his composure a little bit. But good teams, good players, good teammates, you know, don't yell at him. They go out there and help him. And as Charlon said, we needed him in the game. And Charlon is the captain, did a really good job, probably a better job than I did, of keeping calm and keeping his composure and making sure that Youssou‑‑ he's going to go back in the game and when he does, he has to have his mind right and he did that. Q. The last time you played La Salle, Youssou also had a great first half; is there something about the matchup that you knew that you could get the same stuff that you did a couple weeks ago or was it more just organic? COACH SCHMIDT: We like to go, like every coach, you want to go inside out. He's really a back to the basket guy. And they played it straight up for the most part. They don't double. So we knew that if he could score‑‑ he was going to get some shots; and could he make them. He got off to a great start, and really, we had that lead in the first half because of how well he played. And then he had the big jump hook at the end of the game, but yeah, it was a little bit by design. You want to go inside early. You look at La Salle, you want to try to get Wright or Zack in foul trouble. We didn't do a great job with Wright, but you always want to try to go inside. It's like I said all the time, I love playing golf, and you want to get the ball close to the hole, you know, and same thing in basketball. Easy‑‑ usually the closer you are to the basket, usually it's an easier shot. Q. Talk about your team's resolve. COACH SCHMIDT: We showed character. We've lost a lot of games in the Atlantic ten at the buzzer, by two or three baskets, and we had a hard time finishing. We couldn't make that play, that stop. And you know, like Charlon said, we had that big steal. That was a big stop. Youssou had the big put‑back ‑‑ the jump hook. Those are the things we struggled with throughout the season, and you know, when you have solid kids, character kids, they didn't get down on themselves and they had another opportunity and they cashed in. Just proud of their effort. Everybody was talking about coming in on a four‑game losing streak and we're going to be one‑and‑done. The kids hear all that stuff and I thought they really had a mind‑set that they were going to try to overcome it, and they did. They had a chance to cave when Youssou got that technical, and they made a run and got it down to one. There was a chance for us to crumble, but with the leadership that we have and the character of our players, we hung in there and pulled it out. Q. How big was it when on a day when Matthew was quieter than he's been over the last month or so with only eight and a couple other guys have quiet days and you're able to get 34 and 17 out of Youssou and Marquise, where really you maybe get both their best games on the same day like that. COACH SCHMIDT: Yeah, you know, Matthew struggled a little bit, and you need some inside presence and it was big. We wouldn't have won without Youssou's and Marquise's play today. I thought Dion Wright did a lot for us, too. When we get in foul trouble, Dion came in. We went four‑wide and Dion got some baskets taking Zack off the bounce, so he was big, as well. But our forwards were really, really big for us today. Q. With Youssou on the bench for so long, do you have any concern about rustiness? COACH SCHMIDT: No. You know, if you saw him running back and forth behind the bench‑‑ I told him to loosen up and I guess that's Youssou's‑‑ that's how he loosens up. He played well, and throughout the game, and we had, you know, we felt comfortable with him. The play was designed as a two‑mangame with our best perimeter player with big Matthew and our inside‑out player with Youssou, and we wanted Matthew to come off if he had the shot, and if he didn't, he was going to go inside to Youssou. So Youssou made me look good. Q. What do you have to do against St.Louis? COACH SCHMIDT: We've already got to talk about them? They are tremendous. Great coach, player of the year in Jett; Evans inside; Loe is a matchup problem because he the defense. They are a great defensive team. They didn't win the league because they have bad players or a bad coach. I thought we played decent out there. We lost 66‑60. But they are a physical, defensive‑minded team. They have great senior leadership. I think they start five seniors. They have always been there. They win close games. So, yeah, we've got our hands full. It's not going to be‑‑ let me enjoy this one for another 15, 20 minutes (chuckling). Q. A thought on the shooting 54 percent, you only turned the ball over six times, one turnover in the first half, grabbing offensive rebounds, making free throws‑‑ COACH SCHMIDT: There's a big emphasis going into the game of taking care of the basketball. They had 18 points off of turnovers in game two. They had five points off of turnovers in game one and one of the reasons why we won and why we lost. So going into the game, it was imperative that we execute in the halfcourt. We took care of the ball. We got good shots and we turned the ball over six times; I think that's a season low. And we work on it all the time, and it's easier to execute when your big guys are scoring. When you're a jump‑shooting team, it's a little bit more, jump shooting is fickle; it's a little bit more difficult to execute when you just have jump shooters. But Youssou and Marquise did a heck of a job inside and I think that it made it look cleaner than when you're just a jump shooting team. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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